Your Once in a Lifetime Trip to the Galapagos Islands on a Budget

Known for its endemic species of giant tortoises, blue and red-footed boobie birds, colourful marine iguanas, the Galapagos offer visitors some of the most unique wildlife encounters in the world. Until recently I have worked as a Latin America sales specialist for a large tour operator. I have put together numerous Galapagos itineraries negotiating prices with suppliers, cruise companies and ground agents. I am super excited to finally share some of the industry knowledge I gained to make your trip unforgettable while keeping your Galapagos trip cost to the minimum! So how can you experience the Galapagos Islands on a budget?

How can you keep your Galapagos trip cost down?

How to best explore the Galapagos Islands on a budget?

There are three ways to explore the Galapagos:

• On a budget or mid-range cruise
• On a land-based trip taking ferries between the small number of inhabited islands 
• Mix of the above- a few days on a cruise followed by land-based excursions (The best option!)

Regardless which way you decide to travel around the islands, a trip to this unique place comes at a cost. Travelling to the Galapagos is generally expensive, especially in case you decide to explore the islands exclusively on a cruise. But luckily there are many great ways to keep the Galapagos trip cost to a minimum. Normally as a rough estimate, a week long boat trip on a mid-range yacht or catamaran, plus a couple of nights in Quito prior and including all flights and transport can set you back around $5000- $6000 USD per person (at least!).

The good news is that a trip there doesn’t have to stay a lifelong distant dream. There are great ways to explore the Galapagos Islands on a budget! 

Floreana Island – Galapagos Islands on a budget

Sea Lions on South Plaza Island Galapagos

So based on my experience, spending a few days on a cruise and then adding a few more days on one of the inhabited islands, is the best option both for your experience and your wallet.  let’s look at how to make your once in a lifetime Galapagos Islands on a budget trip happen!

Want to experience the Galapagos Islands on a budget? Travel in low season

While Galapagos is a year round destination, the sea state gets quite choppy between June and October.

Oftentimes cruise operators offer high discounts for cruises over the summer months between June and August to get their cabins filled. When I was still selling Galapagos holidays, I would often see 2 for 1 discounts, 50% off last minute and free domestic flights from Quito to the Galapagos during that time. That means potential savings of of hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Travelling the Galapagos Islands on a budget by booking last minute

So to discover the Galapagos Islands on a budget without losing out on amazing experiences, travel over the summer months. If you’re going for a cruise, make sure you’ve got good sea legs and don’t mind being gently rocked to sleep during the night’s passages. 

Another advantage of travelling over the summer is the wildlife – between June and August the Flightless Cormorants, Red and Blue Footed Boobies start mating and nesting. Spotting whales and dolphins is also more common during this time.

Marine Iguana sunbathing – Floreana Island

Book directly if you decide for a land-based Galapagos itinerary (no cruise)

Booking through a tour operator or travel agent generally gives you a valuable safety net in case something goes wrong. When it comes to flight schedule changes, delays, cancellations or other operational problems before or during the trip, they will help. Nonetheless, as a ballpark figure, tour operators and travel agencies mark their trips up by about 12%-22%, Frankly, otherwise there wouldn’t be any reason for them to stay in business. And for the most part it is worth paying a little extra on top for the service and the safety net you receive.

However, when deciding for a solely land-based trip, it will be worth trying to organise the flights, accommodation and excursions yourself as it is fairly straight forward. For instance let’s say there is a flight delay or cancellation, you simply wouldn’t have to worry about not catching your cruise, so there is much less risk involved. If you opt to book your trip yourself, make sure you have got good travel insurance in place in case of any problems.

Day tours instead of cruises, such as a day trip to Floreana Island will keep your Galapagos trip cost in check

Opting for a land based Galapagos tour rather than cruise will keep your Galapagos trip cost low

The best way to keep your Galapagos trip cost minimal? Book last minute

Having worked in sales before, I know for a fact that your travel consultant will tell you to book as long in advance as possible, especially for the Galapagos Islands.

And I do agree with this in case you’ve got your eye on a specific yacht or catamaran, if you’re travelling as a group or if you’re just very inflexible with your dates.

However, if you’re not eyeing in on a specific boat or catamaran  or are reasonably flexible with your dates travelling with two people max, then you can get amazing discounts when booking roughly one to three months in advance. Most cruise companies will rather offer a pretty good discount than leaving one of their cabins empty. A good starting point for this are the cruise operators Metropolitan or Latin Trails, one of the best tour operators I had the pleasure working with in Ecuador.

Sunrise on South Plaza Island – Galapagos Islands on a budget

Land-based and free excursions

If you scroll back up you’ll see that if the budget allows it, I personally recommend spending a few days exploring the islands on a cruise followed by some island hopping between the three inhabited islands – Santa Cruz, Isabela and San Cristobal.

However, if the budget is the main concern, then a land-based itinerary is the best option to keep the Galapagos trip cost low. While you might not get to see some parts of the archipelago only accessible by boat, there are many places around Santa Cruz that can be reached on day trips, such as Santa Fé, Plazas and Bartolomé Island. Some tour companies even organise day trips to the southern islands of Floreana and Española.

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island – The perfect base for your Galapagos Islands on a budget adventure

Keen to see as many species as possible? Don’t worry! In fact, you should be able to see the majority of endemic species even if you decide against a cruise to save some money.

There is really only a handful of species that can be exclusively found on certain islands tough to reach on a purely land-based trip. These species include the Galapagos Albatross, American Flamingo or Flightless Cormorant. However, even if you decide to only stick around the archipelago’s three inhabited islands, with a little bit of luck you should be able to encounter the majority of species endemic to the Galapagos. 

Lastly, a decent mid-to high-end hotel in Puerto Ayora, such as the new Ikala hotel will set you back by around $220 per night per room. Accommodation options on Isabela and San Cristobal Island are a lot more reasonably priced and will lower your Galapagos trip cost. Luckily, there is also a wide range of budget accommodation on each of the inhabited islands. 

So follow the above the recommendations and exploring the Galapagos Islands on a budget won’t stay a distant dream! Have a look at my ideal land-based Galapagos hopping itinerary here.