Now this is a trip that is worth planning for if you want to get the best experience, which for us includes not getting ripped off. We’ve been winging out travels lately and for that, we paid the price a few times over at Galapagos. Learn from our mistakes!
1. You can do Galapagos without a cruise / full tours.
You can be land based and DIY your own trips to the islands and book day tours. There are also tour agents that try to sell land-based packages which are a complete waste of money as you can DIY the entire package yourself and save yourself a thick wad of cash.
2. Speaking of cash, bring lots of it.
Ensure you have some cash reserves at all times as there’s only a few ATMs on the islands and they can be out of order or out of cash! Cash is king over here folks so don’t expect to Visa, Mastercard or AMEX it.
3. Get your sunscreen and insect repellent off the islands
Everything is more expensive in Galapagos and you may think you have enough sunscreen, but you most likely don’t. You will be out every single day in the blazing hot sun and your skin will thank you for the frequent re-applications. Come night time, oh mozzies galore!
Bonus tip: Invest in a rashie. Believe me, the sun is harsh!
4. Get better accommodation deals by walking around and chatting
Don’t bother pre-booking your hotels unless it’s high season. Walk around from place to place and haggle. We pre-booked our hotel in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz on booking.com and paid USD55 a night for the 4 of us. Right now, I’m typing this post from our USD30 a night hostel room that is the best room we’ve had in all of Ecuador! Hot water, excellent wifi, a smart TV, 4 lush beds, a room that is mopped everyday, a balcony and the use of the kitchen along with free drinking water. There’s neighbourhood music some nights but it didn’t bother us too much, it was good music!
SC’s Recommendation:
Hostel Miconia. The landlady is very nice and not fussed about the bargaining, the use of the kitchen and she likes to chat. She offered some of her breakfast on two occasions!
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5. Book at tours / dives on the island itself. Again, don’t pre-book!
Don’t book anything till you get on the island itself, and book from the island that the tour / dive is departing from or expect to pay at least USD10 more. We knew this but one fine night, we were possessed to book our dives at Kicker Rock from Santa Cruz and we paid USD170 per dive. Everyone else on the dive book at San Cristobal (the island where the dive was departing from) and paid USD150! We had just wasted $40 ($20 per pax) by making this rookie mistake! That’s one night of accommodation or 1 4lb lobster!
6. Oh, the ferry ticket myth
Ferry tickets are USD25 an adult and USD15 for children and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Children below 2 travel for free. The wooden sign at the pier at Santa Cruz says USD30 an adult, that is incorrect.
SC’s Recommendation:
Here’s where we got our tickets from, it’s opposite the supermarket at Puerto Ayora and just by the pier. The manager’s name is Victor and he’s got a huge cockroach tattoo on his arm. Why? Am not sure, his explanation was beyond my level of Spanish. Perhaps La Cucaracha is his favourite song!
7. There’s affordable and good meals here but they are not always displayed!
There’s set menus (menu del dia) everywhere, if you don’t see it displayed then you can always ask for it. Lunch and dinner typically comes with a bowl of soup (usually the fish soup is great value as there’s big chunks of tuna fish), the main which is usually rice, salad and your choice of meat and a glass of juice. Desayunos (breakfast) cost between USD3 – USD4; Almuerzos and Meriandas (lunches and dinners) are between USD4.50 to USD5. You don’t have to have ala carte and pay more than you would like, unless you would like to!
SC’s Recommendation:
Our fav place is all of Galapagos is by Playa Mann, San Cristobal. There’s 3 stall side by side, they were all good but we liked the one closest to the beach. Have your meals there with a view of the beach and sea lions!
8. Bring your own snorkeling gear
If you’re likely to snorkel a whole lot, buy your gear before reaching the islands. Rental for the snorkeling mask is between USD3- USD5 a day. If you plan to snorkel everyday and are here for 7 days, that could add up very quickly! Plus it’s nice to have your own gear that hasn’t been in hundreds of other mouths 😉
9. A wetsuit is a great idea
The water is icy cold here. You can either rent a wetsuit for about USD5- USD10 a day or if you have the space (or already own one like me!), bring it.
Related:
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10. Do some research!
Have a rough idea what you would really like to do or you might end up spending more cash on tours than you would like. There are LOADS of tours on each island. You don’t have to go on ALL of them, unless you want to of course! Each tour is priced at about USD100 – USD150. So narrow down which really tickles your fancy, taking into consideration that there are plenty of free activities that Galapagos offers!
SC’s Recommendation:
* On San Cristobal, we would recommend you dive with Wreck Bay Diving. The only company we know of that did a test dive first to ensure you could dive alright and the equipment worked before heading over to Kicker Rock for the actual dive! They were absolute stars with my dive as I was very nervous and the dive masters (Juan and Carlos) made certain that I was comfortable and held my hand so that I would be comforted and would enjoy my dive. When I was sufficiently confident, they let me go and stayed close to me. The crew was top notch as well, doing a final check on each diver before they jumped in the water. As soon as you came up from the dive, they passed you a fluffy towel and a glass of Chocolate Caliente (hot chocolate). BLISS.
** On Isabela, we would Tunel Ocean for your tours and your ferry tickets as well. They are good with the pricing (the cheapest for our child for Los Tuneles at USD60) and easy with our bargaining. The best part is that the tours are very professionally run!
11. There’s plenty of areas to see the wildlife, for free
Let’s lay out the cast of Galapagos and where you can spot them for free or need to pay for it, shall we?
| The Cast | Where See for Free |
| Blue-footed boobies | San Cristobal, along the main pier. We saw heaps of them fishing. |
| Red-footed boobies | None, as far as we know. There are organised tours to Punta Pitt for this. |
| Nazca boobies | None, as far as we know. We saw them on our Los Tuneles tour. |
| Frigate bird | Everywhere! |
| Turtles | Everywhere! There were lots at Playa Loberia, San Cristobal. |
| Giant Tortoises | Every island has tortoise sanctuaries, for free! |
| Black tip and white tip reef sharks | By the pier at Santa Cruz as well as Tortuga Bay |
| Penguins | None, as far as we know! |
| – Sting rays – Eagle rays – Manta rays | Concha de Perla for sting rays and eagle rays |
| Galapagos sharks & Hammerheads | None! Oceanic beauties that you have to dive or snorkel to see (if you are at the right place at the right time) |
So there you have it, our top tips to help you save on your epic Galapagos trip!
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This is so useful, am going there in 2 weeks!
Thanks, hope you find it useful! We wish we knew all these before.
I would love to visit this place….
Thanks for reading! Well hopefully you’ll make plans and our tips will come in handy then. 🙂