Gearing up for the Galápagos... Paradise ain't free

As I work on finishing editing the hours of video footage, sorting through the hundreds of photos and writing my upcoming entries about my recent travels, I figured this would be a nice opportunity to dump all sorts of "other" information about going to the Galápagos Islands. Yes, I finally made it to the Galápagos! I knew this would be an expensive adventure but it wasn't quite clear just how so until I arrived. I was aware of several of the major expenses but there turned out to be some "hidden costs" as I hopped from island to island.

A disclaimer first— I was having problems with my debit card from Produbanco before my departure to the archipelago. My PIN mysteriously changed while I was in North America and, after five unsuccessful attempts withdrawing money after my return to Ecuador, I was blocked from my account. Those of you who’ve held accounts with this BANK know the experience. Since the services desks are only open like Ten-to-Four from Monday through Friday (inconvenient for people with day jobs) and the timing of me being blocked, I had to go to a branch the day before my trip to unlock my account and withdraw what I figured I would need for cash in the event that I would be blocked again while on the islands. I took out some funds, then to the cajero automatico to reset my PIN and blocked again. I had to reenter the branch to unlock my account for a second time in 30 minutes, where I was given the instructions how to reset my PIN again. After explaining that I 'apparently' couldn’t remember the previous PIN and being told I would need a new card, I learned that the machine that prints cards at this particular branch was out of service so it wasn’t going to happen before my trip. Good grief, is Produbanco even a bank?! Luckily I could still use my debit card for purchases, just not for withdrawing. Maybe there would be luck in finding establishments that I could pay using plastic on the islands?

Except the FUNNY thing is, a couple of my hostals would only accept cash payments. And same with much of my dining. And a couple of the activities that I paid for while there. I supposed I half-expected more convenience because the Galápagos is practically the main tourist destination in Ecuador. This cut deep into my wad and, with a week to go before the end of the trip, I had less than 50% left saved. Where did this money go? Nothing in the Galápagos is truly free so here are some expenses to keep in mind before you go there (some of which I knew, and a couple that I didn’t):

• $100 cash for entry into the National Park. The entirety of islands are the National Park and you can’t get around this. 
• Oh, and another $20 at the airport before you check-in for an immigration control card. This is also the time your bag gets scanned for the first of two times before leaving the mainland. Your bag is scanned and sniffed a third time once you land in the National Park, too. with the imigrationg card, you also have to state the length of your stay. Keep in mind you can stay for a maximum of 60 days in the islands. The length is 90 days in Ecuador annually under a tourist visa. 
• $5 for a shuttle from the airport to the water crossing between Baltra and Santa Cruz, $1 for the ferry, and $5 for the shuttle into Puerto Ayora. I would need the same amount for my return back to Quito, so in total it was about the same as what I pay one-way between my apartment and Mariscal Sucre airport. Sure, you can get around these costs in a way, but that would involve taking a $15 taxi into town after your $6 shuttle-and-ferry rides. There's no real way around this.
• $30 for each one-way speedboat between two islands. The speed boats go between San Cristobal-Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz-Isabela. The day I left from San Cristóbal to Isabela, I had to take two speedboats totaling $60 in transportation that day. 
• Additionally, to get from the pier (el muelle) to the speedboat, it will cost between $0.50 and $1.00, meaning that between $1-2 extra for each island transfer. 
• Arriving at Isabela, there was an additional entry fee, $5 for nationals and $10 for foreigners, in cash. 
• A modest almuerzo ejecutivo in the mainland (soup, main course with rice and salad, and dessert) can be about $3…. in the islands, this is at least $6-8. In fact, it seemed that everything cost about 100% more the price in the mainland. For all other meals, expect to pay around $20 for an entree and a Pilsener 
• One day of diving costs almost as much as a PADI Open Water course. I paid $165 for two dives in Santa Cruz. 
• If you are beginning your travels from outside Latin America, bring your own sunblock and/or aloe vera gel. These items are notoriously expensive in the region; I dared not even find out how much they cost here. I brought each with me and both were needed. Preferably, invest in biodegradable sunblock because the ‘traditional’ kind is damaging to sea life. Order some through here 😊

Things can add up quickly so make sure you have access to your funds before coming here. I don’t mean to say be frugal. I may never return to the islands again so I didn’t want to skimp out on having the best experience. Just be wise. And always make sure yo have cash-money on hand because you'll need it. There are ATMs on each of the islands for those of you with real, normal banks. 

You’d think that everyone was a high-roller on the island. The reality is the communities see only 40% of what you pay. The rest gets sent back to the central government in Quito for, I’m assuming, ‘discretionary spending” and allocating to the provincial governments. Similar to those statistics you read about the USA and how much per dollar of taxes return to each state. Learning this guilt-tripped me into tipping my servers and tour guides more than I would naturally since it hardly seems fair considering the cost of living. Tourism in the islands increases each year but the amount they receive from the government disproportionally doesn’t increase as much. Rumors have been floating that the number of tourists would be regulated more, and already new rules starting November 1, 2018 (read here for more details), to help control the influx of visitors. These will include:

• Proof of private health insurance (for foreigners); 
• Proof of lodging reservation(s); or 
• an invitation from a local to stay at their home (both nationals and foreigners); 
• and keep in mind the maximum length of your stay, annually, is 60 days… something that had been in effect prior to these new rules

Do your research beforehand to make sure you aren’t turned away when you arrive to the airport. It’d be a shame to miss out on your once-in-a-lifetime experience simply for not being aware of a handful of requirements you weren’t aware of. Just like when I tried leaving for Útila the first time.

Pro Tip: Though it isn't the way I did it... if you want to visit the three main islands (Isabela, Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal), then it is much smarter-economical-prudent-convenient to fly into Santa Cruz and fly out of San Cristóbal. This would mean you'd do the 'ferries' SCz-Isa-SCz-SCb. You would save you at least $41 in the process and at least 4 hours of time. The airport in Santa Cruz is actually on a different island, Baltra, whereas San Cristóbal's is literally in the city of Puerto Baqeurizo Moreno.

You'll also want some cash handy for purchasing snacks, either while going on hikes or taking the inter-island speedboats. Be aware that at literally any point of entry/exit there's an armada of inspectors. You can't transport fruits, as they could carry with them insects. You cannot collect and transport seeds, shells, rocks or any other natural collectables; in case you try, officers have sniffing-dogs to detect these. Take memories, not things. What are you going to do with that piece of lava rock once you get it home, even if you get it past the officers and dogs? Put it in a box? C'mon and be respectful.

Another reason for having cash handy for payments is, if you do use a card for purchases, you will likely have to pay the 12% IVA (tax). Cash payments seemed to be at the 'wholesale prices.'

There are some other items I highly recommend packing, either to help save on costs or make your stay comfortable.

• Warm clothing. Pants and a long sleeve shirt/sweater. The temperature, at least while I was visiting, would dip pretty low. And it would rain or mist frequently, so another thing that came in handy was...
• A rain jacket. It's bad enough being wet, but wet and cold is not fun at all.
• Your own snorkel equipment. These are available for rent or are provided on many tours. It comes in handy on your own excursions and saves the hassle of finding it on your own. If you have your own flippers, you may want to pack those, too. Snorkeling is as good as diving for seeing wildlife because it's everywhere and I promise you won't regret taking up some of your luggage space for these items.
• Your own beach towel. Hotels post signs to not bring their own towels to beaches. Understandable. I'd hate to gunk up my washing machines with sand from a revolving door of huéspedes.
• A portable, rechargeable battery to hookup your devices. Ecuador famously (for me) experiences power outages... it only happened once to me during my stay but you never know when or how long they will occur. I also brought it with me on tours to recharge my GoPro because I was recording so much of everything.
• An underwater camera/camera housing. I use my GoPro everywhere and it came especially handy with snorkeling. The amount of wildlife under the sea surface rivals that on land. Who knows when you may see a flotilla of sea turtles or frenzy of hammerheads. 
• Some basic Spanish. I found that many more places and people spoke English but, come on, you're visiting a Spanish-speaking country. This website seemed to be pretty comprehensive... though I would put emphasis on learning numbers toward the top.
• Comfortable walking shoes or boots and sandals.
• Enough sunblock to get you through your stay. If you have skin like mine, also a bottle of aloe vera gel.
• A small backpack for day trips. Waterproof is better.
• A hat and sunglasses. My sunglasses unfortunately broke on day three of nineteen and I was stubborn for replacing them.

If packing space is limited, don't worry about having too few clothes. I saw several lavanderías in each town that cost $1 per kilo of clothing and had same day service. Someone will wash and fold your clothes for $1 per kilo/two pounds? Sign me up! Which reminds me...

There are basically only three places you can stay, unless you're ON A BOAT! These are Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristóbal), Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz) and Puerto Villamil (Isabela). Puerto Baquerizo Moreno seemed to be the most relaxed and most restaurants/agencies/tiendas closed for a siesta. Puerto Ayora was more energetic and busy, all day, every day. Puerto Villamil was what I was expecting the Galápagos, a hypertouristy but laid back beach town. I learned later in my trip that there is a small population on Isla Floreana. I did some searching and it looks like you can indeed find lodging here, and it may be worth a visit. Many hidden natural wonders await you here and it's supposed to be breathtaking. However, I did not go since I was unaware of the possibility.

In general, I found that the average length of stay for travelers on any given island was around two or three days (since I was staying six days on each island, I saw the groups of people come and go). People doing these brief visits packed days full of tours, something I personally don't like to do because it results in rushing. And while I booked my tours ahead of time to save frustration and time visiting several agencies, it also seemed the cost of tours was cheaper when you booked them upon your arrival to the islands. Since there are dozens of agencies operating the same tours, if one agency's tours are full at least you have a chance with a different one. 

I hope that helps if you are reading this and planning your own trip to the archipelago. If you have questions or corrections for me, leave a comment below and I'll be glad to find an answer for you.

Now that I have all this general information out of the way, let's get talking about my experiences.........