Galapagos Tours, Island Hopping & Hotel-Based Tours
Staying in hotels on the Galapagos Islands and taking day trips instead of taking a cruise of several days has become an increasingly popular way to tour the Islands in the last several years. There can be several advantages:
- Cost: Cruises are costly, and though hotels and traveling on the Islands aren’t cheap, there is a definite saving versus most cruises.
- Sea Sickness: If you are prone to seasickness, land-based trips to the Galapagos can be an excellent alternative to sleeping on a small boat.
- Active adventures: Cruises let you see a lot of different visitor spots, but if your passion is hiking, scuba diving, sea kayaking, or bicycling, a land-based tour can be a better option.
- Efficient use of travel time: Being based out of one or more hotels can have the advantage of having less total time in transit and more time enjoying the island versus a cruise.
Below are several reputable tour operators that specialize in land-based tours of the Galapagos:
Rebecca Adventure Travel is a specialist in Galapagos Island Hopping Tours. With expert representatives in the Galapagos Islands, a dedicated tour operator in Quito, and a travel agency in the Netherlands. Their travel experts make sure to provide the necessary assistance to their customers to provide an exceptional Galapagos Island Hopping experience.
Latin Excursions – and CEO Eric Sheets have a long-established reputation for designing high-end exclusive tours and cruise adventures to the Galapagos Islands. If you want a unique villa not available anywhere else, or access to exclusive destinations and experiences, Eric is the guy to call.
Ecuador Unlimited – offers a variety of Galapagos Island Hopping Tours in addition to many Galapagos cruise options bookable online from their office in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Bespoke Galapagos – offers land-based Galapagos tour packages designed by Galapagos experts. You can also personalize your own itinerary with daily tours and visits. Or let our team design the best travel experience according to your wishes.
Adventure Life – are long-time Galapagos land-based tour experts that work with top-notch guides and many of the top hotels in the Galapagos on Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal Islands.
Diving Tours in Galapagos by EQ TOURING – Dive safely with EQ TOURING’S land-based or liveaboard diving tours and discover the unique underwater world of the Galapagos; divers will see sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, penguins, angelfish, large schools of amberjacks and many other species of fish including hammerhead and whale sharks.
Gulliver Travel – Offers affordable Galapagos Islands land tours to explore the islands such as the one-day tours to Española and San Cristobal Island where you will enjoy snorkeling and hikes at National Park visitor spots such as Gardner Bay. They are a well-respected agency that has operated since the 1990s and specializes in active tours in Ecuador.
Scalesia Lodge and Galapagos Land Tours – is a new concept in Galapagos lodging as you stay in luxury African safari-style tents in the highlands of Isabela Island overlooking the ocean. Scalesia offers 4 or 5-day tours that include hiking to volcanoes and lava flows and tunnels, snorkeling, wildlife viewing and more around Isabela Island. They run their own tour operations on the islands of Santa Cruz and San Cristobal if you would like to extend your tour to several different islands.
Surtrek – has organized land-based and island hopping tours to the Galapagos for families, groups, and independent travelers for over 25 years. Their founder and CEO Alfonzo Tandazo has been an active and influential member of the local travel community for decades. They also have an extensive variety of Galapagos cruises that are all bookable on their website.
Updated 4 October, 2023 by Jason Halberstadt