Right before I left my corporate job in May to start my mini-retirement, I used up my vacation time to cross a bucket list travel destination off of my list – the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Due to the last minute planning of the trip and the expense, I traveled to Ecuador by myself for the week. Below is some advice on both the expense of the trip and traveling alone.
Ways to make the Galapagos Islands Affordable
You can definitely save a lot of money by taking the public ferries from island to island (but the ferries do not go to all islands). However, I knew I wanted the experience of being on a “small” boat/cruise as I had never done this before.
- Spend your first night at the Quito airport (its free)
- My flight arrived to Quito airport around 11pm and my flight to the Galapagos left the next day at 6am. Since it takes 2-3 hours to get to the city center of Quito from the airport, it didn’t make sense for me to go all the way into the city
- Sleeping at the airport was safe – there were a lot of others doing it and flights departing at all hours of the night
- Book the boat/yacht trip last minute (if possible)
- Once I knew the date range that I wanted to travel which was approximately one month out, I worked with 3 different agencies to give me their best price quote on a boat cruise. Since I was a single and booking last minute, the agencies were able to get good deals from the boats/yachts as the captain’s just wanted to fill up their boat.
- Spend one less night on the boat/yacht
- Each agency offered similar islands and itineraries (i.e. hike, snorkel, & kayak). I had originally wanted to be on the boat for 5 days and 4 nights, but found an agency that had a 4 day, 3 night package, and by being on the boat one less night I saved $1K!
- If you spend less time on the boat, you can spend an extra day or two before or after your cruise leaves on the island you start/depart from
- I arrived to San Cristobal Island 2 nights before my boat was supposed to leave. I spent one day walking around the island, going to the beach, shopping and looking at the sea lions. I spent the other day on a snorkel tour to kicker rock for $100. The snorkel is definitely worth the $ – we saw hammerhead sharks, eagle rays, sea lions, sea turtles, and tons of fish.
- Take advantage of the Quito airport lounges
- You can stay for up to 4 hours for ~$30. The $30 includes unlimited drinks, food and wifi!
https://www.prioritypass.com/en/Lounges/Latin-America-and-Caribbean/Ecuador/Quito/Quito-Intl
Traveling as a Solo Female
I found the Galapagos Islands to be extremely safe as a solo female traveler. I cannot speak for the rest of Ecuador as I wasn’t able to spend any time on the mainland during this trip.
- Book a tour if you can. This is a great way to meet people. Also, some spots are only accessible with a guide so you don’t have a choice!
- Stay in hotels near the more busy or livelier streets
- Let the hotel staff know when you are going and when you expect to be back.
- I had some issues with my Kicker Rock snorkel tour forgetting to pick me up at my hotel as promised. The staff at my hotel, La Zayapa, was not only great about helping me contact the snorkel company to fix the issues, but they also knew I was out on the water and planning to return early evening.
Here is where I stayed for 2 nights and highly recommend it: http://www.lazayapahotel.com/
- Don’t be afraid to try to meet people. I shared a taxi to the city with another solo traveler from Australia. We chatted briefly and went our separate ways. However, I ran into her again later that night and we shared a beer and travel stores.
- If you are fearful of eating alone, go to dinner before the crowds come. Bring a book, hook up to the wifi, or just take in the beautiful sites around you.