A GALAPAGOS trip must be considered as a once in a life time experience, therefore you must plan it carefully and pay attention to lots of details.
If passengers are traveling around Ecuador, they must be aware that the Galapagos trip will take away the biggest portion of their budget. Therefore the selection of the right trip (good value for money) is most important in order to have a satisfactory experience. 
The most common way to visit the islands is by cruising on board one of the motor or sailing yachts with accommodation facilities – Cruise boats, taking passengers to the most important visitor sites. TerraDiversa represents the best boats in every category available, allowing us to have up to date and objective information, so we can provide our clients the best option (s) to suit their needs.

TerraDiversa has also developed an innovative and optimal way to visit the archipelago without using the cruise boats. Our Island Hopping trips use fast speed boats to connect inhabited islands where passengers stay at local hotels. During the day, we visit the most remarkable sites in the surroundings. The island hopping trips offer a different way to see the Galapagos, visiting the least crowded places where cruise boats don’t go. The other advantage of these trips is the emphasis we put in optional activities such as trekking, snorkeling, downhill mountain biking, sea kayaking, horse riding and diving.

Hotels on all categories are also available on the few inhabited islands. Programs could be arranged by combining hotel accommodation with daily navigations out to the nearby islands -Hotel-Yacht trips.

Galapagos has over 100 different boats. All of them have a designed and approved itinerary (by the National Park) for 8, 5 and 4 days.   The 8-day trip is definitely the best idea because it allows time to complete a loop around the archipelago; where as on the 5-day trip you only cover part of the Galapagos which could be either the northern or the southern islands. A 4 day trip is too short and perhaps not recommendable, but it should be also considered is there is no other option.

Keep in mind that the arrival time to the Galapagos on the first day, coming from any of the flights available, is around noon, so you have only half a day left. On the last day, the departure time is around mid-morning, so most of that day is gone too. From those facts you must consider the real time you have to spend on the islands. Also, the park fee and air tickets price is the same regardless the number of days spent. 

When taking a cruise boat, navigation between sites normally takes place at night or during lunch. This allows 2 visits a day of approximately 3 hours each. Every visit is normally divided into walking time, swimming or snorkeling.

The Island hopping trips are usually more flexible. On a normal day we leave the hotel early morning and sail to the best highlights on route, normally 2-3 visitor sites in a day where we walk/hike for different wildlife observation. Normally there is also time left for snorkeling and/or swimming. We get back to the hotel (same island where we started or next one on the itinerary) at the end of the day for dinner and overnight. These programs allow high flexibility for building up the desired itinerary and length of time; so in case of groups, they could be arranged on tailor made basis and last up to 2 weeks covering the least visited sites. 

According to what we consider our priority, the main concerns that every visitor must look for in a tour are:

1. Safety.- navigation and emergency equipment plus crew’s experience.
   
   
2. Itinerary.- every island and visitor site have a highlight and differences in terms of landscapes, animal and plant life.
   
   
3. Guide.- a good level of interpretation and foreign language are key.  The regulation of the National Park enforces one guide per every 16 passengers.  There are three categories of guides:
   
   • Naturalist 1: Normally employed on Economic boats and hotel-yacht trips.  Most of them speak basic English.
   • Naturalist 2: Normally employed on Tourist and First class boats or on the Active Galapagos Trips. These guides are bilingual and have a biological, ecological or natural science background.
   • Naturalist 3: Normally employed on Luxury and some first class trips. Multilingual guides with degrees in biology, ecology or other natural sciences.  Some have Masters or PhDs.
     
     
4. Comfort (important but not always the main concern)
   a. Boat/hotel category
   b. Room/cabin with air conditioning or fans
   c.  Boat/hotel with hot or cold showers
   d. Fixed menus or buffets
   e. Type of room/cabin
   f. Lounging and deck areas on boats
   g.  Facilities available at hotels
   h.  Size of boats
   
   
5. Type of boats:
   a. Small (12 - 14 passengers), medium (16 passengers), large (20 - 45 passengers), or cruise ships (100 passengers).
   b. Regular motor yachts or sailing yachts (with engines) built for ocean cruising. Sailing yachts do not rely fully on the sails, which are mostly for the nice look of it.
   c. Cruise boats with cabins for overnight accommodation making a loop around the islands, or fast motor yachts for Island hopping or Hotel-Yacht trips, where you combine day tours with overnight at hotels in local villages.
   d. Full diving boats focus specifically in visiting best diving sites and little land visits, or simply boats for regular land visits.

Bare in mind that only the cruise ships or high category boats include visits to some of the remote islands such as Tower, Fernandina and the west coast of Isabela. Small boats or low category boats tend to remain near the central islands.

Large cruise boats offer many facilities and are definitely more comfortable with little chances for seasickness. Passengers are divided into groups of 16 for land visits for better interpretation purposes. Smaller boats could be more personalized and flexible in terms of timing and activities allowance, providing an overall pleasant experience.  

As a result of the topics above, we classify the trips available and their approximate prices into 5 different categories:

Note: Island Hopping trips are mostly considered under Tourist superior category and Hotel Yatch trips from tourist to luxury categories.

Remember that as you go up the categories (economic to luxury), all the 5 topics will improve gradually as a whole. That means that you can’t skip one topic without loosing the others. As an example, you can’t ask for basic comfort but demand a good guide and itinerary, because they come together….

In terms of bookings, passengers can book individual spaces or charter the whole trip when a group of people is the actual case.

The one thing TerraDiversa passengers could be sure off, is the fact that we know the best options in every category or type of trip available, guaranteeing a program that will suit the best for every client. 

On top of the tour price you must add the following costs:

1. Round trip air ticket: 

   Guayaquil – Galápagos - Guayaquil $ 356
   Quito – Galápagos - Quito $ 407
   Guayaquil – Galapagos – Quito $ 380

2. When you arrive to Galapagos, you must pay the National Park fee $100 and migration card $10.
3. Snorkeling equipment (on some boats) approximately $2 - 4 per day. It is recommendable to bring your own equipment.
4. Personal expenses (soft drinks, except for water, alcoholic drinks, souvenirs…).
5. Tips for naturalist guides and crew.

So, normally a Galapagos tour includes:

1. Transportation (land and sea) while in the islands.
2. Accommodation on double basis. 
3. All the meals.
4. Certified bilingual guide
5. Guided excursions to the visitor sites
6. Drinking water at all times.

Full diving trips will last from 8 to 15 days and will range from $1800 – $3800. If additional information is needed, ask for specific details on this matter.

Dive Centers are found mainly in Sta Cruz and San Cristobal islands. Trips could be organized to the best diving sites near by for aprox $120 all included (2 immersions). Package programs are also offered including diving, accommodation and meals at local hotels.  

Please keep in mind that Galapagos has a very high demand. Most programs fill up months or even years ahead of time for July, August, December and early January. Therefore we recommend you to book your trip 2 - 4 months in advance for a low season trip and 5 - 12 months prior for high season trips. When making last minute reservations, you might have to choose a boat that is not your first choice.

I hope you find this information useful.  If you would like us to help you book a trip, we now need to know:

• Contact information:  Full Name, e-mails, phone numbers, address.
• Number of people interested in traveling with you
• Age range
• Price category selected
• Type of boat desired
• Approximate dates

With this information we can immediately check the space availability according to your preferences and offer you several options.