How Much Does It Cost to Go to the Galapagos Islands? Our Galapagos Trip Cost

Galapagos Islands Trip Cost

Without further ado, let’s talk about everything you need to know for your Galapagos vacation cost.

Galapagos Trip Cost Factors

Before we dive into the details of flights, cruises, etc. we need to talk about some things that are important to know ahead of time. 

1. The Galapagos Islands use USD. The official currency of Ecuador (and the Galapagos Islands) is the USD. So there is no exchange rate difference if you already use USD. If you have Euro or GBP, even better (because you’ve got a better exchange rate)! For AUD or CAD, it’s less so. Check exchange rates on XE (or Google).

2. Timing matters. Are you flexible and can book last minute? Congrats! You can find great last-minute deals on cruises and land tours in the Galapagos. But if you have to figure out time off work and dates you can take off, you’ll likely pay more (it’s okay, we had to do this too).

Cost of Flights to the Galapagos

Now this largely depends on if you’re booking a tour or not. If you book a tour, it will likely include your flights to the Galapagos and back from Quito (but not all of them do). 

If you’re paying for flights to/from the Galapagos from Quito, you’re looking at around $275-485 per person round trip.

On the other hand, flights to/from Quito from wherever you’re coming from are NOT included in most land or cruise tours. So you’ll have to factor that in your budget.

And this can vary greatly depending on when you visit and where you’re coming from. We spent around $1,455 each on roundtrip flights to Quito from Cleveland. However, we also were flying right after Christmas as we spent a week in Quito prior, celebrating the New Year, before going to the Galapagos.

However, there are flights as low as $650 each or so round trip. Now this is from a mid-size US city. 

From a place like New York, you’re looking at $400-800 each depending when you visit. 

Check flight prices on Skyscanner here!

Cost of Flights to the Galapagos:

• To/From Quito: $400-1,500 per person round trip.
• To/From Galapagos: $0 (if included in tour)-485 per person round trip.

Cost of Galapagos Tours

Now this can vary widely depending on what kind of tour, how long you go for, etc. 

Galapagos Cruise Costs

Our tour was $7,499 per person when we booked it. We also booked 1.5 years in advance. So the trip we went on in January 2025 was booked around July 2023. Yes, I am aware we like to plan in advance typically.

These days, a similar trip would cost $8,599 per person. This is the cruise we booked for the western and central islands.

However, if you’re planning more last-minute and have flexibility, you can get it for $7,599 for this cruise only 1.5 months out.

For a cruise like this one to the north, west, and central islands it is closer to $7,000 per person. Or one that goes to the north, central, and south islands is around $5,800 per person. Or a shorter cruise to the north and central islands can be around $4,200 per person.

Now the cruises that are 10 days (including Quito, so it really is a 7-day cruise) vary in price likely based on the cruise ship itself. If it is a more luxurious, upgraded cruise, then it’ll cost more than a more basic cruise.

That being said, these are also all small ship cruises of about 16 passengers max. I highly recommend these types of cruises as it feels more intimate and less crowded. Just you, a small group, and the sea/land.

However, there are larger 100-person ships as well. But it is more crowded (and sometimes more expensive than smaller ships!). That being said, a cruise like Celebrity Cruises is around $9,000 per person!

It does include all tips, park fees, meals, and drinks on the ship, though, so that helps. Whereas a smaller cruise ship (like ours) doesn’t typically include tips, fees, and drinks (although meals are included). 

Land Tours in the Galapagos Cost

Here is where things get a little cheaper. Some tours can be as little as $2,300 per person, making it far more reasonable for those on a budget (note this is for ages 18-39 only). These can also include things like breakfasts, hotels, transportation, and excursions. 

Upgraded land tours like this one can be around $4,600 per person. And for those on a smaller budget, if you book a land tour that doesn’t include your flights to/from the Galapagos, it can cost only $1,600 per person (this is also ages 18-39)!

Cost of Cruises and Land Tours in the Galapagos:

• Cruises: $4,200-9,000+ depending on the ship and company you go through.
• Land tours: $1,600-4,600 depending on length and if doing more budget or not.

Extra Fees You NEED to Budget For in the Galapagos

So you’ve got your flights and cruise/tour booked. Now you think you’re golden. Except…most tours do NOT include a couple of essential fees that you need to get into the Galapagos. Here they are:

• Galapagos Park Fee: This is their national park fee that is required to be paid in cash upon arrival in the Galapagos. This costs $200 per person.
• Transit Control Card: You’ll get this at the airport in Quito and you’ll need to save it to get into and out of the Galapagos (don’t worry, if you lose it while leaving to go back to Quito they can look you up, it just takes longer). This costs $20 in cash, and they will ask for this transit card upon arrival and exit. Your guide will likely get this for you (you just give them the money), but if you’re on your own, there is a place to do this in the Quito airport.

Yes, these are fees to be paid in cash! So cash is something you’ll definitely need to have on you. And you’re going to want to budget for these extra fees in the cost of your trip. 

Note: Some cruises, like Celebrity Cruises, may include these in your overall cost (check ahead of time). Still bring cash just in case, though!

Extra fees: 

$220 per person for the Galapagos Park Fee and Transit Control Card.

Tipping in the Galapagos

While you’re not going to get in trouble for not tipping, it is usually expected and very much appreciated. 

GAdventures recommended $150 per person for the guide and $150 per person for the ship crew, which is what we did. That means we spent $300 per person, or $600 just in tipping for the cruise.

If you do a land tour, you’ll likely need to tip your guide and any other people involved in getting you from A to B. 

Note: Luxury cruises like Celebrity Cruises include tipping.

Tipping in the Galapagos Budget: 

$300 per person for a week-long tour of the Galapagos (this was a 10-day tour overall, including Quito).

Extra Things to Budget For:

You know how I said to bring a lot of cash? Well, that is because you’ll need more while you’re in the Galapagos for things like:

• Souvenirs
• Food (If not covered-on land tours lunches and dinners aren’t always covered. On cruises they are covered).
• Drinks (On more luxury cruises like Celebrity Cruises this is covered, whereas alcohol wasn’t covered on our cruise).
• Emergencies (Always bring extra cash in case of emergencies).

Overall, we ended up bringing $1,000 in cash each for the mandatory fees (discussed above), tipping (discussed above), and the extra things mentioned above. We only spent about $700 per person total, but having extra cash helped. 

Note: Our cruise did have a working credit card machine for drinks (and other cruises may too), but GAdventures said to have cash in case it doesn’t work. So just bring cash regardless.

Cost of Extras in the Galapagos:

$480 per person is a good idea for souvenirs, drinks, and emergencies. If you need to budget for food for a land-based tour, that will be more. 

For land based tours, GAdventures recommends $300-390 extra per person for food. I’d round that up to $400 per person. 

Travel Insurance For the Galapagos

Now, we ended up spending 2 weeks in Ecuador with the first week staying in Quito and doing day trips. So our travel insurance was about $183 per person with World Nomads.

However, for a 10-day Galapagos trip (including Quito, 7 days in the Galapagos), I’d expect somewhere around $118 at a minimum. That is for the standard plan with World Nomads. Get a quote here!

Note: You have to have travel insurance for this trip for most tours! And just make sure that whatever quote you get matches their requirements for travel insurance coverage.

Other Things You May Need to Budget For:

Yes, there may be other things you’ll need to budget for when it comes to travel to the Galapagos. However, this can vary by person, so I can’t give full costs of this. But here are other things you may want to consider in your Galapagos budget.

• Travel around Ecuador/South America before/after the Galapagos. We spent a full week in Quito and took day trips so that made our total cost more expensive.
• Supplies you may need. Do you need sunscreen? A camera? GoPro? Want to bring your own snorkel gear? Hiking shoes? If you need to purchase things for your trip, you’ll need to factor that into your budget (or not if you already have these things)!

How Much Does It Cost to Go to the Galapagos Islands?

Now that I’ve broken it down by category, how much does it cost to visit the Galapagos Islands? Here are estimated costs totaled up based on cruise and land.

• Galapagos Cruise Cost: Between $5,718-11,098 per person depending on the type of cruise. Remember, the more luxurious cruises also include fees and tipping. If your flights to/from the Galapagos aren’t included in your tour, be sure to add $485 per person as an estimate. 

• Galapagos Land Tour Cost: Between $4,003-7,618 per person depending on the type, length, etc. of the tour. 

How Much Did We Spend in the Galapagos?

Now I had to pull out our portion of the Galapagos from the rest of our 2-week trip. But for our flights, cruise, insurance, and other costs, we ended up spending around $9,772 per person just for the Galapagos cruise.

Of the $1,000 we brought each for the park fee, transit card, tipping, and insurance, we ended up spending maybe $700 per person instead, so this brought our extra costs (souvenirs, beers, etc.) down to $180 each too. However, I recommend budgeting the full $480 for extras (aside from food on a land based tour, you’ll want to budget more for that) because you want extra cash in case of emergencies.

Also, this was when the price of the cruise we went on was only $7,499 in 2023. It has since gone up to $8,599. So today’s cost of going would be closer to $10,872 per person. 

If you want to know how much our full Ecuador trip was, it was closer to $11,400 per person for our full 2 weeks including staying in Quito for a week, taking day trips to Mindo Cloud Forest and Cotopaxi, going on a food tour, eating in Quito, sightseeing there, etc. As you can see, the bulk of that cost was the Galapagos Islands.

Why Are Galapagos Cruises So Expensive?

I know, Galapagos cruises are NOT cheap by any means. I’m not saying you can’t catch a good deal either last-minute or even when GAdventures or other cruises have sales (definitely look on Black Friday to see what they have too!). 

But…Galapagos cruises are by no means cheap. Why?

For starters, the Galapagos Islands have strict rules on how many people can be in any given place at any given time (other than inhabited places). Cruises also have schedules that are given to them by the authorities. 

This means that cruises have to be small (they are capped at 100 people), and the number of boats limited as they cap the number of people allowed on shore to many sites at any given time.

This means that there is a big demand for those wishing to visit…but not a lot of availability for everyone. So prices have increased because of it.

Plus, there is a rule that for every 16 guests, there has to be a naturalist guide. So groups are small going around.

Another reason is that the Galapagos Islands are pretty remote. This means pretty much everything has to be flown or shipped in. So food, drinks, and a lot of things are going to be more expensive.

Also, even smaller ships require several crew members to keep things running smoothly. Our 16-passenger boat had around 11 people working (including our guide). While mega large cruise ships (think Caribbean cruises) have several guests splitting all the costs of the crew and ship, smaller ships have to share more of the cost.

Plus, there are expensive fees to even get into the Galapagos (the park fee) because of conservation efforts. This area is teeming with pristine flora and fauna and they are working hard to keep it that way. 

And lastly, you’re getting an incredible chance to see some of the most unique and diverse wildlife and plant life around! And there is a LOT of it! So yes, like other wildlife adventure destinations (like going on a safari, gorilla trekking, the Amazon Rainforest), it tends to be higher in price.

Is a Galapagos Cruise Worth It?

We definitely thought so! But I won’t lie, it was a lot of money. The only trip we’ve ever taken that was more expensive than this was spending 2 weeks in Uganda and Kenya going gorilla and chimp trekking and going on safari. 

Travel is my job, but it is both Chris and I’s passion. So we save up for big trips like these. We definitely don’t do them every year, and we space it out with more affordable trips too. But we love wildlife, adventure, and snorkeling, so we knew we had to do this at least once in our lives.

But…I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re going to want to come back! 

So yes, we thought it was all worth it. In all my life, I have never seen wildlife conservation taken so seriously and so much care taken for the life on these islands.

The memories we made from being surrounded by sea turtles, swimming with sharks, witnessing several magnificent frigatebirds puff out their red chests, having our paddle get attacked by a flightless cormorant, and even just the stunning landscapes and gorgeous sunrises on the sea made everything so perfect.

But I realize that it isn’t something you can sporadically decide to do if you don’t have the cash. 

And if you really want to go and can’t afford a cruise, there are several options for land tours too! The chance to see the Galapagos as a couple for around $8,000? That is a phenomenal deal! And land tours offer a lot of great options. You seriously will be impressed everywhere you go in the Galapagos- there really is no wrong way to visit whether by land or on a cruise.

And you can save even more money by potentially doing it all yourselves! I’m not sure I recommend that, as it is a lot to organize, but you certainly could!

I hope this helps you with determining costs for your Galapagos cruise! Let me know if you have more questions!

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