I mentioned at the time that we were thinking of taking an intensive Spanish course while there, but we've decided against that. It would simply take up too much time that could be better spent exploring!
And the other thing I mentioned at the time was a possible excursion to Galapagos Islands. In fact, my actual comment was...
...the other thing about Ecuador that piques our interest is the Galapagos Islands. Yes, they are expensive and would pretty much zero out the benefit of Ecuador being a cheap country. Again, we will see.
So, it turns out we have a few extra dollars in this year's travel budget, and we are going to splurge. After all, it does seem to be a worthwhile splurge... the Galapagos Islands are on many people's bucket lists! And, we are going to be in Ecuador anyhow and the only way to get to Galapagos Islands is from Ecuador.
Galapagos Islands.
But, the fact remains that it is quite expensive.
I haven't bought them yet, but round trip tickets from the mainland will cost around $400 USD ($520 CAD) each for the two hour flight. Flying from Ecuador is the only way to get there unless you have your own private yacht!
Surprisingly, accommodation can be relatively cheap. Considering Galapagos has a reputation for being very expensive, there is an abundance of basic accommodation available, with many Airbnb listings at well under $35 USD ($42 CAD) per night.
And, we will need to spend $100 USD ($132 CAD) each for Galapagos Islands National Parks passes. As well as a $20 USD ($26 CAD) for a mandatory migration visitor card.
We will likely go for 8 nights. I've read that anything under 5 nights isn't worth it, and many people spend two weeks.
Many people do cruises. There are 21 islands belonging to the group, and many people will stay on board in order to visit as many of the islands as possible. These are not big cruise ships though. Their sizes range from 16 to 100 passengers.
Anyhow, that is the extent of our basic research so far. And we haven't booked anything yet, but we've pretty much made the decision that we're going!
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I was on a very small boat with captain Rolf of the tip top 2 many years ago. His family immigrated from germany and lived in a cave for awhile. I think it was floreana. His mother wrote a great book about it.i havent done any research but it sure seems like a cruise would be the easiest. I'll be interested to read how your planning goes. I think rolfs son still operates cruises there.
ReplyDeleteYes, a cruise would be the easiest and probably the best way to see the Galapagos Islands but it is also the most expensive way and one that is out of our budget. Plus when you are on a boat then you are on their schedule and traveling with a group. I think we would rather try do do as much as we can on our own and hike a guide for a day or two for the stuff that we can't do on our own, even though that in itself will be expensive but it will still work out to be cheaper than a boat cruise.
DeleteAwesome guys. I'm still looking for volunteer work there...no luck yet but I'm hopeful I will fine something.
ReplyDeleteKeep trying, maybe eventually you will have some luck. It sounds like it would be an awesome place to volunteer at. :-)
DeleteSounds great and now that the camera is fixed you will have great photos!
ReplyDeleteKevin is pretty happy about that, and I am sure we will get some fantastic photos. :-)
DeleteA place I have always wanted to go! Glad you got your camera fixed so you can take pictures for me!
ReplyDeleteThe Galapagos Islands has been a place that we have wanted to go to for a very long time as well. :-)
DeleteKevin, is so looking forward to taking some amazing pictures with it.
I am so envious but happy for the two of you. That should be an amazing adventure and worth the cost!
ReplyDeleteThank Emily! We are definitely pretty excited about this trip. It will definitely be worth the cost, it is sort of a once in a lifetime kinda deal. :-)
DeleteMy fave scene in the movie Master and Commander was of the Galápagos lizards!
ReplyDeleteWe had watched that movie years ago but had forgotten it, so Kevin downloaded it yesterday and we watched it again last night. We are really excited about this trip even more now. :-)
DeleteWow, that's great! The blog revenue helping out makes a difference in this decision I bet :)
ReplyDeleteYep, and that is the way we are thinking of it. This will be our payback to our readers for putting up with the advertising that is on the blog, so we both win. :-)
DeleteI've wanted to visit the Galapagos ever since the "Master and Commander" movie. Please tell us in detail what it's like!
ReplyDeleteI think that I have wanted to see the Galapagos Island even longer than that, lol! :-)
DeleteWe just watched the movie again last night, and yes it makes us even more excited now. Trust us you will get all the details each and every day that we are there.
Makes sense that you would visit the Galapagos Islands! So looking forward to your blog and pictures! Safe travels friends!
ReplyDeleteYes, it does make sense, even though we had originally wanted a "cheap" trip, I guess that is going to happen now, but it will be so worth it.
DeleteWe are looking forward to telling you all about our adventures there, including some great photos. :-)