San Cristobal – Entry & Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (Galapagos Islands)

Categories: Travel reports, South America, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands

Today we were able to sleep a little more, because our flight from Guayaquil to the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands just started at 12 o’clock. The flight with LAN Airlines to San Cristobal took about 2 hours.

Galapagos


Entry to Galapagos

At the airport in Guayaquil we had to pay 10 USD each for a Transit Control Card. Every tourist who wants to go to the Galapagos Islands has to pay for it. Our entire luggage was scanned (mainly for fruits and other things that may not be imported to Galapagos) and sealed – and then we were allowed to check in.

Flight from Guayaquil, Island of San Christobal, Galapagos, Ecuador, Round trip, Wildlife, Travelreport

Flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal with LAN Airlines

The Galapagos Islands are an equator archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of 13 larger and more than 100 smaller islands. 97 of the country and 99 of the surrounding waters is under strict nature conservation and the extraordinary flora and fauna of the islands are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Entering the Galapagos Islands is strictly regulated, so when we arrived at the airport in San Cristobal we each had to pay a national park fee of 100 USD.

We were on the Galapgos Islands in 2015. In the meantime, the rules for entry may have changed completely. For example, we have found the information that since February 2018, the presentation of a return ticket and a hotel reservation for the planned length of stay must be presented at the time of entry. More detailed information can be found on the website of the Foreign Office.
Island of San Christobal, Galapagos, Ecuador, Round Trip, Wildlife, Travelreport

Welcome to Galapagos

Our tour program “8 Days Galapagos Island Hopping”

To see as many of the different Galapagos islands as possible, we have booked an 8-day island hopping tour through the Agency Shine Galapagos. According to the tour operator, the tour program for the next few days looked like this:

8 Days Galapagos Island Hopping, Galapagos, Ecuador, Tour, Wildlife, Travelreport

8 Days Galapagos Island Hopping

Arrival in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

San Cristobal is the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands and has an area of 558 km2. The highest point of San Cristobal is an extinct, heavily eroded volcano, which is 730 meters high.

After we got our luggage at the airport, we were picked up by an agency employee and taken to our first accommodation Royal Bambu Inn in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

The location is good. The harbour promenade can be reached in a few minutes on foot and can be observed endlessly. We had a twin room on the upper floor. After dragging the heavy suitcases up, you would actually need a cooling down. Unfortunately, the room does not offer this, because the air conditioning has hardly cooled at all, so sleeping has been difficult. The room was very spartan – for two nights, which we booked here as part of a tour, but ok. But we wouldn’t have stayed longer.

Hotel Royal Galapagos Inn, Island of San Christobal, Galapagos, Ecuador, Tour, Wildlife, Travel Report

The Hotel Royal Galapagos Inn

The beach “La Loberia” on San Cristobal

After lunch we visited with our guide the beach “La Loberia” at San Cristobal, where we first walked a bit along the coast.

Marine Iguanas on San Cristobal

Here you will find mainly the dark sea lizards (Marine leguanes), which sunbathe everywhere on the rugged volcanic rocks.

Blue-footed bollfish & sea lions on San Cristobal

On the cliffs we could see for the first time the blue-footed bollels typical of Galapagos. At the end we were snorkeling a little on the beach and watched the sea lions, who also like to take the benches 🙂

At about eight we had dinner at a nearby restaurant in San Cristobal and watched the final of the Superbowl 🙂

All travelogues from Ecuador & Galapagos-Island

Our 10 days on the Galapagos Islands are definitely one of the highlights of our world tour. We enjoyed the magnificent Nataur and the fascinating animal world incredibly well. No matter if San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabella, Floreana or North Seymour - every island is completely unique and there is always something new to discover.

Galapagos Islands » Guayaquil: The Iguanas in the Park Seminario (Ecuador)
» San Cristobal Island: Entry & Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (Galapagos Islands)
» San Cristobal Island: Snorkeling at Kicker Rock (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Puerto Ayora & the Giant Turtles (Galapagos Islands)
» Floreana Island: Giant Tortoise & Beach Playa Negra (Galapagos Islands)
» North Seymour Island: Day Trip to North Seymour Island (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Bachas Beach & the Flamingos (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Charles Darwin Station & Transfer to Isabella (Galapagos Islands)
» Isabella Island: The volcanic landscape of Sierra Negra (Galapagos Islands)
» Isabella Island: Isla Tintorera & Snorkeling with Sea Lions (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Snorkeling in Los Tuneles (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Iguanas & Baby Sharks in Tortuga Bay (Galapagos Islands)
» Santa Cruz Island: Diving at The Gordon Rocks (Galapagos Islands)
» Quito: Tourist Attractions, Things to Do & Photo Spots (Ecuador)