Every traveler has the Galapagos islands on their bucket list. It is often considered a once-in-a-lifetime due to the cost of various cruises sailing around the archipelago. What many people don’t know is that a cruise is not needed to enjoy the islands. Following backpackers’ trails, it’s easy to establish a land-based itinerary, using the inhabited islands as a base to explore other islands, all on a decent budget. What follows is the tale of my short, but amazing, trip down in the Galapagos.
How to Get Around in the Galapagos
The inhabited islands of the Galapagos are small. Most sights can be reached by walking. Taxis (white pick-up trucks) are available in both Puerto Ayora and Puerto Villamil. They can be hired to go the sights outside of the cities. From Puerto Ayora, a taxi ride to the Itabaca Channel (to go to the Baltra airport) is $25 and it’s a flat fee. Watertaxis are also available to go to secluded beaches.
To travel from one inhabited island to the next, ferries are recommended. Morning ferries are $30 and afternoon ferries are $25. Afternoon ferries are bumpier so if you suffer from seasickness, it’s better to take the morning ferry. “Ferry” is a generous term as the boats are just basic speedboats taking around 20-25 passengers.
Inter-island flights are also available but they’re costly and can be cancelled at a moment’s notice so I wouldn’t recommend them.
Visiting the other islands requires the presence of a guide so a tour has to be booked (group tours and private tours are both available through several tour operators and travel agencies on the islands).
Where to Stay in the Galapagos
I stayed at two hotels during my trip, Hotel Flamingo in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) and Gran Hostal Tintorera in Puerto Villamil (Isabela).
Flamingo had hot water, a functional a/c, and slow but decent wifi in the room. Tintorera had a functional a/c, very slow wifi, and no hot water (this was a bummer since the weather was surprisingly chilly during the mornings and evenings in Puerto Villamil). Both hotels had free breakfast but Flamingo had eggs cooked to order while Tintorera offered a buffet.
There are better, luxurious hotels on the islands but I wanted to save money while still having some comfort so I wasn’t disappointed for what I paid. Airbnbs are also available but they’re mostly located in the more residential areas.
Communication
I was pretty much unplugged for most of this trip except for 15-20 minutes bursts in the mornings and evenings using the hotels’ unstable wifi. It was nice to spend the day without checking social media. SIM cards can be bought in Quito before departure.
Itinerary
Day 0 – New York City – Atlanta – Quito
Flight from Montreal to New York City with Delta Airlines: 6.5k SkyMiles + $69 CAD
Springhill Suites New York LaGuardia Airport: 20k Bonvoy points for one night (breakfast included)
LGA Delta SkyClub: FREE lunch with AMEX Platinum and Delta boarding pass
Flight from New York City to Quito via Atlanta with Delta Airlines: $238 USD
ATL Delta SkyClub: FREE dinner with AMEX Platinum and Delta boarding pass
Layover Stay Lounge in UIO: FREE overnight stay with Priority Pass
For this trip, I booked an open-jaw ticket that came up via one of my numerous cheap flights notifications. For less than $250, I was able to book a flight to Quito departing from New York and returning to Montreal. The one part I had to figure out was how and when to get to New York from Montreal. The bus and train were the affordable options but a long bus ride followed by a long plane ride didn’t seem like the best idea. Thankfully, I still had some AMEX points so I purchased a flight to New York and booked a room at the Springhill Suites New York LaGuardia Airport for the night before my flight to Quito. With a complimentary shuttle to and from LaGuardia airport – and free breakfast – Springhill was a no-brainer.
All three flights were uneventful and I landed in Quito quite late in the evening. Since my flight to the Galapagos was early the next morning, I didn’t bother going into town. Instead, I spent the night at the Layover Stay lounge in Quito airport. It’s a lounge quite different from the ones I’ve visited so far. Filled with reclining chairs and a completely darkened ‘quiet’ area, it seems geared to travelers waiting for an early morning flight. So it was perfect for me. I managed to get some sleep despite the noise of the bathroom’s hand dryer which could be heard throughout the lounge.
Day 1 – Quito – Guayaquil – Baltra – Puerto Ayora
Breakfast at UIO’s Sala VIP Domestica lounge: FREE with Priority Pass
Flight from Quito to Baltra Island with layover in Guayaquil with TAME: $432 CAD
Tarjeta de Control de Transito (TCT): $20 USD
Galapagos National Park Fee: $100 USD
Shuttle Bus from GPS airport to Itabaca Channel: $5 USD
Water bus to cross the Channel: $1 USD
Bus from Itabaca Channel to Puerto Ayora: $5 USD
Hotel Flamingo: $139 CAD for one night (breakfast included)
Charles Darwin Research Station: FREE
Dinner on Charles Binford “Kiosko” street: $13.5 USD
In the morning, I crossed over to the Domestic departures and made my way to the Galapagos section. All passengers traveling to the Galapagos have to get their luggage scanned prior to check-in for conservancy reasons. Then, I walked to the TCT counter to pick up my papers. TCT stands for Tarjeta de Control de Transito. It’s a form similar to other countries’ immigration forms and costs $20. It’s possible to pre-register online but you’ll still have to go to the counter to pick it up.
Check-in was pretty straightforward since I didn’t have any checked luggage. They only verified that I had my TCT and stapled another immigration form that I had to fill prior to arrival in the islands. After security, I made my way to the Sala VIP Domestica lounge for breakfast and waited for my flight.
My flight was with TAME, an Ecuadorian airline. There was one layover in Guayaquil but Galapagos passengers were asked to stay on the plane. The layover was to basically refuel the plane and pick up more passengers traveling to the islands. Prior to landing in Baltra, all cabin luggage was sprayed by the flight attendants for disinfection.
Baltra Airport is a repurposed US Army airfield on the island of Baltra, also called South Seymour. There is only one runway and no jet bridges. Passengers disembark on the tarmac and walk over to the terminal building. There, visitors pay the National Park Fee ($100) and show both the TCT and the immigration form given by the airline. Once that’s done, visitors get a nice Galapagos stamp on their passport. Cabin luggage is searched one more time (mine didn’t get searched after I spoke some Spanish with the guy) while checked luggage gets disinfected. Then, everyone gets on the buses to the Itabaca Channel.
The Itabaca Channel separates Baltra Island and Santa Cruz Island. A quick waterbus ride takes passengers to the other side. From there, visitors can either take a taxi or a bus to Puerto Ayora, the island’s main city. I decided to take the bus since it was way cheaper ($5 as opposed to $25 for the taxi) and got off somewhere in the city – I honestly don’t remember the name of street where I got off – and walked to my hotel with the help of Maps.me, a mobile application with offline maps.
Although I had some sort of itinerary in mind for the trip, I only pre-booked the first night. I wanted to book a couple of tours from Santa Cruz but also visit Isabela Island so my lodging situation would depend on tours’ availability. Thankfully, there was a travel agency right next to the hotel so I could start planning my trip right after check-in.
The man at the travel agency got right to work when I told him which tours I wanted to book (North Seymour and Bartolomé Island). He tried to talk me out of Bartolomé and proposed Pinzón or Santa Fé but I was dead set on Bartolomé. Looking back, I should have listened to him but I’m getting too far ahead.
North Seymour is a very popular tour for Galapagos tourists. However, in low-season, they have less boats who do it so it’s very risky to book it onsite at the last minute. Since I was traveling alone, it made the agent’s life a bit easier and he found me a spot for the very next day. Bartolomé was a bit harder. Either the tour dates didn’t work with my schedule (i.e. they would require me to skip Isabela island altogether) or they were too expensive (above $200). He ended up finding me a tour for the very last full day of my trip. The Santa Cruz part of my trip was sorted.
I had some time to kill before dinner, so I decided to go to the Darwin Research Station. In one word, it was BORING. If you’ve visited one conservancy program anywhere else in the world then you know what to expect. Informative panels are propped throughout the path. The tortoise section was depressing and smelled like tortoise feces. The iguanas were hiding in their little caves. The Breeding Center is essential to increase tortoise population levels but, as a tourist, I didn’t find it interesting. What I mean by that is that it would have made no difference if I had read about it in a brochure as opposed to being there. However, people interested in science or people who’ve never been to a conservancy center might find it interesting. I imagine that it could also be a good introduction for kids to understand the consequences of human actions before they start interacting with the wildlife in their natural habitat. As for me, it was a good time-killer, nothing more.
What I did find interesting was the little beach at the far end of the Research Station. Playa de la Estacion often comes up in travel guides but I’m not talking about that one. I’m talking about La Ratonera which seems to be mostly for surfers. The path to that beach is littered with iguanas and there’s a huge population of red crabs on the rocks. Since most people go to the other beach, La Ratonera is a perfect place to sit down with a book and listen to the waves.
I returned to the center of town right in time for dinner. I headed straight for the kioskos on Charles Binford street. The kioskos are a bunch of restaurants offering great seafood at cheap prices. Every evening the section of the street between Av Baltra and Islas Plaza gets closed off to traffic as the restaurants put out table and chairs in the middle of street. After a good first meal on my first night, I ate there every night that I was in Santa Cruz.
Day 2 – Seymour Norte
North Seymour Tour: $180 USD (lunch, fins, towel included)
Hotel Flamingo: $240 USD for 3 nights (breakfast included)
Dinner on Charles Binford “Kiosko” street: $5 USD
My first excursion outside of Puerto Ayora was a full-day tour to North Seymour island with about 10 other tourists. Pickup was early at 8 am and then we drove all the way to the Itabaca Channel where we would board our boat. North Seymour sits a few kilometers north of Baltra island where the airport is located. Between them lies a stretch of sand called Mosquera island which was the first stop of the tour.
Getting to Mosquera island was difficult. It was low tide so the driver of our dinghy had to be very careful when navigating in the shallow waters to avoid damaging the coral. In the end, the water was just too shallow so we had to walk the rest of the way as he went back to pick up the other half of our group.
We were greeted by a mama seal intently observing the clumsy humans trying to navigate around rocks and corals on foot. As we approached the island, we saw a small head peeking above the sand dune. It slowly moved forward and revealed itself to be a young sea lion moving gingerly towards us. It stopped at a safe distance and let itself be photographed before joining the mother. There were several pups on the island, most of them sleeping among the rocky outcroppings. Once the other half of our group arrived, our guide gave us snorkeling instructions (which area to go to, which area to avoid, where to meet up) and left us to our own devices. Some people stayed on the island while others, including myself, went for a swim. Again, with the low tide, leaving the shore was difficult. Normally, after taking a few steps off the shore, you can safely put yourself in an horizontal position and start swimming. Here, with the giant rocks in the way, it simply was not doable until the water was at a desirable depth. Let me tell you, getting to that depth with fins on my feet was not easy. Once I got there though, it was a smooth experience.
There were two highlights during the snorkeling part of the tour. First, the massive schools of Angelfish feasting on corals were a sight to behold. Then, as we were about to return to the shore, three young sea lions came to play with one of our tour mates. He tried to get away from them but they would just swim around him and between his legs. They finally left when our dinghy picked us up while we were in the water. We were glad to not have to go back to the shore and wait for the dinghy.
Back on board, we were sprayed with fresh water to rinse out the sea water. They gave us towels to dry off before serving lunch. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what we ate but it was delicious. After lunch, we set out for the second, and final, stop of the tour North Seymour island.
North Seymour is one of the protected islands, meaning it cannot be visited without a licensed guide. Visitors are limited to a trail that goes around a small section of the island. The rest of it is off-limits.
There were several nesting sites along the trail for both frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies. We were spoiled for photo ops with those birds. Furthermore, it was mating season so several magnificent frigatebirds had their bright red gular sac inflated to the max while we also witnessed a blue-footed booby mating dance.
On the trail, we also saw several land iguanas and they were not as depressing as the ones at the Charles Darwin Research Center. Another young sea lion came to join us and inspect us before going off to take a nap. As we walked closer to the shore, we stumbled upon a harem of sea lions with about a dozen pups. The pups were either sleeping or bathing into small ponds formed by the rocks. It was an adorable sight.
Our dinghy picked us up not far from the sea lions and took us back to the boat to return to Santa Cruz. On our way to Puerto Ayora, we witnessed a giant land tortoise from El Chato crossing the road. It was the exclamation mark of an amazing day. And my trip had just started!
Day 3 – Puerto Villamil – Los Tuneles
Water taxi from dock to ferry: $1 USD
Ferry to Isabela Island: $30 USD
Water taxi from ferry to dock: $1 USD
Isabela “tax” / Entry Fee: $10 USD
Grand Hostal Tintorera: $90 USD for two nights (breakfast included)
Los Tuneles Tour: $120 USD (lunch, fins, wetsuit, towel, pictures, GoPro footage included)
Dinner at Coco Surf: $20 USD
The next morning, I woke up even earlier as I needed to be at the Puerto Ayora docks at 6:30am in order to board the ferry for Isabela island which would leave at 7:30am. It doesn’t take an hour to board a boat but there are a few procedures to complete before boarding. First, there are several boats leaving at the same time, so, like at the airport, everyone has to check-in with their ferry’s agency and wait for their captain to arrive. Once all the passengers are accounted for, everyone from every boat gets in line for inspection. It’s like going through security at the airport except we don’t go through a scanner and they only search our bag. The line moves slowly as there are only four agents manually searching everyone’s bags. When inspections are done, passengers board a water taxi that takes us to our respective ferries. We take our seats, luggage is loaded, and off we go on a 2-hour bumpy ride to Isabela.
Although they say afternoon waters are a lot choppier and thus bumpier, we experienced some pretty nasty bumps on the way to Isabela. Big enough that we would hover over our seat for a split-second before violently hitting our butts against the seat. It was all fun and games at the beginning until people started getting seasick. Two kids threw up and the woman sitting next to me swapped with another passenger to sit at the back because she was feeling nauseous. The most surprising were the passengers who slept through the entire ride as if they couldn’t feel the bumps. In the end, we made it to Isabela in about two hours.
A water taxi took us to the dock of Puerto Villamil where we all had to pay some sort of tax. Bags were searched once again. Then, I set out on foot to find my hotel. Before going to the hotel, I went straight to Pahoehoe Tours’ office to book a tour to Los Tuneles, the most popular excursion out of Isabela. The next morning’s early tour was sold out but they had a few spots on the mid-morning tour so I arranged for them to pick me up at my hotel in a few hours so I could have time to check-in and change into my bathing suit. I got lost on the way to my hotel because the addresses on Maps.me were not accurate but thankfully the locals didn’t hesitate to help me out and I found the hotel soon enough.
The hotel’s administrator – who was the only one who spoke English – was on vacation but my basic Spanish was enough to communicate with the two ladies who ran the place. Check-in was fairly straightforward and I was given a room with two single beds. The hotel also organized tours so it was a bit confusing when taxis came up to pick up people but the lady in charge of booking tours was aware and would help us out in knowing who was supposed to go with which taxi. My taxi took me back to the Pahoehoe office where I tried on a wetsuit (included in the tour price). The first wetsuit was the right fit and so the taxi took me to the docks to join my tour mates.
From the docks of Puerto Villamil, it is a 45-minute – slightly bumpy – boat ride to Los Tuneles. On the way there, we slowly circled a lava formation populated by nazca boobies and sea lions. We also slowed down several times to observe gigantic manta rays swimming close to surface of the ocean. Once we arrived in the calm waters of Los Tuneles, the captain invited us to sit on the bow of the boat to have unobstructed 360-views of the area before we docked for lunch. Since there were only five of us, there was space for everyone.
Three boats docked in the same area for lunch. That’s where I ran into a trio of Germans who were on the same North Seymour tour as I was a day earlier. They had booked with the same tour operator as one of the guests staying at the same hotel as me. The Galapagos are a small world.
After lunch, we went on a little walk on the lava formations. There we saw several nesting blue-footed boobies. The water was also very clear and we could see turtles, sharks, and one puffer fish swim through the arches formed by lava.
We returned to the boat and were taken to a mangrove area for the snorkeling part of the tour. Visibility was poor but we managed to see sea turtles, white-tipped sharks, stingrays, a seahorse, and an octopus. Our guide knew exactly where to find each species. The snorkeling session was a bit longer that I would have liked. Having swam with sharks in the clear waters of Fiji last year, I wasn’t impressed with seeing a bunch of sharks sleeping in a cave. In addition to the low visibility, the water was cold, and I was grateful that the lady at the tour office had insisted for me to get a wetsuit as I probably would have gone hypothermic without it. In addition to all that, it was an overcast day so there wasn’t even a bit of sunlight to warm us up once we got back on the boat. But the crew was prepared and we were served a nice hot cup of tea and a snack before speeding back to Puerto Villamil. Satisfied with the service offered in the Tuneles tour, I booked a half-day volcano hike for the next day with Pahoehoe when returning my wetsuit.
Back at the hotel, I discovered that there was not hot water to shower and I had to settle for a quick lukewarm shower. To make matters worse, it started drizzling on my way to dinner so I had to bring my down jacket with me. Not what I had in mind for a tropical vacation!
I went to dinner at Coco Surf, a popular spot for tourists. There, I met with the Germans again as well as the guy from my hotel who was on their tour, and a guy from mainland Ecuador that they had met. As a solo traveler, it was nice to have some company for dinner. The Canadian couple who were on my Tuneles tour also stopped by for dinner and so did a few British people from our North Seymour tour. As you can see, Coco Surf is the place to be!
Day 4 – Puerto Villamil – Sierra Negra
Sierra Negra Volcano Hike: $40 USD (lunch included)
Centro de Crianza Arnaldo Tupiza: FREE
Dinner on Antonio Gil across Plaza Central: $7
I ate a hearty breakfast the following morning to prepare for my next excursion, a 4-hour hike of the largest volcano in the Galapagos islands, Sierra Negra. It turns out that 80% of the hotel’s guests were also doing that tour as multiple vans came and went to pick us up. I ended up with a fairly young group (young as in mid-late twenties/early thirties) and a guide who looked like Jesus.
Sierra Negra is an half-hour drive northwest of Puerto Villamil. The hike begins on a cold, misty, and muddy trail. As we walked north, the temperature gradually climbed, the mist disappeared, and the muddy trail became a dusty trail. According to our guide, the change in weather is attributed to the southeasterly trade winds which keep the southern side of the volcano cooler. An hour into the hike, we reached the halfway mark, a small wooden shelter where all the groups take a break from the sun before continuing on. From there, most groups go downhill into the lava fields of the Chico volcano. Our group stuck to the rim of Sierra Negra and walked another hour to the point of the 2005 eruption. From the shelter to the northern side of the caldera, the trail’s flora gradually changed into cacti and then completely disappeared until there was nothing but dried and dusty lava. Our guide then split us into two smaller groups to take us closer to the edge of the caldera where we could see smaller craters and examine the lava trail of the most recent eruptions.
We ate lunch right there under the burning sun and set out to return. Although our guide was very disciplined with water breaks and sunscreen breaks on our walk to the 2005 site, we were free to do as we wished on the way back to take as many pictures as possible just as long as he didn’t catch up to us (he gave us a headstart on the way back in order to always be the last one and not leave anyone behind). However, it was brutally hot. So the group only stopped at specific viewpoints and double-timed the rest of the way. We took another break at the shelter and then everyone fast-walked to the mist. Seeing that wall of cloud get closer and closer was the only thing that kept us going. Once we reached the cooler temperature, everyone slowed down at a leisurely pace.
Back at the hotel, the cold shower and the a/c were perfect to wash up from the hike and rest. Although I had hiked a volcano before, it was in the pleasantly cold temperature of Iceland and not this burning tropical heat. I stayed at the hotel until 4pm, waiting for the sun to go down a bit before venturing outside again. Since I was going to leave early the next morning, I took the opportunity to pay for my stay. A couple from Quebec had the same idea and once we realized we were all from Quebec and had no plans for the rest of the day, we decided to go see the pink flamingos at the edge of town.
There are three places to see flamingos in Puerto Villamil: Laguna Salinas on Los Flamingos street, Flamingo Estuary on the way to the Tortoise Breeding Center, and Posada de Flamengos up the road from the Tortoise Breeding Center. Laguna Salinas only had two flamingos and there both relatively far away. We took the boardwalk trail going through the Flamingo Estuary where we spotted a couple more but the sun was against us and prevented us from taking great pictures. We made it to Arnaldo Tupiza Tortoise Breeding Center ten minutes before closing. The employee generously let us in and put up the closed sign as we came in. The tortoise there seemed a little less confined than the ones at the Charles Darwin Center. They seemed to have a lot more space to roam around. We spent about 20 minutes there. We were about to walk back to town when we realized that the flamingo lake was only 250m away so we decided to check it out. Although the birds were still a decent distance away, there were a lot more of them than at the two other places. We spent some time taking pictures and walked back to Puerto Villamil right on time for dinner.
Although the meal at Coco Surf was delicious, I didn’t want to spend another $20 on dinner so, this time around, I decided to walk down the entire street to find a cheap place. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far. Right across the main plaza, there was a line of restaurants offering the same type of meals as the kioskos in Puerto Ayora. I settled for one that offered dessert in addition to the soup, main course, and juice. And it only cost $7!
Day 5 – Puerto Ayora
Water taxi from dock to ferry: $1 USD
Ferry to Santa Cruz Island: $30 USD
Water taxi from ferry to dock: $1 USD
Breakfast at 1835 Coffee Lab: ~$5 USD
Tortuga Bay: FREE
Dinner on Charles Binford “Kiosko” street: $5 USD
I had another super early start on Day 5 as the ferry back to Santa Cruz was scheduled to leave at 6am so I had to be at the dock at 5:30am. The couple from Quebec that I had met the day before had the same plans so the hotel graciously pre-booked a taxi for us to take us to the dock at no charge. That way we didn’t have to walk in the dark to the docks. Once again, bags were manually searched, but unlike Puerto Ayora, the bags were searched prior to check-in. I’m not sure which process is faster. All I know is that we left Isabela at 6am sharp. No one got seasick this time around so it was an uneventful boat ride.
At Puerto Ayora, I returned to Flamingo Hotel as mentioned previously. However, my room wasn’t ready yet and breakfast was already over so that I meant I had to find breakfast somewhere else. I left my bag in storage at the lobby and returned to the main street. There, I ran into the Ecuadorian I met at Coco Surf two days prior. He was also going to get breakfast so we teamed up. We then ran into the three Germans that I had met on the North Seymour tour. They had just arrived from Isabela and decided to join us for breakfast after a quick stop at their Airbnb. They suggested we grabbed coffee at 1835 Coffee Lab first and then eat proper breakfast somewhere else. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday, the other breakfast place was closed so we ended up staying at Coffee Lab. I don’t drink coffee but there was hot chocolate on the menu so I ordered that with a croissant while the guys ordered coffee with sandwiches. The hot chocolate was amazing and worth every penny! We went our separate ways after breakfast. I returned to the hotel to change into my bathing suit since to go to Tortuga Bay.
Tortuga Bay is a majestic white sand beach southwest of Puerto Ayora which is also a nesting site for sea turtles. The bay has two sections: Playa Brava, the main beach with strong waves frequented by surfers, and Playa Mansa, a small cove with barely any current where visitors can snorkel and kayak with the wildlife. Getting to Tortuga Bay requires a good dose of perseverance. First, visitors have to climb a staircase to get to the checkpoint where everyone is required to check in. Then, it’s a 30-40 minutes walk to Play Brava through a well-defined path. One you get there though, if you want to actually swim in the water, it’s another 15-20 minutes to Playa Mansa. Luckily, it was an overcast day so it wasn’t too much of a hassle. I could still feel the sun through the clouds so sunscreen is strongly recommended. The water at Playa Mansa was cold so I didn’t go for a swim. Instead I laid down on the sand and ate lunch in the company of a group of finches who really wanted some of my cookies. I left the beach after about an hour as it was becoming unbearably hot despite the cloudy weather. Although I didn’t stay long, it was nice to have a moment to just relax after the rush of the past few days.
Day 6 – Bartolomé
Bartolomé Island Tour: $190 USD (breakfast, lunch, towel, fins included – wetsuit $5 extra)
Dinner on Charles Binford “Kiosko” street: $5 USD
On my last full day in the Galapagos, I had a full day tour to Bartolomé island. Bartolomé is a small volcanic island off the coast of Santiago island which is northeast of Santa Cruz. It is famous for its picturesque landscape. Getting there takes two hours by boat from Santa Cruz’s Itabaca Channel which means that this was yet another early wakeup for me as the hotel pickup was scheduled for 6:30am. It sounds horrible but depending on which hotel they were staying at, some passengers had a 6:00am pickup which is even worse.
Thankfully, we were served breakfast on the boat and the sea was calm enough that we were invited to sit on the bow. Almost everyone took the opportunity to nap there including myself. It was a pleasant experience with the sea breeze and early morning sun. About a quarter of the way through the boat ride, we passed by Daphne Major, a volcanic island hosting blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and frigate birds.
Our tour had two stops. The first was at Bartolomé island and the second at Santiago island for snorkeling. At Bartolomé, we had a long, hot, but easy hike up to the famous viewpoint at the top of the island. On the way there, we examined various volcanic rocks and volcanic flora. At the viewpoint, our guide took pictures for everyone and then let us hang around to take our own pictures. We made our way back down when a second tour group arrived at the viewpoint.
Snorkeling at Santiago island was not a great experience. I didn’t rent a wetsuit and the water was exceedingly cold. There was no interesting wildlife to be seen either. As a matter of fact, the highlight of that part of the trip was on the way to Santiago as we passed a group of penguins swimming and jumping off a rocky part of the island. Seeing regular fish after that was not as impressive.
The return trip was also unpleasant. Our boat was spewing smoke so it was impossible to sit at the back and the sea was too rough to go back on the bow. The benches inside the cabin were good enough for eating lunch and changing clothes but were not made to be sat on for two hours straight. The day had started out great but the return soured the experience. We made it back to Puerto Ayora right as the kioskos were setting up. So I ducked into my hotel, took a quick shower, and went to dinner.
Day 7 – Puerto Ayora – Baltra – Guayaquil – Quito – Atlanta – Montreal
Taxi to Itabaca Channel: $25
Water bus to cross the Channel: $1
Shuttle from Itabaca Channel to GPS Airport: $5
Snacks at GPS’ Aeropuertos VIP Club lounge: FREE with Priority Pass
Snacks at UIO’s Layover Stay lounge: FREE with Priority Pass
Dinner at UIO’s Sala VIP International lounge: FREE with Priority Pass
Breakfast at ATL’s Delta SkyClub lounge: FREE with AMEX Platinum and Delta board pass
The last day of my trip was a day of travel as I went from Puerto Ayora to Montreal in 24 hours. First, returning to Baltra airport was quite simple. The owner of the tour office next to my hotel helped me flag a taxi and from there it was an easy ride to the Itabaca Channel. The water bus was waiting at the dock to take passengers across the Channel. On the boat, I reunited with the Canadian couple who was on the Tuneles tour with me. They were also on their way back to mainland Ecuador. To my surprise, Baltra actually has a Priority Pass lounge so that’s where I waited for my flight. The lounge has two sections: one indoor with comfy couches and a surprisingly large outdoor section with couches and high tables. Alcohol is not free but there was a nice selection of juice. The food was not great.
It was a different story at Quito’s International lounge. Multiple salad options, sushi rolls, soup, and a dessert bar were among the food options awaiting guests. There were also multiple seating areas, from work spaces, to quiet nooks and crannies with the buffet and bar in between. I managed to get some work done before my late night flight back to Atlanta where I boarded my last flight of 2019 back to Montreal.
Final Thoughts
I have only one regret from this trip and it’s that it was too short. To properly enjoy everything that the islands have to offer, I think 10 days is the minimum for two islands, 15 days for three islands (I completely skipped San Cristobal because I simply didn’t have time). I won’t dwell too much on it however as it’s the perfect excuse to go back someday. The wildlife is amazing and not at all intimidated by humans. The food is fresh and cheap. The people are friendly. It’s also one of the friendliest destination for solo travelers. Among all the retirees enjoying life, there’s also a decent amount of backpackers who are either on a long-term trip through South America (lucky Europeans and their month-long vacations) or just spending a few weeks in the islands. Everyone goes to the same places, eats at the same restaurants, so it’s easy to make friends. This has been probably my most “social” trip, something that I didn’t expect at all, but was a welcomed change.
One last thing, I would not have been able to plan this trip without the amazing Galapagos thread on TripAdvisor started by a certain Snaek29. At the moment of writing, it is 55 pages long but I strongly suggest reading all of it for more ideas about things to do/see, where to stay, where to eat, etc.
Trip Breakdown
Flights: 6.5k SkyMiles + $815 CAD
- YUL – LGA with Delta: 6.5k SkyMiles + $69 CAD
- LGA – ATL – UIO – ATL – YUL with Delta: $238 USD
- UIO – GPS – UIO with TAME: $432 CAD
Accomodations: 20k points + $574 CAD
- Springhill Suites New York LaGuardia Airport: 20k points (1 night)
- Hotel Flamingo: $455 CAD (4 nights)
- Grand Hostal Tintorera: $90 USD (2 nights)
Transportation: $106 USD = $140 CAD
- Shuttle Bus from GPS airport to Itabaca Channel: $5 USD
- Water bus to cross the Channel: $1 USD
- Bus from Itabaca Channel to Puerto Ayora: $5 USD
- Water taxi from Puerto Ayora dock to ferry: $1 USD
- Ferry to Isabela island: $30 USD
- Water taxi from ferry to Puerto Villamil dock: $1 USD
- Water taxi from Puerto Villamil dock to ferry: $1 USD
- Ferry to Santa Cruz island: $30 USD
- Water taxi from ferry to Puerto Ayora dock: $1 USD
- Taxi to Itabaca Channel: $25 USD
- Water bus to cross the Channel: $1 USD
- Shuttle Bus from Itabaca Channel to GPS airport: $5 USD
Food: $60.5 USD = $80 CAD
- 4 Dinners at the kioskos: $28.5 USD
- 1 Dinner at Coco Surf: $20 USD
- 1 Dinner on Restaurant Row Isabela: $7 USD
- 1 Breakfast at 1835 Coffee Lab: $5 USD
Activities: $530 USD = $698 CAD
- Charles Darwin Research Station: FREE
- North Seymour Tour: $180 USD
- Los Tuneles Tour: $120 USD
- Sierra Negra Volcano Hike: $40 USD
- Arnaldo Tupisa Tortoise Breeding Center: FREE
- Tortuga Bay: FREE
- Bartolomé Tour: $190 USD
Other Expenses: $130 USD = $171 CAD
- Tarjeta de Control de Transito (TCT): $20 USD
- Galapagos National Park Fee: $100 USD
- Isabela “tax” / Entry Fee: $10 USD
- Tips (I did not keep track of this)
Total: $2480 CAD + tips
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