Booking a Galapagos Cruise

Cruise: Pick a cruise if you are serious about seeing the variety the Galapagos has to offer, and you want to experience the outer, more remote islands. Most cruises offer very impressive itineraries, and because most of the sailing takes place at ni...

One of our most frequently asked questions is: "When is the best time to visit Galapagos?" Our answer? More or less any time!
As a true year-round destination, the High and Low Seasons in the Galapagos islands are dictated by the schedule of their v...

Yes, absolutely - and what an adventure they will have! Usually, children under 12 years old receive a 20% discount, but each yacht has its own policy for children and babies. If you are planning a Galapagos adventure with children or babies please c...

Both sharing a room and paying a supplement to have a single room are possibilities. There are some boats that require no, or a very small, single supplement to be paid. To see all these ships, go to this page and adjust the search filter t...

Galapagos cruises are incredibly popular, and availability is limited all year round - there's not really such a thing as the best time to visit Galapagos! We will therefore always recommend planning as far ahead as possible. This is especially true ...

We can't ever recommend this option, but yes you can certainly try your luck when you arrive in Galapagos and attempt to book directly in either Puerto Ayora or Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. However, you must be aware that this approach carries the huge r...

The vast majority of boats provide water, teas and coffee at no charge. Almost all boats will charge extra for alcoholic drinks. Prices differ from boat to boat. Our Galapagos team has personally visited every boat that we offer on our portal, and th...

The food on our Galapagos Cruises is among the very best you will find in South America. Most of the on-board chefs are internationally trained and have prior experience working in the best hotels and restaurants in Ecuador and indeed around the worl...

The best category of ship for you will be a very personal choice. Some people choose the Galapagos as a destination as part of a wonderful "holiday of a lifetime" experience. Some come to the archipelago with the aim of seeing as much of the unique&n...

The Galapagos Islands are a travel destination unlike any other. The entire archipelago forms the largest marine reserve in the Americas, and the islands themselves all belong to the Galapagos National Park. Because of the unique wildlife and habitat...

Step 1: Get in touch!
We love to help people find their dream vacation to Galapagos. If you call us during office hours, one of our Galapagos travel experts will be only too pleased to answer any questions, recommend ships and itineraries, and walk ...

In short, yes. We recommend you allow us to book your flights from mainland Ecuador (Quito or Guayaquil) for you. This has two big advantages:

it allows us to book all passengers on a cruise onto the same flight, arriving at the same time. This me...

The Galapagos National Park Entrance fee is levied on all visitors to the islands. The Galapagos entry fee is currently 100 USD per person (reduced to 50 USD for children under 12 years old). This fee must be paid, in cash, at the your airport of arr...

On all flights to and from the Galapagos islands each passenger is permitted to take 50lb (23kg) of baggage that must be checked in. In addition, each passenger may have an item of carry-on luggage up to 17lb (8kg). Cabin baggage is often subject to ...

Under Ecuadorian law, if you are only temporarily visiting the Galapagos then you are exempted from the requirement to pay any customs charges on items that you are bringing in to the country. This includes new or used portable electronics such as ca...

We believe in giving you the most extensive range of cruise options for visiting the Galapagos islands. Because of this, all our cruises differ in what's included in terms of amenities and excursions/activities. Each ship listing on our site give ful...

Absolutely. It is a legal requirement for all vessels operating Galapagos cruises and tours to have a current maritime safety certificate. This means all vessels comply fully with Ecuadorian maritime law.
You may find that some Ecuadorian standards ...

We make sure that all Galapatours cruises, whatever their length, will give you a fantastic experience of the Galapagos islands, their unique wildlife and incredible habitats.
However, if you are planning a trip to Galapagos as your sole destination...

Unfortunately not. At Galapatours.com, we are Galapagos Cruise specialists. We will happily give you a few tipps for hotels (where to stay, which areas in Quito to avoid etc.) but will not book Hotels for you. For trips to mainland Ecuador, we much r...

In a word, amazing! However, diving around the Galapagos Islands is a little more challenging because of the presence of some strong currents, slightly colder water temperatures, and the rugged undersea terrain.
All Galapagos diving is done from div...

Flights to the Galapagos Islands depart from Quito or Guayaquil on the mainland of Ecuador. The flight time from Quito is around 3 hours and around 1 hour from Guayaquil. Three airlines currently serve Galapagos - Avianca, TAME and LATAM.
A sel...

The dive sites off Wolf and Darwin Islands are renowned as two of the best dive sites in the entire world, and we do offer diving itineraries that visit these iconic sites. Because of their remote nature, it's only possible to visit these sites as pa...

If you can, we recommend staying on after your cruise for a few days. We're often asked where to stay in the Galapagos islands? We really like the nice little town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. You might also want to think about staying here before ...

The Galapagos islands are a volcanic archipelago in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles from the most western coast of South America.  The closest country is Ecuador, and the islands are an Ecuadorian territory.

If you click here you c...

The Galapagos Islands offer an intimate experience for travelers - you won't find any huge all-inclusive hotel resorts for example! However, just because the islands are remote and small it doesn't mean they lack delightful hotels and guest houses. H...

Because of the timing of flights from Quito to Galapagos, most international travelers will need to stay overnight in Quito on their arrival, and again before departure. Here are a couple of Quito hotels we recommend - our team always uses these befo...

Please see our complete Terms and Conditions where you will find our detailed cancellation policy.

We offer both, naturalist cruises where you will enjoy plenty of excursions to the islands and diving cruises to Wolf, Darwin and some other incredible diving spots in the Galapagos Islands. Please click on the links to find all offers for Naturalist...

There are a vast number of cruise ships in Galapagos - currently around 80. However, no single web page lists all ships and tells you which cruise still has spaces available at what date for what price.
At Galapatours, we make the effort to regularl...

Last updated: July 23, 2021


Already in March 2021 (!) the Galápagos Islands became the first region in South America where all residents received COVID-19 vaccination! Since July 1, 2021, anyone entering Ecuador and the Galápa...

When you travel to Galapagos, an appropriate overseas health insurance with validity for Ecuador for the entire duration of your stay is not obligatory because the law has never come into effect but it is being strongly recommended.
Please don'...