Galápagos Islands – Independent Travel & Budget Guide

Getting There

Firstly, regardless of whether you choose to visit independently or as part of a cruise/tour the cost of getting to the islands is paid for separately and not included in the total cost of any packages that I could find on the internet. So, for my budget I have kept these costs separate.

The two airports in Ecuador where you fly to the Galapagos Islands are Quito or Guayaquil with flights taking between 1-2 hours and prices between $200-$350 depending on what time of year you visit.

Once you arrive on the islands and land at either Baltra Airport (Santa Cruz) or San Cristobal all foreign tourists need to buy a park pass, which costs $100 for adults and $50 for children (under 12 years of age). This may seem like a high cost but it is worth keeping in mind that these fees are helping to protect the wonderful islands.

Total Cost: $300-$450

Getting From The Airport

From Baltra Airport (Santa Cruz Island) it costs less than what I would pay for a cup of coffee in Starbucks to get to Puerto Ayora, which is the largest town on the Galapagos Islands.

The method for reaching Puerto Ayora is as follows:

1. Take the free public bus signed ‘Muelle’ to the ferry dock, taking 10 minutes
2. Pay $1 for a 10 minute ferry ride that takes you from the airport ferry dock to Santa Cruz Island
3. Board a CITTEG bus costing $2 that will take you from the ferry dock to Puerto Ayora with a journey time of 45-60 minutes

Total Cost: $3

Galapagos Islands Budget Breakdown

Now that you are in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz I will now breakdown my travel costs for 5 nights/6 days for the Galapagos Islands. This is a spreadsheet that has become the template for all of the trips I take and it’s broken down into the following categories:

Important Information & Figures

• My prices are quoted in USD ($) as well as GBP (£). I have adjusted the exchange rate to 1.25 USD – 1 GBP as of July 2019
• This is a budget for 5 nights/6 days and is based on a budget for 1 person
• The only things that are not included in this budget are my airfare, park pass and diving trip to Kicker Rock

Sleep

I spent a total of 5 nights on the islands. 3 nights were spent on Santa Cruz and 2 nights were spent on San Cristobal. Like all trips I use mostly booking.com or hotels.com when choosing accommodation as both offer good value as well as excellent reward schemes.

There are a various budget options when it comes to accommodation and you can find excellent places to stay for $30 a night or less with some hostel options as low as $15 a night.

Accommodation in Puerto Ayora , Santa Cruz:

Hostal North Seymour – 1 night stay

Set in the heart of Puerto Ayora this hotel offers the perfect base for your Santa Cruz visit and only a few minutes walk from the restaurants, tour agencies and supermarkets. For me it was an absolute bargain at $33 per night. I had a clean, comfortable room, hot shower, TV, free buffet breakfast and A/C. You can’t really get much better than that as far as I’m concerned!

Hostal Gardner Galapagos – 2 night stay

Located a little closer to the centre of Puerto Ayora than the hotel above, I spent a couple of nights in a dorm room costing $20 per night. Offering a BBQ area and sun terrace this was the perfect area to relax after a day exploring. The dorm rooms were spotless and had single beds with it usually being 4 people per room. The shared bathrooms were clean with a hot shower and it also included a free breakfast.

Accomodation in San Cristobal:

Hospedaje Milena – 2 night stay

The hotel was less than a 5 minute walk to the seafront on San Cristobal so it made all of the bars, restaurants and supermarkets within easy reach. All rooms were to a high standard with A/C as well as a seating area, flat-screen TV with cable channels and a shared kitchen. The hotel was run by a lovely elderly lady who made so much effort to make sure everything was okay with my stay. This hotel is fantastic value you for money and offers everything you need for a comfortable stay in San Cristobal.

Total Cost: $139.78 (£111.82)

Food/Drinks

If you look in the right places it is very easy to find reasonably priced, good quality food in the Galapagos Islands. The main areas of town on both Santa Cruz and San Cristobal are aimed at tourists and of course charge tourist prices, where you can expect to pay about $20 per person for a decent meal in an average restaurant.

In Puerto Ayora make sure you head to Charles Binford Street because you will find the perfect place to partake in cheap eating. You will pay less than half of what it would cost at the ‘tourist’ restaurants and in my opinion get much better food. Local seafood is always a great option and full plates will set you back around $10 but also keep an eye out for set dinner menus on whiteboards which include soup, mains (fish or meat), side dish and a juice for less than $10 at dinner and as low as $3.50 at lunch time.

If you take anything from this guide make sure it is the word Meriendas because this is what you need to be looking for when you are hungry! This won’t generally be pointed out to you so you will need to keep an eye out for them but these are the set menus you will find on the whiteboards meaning you can eat well for not very much money.

I came across them both on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal but also found many cheap places to eat otherwise. There are smaller vendors that also grill meat and fish on sticks for you as well. In terms of bottled water it is between $1-2 per litre.

With breakfast being served free of charge in a lot of hotels you only need to buy lunch and dinner!

Total Cost: $88.10 (£70)

Transport

Travelling between to the two island of Santa Cruz and San Cristobal was as straightforward as it could have been. There are boats that run between the islands and these ferries cost between $25-35 for a one way ticket and then you pay the same price to return. You can book online or through an agency. These can fill up quickly so it can be worth booking online if you are on a tight schedule as you may need to wait until the next day if the boats are full.

I paid $32 for a one way ticket from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal and the journey took a couple of hours. There is no return journey discount so I paid the same $32 to return a few days later. You need to arrive 30 minutes prior to departure and your bags will need to be checked for organic goods before boarding. This can take a while.

Total Cost: $64 (£51)

Fun/Misc

The bulk of my costs came from the categories above with the only a further $16 (£12) being spent on any fun/misc expenses.  Usually I’m very good when it comes to budgeting whilst travelling and I try not to waste any money on things like excessive alcohol.

There was a $12 (Happy Hour) expense on a couple of rounds of cocktails on San Cristobal watching the sunset with someone I met on an excursion as well as $4 on a fridge magnet.

This category will depend on individual choices and is only a guide.

Total Cost: $16 (£12)

Additional Costs I’ve Not Included

I took a snorkelling trip to Kicker Rock which cost $120 (£96), which I booked through Plant Ocean Galapagos online before I arrived. My tour was as follows:

Half Day 8am – 2pm

maximal group size: 12​

2 x snorkelling/diving at Kicker Rock

Snorkelling Gear / Diving Gear and Towels provided

Beach-time around 1h, close to Kicker Rock

Lunch provided. Vegetarian, fish or meat options

Snacks and none-alcoholic drinks like: tea, coffee, coke, water are included

Final Thoughts & Overall Cost

There you have it, this breaks down my 5 days/6 nights visiting the Galapagos Islands. I hope this convinces you that it is very easy to visit this beautiful part of the world and travel independently without breaking the bank. *This does not include the flights, park pass or snorkelling trip*

Below I have compared my total trip cost with an 5 day guided tour I found on the internet whilst researching the trip. This will highlight the savings you can make by taking a little more time and researching the trip yourself:

My Trip Cost (£):	£348.70	5 Day Tour (£):	£875.20	Total Saving (£):	£526.50
My Trip Cost ($):	$435.88	5 Day Tour ($):	$1094.71	Total Saving ($):	$658.83

As you can see, there is quite a saving when you travel the Galapagos Islands independently and these savings can be put towards your flights, park pass  and excursions. I know it can be daunting visiting a foreign country and guiding yourself through it alone but if you take the normal precautions you will be surprised how easy it really is.

I hope this guide has helped inspire you to visit the Galapagos Islands but also travel more independently and not overpay for guided tours or cruises.

If anyone has any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me by email or on social media.