Plan your Galápagos trip
A Galápagos journey involves more than choosing a hotel and a few excursions. Islands, transport, boat availability, wildlife interests, travelling time and the pace of the itinerary all influence what will work best. This section explains the main decisions and what happens when GalapEx begins preparing a trip for you.
Choose how much help you need
Not every traveller needs the same level of support. Some people enjoy researching and arranging most of their journey independently; others want help with particular excursions or transport; and some prefer a complete itinerary with a guide accompanying them throughout.
Plan independently
Our Explore the Galápagos pages explain visitor sites, costs, difficulty, transport and guiding requirements. They show what can be visited independently and what needs to be arranged in advance.
You are welcome to use this information to organise your own journey.
Arrange selected services
You may already have accommodation or part of your itinerary organised but need help securing particular services.
We can assist with selected day cruises, naturalist guides, transfers, inter-island transport and individual excursions. You do not need to purchase a complete package.
Plan the complete journey
We can prepare a complete land-based itinerary around your dates, interests, preferred pace and budget, including the agreed accommodation, guides, transport, excursions and inter-island travel.
Our suggested itineraries normally include a guide throughout. If you prefer more independent time, we can adjust the arrangements.
Personal planning advice
General information is available freely throughout the website. More complex tailor-made planning may involve a planning fee; this is explained fully on our planning and pricing page.
Start with the kind of experience you want
Some travellers want to explore several inhabited islands, while others prefer to stay longer in one place. Some prioritise wildlife, snorkelling or photography; others need a gentler pace or want to minimise boat journeys. There is no single correct itinerary—the important thing is to understand the practical differences before committing to particular dates or excursions.
- Why choose a land-based Galápagos trip?
- When to visit the Galápagos
- Inter-island travel
- Day cruises and boat excursions
How personalised planning works
When you contact us, we first need your dates, group size, interests, preferred pace and priorities. From there we can identify the services that need checking and build a workable proposal. The pages below explain the process, pricing, deposits and confirmation in more detail.
A note about limited excursions
Day-cruise spaces to uninhabited islands are limited, and availability does not normally mean a place is being held. If a particular excursion matters to you, it is usually better to plan early; our FAQs explain this in more detail.
See how a journey can fit together
Our sample Galápagos itineraries show several possible combinations, from a short Santa Cruz stay to a three-island journey. They are flexible examples rather than fixed packages.