Galapagos is one of those must see places but like other must see places they come with a higher than usually price range. For a family of 4 if we did a cruise it could end up costing around $10,000 AUD for a week which was way outside of our usual budget. We decided that we would visit Galapagos but knew we needed to stick within a much smaller budget than most.
First thing was to book the flights. We flew from Guayaquil to Baltra which cost around $1880 AUD or $1,500 USD. Next was accommodation and given our budget we needed somewhere where we could cook our own food. We were fortunate to get an Airbnb Casita Muyuyo https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/1663913 which was fantastic and only cost around $150 AUD per night. So we had flights and accommodation we were good to go for our week on Galapagos. But waits there are some more costs. $20 USD per person migration card which you purchase at the airport before checking in. Next comes the $100 USD per adult and $50 per child conservation fee when you arrive at Baltra airport. Then there is the $1 per person bus fee to the barge and $4 per person barge fee to Santa Cruz and to finish it off a $25 taxi fare to Porto Ayrula. And that just getting there.
In terms of activities we did the following:
Day 1: Walk to Los Tortugas Beach which is about 2km from town.
Day 2: Charles Darwin Station visit and Station Beach on the way home. Charles Darwin Station is free but request a donation
Day 3: Tortugas Bay which is a beautiful calm bay for snorkling and swimming. Take your own food and water as its a bit of a hike and there arent any facilities there.Day 4: Quiet day hanging around home but did venture to the lave tunnels for a quick visit which is about a $5 taxi ride from town. We should have combined it with Les Gretas swimming holes.
Day 5: Finch Bay and Los Grietas swimming hole followed by lunch at Angemeyre Inn by the water which was a bit of a splurge. You get a water taxi for about $1 each from the main pier which run all the time.
Day 6: Our only boat trip which was to Santa Fe Island to snorkle. It cost $100 USD each from the tour agent at the end of the street where our Airnb was but nearly every other agent quoted $110 to $120 per person. The trip starts at 8am and concludes at 3.30pm. Snorkling is for about 2 hours followed by 40 min finishing and 1 hour visit to hidden beach. Meals and snacks are included with only 10 people on the boat it wasn’t crowded. We also only saw one other boat at Santa Fe Island which was great.
Day 7: We were planning on going back to Torgugas Bay but the weather wasn’t great so we headed back to Finch Bay for our final swim and snorkle.
During our stay we at breakfast and lunch at home all but one day. For dinner we ate at the food street once and had sushi once. You can buy food and a number of supermarkets in the town and also fruit and vegetables at the main Mercado at the top of town.
Overall our trip cost to Galapagos cost around $5,000 which included airfares, accommodation, entry fees, and food. We loved the visit so I’m glad we did it.
