Getting to the Galapagos

Every now and then, interspersed between photography and narratives, I like to post helpful information for other would-be travelers.  This post is for anyone who is thinking of visiting the Galapagos in the future.  Since I have only been here for a week, I know this is not a comprehensive tutorial, but I hope that it will be helpful, and give you an idea of what to expect in getting to the islands. 

Mixed in with a general how-to narrative, I will also mark specific tips of importance (*NOTE), so if you are a skimmer, read those.

Flights

The first hurdle in getting to the Galapagos Islands is flying in.  Most international flights land in Quito, and then you must find a connecting flight to the islands.  There are airports on 2 of the islands: Santa Cruz and San Cristobal.  Depending on which island you want to get to, it may be easier to fly to Guayaquil instead of Quito.  There are only 3 airlines that fly to the islands: AeroGal, Tame, and LAN.   Not all airlines have flights every day, and flights usually depart early in the morning.

*NOTE:  Though 3 airlines service the islands, only LAN has the capability to sell tickets online before you arrive.

It is also the most expensive.  Because of all this, it is often easier to just fly in, and buy a ticket in person, as I did.  This method does, however, require you to be flexible with time.  You may not get the exact date or time you want, but it does give you options between the three companies.  It worked perfectly for me, as I landed in Quito at 6pm and bought a flight for the next morning, staying at a hotel right next to the airport.  Upon arrival, only Tame had flights available for the dates I wanted.  The other companies required I stay longer in Quito first, or departed earlier from the islands than I had hoped.

*NOTE: you will have to buy a return flight.  In order to enter the Galapagos, they will check that you have plans to depart.

Once you have a flight, make sure you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early.  Even though it is a domestic flight, there are many precautions taken to protect the island, and you will need at least 1.5 hours before boarding.

Precautions

*NOTE: When you first arrive at the airport, do not go right to the airline window.  You must first complete 2 additional steps from the normal flight procedure.

Before they will give you your boarding pass, you must first pass through a series of preparations.  First, you will be asked to pay $10 for a tourist card.  This process is surprisingly long considering the simplicity of the form.  It took about 45 minutes before I was at the window myself.  They will start the form for you, and then you must complete the rest to hand in upon arrival in the islands.

After you have your tourist card, your bag will be screened for safety to enter the Galapagos.  They will be looking for seeds, fruits, plants, and other organic material that could have damaging effects upon the environment.  Once scanned, your bag will receive a tag verifying its approval.

Once these two steps are complete, go to the ticket window.  They will ask to see your tourist card, passport, flight information, and verification of baggage check. Then you check in as usual.

Entering the Country

The next unorthodox step, is that just before landing on the islands, the flight crew will open all of the overhead bins, and spray insecticide--also to prevent invasive epidemics.

Once you have landed, head to immigration, where they will collect your tourist card.  Here also, you will pay a $100 park fee, since the entire archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At this point, almost all precautions are done.

*NOTE: They will give you back a tourist card stub.  Hang onto this, because they will collect it when you leave. 

The last step is another bag check.  Workers will unload all of the baggage and form it in rows.  A canine crew will then come in, filing up and down the rows until they are satisfied that nothing unsavory is being shuttled in.  Once you have finished this step, you are free to go.

To Tour or Not to Tour

At this point, it's choose-your-own-adventure.  Much like my previous post about Mexican beaches and the do-it-yourself vs. resort holidays, your experience here could be just as different.  The vast majority of visitors to the island, come in packaged tours ranging from 3-8 days in length.  As you probably have guessed by now, I am not the tour type.  I've just never been able to travel in a pack.  I always had my own drummer, right mom and dad?

So, of course, with that spirit, I made my way to the islands without a tour.  If I had done a tour, I would have probably been met at the the airport by one of those happy signs with a company name on it, where henceforth, all preparations would have already been made, and I could kick back and enjoy the ride.

However,...

That's not what I did. 

So now I am on this marvelous adventure solo, and while I would probably do it the same all over again, I want to share this with you:

*NOTE: due to the great restrictions placed on travelers to protect the environment here, there are many places on the islands where foreigners are forbidden to go without a guide. 

While there is still a lot to do without a tour, you may be disappointed if there are things you cannot do without joining a group.  So, starting on Sunday, I will be joining a group.  I had the chance to see a lot of incredible things on San Cristobal (which is my next post), and I have a few days before the tour to explore the island of Santa Cruz, but there is a lot more that I want to see, and I just would not be able to see it unless I take one of these boat tours.  So, Jess will be a pack animal for once.  We'll see how that goes!  More later!