The Galapagos Are Like No Other Place on Earth

The Galapagos are a group of Islands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador fairly close to the equator. The islands are known for the different species that exist on each island that were much of the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. That being said, some of the species you find only exist here, making this place unlike any other on the planet. It’s absolutely gorgeous here. I visited in July which is Winter in that part of the world, but since the islands are so close to the equator they really only experience dry and rainy seasons. This is a bucket list destination for most travelers and since I only had a few days there I definitely plan on returning sometime in the future to visit some of the other islands.

How to Get In

There are a couple ways to get to the Galapagos, either by boat or plane. Unless you have a lot of money to blow on a cruise you will probably want to fly into Baltra Island. There are two options from the mainland to get to Baltra, you can fly from Quito or Guayaquil, both of which offer one flight in the morning and one in the evening every day. It averages around 360 USD round trip. I flew from Guayaquil, had a lovely 24 hour layover and got to explore the largest city in Ecuador. There are also daily flights to San Cristobal if you want to go that route. Before leaving the airport in Guayaquil/Quito you need obtain a visa for 20 USD, this is essentially registering yourself for arrival/departure from the Galapagos. Once you land at Baltra Island before leaving the airport you must pay another 100 USD park entrance fee, make sure you have cash, they do not accept credit cards.

Where to Stay

Once you land on Baltra Island you can take a free ferry to Santa Cruz Island and then taxi to Puerto Ayora for about 20 USD. Puerto Ayora is the main town on Santa Cruz Island and it’s full of accommodations as well as bars and restaurants. I stayed at Hotel Brisas Del Pacifico which was a nice hotel that was a five minute walk from the marina or 1 USD for taxi. Actually taxi to anywhere on the island (except the airport) was only 1 USD! The room was around 30 USD per night and i’d love to stay there again. Right across the little street from the hotel was an empty lot that was filled daily with locals turning it into a farmers market. I got the best empanadas there made fresh daily!

Santa Cruz Island

Outside of accommodations and nightlife in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island also has plenty of other stuff to see. There is Charles Darwin Station, which is a turtle breeding area with neat information about the Galapagos, the beautiful Punta Estrada Beach, El Chato Tortoise Reserve where you can see giant tortoises, and the incredible Tortuga Bay where you can see marine iguanas. Tortuga Bay is a short 2.5 km hike from Puerto Ayora and they say its possible to see white tip sharks, Blue Herons, marine turtles and pelicans, but all I saw were marine iguanas. I don’t regret it one bit though. These tiny dragons were amazing. I’d never seen iguanas swimming in the water. They were all over the beach!

The marina at Puerto Ayora is a good place to go to see some wild life too, I saw a pelican, fish and some sting rays. It’s also where you will need to go to get on a boat if you want to go to any of the other islands.

Santa Fe Island

I spent so much getting to the Galapagos I found I didn’t really have enough to pay for many day trips to other islands but I did pay to go to Santa Fe Island. It cost 100 USD to do a day trip to Santa Fe Island. The journey was about 1.5 hours in a speed boat. Santa Fe Island is pretty small and covered in cactus which seemed a bit strange but added to the mystique. It was awesome. As soon as we got there they took us to a good place for snorkeling and I swam with schools of fish and a couple baby sea lions. It was down right magical.

The Galapagos are a place i’ll never forget and hope to come back to someday. It’s only a couple flights away right?

Guayaquil is a Perfect Place to Begin Your Journey to the Galapagos

When traveling to the Galapagos there are only two cities that you can get there from, either Guayaquil or Quito, both of which are in Ecuador. I chose to fly from Guayaquil to Baltra Island and I’m very glad I did! Not to say anything bad about Quito; I haven’t been there but I’m sure it’s lovely. Guayaquil is the biggest city in Ecuador so there was plenty to do during my 24 hour layover. Here are a few of the things I did:

Parque de Las Iguanas

Parque de Las Iguanas is a park centered right in downtown Guayaquil that is full of iguanas! The iguanas live in the park and people come to watch and feed them. The park is pretty small, less than a city block but definitely worth checking out. At one end is a statue of Simon Bolivar and the other is a beautiful old church. The iguanas are used to human contact so it’s safe to bring your kids here too. I had no idea about this park before landing in Guayaquil but it was a lovely surprise.

Parque Histórico Guayaquil

Parque Histórico Guayaquil is a beautiful zoo located 5 minutes by taxi from the city. It has three sections, the Endangered Wildlife Zone, Urban Architecture Zone and a Traditions Zone. It’s a bit of a grab bag but the Wildlife Zone has over 45 species of birds and reptiles in their natural habitat. If you enjoy zoo’s this is an excellent place to visit.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse was built in 2001 in the Las Penas neighborhood, just a mellow climb up 444 steps. The steps are numbered so fret not, you will always know how far you have to go. The path up the steps goes through a lot of options for bars and restaurants and is a very lively area. At the top is a beautiful little church called the Iglesio del Cerro Santa Ana as well as the lighthouse. Make sure to climb to the top of the lighthouse to see some amazing 360 degree views of Guayaquil. You won’t find a better view.