Galapagos 2026: The $220 Entry Fee and Online TCT Registration

Every foreign visitor to the Galapagos pays $220 before ever boarding a boat or setting foot on a trail: a $200 national park entrance fee and a separate $20 Transit Control Card (TCT). Both are unavoidable and both are collected on arrival at Baltra or San Cristobal airport — except now only one of them can still surprise you at the counter. Since 29 May 2025, the TCT has moved to an online portal run by the Consejo de Gobierno de Galapagos (CGREG), and the government recommends filing it 24 to 48 hours before you fly, not queuing for it after you land.

What you actually pay, and when it changed

The $200 park entrance fee for foreign adults has been in place since 1 August 2024, when the Governing Council of the Special Regime of Galapagos voted — five in favour, four against — to double it from the $100 rate that had stood for years. Foreign children under 12 pay $100; children under two are exempt. The fee is paid in cash in US dollars at the airport on Baltra or San Cristobal island and funds conservation work across the archipelago's protected areas, split between the national park authority, Galapagos municipalities, the navy and the marine reserve, among other recipients.

The TCT is a separate charge and a separate process. It costs $20 per person (exempt under age two) and is technically a migration-control document rather than a park fee — it caps how long anyone, tourist or resident, can stay in the province, and it lets authorities track arrivals and departures. Before 29 May 2025, travellers filled it out at a desk in the Quito or Guayaquil departure terminal. Since that date, CGREG's online TCT portal lets you complete the same six-step form — identification, personal data, travel and lodging details, a short tourism-interest survey, and a verification screen — from home, and arrive with printed or digital confirmation instead of joining a line.

File the TCT online 24 to 48 hours before your flight, exactly as the government recommends — leaving it for the departure gate defeats the point of the portal and puts you back in the queue it was built to remove.

When to go, and why September is the booking window

The Galapagos run on two seasons, both good for wildlife but different in what they offer. June through December is the garua season: cooler air and sea temperatures, choppier water, and the season when waved albatrosses courtship-display on Espanola and Nazca boobies nest there. January through May is warmer, calmer and drier on land, better for snorkelling and for marine iguana and giant tortoise nesting. Cruise capacity in the islands is tightly licensed — vessels operate under fixed permits, not open booking — so the December-to-January stretch that overlaps New Year and the tail of garua season sells out boats months ahead. Booking in September for a December or January departure is the realistic lead time if you want a specific vessel or itinerary rather than whatever has a last-minute cancellation.

Most itineraries fly into Baltra, just north of Santa Cruz Island, or into San Cristobal; both airports serve daily flights from Quito and Guayaquil. Santa Cruz's Puerto Ayora is the main land base and home to the Charles Darwin Research Station, while a live-aboard cruise remains the standard way to reach the outer islands like Espanola, since day-tripping from a single land base only covers a fraction of the archipelago.

Getting to the islands, and getting into the country

There are no direct international flights to the Galapagos. Every trip routes through mainland Ecuador first, flying into Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport or Guayaquil's Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport, then connecting onward to Baltra or San Cristobal. From Quito, the flight to the islands takes around two and a half hours, since most services still touch down in Guayaquil on the way; flying from Guayaquil itself is the faster option at around one and a half hours, direct. AVIANCA and LATAM operate the daily connecting flights, and it's the leg where your $200 park fee and $20 TCT actually get collected and checked, so build in enough connection time at Baltra or San Cristobal rather than a tight transfer.

Most nationalities, including the US, Canada, the UK and the EU, can enter mainland Ecuador itself visa-free for up to 90 days for tourism, provided the passport is valid at least six months beyond the arrival date. That 90-day window is separate from anything Galapagos-specific — it's the general entry rule for the country the TCT and park fee sit on top of, and worth confirming against your own passport before you book connecting flights, since a handful of nationalities still need a visa for Ecuador even though most don't.

Moving between islands once you've landed

If your trip is land-based rather than a live-aboard cruise, you'll cover inter-island distances on the public speedboat ferries that connect Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal with Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, and Puerto Ayora with Puerto Villamil on Isabela — there's no direct ferry between San Cristobal and Isabela, so a trip covering both routes through Santa Cruz. As of 11 August 2026, a new resolution (MIT-SPTM-2026-0126-R) set a regulated tourist fare of $50 per person, one-way, with a $65 fare for the faster special service; crossings typically take around two hours depending on sea conditions. Buy tickets a few days ahead in high season rather than assuming same-day availability, since operators sell out on the popular routes.

Getting online once you're there

Mobile coverage in the Galapagos is patchy outside Puerto Ayora and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, and most of a cruise itinerary runs through open water and uninhabited islands with no signal at all, so treat any connectivity on board as a bonus rather than a plan. Sort your data before you leave the mainland: a South America eSIM plan activates before you fly into Quito or Guayaquil and covers the mainland legs of the trip, where you'll actually need it to book last-minute transfers, check your TCT confirmation or pull up the park's entry rules. As with any network Roameo resells, actual signal in the islands themselves depends on the local carrier and your handset, not a guarantee — check device compatibility before you fly, and expect the boat, not the phone, to be your connection to the outside world for most of the itinerary.

FAQ

Is the Galapagos park fee separate from the TCT card?

Yes. The $200 (or $100 child) national park entrance fee and the $20 TCT transit card are two different charges collected at different points, and both are required of every foreign visitor over age two.

Can I pay the Galapagos park fee online?

No, the park entrance fee is paid in cash in US dollars on arrival at Baltra or San Cristobal airport. Only the TCT registration itself can be completed online in advance, through CGREG's official portal.

How far ahead should I register the TCT online?

The Galapagos government recommends registering 24 to 48 hours before your flight. The online system has been available since 29 May 2025 and replaces the paper form previously filled out at the departure airport.