We had been looking forward to visiting the Galápagos Islands for months. We had decided early in our travels that a good chunk of our travel budget would end up going towards the trip and we were definitely right. The Galápagos Islands is not cheap, but it was completely worth the trip.
Our friend Daisy met us in Quito to join us for 4 weeks of travel including the Galápagos Islands. We booked flights late so they ended up $600 return with Avianca airlines.
We arrived at the airport on the Baltra Island payed the $120 USD park fee, walked out the airport and jumped on the free bus to the ferry terminal. We got our first glimpse of the crystal clear waters 5 minutes after arriving on the island and couldn’t wait to arrive at the main town to book our boat trip. A 10 minute bus ride, a 5 minute ferry ride and another 45 minute bus ride and we finally arrived. There are plenty of taxis to take from the ferry to the town but for 3 USD on the bus we decided to take the cheap option.
We arrived around 6pm, found a hostel for 12 USD a night and immediately hit the streets to find the best deals on cruises leaving the following day. It is almost half the price booking last minute cruises rather than booking over the Internet through a company in advance. The down side I guess is you don’t have the variety of choice you would have if you booked in advance. If you were set on a certain boat then booking in advance may be a better option, but if like us you are slightly flexible with dates and the boat then you really can save a lot! We were there in low season so finding a cruise wasn’t a problem, but many of the boats are out for maintenance so we were limited with what boats to choose from.
After talking to a number of different agencies we found one that suited our budget and the itinerary we wanted. There are 4 different class of boat to choose from starting at economy, superior economy, first class and luxury boats. They all differ in quality of guides, but food and cabin quality are apparently the main difference.
We decided on a small red sail boat called the Encantada. It it a superior economy motor sail boat that was doing the loop around Isabella Island for 6 days; the biggest of the Islands in the archipelago.
We arrived on the Sunday and the cruise didn’t start until the tuesday, so with a day to kill we woke up and headed out to tortuga bay. An hour or so walk from the main town was a beautiful little bay, great for swimming and sun baking and spying the first of many Iguanas. We spent most of the afternoon enjoying being back by the beach.
The following day we were up early, excited to be starting our cruise. We jumped back on a bus, ferry and bus back to the airport to meet up with our guide and group. Being a superior economy boat the other guests were young travellers like ourselves which suited us perfectly.
The next few days were filled with snorkelling adventures, walks around various parts of the island, drinking beers on the bow of the ship, keeping our eyes peeled for whales, dolphins, sea lions and any other sea life we could find and just admiring the views of the beautiful Galápagos Islands.
We swam with playful, inquisitive sea lions, darting penguins, a scary looking shark or two, placid giant sea turtles and schools of colourful fish. It was the best array of marine life we have ever seen while snorkelling. It really is one of the most beautiful places on earth…. We found paradise!
Traveller tip
If you have a day or two on Baltra Island, head out to Las Garaldas. An 80 cent boat ride from the main pier across the water and a 20 minute walk brings you to a clear swimming hole in between a canyon. Great for a refreshing dip in some very clear water. Head out there early or late afternoon to avoid the crowd.
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