The Galapagos Islands on a Budget
Posted by Ariane on May 14, 2013 in Countries, Ecuador | 46 comments
Summary: While the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador are known for being extremely expensive, once you pay for the flight and entrance fee, it becomes affordable. This is how we did it, we saw almost everything in the archipelago and stayed much longer than people usually do in this gorgeous place. If you liked that so far, follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook Page.
You’ve probably already checked out our 11 Activities on a Budget in The Galapagos. The aim of this post is to help you plan your trip to the Galapagos without spending a fortune. It contains tips and advice on how to enjoy the Galapagos and save your money.
You may want to consider buying Lonely Planet Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands (Country Guide)
a blue-footed boobie
Why are the Galapagos Islands considered expensive? Because people who visit the archipelago usually don’t have much time and want to see everything, so they book a cruise (which is not less than $1000 for 5 days as a starting price).
How can you do the Galapagos on $845/month per person?
We spent two months in the Galapagos Islands while most people usually spend only one or two weeks maximum, and sometimes just a few days. We spent $3500 during these two months (63 days exactly), and this included everything: plane tickets, accommodation, entrance to the national park, food, activities, and outings.
In this post we present some tips and advice for a cheaper journey to the Galapagos
If you want to save money on your trip to the Galapagos, you will need two things: time and flexibility.
There are also two things that you’ll have to pay for no matter what: your transportation to the islands (we took a plane for $500 each from Guayaquil, but we heard that you can also go there by boat) and the entrance to the national park, which costs $100/person.
Here are a few tips and things you can do to make your stay more affordable.
See also ~ Galapagos Islands Budget Tour, One Week for $975
When to go there:
We chose to visit the islands during the low season, which is from February to May and September to mid-December. We visited the archipelago in February and March.
Accommodation:
For the first month we had contacted several hotels in advance in Toronto, in order to get a good deal (because it is difficult to find an apartment from abroad). We finally got a deal at $500 for the month. We made sure that we’d have a place to cook. For the second month, it was easier because we were already there (in Santa Cruz) so we had time to look for an apartment. We paid $450, which was not much cheaper than the hotel, but way more comfortable. For both places we had a Wi-Fi connection. You can easily find an apartment or a room for rent in Santa Cruz. There are classified ads on the boards situated next to the port and next to the main supermarket.
Our apartment at Santa-Cruz
Meals:
We like cooking our own meals—it is cheaper and also healthier. We’d been told that meat is expensive in the islands, and especially chicken. This wasn’t a major problem, since I’m a vegetarian and Bassel is used to this when traveling. There is a market on the main street—you have to walk 20 minutes in the opposite direction to the pier—that has many kinds of fruits and vegetables, even some that are ready-to-cook. If you like plantain and manioc, they are the cheapest. For the other supplies, there are many supermarkets in town. The main one is on the pier, and it has almost everything. You can buy fresh fish in the port and it is quite cheap, though we felt locals paid even less.
You will have to buy soft water, as the tap water is still a little bit salty and not good for cooking. The cheapest option is to buy the biggest bottle (four gallons) for $8 and then refill it for $2, and you get your $8 back when you return the empty bottle.
A bottle of water of one gallon
Outings:
Focus your outings around lunchtime, as eating out for almuerzo is always cheaper than dinner. An almuerzo (set lunch) in Santa Cruz costs between $3.50 and $4, while dinner starts from $7. We typically went out for lunch once a week, while we only went out for a drink or dinner three or four times during the two months.
See also ~ Things to do in San Cristobal: Check out 4 San Cristobal Attractions
Visits:
Try to do any site visits on your own.We visited all the places in Santa-Cruz by ourselves. It costs around $30 to rent a taxi to visit any place on the island (you can make a deal with the driver), and sometimes you can go to two or three places with the same taxi, as many sites are on the same main road. The cheapest option is to take the bus that goes to the airport, which costs $1.80. It can only drop you off on the main road. You have to do the rest on foot, and for the ride back, don’t be late to catch the last bus (around 2pm) or you’ll have to stop a taxi. Places to visit and other beaches are usually for free, except the “Rancho Manzanillo,” where you can see the giant turtles. This costs $3.
A turtle t the Rancho Manzanillo
We had to take day tours to visit the other islands, and this requires a guide companion. You can do these visits on your own, but you have to stay overnight, as there is only one ferry back each day at 6am. The ferry costs $30.
See also ~ Galapagos On A Budget – 11 Sites and Activities
Good news: wildlife watching and budget travel are not incompatible! Unless you want to see absolutely every species in the region (note that you will see animals according to the season you’re traveling in), you should be able to check out the wildlife for relatively cheap. We saw almost all the animals that live in the archipelago, except for the penguins and the red-footed boobies. The only trip you have to take is the Kicker Rock (next to San Cristobal Island) day tour, which is a must-do if you like snorkeling.
A baby sea lion
Transportation:
In town it is cheaper to walk, although cabs are not very expensive. A cab costs $1 for all downtown areas, but we usually walked to go to the beaches. If you don’t want to walk, you can buy a bike for $100–120 and sell it when you leave.
Don’t miss buying Lonely Planet Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands (Country Guide)
That’s it! If you want more information about our spending, you can check our monthly expenses for our seventh month of travel
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Bassel & Ariane, a couple who quit their jobs to realize their dream "traveling around the world". This travel website is our way to share with you the amazing adventures we have had, with the goal of helping to make your own travels more enjoyable.
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All great tips. The Galapagos Islands is high on my list of places we want to sure. However the cost of it does make me hold back a bit. I’m glad to see that there are options to make it cheaper to visit.
Kimmy @ AfterGlobe recently posted…Eat Like a Local in Los Angeles, California
Yup, it sure can work if you have time and flexible schedule.
I’ll bookmark this post as I would love to go one day, those photos are gorgeous!
Thanks Becky. It’s a great place and worth visiting.
You will love the these giant creatures, amazing!
Vacation Wanderer recently posted…TRAVEL TO ROCKPORT, MASSACHUSETTS
That is awesome you spend two months there. That is the way to do it and definitely makes you the authority to write this post. I am off to look at more Galapagos posts.
Traveling Ted recently posted…A Red River Gorge zipline tour adventure
Galapagos is an awesome place. Let us know if you have questions, we’d love to help.
Amazing! It’s always cheaper to travel slowly. Thanks for the great advice – am gonna share this on Twitter.
eemusings recently posted…Cambodia, where my heart cracked open
Thanks! Agree, slow travel is much cheaper and will allow you to see places that difficult to do on budget.
Hello,
Thanks for this great piece of advice.
I’m wondering if September/October is a good time to visit the Galapagos. I read it’s the dry season, the sea’s a little rougher and there usually is garúa (mist), so I’m worried this mist won’t allow to see the landscape. And also, how rough is the sea, and how cold (for snorkelling) ?
Thanks in advance for your help !
Glad you like it 🙂 We know someone who lives there, will call him to ask about your weather condition for you.
I am looking to go there as well in Mid-September and from what i can gather, the weather does not look great
It’s not that bad during this period, I will send you an email with more details about the weather from a local there.
Great post! I just booked a spur of the moment crazy cheap airfare to GPS ($400s rt from FL) for September. Nice to get some info on independent travel, since my initial research is slim on that, even Lonely Planet. Any recommendation for a reputable day trip provider for the Kicker Rock or Bartolome?
Thanks Liz, check your email as I will send you a contact number for a trip provider.
I am on my way to Galapagos next October. Please send to me the information regarding the weather at this time of the year and also of the day trip provider in Santa Cruz. We will stay there for 6 days and intend to go to Bartholome and other places nearby.
Hey Cecilia, check your mail for answers to your questions 🙂
Hello, We will be staying in Puerto Aroya for one week in February 2014 and wanted to do some day excursions to other islands. Do you have any tour operator recommendations? Thanks for all the great tips.
Thanks Judi for your comment. We only did two day trips during our stay in the Galapagos. Basically all the tour operators offer almost the same services for the same prices as well, still you can bargain. What makes the difference is the guide, but you can never know if you will have a good one or not. The guide we had for Isabella was pretty bad but when we went to San Cristobal we had a great experience with a passionnate guide. What you could also do is to take a boat without a tour and stay over night to have more time on the island. Though this is not doable on all islands. Enjoy your stay anyway!
Great post! I just found this in my search for a good Kicker Rock tour in June – can you pass along any info? Would be greatly appreciated ^_^
Always ask about the guide when it comes to the tours, unfortunately we don’t remember our guide but he was super hero.
Thanks Bassel.
Awesome blog/interaction … so helpful and so enthusiastic.
Arriving from Australia in September. OK, not the best time to visit, but just have to see such a unique place during the only extended holiday in 2014 that our group of 4 friends can all link-up.
Cheers,
Rimo
Thanks Rimo, we’re glad you enjoyed our posts. In the Galapagos I can find it difficult not to enjoy your time whatever the month was. We were there in the wet season and still with the heavy rain we had a marvelous experience.
Excellent post I will be traveling to the Galapagos with my family 2 kids and my wife in March so this was very helpful. Can you send me information on the house you rented for $500? Also how was the internet speed and dependability? (this is important coz i will be working online while in the Islands)
Glad you liked the post. We found our apartment through “Galapagos Dreams Hostel” and the rate depends on different factors e.g. how many person. Internet sucks, totally unreliable. You can find it almost everywhere but very slow. Will inbox you w/ more details.
Hey! This is an amazing blog! I’m planning on traveling to the Galapagos early to mid-July. Do you have any recommendations for a day tour operator to Kicker Rock (from San Cristobal), Bartolome, and Seymour Island (the last two from Puerto Ayora)? Do you also think we should book these tours in advance or can we just book them once we arrive on the islands? I keep reading comments that July is the busy season….
Thanks so much!
Thanks Tracy, we hope you enjoy it there. In peak/busy seasons–only–you should book in advance as site visits are limited and controlled. There are a lot of tour operators and they all almost the same, what really matters is your guide. So I would suggest you ask for a good guide in advance.
This is a particularly informative post. Thank you for sharing. I am planning to go during the month of May with my husband. Unfortunately, we only have about 10-15 days to spare. Are there good apartment rentals for that period of time, do you think? What you described as your studio while there seems ideal for us. We want to be able to cook and access the markets and beaches by foot. Cheers.
You should give it a try, there are plenty of ads near the fish market once you are there. Try also visiting Hostel Galapagos Dreams and ask them for a studio, they might have one.
I’m going to be travelling to the Galapagos Islands next month and your posts are so informative! It’s nice to get details, rather than generalized information.
Since I’m only going to be there for a week, I’m wondering if you guys had any tips in terms of travelling between islands.
In particular, I was thinking of staying at each of the larger islands for a couples days each. I’m hoping this might cut down travel times during the day, as well as cost (instead of a round trip each time).
From your experience, is that a good idea? Or am I best sticking with travelling to and forth from Santa Cruz?
Thanks!!
Keep posting!
Thanks Charmaine for your comment 🙂
I guess I would say yes and no, depends on what you want to do. Jumping between islands will allow you to see different wildlife but staying into one island will also allow you to observe more. So it depends on your preferences! remember that traveling between islands also cut from your time e.g. it takes two hours to go to Isabela from Santa Cruz. We will say this, don’t miss the kicker rocks trip and Santa Cruz wild giant tortoise (not the ones in the Darwin’s center).
Hi! Which day-trip provider did you use for the Kicker Rock trip and how much did it cost? Thank you!
There are plenty on the pier but we don’t remember which one we went with. It costed us $50 each for full day with lunch and snorkelling mask and fens.
Hi!
My friend and I are hoping to go to santa cruz for 4-6 weeks in May/June in order to get our divemasters and we ware looking for apartments online and are having no luck when looking for affordable places, i was wondering if you can tell me where you stayed? or just give me any advice about finding accommodations?
Thanks!
Amanda
Will send you an email with more details on who to contact when you are in the Galapagos.
Thanks for the post. We’re on our way to Puerto Ayorta for a month in April with our 2 children. Glad to see that we’re not the only ones crazy enough to “plan” an extended trip to the islands.
Cheers!
You must be excited! It’s a magical place. Let us know how it went!
Hi Bassel and Ariana,
We are a couple that are currently travelling and came across you blog. We too are trying to travel for as log as possible and would love to stay in Galapagos for about 2 months as well 🙂
I see that you told someone previously that you would email them with details of someone to contact regarding the apartment etc. We too are struggling to find somewhere??
Did you have to originally book a return flight that you extended, if yes is this easy enough to extend flight tickets?
Do you know if its possible to find small jobs etc over there without having to pay for volunteer projects.
If you could please email me I would love to hear from you to ask a few more questions regarding the Galapagos. We are hoping to make our way there in about 10 days.
Many thanks,
Tanya
Will send you a message 🙂
Great thank you look forward to hearing from you 🙂 we arrive in Galápagos on the 10 June 🙂
Any thoughts/suggestions on the best order to “island hop”? 2-3 nights per island for a total of 7 nights. We land in Baltra. Any info would be great!
We started with Santa Cruz and followed that with a day tour to Isabella and closed with San Cristobal Galapagos Islands Budget Tour, One Week for $975. Isabella was sort of a disappointment for us but mainly because of our tour guide.
Santa Cruz has a lot to offer and so do San Cristobal with hundreds of sealions everywhere. Don’t miss the Kicker Rock, it’s where we were lucky enough to snorkel with sea turtles, sea lions, octopus, reef and hammer sharks.
Thank you for your super speedy response and additional helpful information! That’s the course I was thinking but wanted confirmation. Thank you!
Well, in my oppinion, the best way to get to know a bit more of the Islands is to get a small cruise that departures from Santa Cruz and ends in San Cristobal with stops in remote spots in Isabela and other islands that there is no other way to get there. You can research through the vendors and find a good deal. When I went there I got a 2×1 deal and it was extremely worthy it! All cruises goes with a national park guide which can be also a very good learning experience.
Thank you! I will certainly price out cruises when we get there. 2×1 is a no brainer!
Ideally it would have been better to fly into San Cristobal, flights are cheaper and you save on a ferry ride. As you can only get from island to Island by ferry.
We flew into San Cristobal, then went to Santa Cruz and then Isabela. Then back to Santa Cruz to fly out.
You will be Flying into Santa Cruz, so you can go either Isabela first or San Cristobal. However either way you will have to pass through Santa Cruz again and return to Santa Cruz if that is where you depart from.