When it comes to visiting the Galapagos Islands, planning your trip can seem overwhelming. With 13 major islands and a few smaller ones — and only so much time — it’s not necessarily easy to decide which ones you should visit.
In the end, we decided we would spend time on just two: Santa Cruz and Isabela. Only four of the islands are inhabited by humans, and Santa Cruz and Isabela are two of them. I’m planning to write more articles about the Galapagos, but here’s your starting point of how to get to Puerta Ayora on Santa Cruz from the airport. (And keep in mind — this is based on doing a Galapagos trip on your own, independent of a tour group or cruise.)
Arriving on Baltra Island
If you’re planning to visit Santa Cruz, you can either arrive by boat from another island or by plane. The busiest and most major airport in all of the Galapagos is Seymour Airport (GPS) on Baltra Island, just north of Santa Cruz. I recommend flying into GPS and starting your Galapagos trip here.
When you land at the airport, they will bring “air stairs” to the front and back exits of the plane, and you’ll have to walk the rest of the way inside. I highly recommend selecting your seats at the front or back of the plane. If you’re in the middle, for example in row 22 like we were, you’ll be literally the last ones off the plane. That in itself isn’t a big deal, but then you have to wait in a line for “immigration” into the Galapagos. You’ll have to present your Transit Card, pay $100 per person, and get your passport stamped (yay!) even if you’re coming from Ecuador already.
The problem is that the line doesn’t move very fast at all. And the airport is very hot and humid, especially if you have a lot of carry-on luggage. So being the very last ones in line wasn’t much fun. I think we waited for about 45 minutes.
When you leave the secure area, you might be in dire need of some caffeine, especially if you had a 4:45am wakeup call like I did. You may then start to panic realizing there are no cafes or restaurants in the airport. “What kind of airport doesn’t have coffee?” you might mutter angrily. Take a deep breath and step outside. You’ll find a small cafe with coffee and sandwiches in front of the building.
And even though I saw the worker make my cafe con leche with coffee he heated up in the microwave and a simple splash of milk from the same container we have in our fridge in Quito… that coffee was weirdly good.
Getting to Santa Cruz
Look closely and you’ll see a big yellow iguana behind the bus. The first of hundreds of iguanas you’ll see in the Galapagos!
The next step on your Galapagos adventure is taking a bus. If you wanted to take a taxi instead, you’re out of luck, because there are no taxis at the airport. Since buses leave every 10 minutes, and the airport is small, you shouldn’t have any problem finding them. Across from the departure point is a small ticket window where you’ll need to buy your bus tickets. It costs $5 per person. Then, get in line for the bus. Somehow, it was totally packed even though everyone else, who had been so far ahead of us in the other line, ostensibly could have already left much earlier on one of the many other buses.
But this time, it benefited us to be last in line for the bus, because we got the seats up front next to the driver. The bus didn’t have A/C, but it did have all its windows open, so it was a nice drive while it lasted — only about 10-15 minutes or so. One highlight was when a bright yellow iguana was in the middle of the road, and the bus came to a stop as we waited for it to meander to the shoulder.
When the bus stops, you’ll find yourself facing a turquoise-colored body of water. This is Itabaca Channel, and it’s what separates Baltra Island from Santa Cruz Island. You’ll be ushered to a water taxi by one of the workers, and you’ll pay $1 once on board. There are a few different types of boats they may use, but most of them can hold between 15 and 40 people. The ride only takes about 5 minutes, and finally you are on Santa Cruz Island.
Getting to Puerto Ayora
This is the bus you’ll take from the Canal to Puerto Ayora. Watch the sides of the road and you’ll almost certainly see wild tortoises along the way!
Yes, you are on Santa Cruz Island! But pretty much all the tourists stay in the town of Puerto Ayora, which is in the far south of the island. And after taking the water taxi, you are in the far north. Which means you need even more transport to get where you need to go.
At this point, it becomes a bit more like choose your own adventure. You can either take a taxi to your hotel or hostel, or you can take the bus again. If you want to take a taxi, look for an available white pickup truck — these are taxis. And there are people there too who will surely try to solicit you for their taxis. It’s going to be at least $40-$50, if not more.
You can also take yet another bus, which is what we decided to do. I read that the journey takes about the same amount of time whether you use a bus or taxi, and of course, the bus is cheaper. It costs another $5. There’s a little ticket stand where you buy your ticket, and then you will be told which bus number to board.
It’s 40 kilometers (25 miles) from here to Puerto Ayora, and the trip takes about 45 minutes. Again, no air conditioning on board, but the bus was far from full and the windows were open, so it was fairly comfortable. The bus lets you off right near the dock at Puerto Ayora, the center of town. From here, it probably won’t be more than a 10-15 minute walk to wherever you’re staying. Or, if you’re tired of being hot and sweaty, just look for a white truck taxi.
Find things to do during your Galapagos Islands trip.
Getting Back to the Airport from Puerto Ayora
On the airport bus on the way back.
When it was time to leave the Galapagos, we kind of knew how much time to budget for our trip back to the airport. (About an hour and 15 minutes.)
But what we didn’t know what how things worked going back the opposite direction. There’s no information anywhere about how or where to catch the bus back to the Itabaca Channel. (The day before, we’d flagged a taxi down and asked him to take us 10 miles to a nature reserve. He quoted us a price of $40 ONE WAY. So I didn’t even want to imagine how much more expensive it would be for a trip that’s more than twice as far.)
I decided to go down to the dock, the Muelle de Puerto Ayora, to ask a ferry boat worker when the bus comes. She said it comes once a day at 7:30am. I thought it would be a good idea to ask someone else just to make sure, so I stopped into the first travel agency office I saw. I asked the travel agent the same question — and she told me the bus leaves every half hour between 7am and 9am, in front of the church (Santa Marianita). This made more sense because there are several flights out of GPS airport each day, so one bus doesn’t seem like it would have been sufficient.
Our flight wasn’t until noon, but we decided to take the 7:30am bus just to be safe. Since we arrived at the airport so early, we had plenty of time to see the other buses of tourists arriving from the city, which makes me think the travel agent was correct in what she told us.
Other than that, everything you do on the way FROM the airport is the same on the way TO the airport, just in reverse.
And luckily, going through security to leave the Galapagos is really fast, especially compared to when you came in.
Do you still have any questions about getting from the GPS airport on Baltra Island to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island? Let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them! You’re going to have a great time in the Galapagos Islands. 🙂
–Cathy
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Originally Published on April 15, 2022.
Very informative.
Please tell me how much time they ask for check-in for domestic flight (to Quito), 2 or 3 hours ?
Thanks
Hi Peter!
Thank you for your comment! Flying from the Baltra Island Airport, I definitely think 2 hours should be plenty. There’s nothing special about the check-in process since all flights from Baltra go to either Quito or Guayaquil. And the airport is very small.
Hope that helps!
-Cathy
We are traveling to Galapagos island this august and this is such a great help for us first timers. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by! Glad you found it helpful.
-Cathy
great details! i’m making plans to go the thanksgiving week. not into cruises and tours at all if there are options. very helpful. thanks!
Hi there! So glad you found these details helpful — it was a little confusing when I was planning my trip so I wanted to be sure to share everything with others!
You definitely don’t need a cruise or tour. 😉 Take it from me!
You’ll have a great time.
–Cathy
Hi Cathy,
Thank you so much for all the useful information. I am planning to visit Galapagos Island next year in May, and station in Santa Cruz island for 7 days, doing day trip to Bartolome island and strolling around the beaches like Tortuga Bay Beach, Playa de la Estación, Las Ninfas, Rancho Primicias – Giant Tortoise Reserve and Las Grietas. So I have a few question for you:
1. what is the transit card? how to get it?
2. is possible to see the blue foot birds on Santa Cruz island on your own? is ferry service take you to the North Seymour Island and back?
3. which tour agency you recommend to do the Bartolome island? what is the reasonable price on a regular Yacht of 16 people?(we will do the booking at the island and pay by cash).
Thanks
Hi Carrie,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your questions! Forgive my delayed responses — last week was a little crazy with traveling to visit family for the holiday. I’ll try my best to answer your questions:
1. The Transit Card is something you’ll have to get at the airport, in either Quito or Guayaquil, before you leave for the Galapagos. I believe you found my other blog post (where you left your other comment) which should have helped a little bit, but let me know if you still have questions on that.
2. We didn’t see Blue Footed Boobies on Santa Cruz — we saw them when we were on a tour from Isabela island. A quick bit of research tells me that North Seymour Island, which you mentioned, is one of the best places to see them. I am sure there is some sort of available tour that can help you book an excursion from Santa Cruz to North Seymour, but we didn’t do that personally so I don’t have much to recommend, unfortunately. But you will find plenty of tour groups/agencies promoting their services on the main street in Puerta Ayora, Santa Cruz.
3. We also did not visit Bartolome island, so I can’t say what the price would be. The only ferry service we booked was from Santa Cruz to Isabela, which I think cost about $30 each way, and probably had 30 people on board. I booked it through Ferry Galapagos online.
I hope that helps! I’m going to answer your other comment on the other post in just a minute.
–Cathy
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for your response. I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving with family.
I’ll book a excursion to North Seymour Island to see the Blue Footed Boobies, and
the Bartolome island for the amazing view. I am planing to spend a week in Santa Cruz Island, and probably not to visit the other island this time, just too many things to do and see, can not do all at once, save it for next time.
I am greatly appreciated your information.
Carrie
Enjoy your trip! Let me know how it all goes, if you remember to stop by here again. 🙂
-Cathy
Will do. I am planning to go 2nd week of May next year, will let you know all about it.
And we are going to Machu Picchu after the Galapagos. Do you have any recommendation for Peru?
Carrie
Hi! No, I haven’t been to Machu Picchu or Peru yet… I hope you enjoy!
-Cathy
This was super informative last week when I was planning my way back from Puerto Ayora to the airport. I took the bus for $5 but I can confirm that the taxi costs a flat $25 rate to the airport. Thanks!
Did the taxi for the 25.00 just take you to the Ferry ?
How long is the entire travel time back to the airport ?
Hey Denise!
Not sure whether Altaf will come back here and see your comment. But I think I can help.
The $25 will just take you to the canal, where you will have to ferry/water taxi across. From there, you’ll just take a bus a few minutes to the airport (there aren’t taxis on that side of the water.)
The whole travel time from leaving Puerto Ayora to the ferry point is probably about 45 minutes. 10-15 min for water taxi. And then probably 10-15 min on the bus to the airport. Total about 1 hour 15 min. I hope this helps!
-Cathy
Thanks Cathy for the clarification!
I should have been more clear – as Cathy said, the taxi takes you to the canal only for $25. Then you pay $5 for the bus ticket, but only after crossing the canal on a ferry (which takes a few minutes) you can take the bus. The ferry will charge you $1 per person while you are inside it.
Also, you can find taxis everywhere (they are mostly white Toyota pickups) but you are guaranteed to find one in front of the main church (Iglesia Católica Santa Marianita).
Hi! thank you so much for all the helpful info!
We have a 10:39am flight from GPS to GYE on a Friday. I saw an earlier comment that noted 2 hours is needed at the GPS airport (checked luggage, etc.). Is that accurate? If so, it seems we need to leave by 7am at the latest to ensure we get there with enough time. Any idea how to get to the airport that early in the morning?
If nothing else, can we reserve a taxi in advance? ($$gulp!$$)
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for stopping by and I’m so glad you asked!!
I think that the 7am bus should be totally sufficient! It would get you there around 8:15, 8:30 at the latest which would still give you more than 2 hours. I really didn’t think the Galapagos airport was very busy, although I know we were there in February, and we also didn’t check bags.
As far as reserving a taxi, that would probably be possible if you talked to your hotel about it in advance – they might be able to help you set that up. As someone mentioned above, it should be about $25 flat rate to get to the canal near the airport, but it may cost more if you reserve it in advance, I’m not sure about that! But the amount of time the bus takes vs the taxi is the same, I guess the only benefit of the taxi would be that it maybe could leave earlier and get you there earlier.
Do whatever makes you feel comfortable! If it were me though, I’d just try to get the 7am bus. 🙂
I hope that helps! Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with!
-Cathy
Thanks for sharing this info! I have a question about the “taxis”. Do they charge per person? We are gonna have a pretty big group (at least 6 people) when we go. I’m wondering if we should just pre-book something. Thanks!
Hi Devin!
Thanks for stopping by, and for your question. From my understanding, the taxis don’t charge per person — they charge based on distance. And since they aren’t real taxis (they are white pickup trucks) they don’t have a meter or anything, so be sure to agree to a price before getting in. You might have a hard time fitting 6+ people into one of those, unless some people were willing to sit in the truck bed, which does happen there sometimes, lol. You could either split up your group, or book transportation in advance.
I have seen some of my site visitors book this transfer: Transfer Airport-hotel in Galapagos Santa Cruz with visit to Giant Tortoises in case that is helpful!
Good luck with your trip. 🙂
-Cathy
Thank you for sharing all this information. I have a specific question. We have a 9AM flight out of Baltra August 4 and we are staying in a hotel in Puerto Ayora. Will we be able to take the bus or should we book a taxi? We do not want to miss our flight out as we have a connecting one in Quito leaving for the US, St. Louis, MO that afternoon. I have reached out to our hotel three and still have not gotten any response. Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you
Hi Linda!
Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your question. (I am from Missouri, too! But from KC.)
I definitely think a taxi would be a better option for you to get back to the airport, because even if you took the earliest bus at 7 a.m., that might be cutting it a little bit close. The airport was not busy when we were there, but you never know. Especially if you are flying back to the U.S. that day, you’d want to make sure you get your travel day off to a good start.
It may be hard to book a taxi in advance, but I’m certain that once you get to Puerto Ayora and talk to your hotel in person, they can arrange that for you, no problem. The price will likely be more like $25, based on reports from other travelers who have been kind enough to comment here. Your hotel check-in person will get requests for taxis all the time, so they’ll have connections and be able to schedule something for you on your departure date. I say — don’t worry too much about it in advance. That’s something you can absolutely take care of once you’re there. Just ask them at some point after you arrive.
I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
–Cathy
Hola Cathy, thank YOU so much for all this valuable information. Now, I have a question: are there any vaccination requirements to enter Ecuador/Galapagos Islands? If so, which are they? We arrive at Guayaquil Airport Aug 3 and leave for GPS Aug 4 till Aug 10, is that plenty of time to see most of the Island? We are staying in Puerto Ayora…also, When should we get the “transit card”?
Muchas gracias and have a pleasant day….
🙂
Hola Roxana,
Thanks for stopping by my blog, and for your questions! Let me try to answer all of them:
1. No, there are no vaccination requirements for COVID or anything else at this point for either Ecuador or the Galapagos.
2. August 4-10 should be plenty of time to spend! We spent a week in the Galapagos and we went to two islands, so if you’re just staying on Santa Cruz, that should be more than enough time. If you want to keep busy, check out some day trip options or excursions from Puerto Ayora!
3. You’ll need to get the Transit Control Card in the Guayaquil Airport before you leave for GPS. We were flying from Quito so it may vary slightly, but my blog post here discusses a bit about what the TTC is and how to get it.
I hope this helps! And I hope you have an amazing trip.
–Cathy
hi do I need to book the ferry in advance? I cannot seem to find ferry booking services online from Baltra to Santa Cruz.
Hey there, Amirah!
Thanks for your question. Nope, you do not need to book the ferry between Baltra and Santa Cruz in advance! You just pay when you show up.
I hope that helps!
-Cathy