Getting To The Galapagos

 So I'm off on one of my adventures. I always say I'm going to write up a blog about my journeys so I can read them back but also for the pleasure of sharing them with fellow and future travellers.

This time, Galapagos. The Galapagos is notoriously expensive and difficult to get to, and so I decided to make things more complicated and slightly cheaper by being a volunteer for giant tortoises on Isla Isabela. In another post, I'll talk about how I became a volunteer, which itself was a multi step process.

But today, I want to focus on getting there.

So, here's some things to know that I was warned about and some things I found out. 

1) You end up first in Quito or Guayaquil. The two airports are gorgeous modern places. I sadly saw very little of the Quito airport, but I'm getting to check out the domestic section of Guayaquil. The domestic flights has a Juan Valdez Cafe, a store with cool Peruvian looking shirts, another place to eat, and not much else. Charging opportunities for phones and the like seem limited, but there's a few plugs around. 

2) So, in Quito, and the reason I got to see so little of the airport, was because I had to clear two different agencies for the Galapagos. I initially queued up for the transit visa. A mistake. Go first to the baggage x-ray and then do the transit visa. Or do whatever is shorter, I guess. you have to do both. The transit visa part opens at 5 a.m. in the airport. So, getting there at 3:45 was not useful except I was fifth in line... and as I waited a massive line formed behind me.  So maybe it was worth going early and waiting. 

3) Baggage x-ray.  They're looking for fruit and forbidden things. They did not. care about the small package of chocolate and cookies I had with me. I showed them so I could chuck it just in case.  Anyway, they put a twist tie on the luggage to close it so you can't stick in anything else exciting.  

4) Transit visa. You can save time by filling out the form ahead of time online. In my case, I'm a volunteer, so I had to flash a fancy letter that let me enter the islands for free. The transit visa costs upwards of $200 for foreigners otherwise. Ecuadorians pay less.  Also, I had to pay $20 for some other fee. There's a lot of fees.  I was well aware of all the fees before i started though so nothing was a surprise. The transit visa people needed to see a bunch of things, so be prepared:

They needed:

My passport

Proof of my flights leaving the Galapagos (so no one-way tickets) -> I used my Latam app on my phone. They did not accept my printed itinerary from my airline.

$20

And luckily for me -- my letter saying I'm a volunteer. Otherwise, I think you cash out the $200+ here for the visa. Don't lose it. 

5) Once I had my visa and my baggage x-ray scan, then I could go to the Latam counter and check in. Whee. Latam is very quick and efficient. I stupidly chose the wrong counter, though, the counter for people with problems.

6) You then run the airplane gamut of taking off your shoes, belts, watches, and dissecting your carry-on (actually did not have to dissect my carry-on) and passport control and all that. Fortunately, there were no lines and I raced through. My jeans set off the metal detector and so I got pat down. 

Here's my bit of aisle seat wisdom: So, my flight from Quito to Guyaquil was at 6 a.m. and the Galapagos counter opened at 5 a.m. I was so stressed about making my flight.  I would recommend to save yourself stress, get a later flight to Guayquil but get your visa as early as possible! There is no way I'd have made the flight if I'd shown up at 5 a.m. for my 6 a.m. flight...  Any issues and I'd have missed the flight for sure. 

It is worth noting that one couple who had booked separate legs of their journey couldn't do the pre-bag screen or get the transit visa. They had a long layover in Guayquil which allowed them to get their bags and do the whole get your visa bit here. I don't know what the process is like in Guayquil airport, but I imagine it is similar.