4-Day Santa Cruz & Bahía Tour with Full Board
The cheapest way onto these islands among the programmes listed here — which makes this the page where the costs sitting outside the price weigh the most.
Four days, base on Santa Cruz
3 nights, 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners
Lowest starting price here
From $639 — verified August 2026
About this tour
From $639, verified August 2026: this is the lowest starting price of any programme on this site. Four days, a base on Santa Cruz, and the phrase the operator puts in its own title, full board — which his inclusion list itemises as three nights in a private room with air conditioning, three breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners, with driver, guide and Baltra airport pick-up. A “from” price is exactly that: the entry point for the cheapest combination of date, option and group size, not a fixed fare. Move your dates, change the option, and the figure moves with you. The booking box below always shows the live amount, and the live amount is the one you pay. Read the low price as a door, not as a promise.
What makes this figure worth handling carefully is everything that sits outside it. Two lines above all. The flight from the mainland — Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) — is normally a separate ticket, and it is the one most people underestimate. And the landing costs do not shrink because your tour was cheap: $200 park entry tribute per foreign adult plus $20 for the Transit Control Card, $220 in cash, handed over at the airport. On the cheapest tour on this site that dollar amount is one of the heaviest lines of the whole trip, not a footnote. Budget it before you budget the tour.
“Full board” says one thing, and it is about meals. It does not cover the park tribute, tips, drinks outside the arrangement or whatever you buy on the island on your own account. That is not a complaint: it is exactly why a land-based programme prices more honestly than a cruise. Over four days with a fixed base you can run down the bill line by line — what the operator supplies, what the state charges, what you spend yourself. A cabin fare melts those three into a single number and calls it simplicity. Here they stay apart: less elegant, far more useful.
The operator’s title names Santa Cruz and Bahía, and his programme fills the days honestly: the Charles Darwin Station and the Interpretation Center on arrival day, Tortuga Bay with the giant tortoise ranch and the lava tunnels on day 2, and on day 3 the bay tour around Bahía Academia — Los Perros beach and its iguana colony, the snorkelling tunnels, Las Grietas. On the ground the permissions for each visitor site are issued by the Galápagos National Park and redistributed as it sees fit, and a boat outing happens only if the sea agrees to it. The wildlife follows the same logic: it lives here, but none of it is part of the package. One more line from the operator himself: the tour is not suitable for people with mobility impairments, non-swimmers or guests over 70. The archipelago-wide ceiling applies too: 60 days a year at most.
Itinerary
Typical itinerary for this tour — the National Park assigns the visitor sites and the sea decides whether a crossing sails, so stops can change: check the booking box for the day-by-day details.
Day 1 — Baltra, the Darwin Station and the Interpretation Center
The flight from the mainland lands at Baltra, where the National Park guides meet you; the $220 per foreign adult is collected before you leave the terminal — $200 park entry tribute in cash, plus the $20 Transit Control Card. Then the transfer to Santa Cruz and check-in: the same room stays yours for the rest of the tour. In the afternoon, the operator’s programme visits the Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park’s Interpretation Center.
Day 2 — Tortuga Bay, giant tortoises and the lava tunnels
The white sand and turquoise water of Tortuga Bay open the day, with marine iguanas and shorebirds along the way — living there, not booked there. Then a private ranch in the highlands where giant tortoises roam free, and a walk through the underground lava tunnels to close the loop. Sites can be reshuffled: the National Park’s allocation outranks any printed page.
Day 3 — The Bahía tour: five stops around Academy Bay
A boat day around Bahía Academia, the bay Puerto Ayora sits on — about three hours on the water in the operator’s own description, with two short walks. The stops he lists: Los Perros beach and its iguana colony, the “tunnels of love” and the blue-shark tunnels for snorkelling, marine iguanas and sea turtles feeding along the rocks, and Las Grietas, a crystal-clear crevice of mixed fresh and sea water. The sea holds the veto on all of it.
Day 4 — Last morning and flight back
Breakfast at the hotel, then the transfer back to Baltra and the flight to Quito (UIO) or Guayaquil (GYE) — normally your own ticket. Departures from the islands have checks of their own, so leave margin. Four days, one base, and a bill you were able to read from beginning to end.
Essential information
Included
- Three nights in a private room with air conditioning — a fixed base on Santa Cruz, not a cabin
- The meals the operator itemises: three breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners
- Driver and guide for the programme’s visits, run in Spanish and English
- Pick-up and drop-off at Baltra airport
Not included
- The $200 park entry tribute per foreign adult ($100 under 12), in cash on landing
- The $20 Transit Control Card — the operator’s exclusion list does not mention it, so budget for it at the airport
- The flight from the mainland (Quito UIO, Guayaquil GYE)
- Tips, drinks, and the meals outside the three-three-two count above
What to bring
- $220 in cash per foreign adult for the landing: the $200 park tribute is paid in cash to the rangers, the $20 Transit Control Card is collected at the airport (it can be pre-registered online)
- Your passport and the non-transferable return ticket the Transit Control Card requires
- Swimwear, a towel and a dry change of clothes — land-based days still end up in the water
- Serious sun protection: high-factor cream, a hat and sunglasses, on the equator and on open water
- Motion-sickness remedies if boats and you disagree — moving between islands happens by sea
Inclusions are summarised from the operator listing — always verify the full list in the live booking box.
Important information
Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed: the National Park assigns the visitor sites and the sea decides whether a crossing sails
Itineraries and specific islands can change — permits and weather come before the programme
Landing costs, included in no tour price: $200 park entry tribute per foreign adult ($100 for children under 12) plus a $20 Transit Control Card — $220 in cash at Baltra (GPS) or San Cristóbal (SCY), galapagos.gob.ec
The tribute doubled from $100 to $200 on 1 August 2024 (Ordinance 001-CGREG-30-06-2025)
Flights from the mainland — Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE) — are not included unless the operator states otherwise
Tourists may stay a maximum of 60 days a year in the archipelago, and the Transit Control Card requires a valid document plus a non-transferable return ticket
The islands sit outside every advised-against area of the UK FCDO advisory (read 2 August 2026), which does advise against non-essential travel to several mainland coastal provinces including Guayas — airside transit at Guayaquil airport is explicitly exempt. Check your own country’s advice before you fly
The live booking box is the contract: inclusions, meeting points, prices and cancellation terms shown there override anything on this page
Check dates & prices
Live availability & pricesFrequently asked questions
Why is this the cheapest tour on the site?
Four days with a single land base is a cheaper thing to run than a multi-island itinerary or a cabin at sea: no long crossings to pay for, one hotel to organise, meals bought on an island that has shops and suppliers. The starting figure of $639, verified August 2026, reflects that structure. It does not reflect a lesser archipelago — the National Park applies the same rules to every operator. What you get less of is variety and reach, not quality of place.
What does “full board” actually itemise?
Count it rather than trust the label: the operator’s inclusion list reads three breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners across four days and three nights. That is nearly every meal, but not every meal — one lunch is on you, as are drinks, snacks and anything you order beyond the programme. It is still the most complete board arrangement at this price on the site; just walk in knowing the arithmetic instead of discovering it at the table.
What is not in the $639?
The two costs that matter most. First, the flight from the mainland: departures for the islands leave from Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE), and that ticket is yours to buy. Second, the landing costs: a $200 entry tribute to the National Park per foreign adult plus a $20 Transit Control Card, $220 in cash at the airport. Children under 12 pay $100 rather than $200. Neither figure shrinks because your tour was cheap, which is exactly why they belong in the budget before the tour does.
Who is this tour not for?
The operator’s own restrictions are worth reading before the price is: the listing excludes people with mobility impairments, non-swimmers and guests over 70. The days involve real walking — Tortuga Bay is reached on foot along a trail — plus swimming and snorkelling stops on the bay day. His packing list is short and sensible: passport, comfortable shoes, sun hat, swimwear, towel, sunscreen. If any exclusion touches your party, ask the operator through the booking page before paying.
Are the Darwin Station, Tortuga Bay and the Bahía tour guaranteed?
They are the programme, not a warranty. Visitor sites in the Galápagos are allocated by the National Park, group by group and day by day, and any outing involving a boat is subject to the sea agreeing — the Bahía tour most of all, since all five of its stops sit on the water. Operators reshuffle days when either changes, and on a four-day programme there is at least some room to do it. Treat the names as the intended shape of the trip, and the confirmation for your dates as the real one.
Can I cancel, and how firm is the price?
At the census of 2 August 2026 the product page declared free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, with the option to reserve now and pay later; the tour is run in Spanish and English. Both can differ by option and by date. As for the price, $639 is a starting figure verified in August 2026, not a rate card: it moves with dates, options and availability. The booking box on this page is where the cancellation window, the inclusions and the amount actually charged appear together and bind.
