Where to Book your Galapagos Cruise

A Galapagos Cruise Ship

From Abroad

Most visitors arrange their tours before arriving to the islands. Since the Galápagos are becoming ever more popular and high-season tours sometimes fill up over a year in advance, arranging your tour early is often the only guarantee that you will get what you want.

You can do this through a travel agency in your home country, but understand that while the process may be more efficient, you will pay more (commission cost, package fees, national taxes, etc.) and have fewer options (only those boats partnered with your home agency—usually the top-end boats).

You can also contact the boats directly, via the internet: pick a ship you're interested in by searching our Viva Travel Guides database, and go through the official website for the tour company that owns or operates the ship.

Many of the first class and luxury boats focus promotion on pre-arranged tours with foreign groups, making them unavailable to independent (or budget) travelers.

On the Mainland

You can arrange tours (from luxury to economic) in Guayaquil or Quito, either through the boats' city offices or through any number of travel agencies. During the low season, you may find a well-priced tour with openings leaving in only a few days, but expect to have to wait a month or more for availability during the high season.

If you have a few extra travel days in one of the big cities, go to a number of different agencies to inquire about tour availability and prices. You may happen upon a cancellation or a tour looking to fill spaces on departures leaving right away may offer you a last-minute bargain (especially in the low season). If you're really lucky, you may find a travel agent who works directly with boat owners and offers you the at-cost (no commission) tour price.

On the Islands

During the low season, some visitors opt to organize their Galápagos tour from  Puerto Ayora or Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Tour agencies based in the islands will often offer last-minute deals on cruises, which can save you up to 50%.  If you have substantial travel time and a limited budget, you may save some money by flying to the islands, staying in an inexpensive hotel and trolling the tour agencies in town. 

The best-case scenario: you fly to Puerto Ayora and immediately find a first-class ship leaving the next day with an opening, and you pay a fraction of what you would have had you booked ahead. Worst-case scenario: you spend the week looking for a ship with an opening and find nothing, so you do day trips and some SCUBA diving. Still not too bad.

Finding boats in the high season is exponentially more difficult. 

Cruise, Cruise Info.

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