Do I need to book flights for my Galapagos cruise?

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:

1. it allows us to book all passengers on a cruise onto the same flight, arriving at the same time. This means you won't have any delays sitting at the airport, waiting for the rest of the passengers to arrive. More importantly also, this helps to avoid problems in case of flight delays when passengers arrive with different planes.
2. because we block book seats, we are able to get the very best prices on flights to and from the mainland, so we can save you money as well as the time to source your own flights.

If you do choose to book your own flight, please beware: Some ships may charge a transport surcharge (50-90 USD) in this case. Also, if you plan to arrive on the first day of the cruise, please make sure to book the flights as detailed in your itinerary. Note: If you book different flights than the ones recommended by the shipowners and your flights experiences a delay, we cannot guarantee that the ship will wait for you. More info on this topic.

Also, on some online platforms, such as Expedia, you can find low airfares while collecting travel rewards points. However, most of the time, those airfares apply only to Ecuadorian citizens and residents. Thus, it’s pretty usual to see some travelers beginning their journey to the Galápagos Islands arguing with the airline about their ticket and trying to understand why they must pay around $150-$200 per passenger to get their boarding pass, which lets them a sour taste in the end.

If you are already in Galápagos on the first day of your cruise, please make your way back to the airport by taxi to arrive by the same time the flight with the other passengers would land.

We strongly recommend that you make plans to depart from Quito or Guayaquil no earlier than the day after you return to the mainland from Galápagos. This will give you at least one more night in Quito, but it will ensure that you don’t miss your international flight in case of flight delays.