All of our Galapagos tours start with a flight from either Quito or Guayaquil (in Ecuador) to the Islands.

It takes approximately an hour and a half to fly from Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands and two and a half hours to fly from Quito, which includes a stop in Guayaquil. Most flights arrive at Baltra Island using TAME, an Ecuadorian airline. The rest arrive at San Cristobal Island using AeroGal. Your crew will take you directly from the airport to your boat.

Galapagos Island Tours

Boats navigate during the night and spend the day on the islands. You will usually visit two islands a day and spend two to three hours on each one.

We provide naturalist guides on all Galapagos tours. Many are biologists. The guide’s role is to make sure the National Park’s rules are enforced, to explain and answer questions about the Galapagos wildlife and natural history and to escort visitors on shore.

Some of our boats provide guests with the opportunity to converse one-on-one with the naturalists and ask questions about the Islands. One of our ships, the Galapagos Explorer II, is the only vessel in the islands with one of the scientists from the Darwin Research Station. The Station conducts land and marine research for Galapagos conservation. This is the most deluxe ship that provides Galapagos tours.

Guides on Galapagos tours also ensure that the National Park’s rules are enforced. For example, visitors are restricted to designated paths to help preserve the Islands’ ecosystem. Individuals are not allowed to bring food, pets or plants to the Islands.

Underwater Galapagos tours are some of the most exciting in the world. The currents are a mix of warm tropical waters and cold currents from the Antartic, creating the most diverse diving in the world. Dive with sea lions, hammerhead sharks, dolphins, equatorial penguins, sea turtles, diving iguanas, rays and many more species. Please be aware that Galapagos diving is for experienced divers only.

Galapagos Tours - Prices*

Note: The price of the flight is not included in the price for the cruise on our Web site.

*Note (subject to change, please confirm before booking your tour)

Flights Times:

In addition there is a $100 national park fee to be paid by cash only upon arrival on the Islands and a US$ 10 Galapagos entrance card for control of population in the islands

Note 1: All flights, ground transportation, National Park fees (US$110), taxes, and tips are not included in the basic tour prices listed with each boat.

Note 2: All flight times are local time. Mainland Ecuador (Quito and Guayaquil) is GMT -5 hours. The Galapagos Islands are GMT -6 hours. Neither Mainland Ecuador nor the Galapagos Islands change their clocks for Daylight Savings (because they are on the equator). This means that Quito and Guayaquil in the summer months are one hour ahead of Eastern time and in the winter months they are the same time as Eastern Time. In the summer months, the Galapagos Islands are the same time as Eastern Standard Time but in the winter months they are the same time as Central Standard Time.

Galapagos Tours - How to Pay for your Cruise and Flights

Payment: The passengers will have to make a down payment of at least 30% (depending on the policy of the boat) of the total amount to secure the spaces after the confirmation of the tour. The balance has to be deposited at the latest, 30 DAYS before the departure time . These are policies from the boat operators and not Columbus Travel.

Insurance: We strongly recommend passengers buy trip cancellation insurance. In addition we also recommend the following insurances: life, international medicine, baggage loss and baggage delay, loss of personal belongings lost or stolen personal objects during the length of the trip.

Warning: Diving in the Galapagos Islands is advisable for experienced divers only. Cold waters, strong currents and surge may be present. Passenger participation in water sports, snorkeling, skin diving, kayaking, etc. is done at your own risk. COLUMBUS TRAVEL CIA LTDA. assumes no liability for accidents occurring for passengers participating in these activities.

Galapagos Tours - Cancellation and Penalty Policy

• Any cancellation within 120 days or more prior cruise departure date will have a cancellation fee of 150 USD per person for administrative expenses and the remaining balance of the deposit will be refunded.
• Any cancellation between 119 to 91 days prior cruise departure date will have full deposit as cancellation fee (30% of the total amount of the trip).
• Any cancellation between 90 to 61 days prior cruise departure date will have a cancellation fee of 50% of the total amount of your trip.
• Any cancellation within 60 days prior cruise departure date full cancellation fees will be applied (100% of the total amount of your trip).

• Cancellation penalties for Land Services that involve guide, hotel or third parties reservations will be evaluated depending on the policy of each service provider.
• Cancellation penalties can vary from boat to boat. Please enquire for specific cruise cancellations.
• TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE: click here to get a quote and purchase your travel insurance through Travel Guard.

NOTE: THE ITINERARY IS ALWAYS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PREVIOS NOTICE DUE TO OPERATIONAL PURPOSES, WHEATER CONDITIONS OR POLITICS OF THE GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITIES.