Budget-Friendly 2 Week Galapagos Itinerary & Map
TL;DR
Spend 2 weeks in the Galapagos island hopping on a budget with our detailed itinerary that mixes wildlife encounters, free adventures, and curated splurges.
Planning 2 weeks in Galapagos can feel overwhelming – there are so many islands and activities to choose from that it’s hard to know where to start.
Most travellers worry about blowing their budget or missing out on must-see wildlife encounters. After spending 14 days exploring San Cristobal, Isabela, and Santa Cruz ourselves, we put together this detailed Galapagos island hopping itinerary to show you exactly how to experience the magic of the islands without overspending.
This guide is perfect for independent travellers who want to enjoy the Galapagos on a land-based trip, mixing free activities with the occasional splurge. We’ll share not only what we did day by day, but also insider tips we wish we had known – so you can maximize your adventure, stay on budget, and fall in love with the Galapagos just like we did.
2 Week Galapagos Islands Itinerary
Galapagos Island Hopping Itinerary Map
How Many Days in Galapagos Do You Need?
Honestly, the most expensive thing about visiting the Galapagos Islands is the flights and the entrance fee.
There are so many budget-friendly options for activities, accommodations, and food that you can easily do a diy Galapagos itinerary for 50$ per day or even less.
We stayed a total of 14 days on the three main islands (San Cristobal, Isabela, Santa Cruz). This was great to do the main free activities on each island without rushing, plus one curated, more pricey tour per island. In case your time is limited or you’re on an even tighter budget, you can just skip these three days and do our Galapagos itinerary in 11 days 😉
Where We Stayed for Our Galapagos Land-Based Itinerary
These are the three accommodations we have used during our 14 days in the Galapagos Islands. We can wholeheartedly recommend all of them:
- San Cristobal: Casa de Alexis
- Isabela: El Rincón de George
- Santa Cruz: El Paraiso
5 Days in San Cristobal
Day 1 – Interpretation Centre, Tijeretas Viewpoint & Dock, Playa Punta Carola & Playa Mann
Start at the Interpretation Centre to learn about the nature of the Galapagos Islands.
From here, make your way to the Tijeretas viewpoint & snorkelling dock to swim with sea lions, marine iguanas, and more.
On your way back, loop around to Playa Punta Carola to spot more sea lions and birds like blue-footed-boobies.
Make one last stop at Playa Mann for a drink and sunset.
Here’s our full San Cristobal travel guide:
Day 2 – La Loberia & Downtown
In the morning, head to La Loberia to swim with sea turtles, sea lions, and marine iguanas.
In the afternoon, stroll along the malecon – and spot even more sea lions.
Day 3 – San Cristobal Highlands
A typical highlands tour includes three stops:
- El Junco volcano crater
- Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Terrestres David Rodriguez
- Playa Puerto Chino
We first did the short hike up the volcano to admire the views, then visited the giant tortoise reserve – we were super lucky that we arrived at feeding time – and last but not least, relaxed at the beach. You do not have to pay an entrance fee for any of the stops, so this is a great, affordable day trip.
Day 4 – 360° Tour
The 360° tour is the quintessential thing to do on this island, so we chose this as our splurge for San Cristobal.
You’ll circle the whole island on a boat
- Going snorkelling at Kicker Rock.
- Visiting the beaches at Bahia Rosa Blanca and Bahía Sardina.
- Spotting birds at Punta Pitt.
Read our full 360° tour review to find out if this tour is for you (or not):
Day 5 – Boat from San Cristobal to Isabela
To get from San Cristobal to Isabela, you have to
- Hop on a boat from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz in the morning
- Hop on a boat from Santa Cruz to Isabela in the afternoon
This will take you one full day.
4 Days in Isabela
Day 6 – Bike to the Wall of Tears
This was our favourite free day trip on Isabela – the journey itself is the highlight, and none of the sights charge an entrance fee!
Start at the Wall of Tears, a haunting reminder of the island’s prison past (1945–1959). At 8 m (25 ft) tall, it carries a heavy history, but also offers sweeping views of Isabela. For an even higher panorama, you can tackle the steep path up to the Radar.
On the way back, pick your stops:
- Mirador Cerro Orchilla (our preferred viewpoint).
- El Estero, a mangrove lagoon where we swam with a sea lion.
- Beaches like Playa del Amor and La Playita, home to marine iguanas.
- Túnel del Estero, a small lava tunnel.
- Camino de las Tortugas, where wild tortoises roam.
- Several Pozas (natural pools), such as Poza Redonda, Poza Escondida, and Pozas Verdes.
Here’s our full Isabela travel guide:
Day 7 – Playa Isabela, Concha Perla, Port Villamil Beach & Flamingos
First, head to the sand bank at Playa Isabela and look for penguins, sea lions, sharks, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and more.
Afterwards, snorkel at Concha Perla, the best free snorkel spot on Isabela.
In the afternoon, go check out the flamingos in the salt lakes around Puerto Villamil.
Relax the evening away at Puerto Villamil beach – don’t miss the sunset.
Day 8 – Hiking Tour to Sierra Negra Volcano
We love geology, so of course, we think a hiking tour to Sierra Negra Volcano is a must!
First, hike up to the Sierra Negra volcano crater, the largest crater in the Galapagos Islands. Keep an eye out for tortoises on the way! Afterwards, head to Chico volcano. Learn about volcanoes in general and on the Galapagos Islands in particular.
Here’s a full review of the hiking tour to Sierra Negra Volcano that we did:
Day 9 – Snorkelling Tour
There are two popular snorkelling excursions on Isabela:
On both tours, you have the option to swim with penguins, turtles, sharks, rays, sea lions, and more. You will also spot some birds like blue-footed boobies and pelicans.
If you’re on a budget, the Las Tinotreras is significantly cheaper as the boat ride is much shorter.
We chose the Los Tuneles tour as our splurge on Isabela and have zero regrets. Here’s our full review:
5 Days in Santa Cruz
#### Day 10 – Boat to Santa Cruz, Charles Darwin Research Station & Beaches
Hop on the boat from Isabela to Santa Cruz in the morning.
In the afternoon, you can easily visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, which is both an active research station and a visitor centre where tourists can learn about the nature of the Galapagos Islands.
Right next to the research station, you can find two lovely beaches: Station Beach and La Ratonera Beach. Both beaches are pretty rocky, but we enjoyed sitting in the shade and taking a dip before walking back to the centre of Puerto Ayora.
Here’s our full Santa Cruz travel guide:
Day 11 – Tortuga Bay
You can reach Tortuga Bay by walking a well-maintained paved path for about 30 minutes. Bring enough water and sun protection!
First, you’ll reach the beautiful, wide, white sandy beach of Playa Brava. Beware that the currents here are too strong to swim! At the end of the beach, there’s a rock pool where you can spot (and bathe with) marine iguanas.
Keep on walking for a few more meters and arrive at Playa Mansa. We heard that it’s a great place to snorkel, but during our visit, the water was extremely murky and the visibility was very low. When we were about to give up on spotting marine wildlife, we found several baby sharks (including a baby hammerhead shark) in the ankle-deep water close to the shore.
Day 12 – Highlands Tour
A popular tour in Santa Cruz is the Highlands tour that visits the twin craters Los Gemelos, lava tunnels, and a giant tortoise reserve.
If you want to make this more budget-friendly, you can take the local bus to
- Santa Rosa to visit a giant tortoise reserve and lava tunnels (e.g., El Chato or the Primicias Ranch)
- Bellavista to visit only lava tunnels
Day 13 – Playa Los Alemanes & Las Grietas
As Germans, we had to check out Playa Los Alemanes or Germans Beach. You can reach it from the pier in Puerto Ayora by taxi boat for 1$.
It’s a nice spot for snorkelling, but mostly if you’re a confident swimmer. We saw sharks and turtles at the second set of rocks quite far out.
From here, you can also walk to Las Grietas, a long crack in the rocks filled with what normally seems to be the most beautiful, clear turquoise water. Unless you visit after a rainfall, like us, and the water is pretty murky (we did not even take a single picture here).
Day 14 – Scuba Diving or Snorkelling
On our last day in the Galapagos Islands, we treated ourselves to a scuba dive at the famous dive site Gordon Rocks. You need to be a certified diver with a certain minimum number of dives logged (depending on the dive centre you choose).
In case you’re not a scuba diver, there are some amazing snorkelling day trips you can do from Santa Cruz, but they are definitely a splurge:
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