Getting to the Galápagos

Getting to the Galápagos: flights, fees and paperwork

There are no direct international flights to the Galápagos: you always arrive on a domestic flight from mainland Ecuador — from Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) — and land either at Baltra (GPS), the airport that serves Santa Cruz, or at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal (SCY). Here is what the arrival day actually involves — and what it costs before a single tour is booked.

The trip comes in two stages: an international flight into mainland Ecuador, then a domestic flight out to the archipelago from Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) — flights from Quito normally make a technical stop in Guayaquil on the way. Count on around two hours in the air from Guayaquil, and around two and a half from Quito with the stop. The route is flown by Avianca Ecuador and LATAM Ecuador; schedules and fares change with the season, so check them directly with the carriers when you plan.

You will not find a flight timetable on this page, because there is no honest way to publish one: departure times and fares shift through the year. What never shifts is the mechanism — and the money collected at the door. Two payments stand between the plane and the islands, both per person, and neither is included in the price of a land-based tour.

Getting to the Galápagos: flights, fees and paperwork
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The three island airports

  • Baltra (GPS) — Seymour Ecological Airport, the gateway to Santa Cruz and Puerto Ayora; it receives the larger share of the islands' visitors
  • San Cristóbal (SCY) — the airport of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, a few minutes from the town centre
  • Isabela (IBB) — General Villamil Airport: small aircraft on inter-island hops only, with a short runway and no flights to or from the mainland

Mainland flights serve only Baltra and San Cristóbal, from Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE). Which one you use depends on the tour: land-based itineraries are built around one of the two islands as a base, and the operator confirms the airport when you book.

From Baltra to Puerto Ayora

Baltra is a separate islet, so landing there is not the end of the trip: a bus takes you from the airport to the Itabaca Channel (about ten minutes), a ferry crosses the channel (about ten minutes more), and a second bus runs down to Puerto Ayora (about forty-five minutes). Around an hour and a quarter in all, and roughly $11 per person with the public ferry — local fares change, so treat that as an order of magnitude. Many land tours include this transfer, and it is one of the points where a package genuinely earns its price.

Flying between the islands

Inter-island flights are operated by Emetebe on small aircraft with very tight baggage limits. At our last check of the carrier's own booking site, round-trip fares ran from about $147 (Baltra–Isabela) to about $192 (Baltra–San Cristóbal) — a reference, not a quote. The cheaper alternative between islands is the shared speedboat.

What you pay on landing: $220 per adult

Two separate charges are collected as you enter the archipelago. The Transit Control Card (TCT) costs $20 per tourist, every single entry; you can pre-register online and collect the card at the airport, and you need a valid identity document plus a non-transferable return ticket dated within 60 days. The National Park entry tribute is $200 for foreign adults aged 12 and over and $100 for foreign children under 12, paid in cash to the park rangers on arrival at Baltra or San Cristóbal. That is $220 for a foreign adult — in cash, on the spot, and never part of a tour price.

  • Transit Control Card: $20 per person, at every entry — pre-register online, collect the card at the airport, bring a valid ID and a non-transferable return ticket within 60 days
  • National Park entry tribute: $200 foreign adults (12+), $100 foreign children under 12, cash on arrival — rates set by Ordinance 001-CGREG-30-06-2025, the doubling in force since 1 August 2024
Official page: galapagos.gob.ec
How the arrival works, step by step

How the arrival works, step by step

  • At the mainland airport — where the official guidance is to arrive three hours before the flight — you show your documents and pick up the Transit Control Card; on landing at Baltra or San Cristóbal you pay the National Park tribute in cash to the rangers before you leave the terminal.
  • Tourists may spend a maximum of 60 days a year in the archipelago and the limit cannot be extended — the return ticket you present has to fall inside that window.

Before you book

  • Bring the $220 in cash. It is collected at the airport by the rangers, and it sits on top of the tour price and of the domestic flights from the mainland.
  • On safety: the Galápagos fall outside every area the UK FCDO advises against travelling to (page updated 10 July 2026). On the mainland the FCDO does advise against all but essential travel to several coastal provinces, Guayas — Guayaquil — among them, but it explicitly exempts airside transit at Guayaquil airport. Ecuador is also reported to be under a state of emergency covering ten provinces until 16 August 2026, the Galápagos not among them (reported figure, not re-checked against the primary source). The practical move: transit through the airport without going into the city, and re-read your own government's advisory before you fly.