Questions parents ask How much does it cost to bring children? Park entry is paid in cash at the island airport, and children are charged at a lower rate. Foreign children under 12 are currently charged USD 100. Children from Andean Community and Mercosur countries pay USD 50 when under 12, and under-2s are not charged. A child over 12 pays the adult amount, which is USD 200 for most foreign visitors.

What is there to do, and what does it cost? Most activities cost little once the park entry fee is paid. Puerto Ayora sits on Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island, and its activities fall into four groups: tortoises, beaches, snorkelling and diving, and boat days. Dollars are the local currency. Which tortoise stop is worth my time? All three are good, and they suit different moods. The research station is free.

Walks you can do alone, and walks that need a guide The Galápagos park rules split the walking here into two camps. On town streets, the Tortuga Bay path and a few beaches you are free to wander. Everywhere else in the protected areas, a naturalist leads and you follow. Knowing which is which saves you a wasted morning. Free to walk without a guide Along the waterfront. Avenida Charles Darwin links the municipal pier with the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Sights in the order you meet them Sightseeing in Puerto Ayora is easiest when you begin at the municipal pier and work outward. Academy Bay sets the layout, and the waterfront avenue leads to the research station before trails and roads head off to beaches and hills. Everything is quoted in US dollars. 1. The pier and the harbour The Avenida Charles Darwin starts here and follows the water east. The fish market is a short way along, and it draws sea lions and pelicans.

A couple’s guide to Puerto Ayora This is a town for couples who like their romance outdoors and low-key. The best moments here are a shared swim, a boat under the sky and dinner by the harbour. The town is on Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island, and the currency is the US dollar. Pick your setting The sheltered beach Playa Mansa at Tortuga Bay is the beach to choose. Walk the paved 2.

What a multi-day trip from Puerto Ayora looks like Nobody sells one standard multi-day trip out of Puerto Ayora. Longer visits are built by the traveller from inhabited islands, fast boats and day tours, or bought as a package from a licensed agency that writes its own itinerary. This page covers the do-it-yourself version. Plan A: two nights each on three islands Start on Santa Cruz, where Puerto Ayora has the research station, Tortuga Bay and the highland reserves.

How a boat day works A day tour from Puerto Ayora starts at the dock with a licensed operator and ends there, and the naturalist guide stays with you at every landing. No one lands on an uninhabited island alone. That is the rule for all protected visitor sites in the Galápagos, so the practical job is to choose an operator and an island, not to plan a route yourself. Operators set their own schedules, prices and group sizes, and the park entry fee you paid at the airport is a separate cost.

If you only have time for one tour Pick by the animal you most want to see. Giant tortoises in the wild: the highlands tour. Giant tortoises being raised: the Tortoise Route. Seabirds: a yacht day to North Seymour. Snorkelling: Las Grietas. The harbour from the water: the Tour de Bahía from the municipal pier. A second island: a licensed speedboat day to Isabela. Why every tour comes with a guide More than 97% of the archipelago is national park, and its visitor sites admit people only with an authorised naturalist and a licensed operator.