Ecuador Galapagos Tours guides

Straight answers on the things visitors actually ask, verified against primary sources rather than repeated from other blogs.

Planning the visit

Budget

What a trip costs

Fixed fees, flights, ferries, day tour bands per island, and a worked seven-day total.

Timing

Best time to go

Two seasons, two very different trips. Sea temperatures, wildlife by month, and when not to go.

Compare

Cruise vs land-based

The site's central question, argued honestly with the official 2025 split.

Planning

How many days

Half-days, ferry days and what four, five, seven or ten nights really buys you.

Where to stay

Which island to stay on

Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Isabela compared as bases, plus how to split a week.

Planning

Itinerary planning

Day-by-day 5, 7 and 10-day plans built on real tours, and the ferry maths behind them.

Sustainability

Galapagos eco tours

Why the eco label means less than you think here, and the four things that actually separate operators.

Wildlife

Galapagos wildlife tours

Every headline species paired with where it lives, the months it appears, and the day tour that realistically reaches it.

Logistics

Island hopping

The ferry network, the routes that do not exist, luggage on the lanchas, and how the cost stacks up against a cruise.

Questions people ask

Packing

What to Pack

The full list, plus the items the biosecurity inspection will take off you at the airport.

Logistics

Entry Rules & Flights

Park fee, transit card, airports, airlines, the biosecurity check and the ferries between islands.

Families

Galapagos with kids

Fees, tour suitability by age, seasickness, the 2 metre rule, and what to do instead of a long boat day.

Accessibility

Galapagos for seniors

Wet landings, panga transfers, swell and trail difficulty, plus the tours that are genuinely gentle.

Accommodation

Where to stay

The three port towns compared on price, atmosphere, pier distance and the day tours each one puts within reach.

Diving

Galapagos diving

What is genuinely divable on a day trip, what needs a liveaboard, and the certification and temperature realities behind both.

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