How To Arrange Your Own Galapagos Flights
For those of you who want to book your Galapagos flights independently of a travel operator, here is exactly how to go about it, step by step.
Step 1: Check South America Flights Availability The first thing to keep in mind is that it's not possible to take an international flight directly to the Galapagos Islands. You will have to first land at one of the two international airports in Ecuador namely the Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito or the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil. Visit your favourite international flight booking website (there are dozens out there depending on where you stay) and check the availability for your date and time of choice. Flights from the USA go through either New York, Miami or Houston so if you are coming from Canada you will have to connect to one of those cities. Europe Ecuador flights leave from Madrid, London, Frankfurt or Amsterdam but all have a stopover somewhere along the route. Step 2: Buy Your Domestic Galapagos Flight Tickets There are two domestic Ecuador airlines that operate regular Galapagos flights from Quito and Guayaquil. These are TAME and Aerogal and you can purchase tickets from them online.They are comparatively very similar and the one that you ultimately end up booking with will depend a lot on your particular circumstances. There are a total of three flights to the islands daily with TAME operating two of them and landing at Baltra which is where most of the cruise boats operate from. Aerogal has one flight per day alternating landings at San Cristobel and Baltra. Ticket prices are virtually the same (there are small variations in price and sometimes one of them runs a special promotion. Check their websites for current details) and pretty expensive (but there are no other flight options available unfortunately) so you can expect to pay between US$345 and US$395 return for an adult. Airfare will vary according to point of departure (Quito or Guayaquil) and time of year with the flight high season dates running from Nov 01 - Apr 30/ Jun 15 - Sep 14 and low season from May 01 - Jun 14/ Sep 15 - Oct 31.
Both airlines offer 15% student discount if you have a valid ISIC card but the maximum age limit for Aerogal is 25 while for TAME it's 30.NB!! Purchasing your ticket doesn't automatically mean that you have a reservation on a specific Galapagos flight. That only happens when you make a reconfirmation 24 hour before your flight departs so don't forget to do this or you will be bumped to another time and date. Also remember that you will have to arrive in Quito or Guayaquil one day before your departure for the islands as there are no direct connections with international flights. Make sure that you check in at least 1 hour before departure time because any unclaimed reservations 30 minutes before takeoff are given to people on the waiting list. Once you have bought your domestic Galapagos flights tickets go back to step one and book the international flight. Step 3: What To Do When You ArriveFor purposes of this Galapagos Islands flights guide example I work on the assumption that a Tame airlines ticket departing from Quito was purchased but you can apply the general principles to your own circumstances.When you enter the Mariscal Sucre airport after your international flight, pass through the immigration checkpoint and go to the baggage claiming area where your luggage should appear on the carousel within half an hour. Sometimes the luggage is unceremoniously dumped on the floor so check there first. Rent a trolley cart for US$1 and don't be surprised if an attendant accompanies you and the trolley outside to ensure its safe return and expects a small tip. The TAME airline office in Quito domestic terminal is located about 20 metres from the international terminal. Find this office and reconfirm your booking for the flight to the island the next day and then catch a taxi to your accommodation for the night (it shouldn't cost more than US$5 to go virtually anywhere in Quito by taxi).
Step 4: Getting Around On The Galapagos IslandsCheck in at least one hour before your Galapagos flights departure to Baltra the next day and when you arrive on the island you can catch one of two free busses: to the Baltra port where some of the cruise boats wait or to Canal de Itabaca where you can cross over to Santa Cruz island on a small ferry (70 cents) and take another 45 minute bus trip to Puerto Ayora which is the largest town of the Galapagos Islands.
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