This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of going to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. I very quickly fell in love with the natural beauty and of all the places I visited this year, this is the one I’m dying to go back to. I’m so happy to share some thoughts and reflections on my time there by explaining How I Got There, sharing my Top 5 Highlights, and 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going.
How did I end up in The Galapagos Islands?
We all have that one friend that’s a little chaotic, right? Well, my chaotic friend and I were talking about going to Thailand together, but that wasn’t going to work out. She then told me that she had forgotten about buying a ticket to Ecuador and asked me if I wanted to join her on that trip instead. We then started talking about what we would do in Ecuador, and my friend (who is a diver) shared with me that going to the Galapagos Islands has always been a dream of hers. I basically said “Sure! Why not?!” And we started planning.
Check out a tiktok of what my journey to the Galapagos Islands looked like here.
Top 5 Personal Highlights from the Galapagos Islands
Natural Beauty
When I first made my list of highlights from the Galapagos Islands, all five things fell into the category of natural beauty, and I felt like I was leaving so much out!
Having been declared a UNESCO world heritage Site in the late 70s, so much of the natural beauty of the islands have been preserved. Additionally, because the Galapagos Islands have been protected for such a long time, the local wildlife does not have the typical fear of humans.
This means that each day you spend out in nature, you have the unique opportunity to see animals in their natural environment, without them getting scared and running off. This is only possible if everyone who visits cooperates and does their part to not disturb the animals, and protects the environment around them.
I have so many stories about the things that I was able to see in the Galapagos islands, more than can be shared in this short post. Check out my Instagram or Tiktok for fun Galapagos content!
Snorkeling Opportunities
Before going to the Galapagos islands, I had been snorkeling one time in my life. It was in a murky channel in Florida where there was a sunken boat, I swam down and think I may have seen some fish around the wreck. At the time I thought that was really cool, but it pales in comparison to what I experienced in the Galapagos.
The water was blue and clear, like I had never seen in my life and around every corner was something new. The islands are famous for many things, one of which are the sea lions who basically own the place. While snorkeling, I was approached by curious and playful sea lions on more than one occasion, making the experience even more magical. Beautiful fish, coral, Marine Iguanas, and Sea Turtles are just some of the things I got to see while snorkeling.
The thing that stuck out to me the most, though was that I did not have to go intentionally seeking out these sites. I would go to the beach with my friend, we would wade out into the shallows to see what we could see. Any beach we went to we would see something! We were never disappointed!
Chill Island Vibes
With most of the land in the Galapagos Islands being protected park land, the towns on the three largest islands are pretty small. Being from a small town myself, and knowing a chill, slow pace of life when I see one, that’s definitely what I felt while on the Islands. Also, the Galapagos Islands definitely cater to tourists, meaning that many of the people you run into are going to also be on vacation and pretty laid back.
My friend and I didn’t plan too much in advance and this meant we got to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. We’d ride our bikes into town, hang out at a café while I got some work done, head to the beach, and just see where the day took us. We lived with swim suits under out clothes, always ready for adventure, and it was the perfect place to unwind.
Food
When we would be riding our bikes through town each day, we always passed the fish market, and with most restaurants in town being so close to the fish market, seafood was plentiful and delicious anywhere we went!
One of my favourite spots called Midori which served sushi, poke bowls, and ceviche. We were in the Galapagos for two weeks and we ate at Midori at least 3 times.
If we weren’t feeling seafood, we’d go across the road to our other favourite place: 1835 Coffee Lab. This café had fantastic coffee and delicious food! I lost track of how many times we came here. It kind of felt like we ate there every day.
At another spot just down the road, Bowl Açai Bar, I found my new favourite food that I ate at every opportunity until I left South America: Bolón (pictured above). A ball of mashed plantain with fried pork, served with eggs and probably some kind of fried meat or cheese on the side. This place obviously specializes in Açai Bowls and smoothies (which were great), but the Bolón I had there was amazing!!
In the two weeks we were in the Galapagos, we didn’t have a single bad meal or negative experience at any bar, restaurant, or café, everything was delicious!
Made Lots of New Friends
The Galapagos Islands definitely get their fair share of tourists, but it’s not on everyone’s bucket list. So many of the people we met had the same adventurous spirit, respect and awe for the amazing environment we were in, and we’re genuinely cool people!
The other tourists we met were from all over the world, and because the islands are all pretty small, there were a number of people that we ran into multiple times. It meant that we had the opportunity to make some genuine connections with people we maybe never would have otherwise crossed paths with, and it made the trip even more magical!
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Arriving in The Galapagos Islands
Carry Cash
When I was getting ready to go to the Galapagos, I heard about the Islands being expensive. As a Canadian who is pretty used to going to the USA, I would compare the prices in the Galapagos to those prices. The Galapagos Islands use US currency as well (apart from small change) and the prices you’d pay for meals, groceries, tours, etc. were all pretty comparable to US prices, maybe even a little lower.
When you enter the Galapagos Islands, you are required to pay the National Park fee of 100$ and the Transit Control Card (TCT) which is 20$. I purchased my TCT at the Quito Airport at a little kiosk before we flew to the GPS Airport, and I paid my park entrance fee at the GPS airport. For my TCT I was able to pay by card, and at the GPS airport, it looked like they were taking card payments for the National Park Fee as well, but bring cash just in case! All over the islands, wi-fi and service are spotty, so debit machines don’t always work.
Sidebar About Transportation around the Galapagos Islands
On Santa Cruz, if you were getting a taxi anywhere in the town limits of Puetro Ayora, it was a flat rate of $1.50, which I couldn’t believe! Getting a taxi ride to the airport on the other side of the island was about $20 depending on which cab driver you asked. Water taxis are used between islands and boats and anywhere else that you may need to cross water (which is more often that you’d expect). All of the water taxis I took were only $1, but obviously that has to be cash since you’re just on a small boat, and it does add up.
Travel Tip: Flying into GPS on Baltra island means you will have to take a bus ($5 per person) to a water taxi ($1 per person), then you get dropped off in a parking lot where there are buses and taxis that will take you across the island into Puerto Ayora. Most of those cost $10-$20 per person. Have enough cash on you to get to Puerto Ayora, there are hardly any ATMs at the airport.
Be Ready to Speak Spanish
Before I went to the Galapagos Islands, I had been learning Spanish for a little over a year, but nothing beyond Duolingo and a little bit of practice with friends. All of that learning got put to the test while I was visiting the Galapagos Islands as I was using my Spanish every day for anything we were doing. Also, the friend I was traveling with didn’t really speak or understand much Spanish, which meant I was translating a lot.
If you are able to brush up on your Spanish before you go, do it! It will definitely come in handy. Otherwise, download the Google Translate app and download Spanish for Offline use. Since I’m still just a learner and don’t always have certain vocabulary I need in my brain, I definitely made use of it!
Wi-Fi and Cell Service will be Spotty
The Galapagos Islands are remote islands, so not having great wi-fi or cell service should have been expected. As someone who works remotely, though, it did prove to be more of an issue than I thought. The place we were staying had wi-fi that was strong enough for me to do most of my work, and enough to get a really weak video chat.
Most cafés that offer wi-fi are pretty similar. When I was using data, the highest I could get was usually 3G, I may have seen 4G once or twice, LTE was a long lost memory. While this was irritating at times, I did appreciate it in a way because it allowed me to unplug. I wasn’t as tied to my phone, basically just used it for pictures and videos of all the amazing things around me.
Spend Time Exploring Other Islands
In the two weeks we were in the Galapagos Islands, we spent one day exploring Isabella and we spent parts of two days exploring San Cristobal. It was not enough!! The rest of the time in Santa Cruz was great, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to explore the other islands more. With the day trips we did we were able to cover a lot of ground and see highlights, but this trip showed me that I like to travel slowly, savouring my time in each place without feeling rushed.
The main reason to spend more time on each Island is the biodiversity between the islands. What you see on one island is not the same as what you see on the others, and everywhere you look on the Islands you’re going to find something new. If you can, take your time!
The Authorities are Very Strict About Conservation (As They Should Be)
Each Island that makes up the Galapagos is unique, and keeping the ecosystems safe and protected is a big deal! At the Quito airport, there was a scanner that our bags had to go through that was looking specifically for organic matter (or at least that’s what I remember being told). When we were boarding the ferries that go between the islands, there were similar scanners that all of our bags had to go through.
There was also tons of signage about not bringing any organic matter between the islands like fruit, vegetables, seeds, etc. and some spots had mats to clean your shoes in order to not track anything onto other islands. It also goes without saying that littering and/or polluting the environment with anything is illegal and carries big fines.
Besides not bringing anything onto the islands to preserve the environment, touching, feeding, or getting too close to the wildlife is prohibited. Some of the wildlife is super friendly and will approach you (the sea lions especially) but you need to respect the wildlife, not touch, and move away. In the water this also definitely applies! Be careful to not step on or touch the coral, or any wildlife, and keep an eye out for sea lions, they love to approach snorkelers and divers.
Final Thoughts
While traveling this year, I had the privilege of visiting a variety of places and having some amazing experiences. At the end of it all, though, the Galapagos Islands are the place that I’m dying to go back to. I feel like I have so much to still explore, and the time I got to spend there didn’t feel like enough. If I ever have the opportunity to return, I’m going to try and plan things out a little more, split my time between the islands a little better, and soak in every minute!
If you are planning your trip to the Galapagos Islands, I hope you found this blog helpful!
Safe travels! oxo