Cost of Travel to Galapagos Islands

When traveling to a major city, you’ve usually presented with a large selection of similar options. You’d be likely to have several different airlines, flight paths, and price options to choose from. 

Yet, many of the world’s most beautiful destinations which offer some of the greatest adventures are nowhere near any major city. In fact, some of these destinations may not even be anywhere near a continent. 

So is the issue for those who wish to travel to Galapagos. Options for getting to and from this remote location are going to be more limited than many other popular destinations.

Still, the Galapagos Islands offer a unique paradise of sandy beaches, beautiful sights, and an incredibly diverse array of animal life.

The uniqueness of this destination was described by Charles Darwin as “a little world within itself”.

This being so, what cost range are you looking at for just such an experience?

Cost Travel Galapagos

Factors Affecting the Cost of Travel to Galapagos

As you may have figured, the more remote a location, the more limited the options are for getting there.

The Galapagos Archipelago is part of the country of Ecuador and lies in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of its mainland. What does this mean for the price of, well, just about everything in the Galapagos Islands?

It means just about everything has to be shipped over from the mainland either by plane or on a 2-3 day journey by boat. The additional cost of shipping affects the price of everything–food, clothing, fuel, electronics, etc.

Much of the air shipping is done by the Ecuadorian Air Force, who charge around a dollar per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of goods. 

As you can imagine, this puts an increased financial burden, not only on those who wish to travel to the Galapagos, but also on the islanders living there. 

Most of these locals work in tourism, as that’s where the great majority of the Islands’ revenue is generated. To survive the high costs of local living, these locals working in tourism have a higher income. This leads to higher overall prices on the islands. 

Don’t less this dissuade you though! We know that the more fascinating info you get on this island the more you’ll want to go. Good news–as we will see, it’s still entirely possible to travel to Galapagos affordably.

Cost of Traveling to the Galapagos Islands

If you’ll be flying from the United States to the Galapagos Islands, you’ll want to get a flight to the mainland of Ecuador. This usually means flying into either one of the cities Guayaquil or Quilo. 

Using a popular flight comparison service like Kayak or Skyscanner, you can often find roundtrip flights for under $450.

From there you’ll need to book a flight or cruise to get you from the mainland to the islands. Flying roundtrip from one of the two major cities mentioned above to the Galapagos Islands will usually run you in the $300-$400 range.

Adding that together, we have flights to the Galapagos Islands from the States for well under $1000. This is comparable to, and even cheaper than traveling to many other exotic, but more mainstream locations.

For example, at the time this post was written, the cost of a roundtrip from the East Coast of the US to Thailand would cost the same as traveling to Galapagos in the same date range.

Not bad at all for one of the most sought-after, one-of-a-kind destinations in the world.

Choose the Right Adventure for You

Although it may take a little bit more logistical planning, the opportunity to travel to Galapagos is an adventure you won’t soon forget. An extra month of saving is well worth a lifetime of memories, especially when these were gained in an incredible location few people get to experience. 

Perhaps exotic beaches aren’t your thing, but you still have that travel bug. Check out our travel blog for more travel advise and get tips on just the type of adventure that suits you. 

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