Ecuador - Galapagos Islands - Transportation

Transportation is one of the most important aspects of trip planning. While Galapagos Islands may seem to be far away from the real world, it has its own system allowing you to explore on your own.

Welcome to Galapagos at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz

Arriving at Galapagos Islands 

There are three airports for Galapagos Islands: 

Seymour Airport on Baltra Island. Airport code GPS
San Cristobal Airport on San Cristobal Island. Airport code SCY
Emetebe on Isabela Island

Seymour Airport

Most people fly to either Seymour airport or San Cristobal airport from the mainland. I flew to Seymour airport from Quito and below is my experience of the process:

Leaving from Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito:

1. Pay the airport tax

• The airport tax is $20 per person
• You will pay this bill at a separate office by the entrance when you enter the domestic flight building. There is a sign up top say Galapagos Islands
• Upon payment, you will receive a paper called the in-transit slip, which you will need to keep with you and scan when you leave Galapagos Islands

2. Go through the inspection next to the office where you pay the airport tax

• This is a separate inspection for going to Galapagos Islands. It is prohibited to bring any fruit, seeds, plants, and other products that will potentially be introduced to the islands and thus damage the ecosystem at Galapagos Islands. Check out the list of products prohibited.
• If you are checking in bags, tell the inspector and they will put a yellow cable tie around the luggage zipper after inspection

3. Check in at the counter
4. Go to boarding gate and security check

Tips and suggestions:

• The whole process can take a while. From Quito to the airport itself is almost an hour taxi ride. Then going through the process at airport can take another hour or so. Therefore, I would suggest planning at least three hours, including your transportation time to airport from Quito

Arriving at Seymour airport at Isla Baltra:

1. Upon arrival at Seymour airport, go through custom

• There are two people at the custom desk. The first one is for reviewing your passport. The second one is for collecting the entrance fee. 
• The entrance fee is $100 per person (adult)
• It is okay to use one hundred dollar bill to pay

2. Proceed to carry-on bag inspection

• You will be asked to open your carry on luggage to check whether there is any prohibited products
• You will also hand in the declaration form. If you didn't have a chance to fill one out beforehand, there are more slips and pens on the side for you

3. Proceed to baggage claim

• You will need to wait even though you see luggage are all lined up on the luggage carousel
• An inspector will come with a dog to smell and check each individual bag
• Upon completion, you can then take your luggage

Waiting for dog to inspect luggage

4. Now you can leave the airport. Right outside of the airport, you will see buses waiting. Simply give the luggage to the driver to store under the bus, then hop on the bus

• The bus is free and it will take you to the Itabaca Channel, where you will then take a ferry to cross the channel
• It only takes about 10 minutes from airport to the channel

Free bus heading to Itabaca Channel

5. Take a ferry to cross Itabaca Channel. To my knowledge there is no ferry schedule. They constantly go back and forth, so no need to worry about missing the ferry

• Upon arrival at Itabaca Channel, you will pick up your luggage from the bus. Then hand over your luggage to the people on top of the boat
• They will put your luggage on top of the boat. Although there is nothing tying down the luggage, don't worry about them falling into water because the boat sails very slowly
• It might be crowded on the boat, but each person will be given a life jacket
• You will pay one dollar for this portion of transportation. Someone will come collect the money during transit
• It only takes about 10 minutes to the other side of channel

Beautiful Itabaca Channel

Arrive at the dock

People who just got off the boat heading to the airport and the boat waiting for us

Your luggage will be placed safely on top of the boat

6. Arrive at the other side of the Itabaca Channel

• Pick up your luggage
• You have two options from there to get to the town. One is via bus. The other way is via taxi. The taxi is white pick up truck and it costs $25 one-way

Taxi waiting by the pier

7. If you decide to take the bus, you will simply store your luggage under the bus and hop on the bus heading to Puerto Ayora. To my knowledge there is no schedule for the bus. They probably match to the flight arrival times, so will be there for you when you arrive.

• You will pay $2 to the bus driver during transit
• The town center is the last stop
• The bus ride takes about 45 minutes

The bus taking you to Puerto Ayora

8. Upon arrival at the town center, you can either walk to your hotel / hostel or you can take a taxi for $2 to your hostel / hotel

Beautiful scenery on the way to Puerto Ayora

Arriving downtown Puerto Ayora

Leaving the Galapagos Islands from Puerto Ayora 

There is only one bus a day leaving from the downtown Puerto Ayora (the same place where you were dropped off before) to Itabaca Channel. The departure time is 7 in the morning. If you miss the bus, you can always take the taxi to the channel. The rest is easy, just the reverse of how you arrive.

Inter-Island Transportation

If you want to visit San Cristobal or Isabela Island from Santa Cruz, you will take a ferry. The pier is locating at downtown Puerto Ayora (Ave Charles Darwin & Ave Baltra). Each ride one-way is about 2 hours and cost $30 one-way. You can buy the boat tickets at travel agency in downtown.

Tourists heading to the pier for inter-island ferry ride

Departure time schedule and cost

It is recommended to buy your tickets in advance, so that your spot on the boat is secured. However, it can get a bit chaotic, so plan additional time, even an additional day in case of any miscommunication or issue not allowing you to take the boat ride.

Before you get to the boat, you will first go through inspection. You will be asked to open the bags and after inspection the inspector will put a yellow cable tie around the zipper of your luggage. This is simply to ensure you are not bringing any fruits, seeds, or products that will introduce species to another island. Be aware that each island at Galapagos Islands is unique and treated as itself. Therefore, even inter islands is strict on what you can bring in and out.

Inspection station

After you pass inspection, you will look for the sign to see which pier you should be waiting at. Always double check with the boat crews in case they have some sudden changes. Give your name to the boat crew. They should have your name on the list if you buy the ticket in advance. If not, you may need to purchase again. Once your name is checked, they will give you a badge to board the boat.

The sign at the top show you where you need to wait

The badge you will be given once validated you are to board the boat

At Puerto Ayora and Isabela Island, you will need to first board the water taxi to get to your ferry. The water taxi is about 50 cents one-way.

The water taxi taking you to the ferry