Galapagos Trip Cost in 2026: What a Week Costs per Person

A Galápagos trip cost for one week runs from about $1,150 per person if you travel on your own and keep it simple, to about $2,350 on a guided land tour, and from $3,000 to $12,000 on a cruise. Those figures start in Quito or Guayaquil and leave out your flight to Ecuador. We run land tours, so the cruise prices below are published 2026 rates we checked.

How much a week in the Galápagos costs

Here is the same week priced three ways, per person, with two people sharing a room.

The gap between the first two columns is smaller than most people expect. Add a yacht day and a couple of boat tours to a do-it-yourself week and the savings shrink quickly. The price of our tour depends on how many people share a room, the hotel category and your dates, so we confirm it when we quote.

The costs everyone pays

Three costs apply however you travel, and two of them have to be paid in cash or at a counter before you see a single animal.

Ecuadorian residents pay a lower park fee and a lower air fare, and citizens of some South American countries also pay a lower park fee. Our guide on how to get to the Galápagos covers the airports and the luggage limits, and Guayaquil to Galápagos explains why that flight usually costs less.

From the airport at Baltra, a bus, the Itabaca Channel ferry and a second bus get you to Puerto Ayora for around $11. A pickup taxi from the channel runs about $25 to $30 for the whole vehicle. Local fares change often, so treat these as approximate.

Hotels, meals and getting between islands

Budget hotels on Santa Cruz and Isabela charge about $40 to $80 a night for the room. Comfortable ones start around $100, and the top lodges go far above that. Sharing a room is the easiest saving you can make.

Food costs less than you may fear if you eat where people live. A set lunch with a main, rice and a drink is $8 to $12 in Puerto Ayora, and most hotels include breakfast. Budget $20 to $40 a day, more if you want a sit-down dinner with wine by the harbor.

The public speedboat between Santa Cruz and Isabela costs $30 to $40 each way and takes about two hours. Day tours are where the bill grows. Our own run from $75 for Las Tintoreras, from $165 for Santa Fe and from $170 for Pinzón. Most visitor sites require a licensed guide, so you cannot skip this cost by hiring a boat and going alone.

Hotels, speedboats, guides and a yacht day in one price

7 Day Galapagos Tour from Quito

Santa Cruz, Isabela and a Yacht Day

• 7 days
• Medium effort

From $1,279 per person

View itinerary

Land tour or cruise: what the extra money buys

A cruise costs more because you pay for the boat, the crew and all your meals. In return you sleep at sea and wake up at islands that day boats cannot reach, such as Genovesa or Fernandina. If those remote islands are your dream, the cruise is worth the money. Mid-range ships run about $375 to $750 per person per day, and crew and guide tips add about $200 to $400 for eight days.

A land tour costs less per day and gives you a bed that does not move, which matters if you get seasick. You walk around town at night, eat where you like and choose how hard each day is. You will see giant tortoises, marine iguanas, sea lions, blue-footed boobies and penguins from Santa Cruz and Isabela. Our Galápagos tours from Quito are all built this way.

What our trips cost, all in

This table adds flights and fees to our tour prices, so you can compare them with a quote that includes them. Meals not listed on each tour, tips and insurance are extra.

Two travelers pay more per person than four on the 4 and 5 day tours, and we quote that price for your dates. If you have two weeks, the 14 day Ecuador itinerary shows how the days run and adds up the full cost.

How to spend less on the Galápagos

• Fly from Guayaquil if you can reach it easily. The fare is usually lower and the flight is shorter.
• Travel in March to May or September to November, outside the July, August and December rush.
• Share a room. A double at $80 costs each of you less than a single at $50.
• Stay on Santa Cruz and Isabela and leave out San Cristóbal. Every extra island adds a boat and a hotel change.
• Choose one good yacht day over three cheap boat tours. It reaches an uninhabited island, which no town beach can match.
• Eat the set lunch. Keep the harbor dinners for your last night.

Do not cut the travel insurance. A medical evacuation from the islands can cost $10,000 to $50,000, so check that your policy covers it. Our page on the Galápagos on a budget has more ways to save, and the best time to visit the Galápagos shows which months cost less.

Want a real number for your dates? Tell us when you want to travel and how many of you are coming, and we will send a price with everything listed.

Our page on all inclusive Galápagos trips compares what each option covers. Traveling as a family or with older relatives? See what a family of four pays, or how our tours work for seniors.

Galápagos trip cost: questions we get