Galapagos Local Flights, Airports & Ground Transportation

The Galapagos Islands are made up of 19 large islands and countless islets, meaning that getting to the major visitor sites and even the Galapagos archipelago itself requires a mix of air and ground transportation, in addition to any water transportation like your cruise or inter-island speedboat transfers. Knowing your way around this system beforehand can make your trip a bit smoother.

Airports

All flights to the Galapagos arrive via either Quito or Guayaquil, Ecuador. There are no direct international flights to the Galapagos.

Baltra Airport is the largest of the two main entry points for travelers to the Galapagos Islands. If you are staying on Santa Cruz Island or if your cruise departs from Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, you will fly into Baltra Island. From here you will meet your trip leader, and, depending on your itinerary, you may head straight to your boat to begin your cruise or travel to the town of Puerto Ayora via a public shuttle about 10 minutes to the Itabaca Channel – a narrow channel separating Baltra and Santa Cruz Islands. A ferry will take you to the other side of the channel, where taxis and shuttles will be lined up to take you into Puerto Ayora.

If you’re flying into San Cristobal in the eastern Galapagos, then the airport is located just outside of the Galapagos capital city of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, making it an easy & direct commute into town. The main dock for cruises is also in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, and all of the hotels for land-based excursions are right around town as well.

There is a small airport on Isabela Island that only flies to the other islands of Baltra and San Cristobal.