When people think of visiting the Galapagos, their budget is a big concern. The Galapagos Islands are known for being expensive, but there are ways to save money. In this post, I am going to share with you how much it costs in the Galapagos, so you can budget for this epic adventure.
I’m a pretty transparent person, and I’ve learned so much from others who have let their guard down and shared openly. So, while money is often a taboo topic, let’s discuss it.
I could be wrong, but here is what I think 97% of people think when they hear that we’re taking a family gap year…
“Are they rich?” “How can they afford this?”
So, let me answer these two questions. First, we are not rich. We have saved and built up a reserve of cash and made some financial decisions that have helped us get close to financial independence.
For our family gap year, we used a combination of rental property income, potential ongoing real estate commissions, and our savings to pay for our trip. Along the way, we tracked our expenses in each of our stops very closely in order to help us plan appropriately for future travels.
And luckily for you, we will share them too. We hope this post helps you understand how much you can expect to pay for a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
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Breakdown Of Our Costs In The Galapagos
All of these numbers are for a family of four. We stayed for one month on the Galápagos Islands.
Lodging Expenses In The Galapagos Islands
Total: $2,459
- $75.28 a night – Airbnb for 32 nights
- $ 50 – Hotel in Quito between flights
Round-Trip Transportation
Total: $2,461
- $ 100 – Flight from Chicago to Quito (We used credit card points to pay most of this. An average round-trip flight costs between $300-$400 per person.)
- $1,830 – Flight from Quito to the Galapagos
- $ 380 – Fees to enter the Galapagos National Park
- $ 151 – Ubers, boat taxis, taxis
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Day-To-Day Costs In The Galapagos
Total: $1,535
- Groceries, supplies, laundry, meals out
Touristy Excursions In The Galapagos
Total: $3,173
- $ 953 – Bartolome Island day trip
- $ 888 – North Seymour Island day trip
- $1,125 – Isabela Island overnight trip
- $ 35 – Darwin Institute afternoon activity
- $ 40 – Garrapatero Beach
- $ 132 – Galapagos Tortoise Ranch
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Total Galapagos Travel Expenses
We spent $9,628 for one month in the Galapagos. And that was with using credit card points to get to Quito. Yikes!
Read more below to hear our thoughts on why we ended up spending this much on a month long trip in the Galápagos Islands.
Takeaways Of Our Costs In The Galapagos
The Galapagos is EXPENSIVE! Trust us, we were not living like royalty, and we almost blew through $10,000. Let me explain so more details to put all of our Galapagos expenses into context and some helpful ways to save money.
Lodging Expenses In The Galapagos
Our lodging in the Galapagos was in an excellent location with 3 bedrooms and air-conditioning. We were in Puerto Ayora and a short walking distance to everything in the town. It was nice to be able to easily walk to the pier or a restaurant for dinner.
However, it was not luxurious. It was in a basement apartment with minimal light with hot water that only lasted a short time. For the price, it was definitely a great option for us.
You can spend so much more than we did on lodging, but there are also some cheaper options as well. I was actually quite amazed by the range of options available.
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Transportation Fees
Getting to the Galapagos is an adventure with small costs that add up, with the largest cost being the flight from Quito to the Galapagos. Once you are there, the costs for transportation reduce significantly.
As we used our credit card points to pay for our flights from Chicago to Quito, this reduced the amount we spent for plane tickets. If you can do this, it would be a great way to save some money; otherwise, average round-trip prices from Chicago are between 300 and 400 dollars per person.
Day-To-Day Costs In The Galapagos
Even using points to offset a chunk of our airfare, we still spent nearly $5,000 just to get to the islands and have a place to stay. With that as the base cost, it was hard to justify too many $1,000 day-trip excursions or even purchases of $9 boxes of cereal. (Yes, that is how much a box of cereal is in the store near the pier!)
We really made an effort to cut down our day-to-day expenses.
Budget Tip: If you are looking to save a little money on groceries and other household items, avoid the bigger grocery stores near the pier. Instead visit the markets, bakeries and the stores a little further down the street away from the touristy section of town.
The selection won’t be as good, but it will be so much cheaper!
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Touristy Excursions
We took advantage of the touristy attractions that the Galapagos has to offer. While we would have liked to save money, a trip to the Galapagos Islands is a once in a lifetime vacation.
We didn’t know if we would ever return and we wanted to see as much as possible. Since the majority of the archipelago is a National Park and you need a naturalist guide with you, it is hard to explore a lot on your own. This adds to the costs.
You can do some exploring on your own. You can go to Isabela Island, Santa Cruz Island, Floreana Island and San Cristobal Island by ferry. These islands have towns where you can stay and explore some of the island on your own.
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Summary Of Galápagos Islands Costs
We will always remember the things we did and saw in the Galapagos, and haven’t written off a future visit. However, we wouldn’t plan another month-long stay there. A couple of weeks is more than enough time!
Read more about how much we spent in the other locations on our family gap year:
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