Flying to the Galápagos Islands: Tips from Our Experience

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Disclaimer #2: Always confirm all details on the Galápagos with your tour company or cruise ship company. Things change often and you always want to ensure you have the latest information prior to booking your trip and prior to departing.

Kevin and I took a trip to the Galápagos Islands in November 2024. It was such a fantastic experience! However, flying to the Galápagos and then getting from Seymour Airport on Baltra Island to Santa Cruz Island (Puerto Ayora) was quite the experience – read our entire journey here. We should have researched this part of the trip, as most of our focus was on what to see in the Galápagos Islands. Therefore, I put together this guide on flying to the Galápagos Islands, so you learn from our not-so-elegant experience.

Flying to the Galápagos Islands

Flying to the Galápagos Islands requires you to fly into one of two airports on the islands: Seymour Airport (airport code GPS) on Baltra Island (also known as Baltra Airport or Santa Cruz Island Airport) or San Cristóbal Airport (airport code SCY) on San Cristóbal Island. Note that both airports only accept domestic flights from within Ecuador (the Galápagos Islands are part of Ecuador). If you are visiting from outside Ecuador, such as Americans and Europeans, you must fly to Quito or Guayaquil first and then transfer to a domestic flight to the Galápagos.

LATAM and Avianca are the only two airlines flying to the Galápagos from mainland Ecuador. Both airlines have flights from Quito and Guayaquil, and both airlines serve Seymour Airport and San Cristóbal Airport. However, only Seymour Airport has non-stop flights from Quito. Thus, there are three non-stop routes to the Galápagos:

• Quito to Seymour Airport (Baltra/Santa Cruz Island)
• Guayaquil to Seymour Aiport
• Guayaquil to San Cristóbal

LATAM advertises flights from Quito to San Cristóbal and from Quito to Baltra Airport, however these flights make a short stop in Guayaquil to pick up passengers. You won’t have to transfer planes if you choose this flight, but note that it is not non-stop. From Quito, only Avianca’s flight to Baltra Airport is truly non-stop (and the flight we took).

Another thing to note is that almost all of these flights leave mainland Ecuador early in the morning. There are no flights to the Galápagos leaving after around noon. This is key because if you intend to fly to Ecuador and then immediately transfer to a flight to the Galápagos, you probably won’t be able to. You’ll most likely need to spend a night in Quito or Guayaquil and plan on flying to the Galápagos the following morning. The same is true in the reverse, as most flights leave the Galápagos mid-morning to early afternoon. (Read our review of the Holiday Inn Quito Airport for a recommendation on where to stay.)

Which Airport to Choose?

How do you know which airport to fly into? It depends on what you intend to do once you get to the Galápagos. If you are taking a Galápagos cruise, the best bet is to ask your cruise company which airport to fly into. We flew into Baltra Airport because our cruise ship departed from Baltra Island. The same is true if your boat departs from Santa Cruz Island. However, if your cruise departs from San Cristóbal Island, fly into San Cristóbal.

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If you aren’t taking a cruise but will explore the islands on your own, it really depends on where you want to base yourself and your hotel. Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is the largest city in the Galápagos, but let’s be honest. With only 12,000 people, it is a tiny city. Puerto Ayora has hostels and fancy hotels, including the Finch Bay Hotel, where we stayed. If you stay in or near Puerto Ayora, you’ll want to fly into Seymour Airport.

On the other hand, if you will be visiting San Cristóbal Island or its main city, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, then you’ll fly into San Cristóbal Airport. Note that Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the administrative capital of the Galápagos Islands province and also the home to the Charles Darwin Research Center.

Booking Flights through Your Travel Agent

Note that your cruise company or travel agent will recommend you book the flights with them. One advantage to this is that you will be traveling with others on your cruise. If your flight gets delayed or canceled, the tour company will ensure you get to your cruise another way (confirm this in writing with your tour company). You don’t have this same protection if you book your own tickets, so we had to stay the night before our cruise in the Galápagos. I wanted to travel the day before our cruise to avoid the stress of having everything go perfectly – it is just too much.

On the other hand, a disadvantage is that the flights are probably marked up. Our travel agent quoted flight prices around twice as much as Avianca’s online pricing. Furthermore, I wanted to redeem our frequent flyer miles through Avianca, and I could only do so on my own. As such, I booked the flights on my own. Of course, you could argue that the money I saved booking the flights went towards the hotel, so I came out even in the end.

One idea is to ask the tour company what flight they use and then book that flight but on your own. In theory, if that flight gets delayed or stuck, you are in the same boat situation as everyone else. But I can’t guarantee that the tour company will still come to your rescue, so this is 100% at your own risk unless your tour company guarantees this in writing. Ultimately, you want your Galápagos experience to be magical and stress-free – don’t create your own stress by cutting corners and being cheap.

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Airport Procedures on the Mainland

Before even flying to the Galápagos, things start to get complicated. To give a little background, the Galápagos Islands are a national park in Ecuador. Thus, when you fly into the Galápagos, you essentially land in the national park itself. The islands and the park are one and the same: they aren’t separate entities for practical purposes (legally, they are separated, but you don’t care about the subtleties of Ecuadorian law, I presume).

Ecuador declared the Galápagos a national park to preserve its unique biodiversity and ecosystem, a noble cause. I am also sure it was done to keep the tourism dollars flowing, as the Galápagos Islands highly depend on tourism to keep the economy moving. (Side note: we spoke to several locals during our trip who all said tourism was down significantly in the Galápagos in 2024, hurting the local economy. This is most unfortunate as the Galápagos are truly amazing.)

Step-by-Step Process Before Flying to the Galápagos

Before flying to the Galápagos, you must do three things:

Step 1: Pre-register your Galápagos Transit Control Card

After you have booked your flights and your accommodations or cruise, you need to pre-register your trip with the Government of the Galápagos Islands. Pre-register at this government link. If you need help, you can read these instructions in English. Note that you have to register your flights and your accommodations. It isn’t good enough to just book your flights and wing it once you are there. If you are booking a cruise, your cruise counts as your accommodations.

Remember these tips:

• Note that tourists are strictly limited to no more than a 60-day stay in the Galápagos as of 2024. Do not overstay!
• If you are a foreigner with Ecuadorian residency, please pre-register using your Ecuadorian cédula, not your passport. If you register with your passport, it may cost you dearly once you get to the Galápagos. If you don’t have Ecuadorian residency, then register with your passport.
• The Transit Control Card is called the Tarjeta de Control de Tránsito in Spanish. Hence, the initials TCT, even in English.

Step 2: Pay the $20 TCT fee at Quito or Guayaquil airport.

When you arrive at Quito or Guayaquil airport, you must head to the special Galápagos Islands check-in desk to check in and pay US$20 per person. At Quito airport, this is immediately inside the Domestic Departures door on the airport’s upper level. Since you have already pre-registered in Step 1, you will present your confirmation code, your cédula or passport, and US$20 per person in cash. Yes, US$20 per person in cash. They do not take credit cards, so don’t even bother asking. (Remember that Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency, so either take U.S. dollars with you or use an ATM in Ecuador prior to arriving at the airport.)

Step 3: Get Your Bags Scanned Before Security

Please do not miss this step. After paying your $20 TCT fee, go to the other Galápagos Government desk to have your bags scanned. And by bags, I mean all your bags, including your carry-ons and checked baggage. The Government is stringent in you not bringing anything to the Galápagos Islands that can damage the ecosystem. Any type of fresh foods, plants, seeds, etc… is prohibited. So are weapons and single-use plastic bags, straws, bottles, and containers.

Note that you must have your bags scanned before security and before you check your luggage with the airline. I hope I am clear that the Galápagos baggage screening occurs before anything else. If you check your bags, the baggage scanner will lock your bags using a plastic twist tie to prevent tampering. If you have checked bags, you can now bring those bags to the airline’s check-in desk to drop off.

For your carry-ons, state it is a carry-on before sending it through the X-ray machine so they don’t lock your bags. If you are only bringing carry-on luggage and have already checked in, you don’t need to go to the airline desk, and you can proceed straight to security.

Airport Procedures Upon Landing at the Galápagos

After completing the three steps above, you pass through security, and it is a regular flight. Note that because this is a domestic flight within Ecuador, you won’t be passing through immigration. However, upon arrival at the Galápagos, you will need to go through a formal process to enter the Galápagos National Park (remember that all of the islands are part of the national park).

Entry Fee to the Galápagos National Park

After flying to the Galápagos, you’ll disembark via airstairs – not an air bridge – and walk to the airport. You will be immediately escorted into a line to enter the national park. This is before picking up your checked bags. There are two lines: one for residents of the Galápagos Islands and the other for everyone else. Unless you are indeed a resident of the Galápagos – and if so, why are you reading this article? – you go to the tourist line. Note that being a resident of Ecuador still means you are a tourist in the eyes of the Galápagos Government.

At the end of the line is a check-in desk for the national park. You’ll need to present your passport and your TCT. If you are an Ecuadorian resident, show your cédula, not your passport. The reason is because Ecuadorian residents – even foreign temporary residents – only have to pay US$30 per person to enter the Galápagos. Most other foreigners have to pay US$200 per person. Note that kids 2-12 years of age pay half of the adult fee. Children under two years of age are free, regardless of nationality.

Type of Person	Entry Fee to Galápagos National Park (in U.S. Dollars)
Mainland Ecuadorian Residents and Citizens (including foreigners with Ecuadorian residency and cédula)	$30 (12-65 years old) / $15 (2-12 years of age or 65 and older)
Citizens of Colombia, Perú, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay	$100 (12 years and older) / $50 (2-12 years of age)
Foreigners enrolled in an Ecuadorian university on an education visa	$50
All other tourists (including Americans, Canadians, and Europeans)	$200 (12 years and older) / $100 (2-12 years of age)

The fees are payable only in cash and only in U.S. Dollars. You must ensure you have enough cash on hand before leaving Mainland Ecuador. Do not arrive in the Galápagos without the cash in U.S. dollars to pay the entry fees. Also, if you haven’t been to Latin America before, please do not arrive with crinkled, mutilated, torn, or sad-looking bills, especially the higher you go in denominations. Latin American countries hate nothing more than someone trying to pay with U.S. dollars that had way better days in the past. If you have any questions, get crisp bills from the bank before you leave the United States or a bank in Quito or Guayaquil.

After you pay your fee, you will put all of your carry-on bags through an X-ray machine again. I suppose this is in case you pick up contraband after scanning your carry-on bags in Quito or Guayaquil. Assuming your carry-on bags are clear, you’ll proceed to the baggage claim area to pick up your checked bags and then exit the terminal. If you ask why the X-ray machine wouldn’t be after baggage claim, remember that your checked bags are locked after scanning in Quito or Guayaquil.

Last update on 2025-02-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Summary on Flying to the Galápagos

It isn’t hard to fly to the Galápagos as long as you come prepared. The biggest thing is to take more than enough cash with you. Not having the required cash could doom your trip before it starts. And make sure that cash looks pristine and beautiful! Latin America, in general, is allergic to cash that looks used. Get some nice $20 and $50 bills from a U.S. bank before you arrive in Ecuador, or withdraw cash from an ATM in Quito or Guayaquil. Either way, once you board your flight to the Galápagos, it is way too late.

Furthermore, as we detail in our blog post on traveling from Seymour Airport to Puerto Ayora, please bring a lot of small change. Taxi fares and tips are very cheap, so having quarters, 50-cent, and dollar coins will make your experience way more pleasant and less stressful.

Finally, our trip to the Galápagos was truly magical for me. I will never forget the experience. If you have considered visiting the Galápagos, don’t let the scary stories about mainland Ecuador sway you away.

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