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Tour guidePackagesCruises Updated Nov 6, 2026

Galápagos tours, compared

Day trip, land package or cruise: what each one costs per day, what it reaches, and which one fits your trip.

  • 30day trips from $41
  • 12land packages from $208/day
  • 83cruises from $418/night
  • $2,268DIY week, mid-range, pp
North Seymour island
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0

Short answer: a day trip is one boat and one site, booked per day from $41. A land package strings day trips, hotels and ferries together for about $208 to $436 per person per day. A cruise reaches the outer islands no day boat visits, from about $418 per person per night. Every boat landing in the national park comes with a licensed naturalist guide, whichever you choose.

Which kind of tour?

Day tripsLand packagesCruises
Pricefrom $41 per tripfrom $208 per dayfrom $418 per night
You sleepin a hotel you chosein hotels the operator choseaboard
Reachessites within a boat day: Bartolomé, North Seymour, Santa Fe, Kicker Rock, Los Túnelesthe same sites plus the ferries between islands, organisedGenovesa, Fernandina, western Isabela, Española: the outer islands
Best forflexible travellers, budgets, families, anyone seasickfirst-timers who want it arranged, solo travellers who want companywildlife-first travellers who are fine at sea
CompareDay-tour finderBelowCruise finder

Multi-day land packages, by price per day

12 island-hopping packages on GetYourGuide and TourRadar from 6 operators, cheapest per day first. Packages that start in Quito include the mainland days.

Prices and ratings as the marketplaces showed them in November 2026. Partner links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Disclosure

More: All 400+ Galápagos tours on TourRadar · Budget Galápagos tours on TourRadar · 4-day island-hopping tour (Viator) · 7 days Galapagos on a budget (Viator).

Cheapest cruises per night

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Prices and ratings as listed in November 2026; the price at checkout is what counts. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Disclosure

Filter 30 day trips by island and animal →

Or build it yourself

The itinerary planner works out the island order around the ferry times and puts a bookable day trip on every day; the cost calculator prices it. A mid-range week for two with three day tours comes to about $2,268 per person from mainland Ecuador, including the $200 park fee and the $20 transit card.

Quick answers

What kinds of Galápagos tours are there?

Three: day tours from the inhabited islands (from $41 per person), multi-day land-based packages that bundle hotels, ferries, guides and day trips (from about $208 per person per day), and cruises where you sleep aboard (from about $418 per person per night). Most visitors mix the first two or take a cruise.

Do I need a tour at all?

Not for everything. The towns, Tortuga Bay, the tortoise centres and the highlands can be done alone or by taxi; the national park's boat sites need a licensed naturalist guide, so every boat trip is a tour. A do-it-yourself week with three day tours costs about $2,268 per person mid-range.

Package or do it yourself?

A package saves the planning and often gets group rates on the day trips; doing it yourself costs less if you are happy to book ferries and boats as you go and sleep in simpler hotels. The itinerary planner and the cost calculator show both.

When should I book Galápagos tours?

Cruises and multi-day packages months ahead, above all for December to April and July to August; single day trips a few weeks ahead for the popular boats (Bartolomé, North Seymour, Kicker Rock, Los Túneles), the rest on arrival.

Sources:Galápagos National Park and Governing Council. More numbers:facts and figures.

Updated 2026-11-06. Fees, boat times and prices change, so confirm with the operator before you travel.