Galapagos - part 2 - Completely Affordable

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Again I´m sorry for the number of Photos. What can I say it´s the Galapagos!

COSTS
For any one thinking they can not afford the Galapagos, you are talking to the wrong people.
We were trying to book our trip to Galapagos while in Quito and were told by a couple travel agents that there was nothing available for at least a month or two. We were told there are some economical boats that may have some last minute space, these ranged from 4 to 8 days and cost from $1700 to $3200 plus flight plus park fee. This was way above what we had budgeted to spend there.
We asked about hostels and hotels on the islands. We here told it´s high season everything is full or prices are pushed up.
The only flights available at that point were to San Cristobal which is the smaller of the two main islands (the main tourist one being on Santa Cruz) but we were cautioned that it is difficult to book any tours from San Cristobal. We decided that where there is a will there is a way so we booked a flight out to the island of San Cristobal ($398 return, plus a $10 fee before boarding the plane and the $100 park fee when you arrive) and hoped there would be something available when we got there. From the airport its a 10 minute walk to the boardwalk where we found a number of hostels and hotels with rooms available. The first hostel (Hotel San Fransisco) we stopped at had rooms available $10 single, $15 for a double, others were high priced but most were around $40. There were also plenty of good restaurants in every price range. As for it being high season the town was not busy at all, very chilled out, apparently all of the tourists were on the cruise ships!
Of course while you are there you will want to visit the other islands as well, as each has their own character and wildlife. There are boats that travel between the Islands everyday that cost between $20 to $30 one way. We decided to see be the other island via a 4 day island hoping tour which cost $400/person. This tour included transportation to the other 3 main islands, lodging, meals, tour guides and trips to different spots on the islands as well as a couple of snorkeling stops between islands. It was well worth the money. We booked this in San Cristobal the tour company was Sharksky Tours(www.sharksky.com)
One of the things we really liked about staying on the island and the tour we took is that the money we spent actually went to the people living on the islands. The problem is with the big tours and cruises which you purchase in Quito or Guayaquil most of the money stays there, and the people that live in the Galapagos see virtually non of it. which does not seem fair, It´s their land and waters that are getting used and abused.

Cheers
Tim and Meagan

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Photos

lonesome george
He´s the last of his spieces. He was found living all alone, the last tortoise left on his island.

Comments

[laetitiaaroundtheworld]

Great blog!
Well done Tim and Meagan! Great blog and amazing shoots...Glad to see that there are options to visit Galapagos in a more affordable way! Might be able to get there earlier than expected thanks to your advices! Have you seen any diving school that offer day trip in the Island where you stayed? Cheers

[Gail]

Thank you
for your very interesting blog and awesome pictures!!!!!!