Every visitor to Galapagos arrives by air. No passenger ferry runs from mainland Ecuador. So the journey starts at Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito. It ends on one of two island runways: Baltra or San Cristobal. What catches people out is everything around the flight. For example: which airport your programme uses, and whether the ticket is yours to buy or ours to issue. Then there are the two compulsory fees that sit outside almost every tour price.
Baltra or San Cristobal: the two airports
Your itinerary sets which airport you use, not your preference.
- Baltra (GPS): on a small flat island just north of Santa Cruz, not on Santa Cruz itself. Reaching Puerto Ayora means a bus, a ferry across the Itabaca Channel and a road transfer. However, the island hopping programmes include all of that, round trip.
- San Cristobal (SCY): the runway sits beside Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, so you are in the harbour minutes after landing.
The Santa Cruz and Isabela island hopping programme starts and finishes at Baltra. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz and San Cristobal version lands at Baltra and leaves from San Cristobal. Among the cruises, the La Pinta and the Tip Top IV embark at Baltra. Also, the Hermes catamaran boards its 4-day C itinerary at San Cristobal.
Is the flight from Quito included?
Usually not. On almost every cruise we sell, the exclusions read the same way. International flights and the Quito or Guayaquil – Galapagos – Quito or Guayaquil flight are out. So are airport transfers in Quito or Guayaquil. The island hopping programmes also exclude the Galapagos flight, but their list stops at dinners, tips and personal expenses. So once you land, the arrival and departure transfers, airport to hotel to airport, are in the rate. Four exceptions matter before you open a flight search:
- Tip Top IV – flight generally included. Its rates normally already carry the Quito or Guayaquil – Galapagos ticket, return. Buy your own and a reduction of USD 350 per person applies.
- Anahi, Bonita and Hermes – we must issue the ticket. Those operators require you to book the Galapagos flight through Ecosportour. Bought elsewhere, the operator bills the penalty straight to you. Namely: USD 70 per person on the Anahi, USD 60 on the Bonita, USD 50 on the Hermes.
- Archipel I – recommended, not compulsory. If you buy the flights yourself, we cannot provide airport assistance in Quito or Guayaquil.
- La Pinta – the mainland transfer is in the rate. The rate does not cover the flight. However, it does cover a shared transfer from major hotels in Quito or Guayaquil on day 1.
The two fees nobody can waive
Every visitor pays them, per person, and on most programmes they sit outside the tour price:
- Galapagos National Park entrance fee: USD 200 for foreign visitors, USD 30 for Ecuadorian nationals.
- Transit Control Card: USD 20, issued by the Galapagos Governing Council and subject to change. You need your passport for it, so keep it out of the hold luggage.
That is USD 220 per foreign traveller on top of the tour and the flight. One boat swallows both. In fact, the Hermes rate carries the park fee, the Transit Control Card, the fuel surcharge and VIP airport access. Everywhere else, carry the money.
Open-jaw tickets: in one island, out of another
The most common ticketing mistake: several programmes do not return you to the airport you landed at. Also, a ticket to the wrong island is expensive to fix from Puerto Ayora.
- Santa Cruz and Isabela, 5 days: in and out of Baltra, so a normal return ticket works.
- Santa Cruz and San Cristobal, 5 days: in at Baltra, out of San Cristobal on day 5. Open jaw.
- Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and Espanola, 6 days: in at Baltra, out of San Cristobal on day 6. Open jaw.
- San Cristobal, Espanola and Santa Cruz, 6 days: the mirror image, in at San Cristobal, out of Baltra on day 6.
What day one looks like, and when to fly
All four island hopping programmes open the same way. First comes pick-up at 11:00 at the arrival airport, then the hotel transfer and lunch at 12:00. After that, an excursion at 14:00 and a briefing at 19:00. Plan around that 11:00 pick-up: it means a morning departure from the mainland. The afternoon depends on where you land. The three that arrive at Baltra head up to the highlands of Santa Cruz. There you see giant tortoises in the wild and the lava tunnels. You are back at the hotel by 17:00. The one that arrives at San Cristobal goes to La Loberia instead. Expect nesting marine iguanas and snorkelling from the beach at the biggest sea lion colony on the island. This time you are back at 17:30.
Island hopping has daily departures, so your flight sets the date. Cruises leave on fixed weekdays that change by boat and itinerary. For example, the La Pinta runs its 5-day Eastern route on Thursdays and the 5-day Northern on Mondays. Its 7-day route leaves on Fridays. Meanwhile, the Tip Top IV leaves Fridays for 4 days and Mondays for 5. Confirm the cabin first, then buy the flight.
Either way, sleep in Quito the night before. Flights to the islands leave in the morning, and connecting straight off a long-haul arrival leaves no margin. If the buffer becomes a free day, our day tours from Quito fill it.
What to carry in your hand luggage
Bags go through biosecurity screening before check-in on the mainland, so no fresh fruit, seeds or plants. From our island hopping packing list:
- Your passport: you need it for the Transit Control Card.
- Cash in US dollars: there are no ATMs on Isabela, and the land programmes exclude dinners, tips and personal expenses.
- Reef-safe sunscreen, hat and sunglasses: you are on the equator and mostly on the water.
Let us put the flight and the islands together
You book direct with Ecosportour, an Ecuadorian operator based in Quito. So the flight is worth sorting in the same conversation as the cabin. On the Anahi, the Bonita and the Hermes, we have to issue the ticket. On the Tip Top IV, the rate usually already carries it. Also, the itinerary fixes the airport. These packages do not cover mainland transfers or nights in Quito before and after, apart from the La Pinta pick-up. However, we can quote them alongside. Start with the Santa Cruz and Isabela island hopping page, or compare the boats in our full tour list. Better yet, send us a WhatsApp at +593 98 094 2338 with your dates. Then we will tell you which flight fits.
