My 36 days trip to Ecuador, Galapagos | Budget tips | Scuba diving | Solo traveling
I want to share with you my trip to the Galapagos. I spent 36 days on Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal. Furthermore, I had a lot of amazing scuba diving and on-land expeditions. The Galápagos is a unique location and has one of the healthiest natures I have ever seen.
29 May 2025
Travel stats
- My total expenses in 36 days: ~ $4.553
- Sorkeling, Hiking, other trips: 5 - $570
- Diving trips: 9 - $1680
Introduction
Note: all prices and locations have been visited by me in May 2025, and I cannot guarantee that it's still the same when you read this.
We all know Galapagos is expensive, so I will share with you my list of the best restaurants and cafés, information about trips and what you can do without a guide, how to get last-minute prices, and much more.
I will share my Google Maps list. After you click on the image, you can save it in your Google Maps as an external list.Money: cash or card
I definitely recommend calculating your expenses in advance and withdrawing US dollars in advance. I am happy that I did so.
The first cash you will need in the immigration when you arrive. A foreigner has to pay 200$ (2025)
On Santa Cruz are many places like restaurants, shops, and even the dive centers you can pay with a card. But sometimes there are transaction fees, like 4%, and this can be a lot if you pay for trips like diving.
On Isabela, I haven't seen any possibility to pay with a card.
On San Cristobal it's the same as on Santa Cruz. You can pay by card in dive centers, but there is mostly a transaction fee.
In general, the modern locations (expensive restaurants, etc.) offer card payment, but all local shops, restaurants, etc. only take cash.
There are ATMs on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. Isabela, I haven't seen one. I just withdrew once in San Cristóbal at the yellow ATM, and I got $500 (I think it's the limit, but sadly the ATMs do not say what the limit is, so you have to try), and I paid a $4.60 fee, which is not bad. I often heard there is a limit of $200 per transaction, and sometimes the ATMs are out of notes.
Tipps to get cash in Quito
I stayed before in Quito and knew in average what I will spend (especially with the diving costs). I calculated with up to 3 diving trips per week.
In Quito are many different banks. I tried a few of them. I tried to avoid as many fees as I could, and I'll show you my experience.
- Banco Guayaquil
- These ATMs are the best. I could withdraw a maximum of $500 and only paid a $0.52 fee. But there is a max of $500 per day, so I recommend starting to withdraw some days before.
- Banco del Austro
- This is my second choice, with a max of $500 and a $4.50 fee.
- Banco Internacional
- This bank is recommended for no fees by many, such as the internet and the hostel I stayed in. But my experience was different, and I had a maximum of $500 and a $5 fee. Maybe it depends on what bank you have.
In general, the ATMs only have $20 and $10 notes, so be ready to travel with a lot of notes... I felt like a drug dealer with this bunch of money.
How to get on the island from the mainland
Ecuador has 2 airports that have flights to Santa Cruz or San Cristobal. Either fly from Guayaquil or Quito. I stayed before Galápagos in Quito for 7 days, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I had a dorm room in the hostel "The Secret Garden," and I can recommend it! This hostel has been the best hostel I've had in South America so far. The beds are very comfortable, it has a curtain (which is surprisingly rare in South America), the food is excellent, they offer a 3-hour free walking tour every day at 9am, and the rooftop is amazing!
- Dorm room 4/6/8/10/16 beds price: ~ 12/10/8/7/6$
- Airport Taxi: 20$
- Breakfast: scrambled egg $2.80, cappuccino $3.75 50% on everything if you stay here
- Family dinner at 7pm (list yourself in the list before 11am to get a free dessert!): 5.25$ if you stay here
When to go to Galapagos
I went here in May 2025. In Galápagos there are 2 seasons.
- Warm and Wet Season: December/January to June/July
- Water temperature: 23 – 24°C
- Air Temperature: 22 – 31°C
- Underwater visibility: Approx. 10–30 meters
- Cool and Dry Season: June/July to December/January
- Water tempature: 20 – 23°C
- Air temperature: 19 – 27 °C
- Underwater visibility: Approx. 5–20 meters
I think in general the Galápagos is all over the year an amazing place to visit. I couldn't decide, so I took the May because it is between the seasons.
In 36 days I had maybe 2-3 rainy days, and all other days it was sunny. The water temperature was okay. In the first snorkel tour I was without a wetsuit, and I never went without again (just for a short snorkel it's okay without). While scuba diving, I often had a 7mm or 5mm and a hood, and I felt comfortable. But I am freezing very fast
Hint for coffee lovers (as me)
Be prepared; it's very hard to find good and affordable coffee on the islands. Either it's instant coffee or it costs up to $5 (insane!). There are few locations where you can find ok'isch non-instant coffee for $2–2.50. I will list my places to go in each island section.
When I go again to the Galápagos, I will bring a hand filter or French press and buy ground coffee on the mainland (check if you can bring coffee here because they have a lot of restrictions on what to bring on the island). With that, I will have a good-quality coffee at any time and save a lot of money!
Hint for scuba diving
Each island works differently. It is recommended to book diving in advance to save your spot. Since I spend a long time here, I'm flexible, so I'm just going on the islands without any pre-bookings to get last-minute prices. On Santa Cruz, it's worth it to book the diving in person since you can save up to $100! As an example:
- Iguana charges $290 in advance and $190 in person.
- Shark Bay charges $240 in advance and $180 in person.
Some dive spots are indeed fully booked, but if you are at least a week in Santa Cruz, you can still find a spot. Surprisingly, Gordon Rocks - the most famous spot here - was never fully booked, but I guess it's because you need at least 25 dives for this.
In general, I was surprised that there are so many divers with low experience. All other dive spots in Santa Cruz can be visited by any dive experience. Even discovery dives are possible. The average count of dives from the people I met: 10 to 25
On Isabela exists only one dive center, and it has a terrible reputation. Even the host of my hostel told me about this and many more people. I also saw many bad reviews in Google Maps. I heard stories about bad-smelling air, inexperienced dive masters, and once even that there were deaths in the past. Anyway, I think in Isabela there are not even good dive spots.
On San Cristobal there are some dive spots, including the famous Kicker Rock. Here it works differently with the last-minute prices, and when you get them, it's almost the same as if you pay in advance. I am also booking the diving here in person, but as said before, the price is the same as on the website.
For the most payments there is one thing: Many dive center using WeTravel and you pay 4% fee if you pay with card. So also here I recommend bringing cash to save the 4%, which can be a lot with these prices.
After Galápagos, I will stay in the same hostel in Quito again. From Galápagos, the airline usually flies as the first stop to Guayaquil, but I decided to take a connecting flight to Quito because I don't want to stay in Guayaquil since I heard from many people it is very dangerous at the moment.
The prices of the flight to Santa Cruz or San Cristobal were about the same. I decided to fly to Santa Cruz because it's the main island, and it's a good location to start. But I didn't know that the airport in Santa Cruz is pretty far away from the town. After I landed, I had to take a 10-minute bus to a pier, then a 10-minute boat, then a 40-minute bus to the town.
- Flight from Quito to Santa Cruz: 176$
- First bus to the pier: 5$
- Second bus to the town: $8 (alternative is a taxi for $20)
The airport in San Cristóbal is just 10–20 minutes from the town. I am happy that I will have my return flight from San Cristobal.
Santa Cruz
- Where I stayed: 9 nights in "Hostal al Mar" for $18 per night in a 4-bed dorm. 5 nights in "Hostal Darwin" for $18 per night in a private room. I recommend Al Mar for socializing and Darwin if you want a private room for a good price.
- Cheap local restaurants: 6$
- Coffee: $2.50 - $5
- Last-minute scuba diving with Iguana: $190
- Last-minute scuba diving with Shark Bay: $180
- Cash vs Card: On Santa Cruz, you can pay in many places with a card, but often there is a fee (like the 4% in dive centers). In the modern restaurants you can often pay with card without any fee. For local restaurants, shops, etc., you definitely need cash.
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Once I arrived in the town, I was surprised by the size and infrastructure of the town. I guess I expected a simple island kind of structure. Here are many, many shops, restaurants, and everything else you could need.
Things you can do without a guide
On my first day I went to the Charles Darwin Research Center and 2 beaches nearby. I've seen there my first big tortoise on land and a lot of iguanas. :) It's just 20 minutes walking from town, and it's a great place to go if you're just looking for something easy for 1–2 hours. And the information in the research center is very interesting, and I am so glad to see all the programs that they're doing to preserve the nature.
Another great place to go is Tortuga Bay. For me, it has one of the most beautiful beaches on Santa Cruz, and it has 2 beaches you can visit. It is a 40-minute walk from town, and you don't have to pay any entrance fee. At first, I arrived at the big beach that has a beautiful sandy area with crystal-clear water. The waves and current can be strong here, so it's not recommended to swim, as well as it is pretty shallow. Anyway, it's famous as a surf spot, so if you can surf, it's a lot of fun. You can take lessons or rent a surfboard in town for $20 per day (until 6pm). I tried surfing once, but I'm still a beginner with around 10 lessons I had. Sadly they only had very short boards, and I struggled a lot to catch any wave, but it was nice to see the difference between the longboard and the short board. As well, it wasn't easy to carry the board 40 minutes from town to the beach - I guess it's quite impossible to carry a longboard.
After the big beach around the corner, there is a smaller, beautiful, and very calm beach (I think the name was Playa Mensa). Here you can swim and take a nap on the beach (but try to keep dry after you come out of the water, or the horseflies will eat you).
Snorkeling and other trips
- Tour 180: $130 last minute
- Santa Fe: $110 last minute
There are many snorkeling trips you can do. I did 2 different tours. The first I did is called 180 Tour, and I visited Isla Pinzon, one beautiful beach in the north of Santa Cruz, and Isla Daphne. My highlight here was that I swam for the first time with sea lions, and it was amazing! The water was pretty cold in May (21 or 22 degrees, I guess), and I recommend renting a wetsuit before you go (often the agencies offer them for $5).
My second trip was to Santa Fe. I had 2 snorkels here, so we just moved around the island for the second. I think this is the cheapest snorkeling trip you can do here. Especially the second snorkel spot was amazing. It was a rock formation with many sea lions. We swam very close to them, and they were very playful. I have never seen so many sea lions so close and playful. Amazing!
Scuba Diving
- Iguana: $190 last minute in person
- Shark Bay: $180 (I think they are the cheapest on the island) last minute in person
| Iguana schedule | Shark bay schedule |
|---|---|
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I had 5 diving trips on Santa Cruz. I did my first 2 dives with Iguana and the other 3 with Shark Bay. Furthermore, I liked Iguana a lot. They also have a good reputation and are often recommended. They have very good quality equipment, including 7mm suits, which I appreciate since the water can be cold to very cold (around 22 degrees in May with cold streams). The briefing is very detailed, and all the time I felt really safe. I went with them to Gordon Rocks, Seymour, and Mosquera.
My first dive was in Gordon Rocks, and I had an amazing first encounter with a hammerhead shark. :) It's the picture you see in the header of this post. And the best thing is that I was lucky and had almost no current, and the visibility was good. The conditions in Gordon Rocks change every day, and a middle-to-strong inclusive up-and-down current is common. My second time in Gordon Rocks was exactly this. At the first dive, the current was okay with some very strong currents, and we saw a school of 5-6 hammerheads sharks at 25 meters.
It has been a great experience in Gordon Rocks, but in Seymour and Mosquera I also had very good encounters. At ~25 meters, I've seen a school of around 10 eagle rays, hammerhead sharks, a lot of white tip sharks, and much more.
Once I dove in Daphne and it was amazing! The highlight was after around 30 minutes of dive time. We floated on ~10 meters, and we have seen a big bait ball of sardines. I have never seen this before! We dove inside the ball, and we have seen sea lions, sharks, and turtles swimming through the swarm! Amazing! I didn't research about Daphne before, so I was positive surprised by this.
Isabela
- Where I stayed: 2 nights in the hostel "La Casa de Mike" for $15 per night in a 3-bed dorm. 6 nights in "Gladys Mar" for $20 per night in a private room with air conditioning, and you can use a shared kitchen. I recommend Gladys Mar because it's private and almost the same price as the hostel. I also don't recommend La Casa de Mike because the beds in the shared room were not bunk beds, and I had only a tiny and very loud fan, and the kitchen was very, very dirty.
- Cheap local restaurants: 5$
- Coffee: $2.50 - $5
- Diving: I did not dive here because there is only one dive center with a terrible reputation.
- Cash vs Card: For local restaurants, shops, etc., you definitely need cash. I paid everything in cash. I think there is one ATM on the island, but you'd better take cash with you to avoid high fees.
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Isabela is very different from the other islands. Here is the real island vibe. Most streets are out of sand, there are just a few restaurants, a stunning beach near the town with a beautiful sunset, and beside the pier is a snorkeling spot and a tiny beach with hammocks - I spend a few days just in these hammocks. 🤩
On the first day on Isabela, I thought it would be too quiet for me. I guess because I had so much action the last 9 days on Santa Cruz, I was still full of energy. But after 2 - 3 days I understood the island, I became calm, and I just enjoyed some days doing nothing and reading my book at the beach 🙂
Things you can do without a guide
One of the best things you can do is rent a bicycle for $10 to $15 per day and ride all the way up to the Wall of Tears. I recommend riding all the way to this spot and skipping all stops in between as first (you can see them on the way back). When you reach the walls, you can go up on the left side. You will see multiple viewpoints with a beautiful view of the town or even the volcanoes of the Galápagos. On the way back to town I made a stop at any possible spot. You will see viewpoints, beaches, mangroves, a little jungle hike, and for sure you will see one or more tortoises passing by :) I took my time for this trip, stopped at any spot, and finished in 4–5 hours. You can also do it in 1–4 hours.
Discover the beach near town and watch the beautiful sunset Isabela has to offer. It's amazing! If you are able to surf, you can also rent a surfboard for $20 per day in the shop Penguins on Antonio Gil and Galapagos and surf while seeing the sunset. A good spot is near the rocks on the left end of the beach. Probably you will see a lot of local kids surfing or body surfing around sunset time.
See flamingos in the lake Poza de los Flamingos in the middle of the town. The best time is either in the morning or around sunset time. Of course, you can go anytime, but the chance to see flamingos is higher when it's not that sunny.
Go snorkeling near the pier at Concha de Perla and see iguanas, swimming penguins, turtles, a lot of sea lions, and other tropical fish. After the snorkel or any other time, you can go to the small beach Playa Isabela near the pier. It's a great place to relax, observe sea lions, and just read your book in a hammock under the tree. It's also a great place to be to wait for the ferry!
Snorkeling and other trips
- Tintoreras: 45$
- Volcano Sierra Negra hiking: $45
- Volcano Sierra Negra sulfur mines: $65
- Los tuneles: I don't know, and I didn't go there, but I heard it's worth going.
- Cormorant tour: $240
The shortest and cheapest tour is Tintoreras. You can see penguins while resting, swimming, or nesting. Also, you can see turtles and the famous birds, blue-footed boobies. You have 3 options to go to this group of small islands. The most common way to go is by boat, and it includes one-time snorkeling, seeing penguins from the boat, and stopping at one of the islands to discover by walking. You can also take the kayak (sadly, you cannot rent it on your own), but you're not allowed to snorkel. I like kayaking a lot, but the non-snorkeling part was a no-go for me. The third option is by standup paddle but I just heard about this option, and I heard only some agencies offer this, so you have to ask around.
I went on a special tour called the Cormorant Tour. This tour is only happening when there are enough people and the conditions are good, and it's only done by one agency called Whale Shark Dive center - even if they don't offer scuba diving. 🫠 This tour was amazing! We had a 2-hour boat drive to the west of Isabela around the corner. We had 2 snorkeling spots. The first was very nice; we've seen a lot of turtles, sea lions, and swimming penguins. 😍 The sea was rough, and it felt like we were in the open sea, which we were. The sea lions there are even another kind than these near the town. We've seen fur sea lions that have hair on the body. They're living only in remote areas and in the rocks, and they're way more shy and are not that close to the people as the other kind. On the way back we made a kind of safari and watched for whales, orcas, or manta rays. We've seen some manta rays, but most were too fast for us. But then we found one that felt okay to swim with us for about 30 minutes. 🤩 So I snorkeled here with my first seen manta ray 🤩 amazing
Scuba Diving
I did not dive here because there is only one dive center with a terrible reputation.
San Cristobal
- Where I stayed: 3 nights in the guesthouse "Hostal Dorys Mar" for $18 per night in a private room. 10 nights in an Airbnb near the airport "Puerto Baquerizo Moreno" for $20 per night with a huge private area of 3 rooms, including a very big balcony and a private kitchen. I can recommend both accommodations. My main reason to change to the Airbnb was because I wanted to cook every day. The "Hostal Dorys Mar" has a shared kitchen, but it is in the house of the house, and it was uncomfortable to run in their house to ask if I could use the kitchen.
- Cheap local restaurants: 6$
- Coffee: $2.50 - $5
- Diving: I had 4 dive trips here, including a night dive. Here is the only place you can do a night dive. Kicker Rock is definitely the best dive spot here, so I did it twice.
- Cash vs. Card: For local restaurants, shops, etc., you definitely need cash. I paid everything in cash. There are some ATMs on the island. I used the yellow one, and I paid $500 and a ~$5 fee. Cash is recommended. The diving shops charge you 4/5% if you pay with a card.
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Another amazing island in Galápagos! In San Cristobal are the most sea lions. It's crazy when I think about the fact that I hadn't seen any sea lions before the Galápagos, and now I am seeing them every day. 🤩
I stayed in a simple hotel for some days, but I wanted to use the kitchen, but there I could only use it in the room of the host. It felt awkward to ask to go in somebody's room to use a kitchen 😄, so I changed to an Airbnb without any reviews 😬, but it was amazing. 3 rooms, a kitchen, and a balcony with hammocks for $20 😮
I did some snorkeling, went to many beaches on my own, and enjoyed the sunset every day from Playa Mann. 😊
Things you can do without a guide
On this island you can do a lot on your own! I liked this a lot.
You can walk to the jetty Tijiretas, spectate resting sea lions, and snorkel and play with active sea lions. :) If you walk straight to the jetty, it's approx. 40 minutes from town. After the Playa Mann, you can either go the right path through a museum, or you can take the left path through another beautiful beach called Playa Carola. Both ways are nice, and if you have the time, I recommend going both ways.
Enjoy a stunning sunset at Playa Mann. I went here almost every day. You can observe a huge amount of sea lions. You can see babies playing in the sea, resting sea lions, and one or another fight between alphas. Around sunset, they are getting more active. It's fascinating to observe their behavior. It feels like being in a nature documentary. :)
You can hike to the Playa Baquerizo. The hike starts near Tijeretas. After you finish the amazing snorkeling with sea lions at the Tijiretas jetty, you walk back on the left side. After a few minutes you see some stairs going up. You will find 2 amazing viewpoints. At the upper viewpoint, you can find on the right side a small entry with a sign to start the hike. The hike is approximately 40 minutes, and on the way are many markers, so it's quite impossible to get lost. Good shoes are recommended.
You can walk approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour from town or take a taxi to Playa Loberia. It's a beautiful sandy beach to swim, snorkel, or just rest and read your book.
This one you can do on your own, or it's included in a tour (I am not sure which tour it is). We hired a taxi to drive us to El Junco, Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado and Puerto Chino. You can combine these locations because they are located on the same route. Either you start at El Junco or Puerto Chino. I recommend starting at El Junco but it doesn't matter. We started at Puerto Chino and it is a very beautiful beach. You can swim here, but it's pretty shallow. You can take some very nice beach pictures. Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado is a tortoise reserve centre that is free to visit. You can see baby and adult tortoises. I guess we arrived at their lunch time so we've seen alot adult and semi-adult tortoises eating :) The El Junco is a beautiful lake. Before you see the lake there is a short hike. Unfortunately the weather has been really bad for us and it rained a lot. But it was still fun :)
Snorkeling and other trips
I haven't done any guided tours here. I heard the 360 tour is the most famous, where you go around the island.
Scuba Diving
I had 4 dive days. 1 night dive that was pretty cool with some sea lions, and it was nice to dive in the night 🙂 the atmosphere is amazing. It's very relaxing. I always have my best air consumption during a night dive. But the best dive spot is Kicker Rock! I'm glad I had this dive at my 31st birthday. 🙂 I've seen a lot of turtles, hammerhead sharks, Galápagos sharks (or big blacktip; I'm still not sure) and a huuge bait ball of sardines.
I must say I was a bit disappointed about San Cristobal and its dive spots. Maybe I got too excited from the blog I read about the Galápagos before I went here. The diving in Santa Cruz has been much better! In Santa Cruz, every dive spot is amazing, and the last-minute prices are good. And (important!) the diving centers are much more professional.
I had all 4 of my dive days with the dive center AQUAVENTURES DIVE CENTER but I cannot recommend them. I just list it here so you can see my experience. You can read this Google review of mine here
There are other dive centers I got recommended by friends, but I haven't been there myself. Wreck Bay Diving Center and Blue Evolution