Arrival in Galapagos: 

San Cristobal:  The airport is 5 minutes out of town.  Just grab a taxi out front.  $2-$3 per taxi, not per person.

Baltra:   First, you board an airline bus headed for Itabaca Canal, Canal for short, NOT for Baltra dock.  Put your bags below and climb aboard.  It's always crowded.  If we are doing your transfer, your driver will handle your bags so you just take your seat.  It is approximately a 10 minutes ride to Itabaca Canal.   There you board a ferry or take a water taxi to cross the Canal.  Sometimes you'll catch the ferry owned by the city government.  That is 50 cents.  The private ferry is 80 cents.  Bags go on top of the ferry, you go inside.  If you are escorted by our driver, he pays for you and handles your bags.  Water taxis are shared and cost $1 pp. 

From the Canal, it is 42 km into Puerto Ayora up and over the Highlands of Santa Cruz and through the delightfully cool scalesia forest. Usually, there will be taxis there...usually...offering you their services.  It is $18 from the Canal into town.  Services from the airport with assistance are $30. All taxis are pick up trucks, often Toyota HiLux or Nissan Frontier.  They accommodate 4 people who can all share the price.

Inter-Island Transportation in Galapagos: 

The logistics in Galapagos can be challenging.  If you wish to travel on your own, you could end up saving a little money, but you will also spend a lot of time figuring things out.  And if at any point, you run into a problem, no support if you're on your own.  

The following is the public transportation schedule.  You must arrive 30 minutes prior to departure to have your bags inspected by SICGAL for organic goods.  They must be tagged by SICGAL to be put onboard.  The line for this can be crowded.  You might be able to buy your tickets the same day, but it's much safer to purchase in advance especially since a full speedboat means you are waiting until the next day to depart.  Prices vary between $25-$30 pp each way.

To transfer to San Cristobal from Isabela (or vice versa) by speedboat, you must go to Santa Cruz in the morning and wait until the afternoon to transfer to San Cristobal.  It's an all day event that does cost $50-$60 pp.  It is quite safe to leave your luggage in the speedboat office and they almost always let you if you ask.

If you are in Isabela before your dive cruise, you cannot travel to San Cristobal the same day in time to embark.  You must go one day in advance and overnight in San Cristobal. If you have an Isabela extension after your dive cruise and plan to go by speedboat, it is much wiser to disembark your final full day, overnight in Puerto Ayora and depart the next day.

The alternative is a small inter-island flight that usually has space for up to 9 people operated by Emetebe.  Weight limits are very strict at 20 lbs per person.  So again, if you're on a liveaboard, you either have to find somewhere to guard your dive gear and excess luggage or ship it on the speedboat in advance.  If we are handling things for you, you simply don't worry about it.  We'll take care of the logistics.

The flight is quite a scenic tour in and of itself.  The big advantage is that the flights get you there in about 30 minutes.  The disadvantage is that the price is $170 each way for a foreigner / $190 for the San Cristobal - Isabela route in either direction.  You must arrive to the airport at least 30 minutes prior to your flight.  It is much better to arrange a taxi to pick you up, especially in Isabela and especially on a Sunday when no one is working.  Below is the flight schedule: 

We do purchase our clients' speedboat tickets or flights in advance.  For those in DIY mode, I can provide you with the information, but not direction to purchase in advance.  There's a published email address if you want to try: emetebe@ecu.net.ec.  They don't have a website.