Though Alma Healing Center specializes in Ecuador ayahuasca ceremonies and spiritual retreats, many of our guests inquire about the Galapagos Islands and one question that comes up more than the others is: How much does it cost to go to the Galapagos Islands? We developed the following Galapagos Trip Calculator to help you estimate how much to set aside for your trip to the Galapagos Islands.
Please note: this calculator is meant for budget travelers to the Galapagos Islands that plan to go on day tours, not cruises.
If you’re not planning to experience the Galapagos on a budget, expect to pay a lot more during your stay there.
Also, if you’d like help booking day tours in the Galapagos Islands, we work with an excellent provider, Christian from ChokoTrip. He offers A TON of useful info on his travel blog and also personally helps book your tours. He’s very responsive and ensures quick turnaround.
Without further ado, here is our Galapagos Island Trip Calculator for budget travelers:
Galapagos Trip Calculator – What’s included in our calculations?
Again, this calculator doesn’t account for ALL factors, so make sure to add and/or subtract costs using the following general breakdown of our calculations.
Airfare: The Galapagos Trip Calculator includes an estimate of airfare from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Baltra Airport in the Galapagos Islands. If bought in advance, or when there are special deals through the airlines, you can get round trip tickets from Guayaquil to Baltra for as low as $300 per person – this is the price we included in our calculations for foreign tourists. This can increase to $600 during high season (example: Christmas/New Years). The Calculator does not include flight costs from your country of origin.
If you’re Ecuadorian or have an Ecuadorian cédula, you can access even cheaper tickets, though this will largely depend on season as well.
Galapagos National Park entrance fees: This is another cost everyone must pay when visiting the Galapagos Islands. Foreign tourists must pay a whopping $100, members of the Andean Community or Mercosur must pay $50 and those with an Ecuadorian cédula pay $6.
Note that children under 12 pay half price for the National Park entrance fee.
Meals: The Galapagos Trip Calculator estimates the cost of lunch and dinner meals. Budget lunch meals on the Galapagos cost about $5 per person, and budget dinner meals cost around $10 per person. Breakfasts are usually included with hostal costs and haven’t been included.
Note that if you splurge on food, your trip estimate will increase significantly.
Day tours not cruises: The Galapagos Trip Calculator does not include the price of cruise tours. It does, however, include the costs of about one day tour every other day. Day tour prices vary from about $120-$300, also depending on whether you find availability on a low cost tour or end up selecting a luxury tour.
The estimate used in this calculator for day tours is a low one, assuming you find and select the lowest costing day tours on each Island. If you plan to add more day tours to your itinerary, the trip estimate will increase significantly. On the days you don’t do day tours, there are other activities you can plan, some are even completely FREE – check out this Galapagos Low Cost Guide on ChokoTrip.
Accommodation: The Galapagos Trip Calculator accounts for the cost of a $25 hostal per night per person. You can camp in some locations, which might save you money, though it isn’t that common on the Galapagos Islands.
What Galapagos day tours should you go on?
If you only have 7 days on the Galapagos Islands, try to make it on a Santa Fe Island tour and Bartolomé Island tour from Santa Cruz Island. On Isabela Island, make sure you check out the Tuneles Cabo Rosa tour.
(These tours are included in the estimate using the Galapagos Trip Calculator above for a 1 week stay on the Galapagos Islands.)
Again, all of these day tours can be booked through ChokoTrip.
Are the Galapagos Islands expensive to visit? Use our Galapagos Trip Calculator to find out.
We’re not going to lie: the Galapagos Islands are an expensive destination, considering the many other places worldwide that you can visit on a budget. That said, a visit to the Galapagos Islands is a ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME experience and worth saving for.
If you’re planning on going diving every day, splurging on meals and drinks, staying at expensive hotels and going on cruises, expect to spend many thousands of dollars, per person, on your Galapagos Islands vacation.
However, if you prefer to travel on a budget, eat like a local, explore on foot and book day tours on standard vessels, you can spend less than $1,100 per person over a 5 day period on the Galapagos (again, not counting airfare from your country of origin).
