Some input on flights to Galapagos. All flights to the islands start from Quito (UIO) and fly via Guayaquil (GYE), before continuing to Baltra (GPS) where Aggressor starts from, or San Cristobal (SCY) where most other dive boats operate from. Just be sure that you book your flights to the right island as the only way to get from one to the other is by ferry and you probably cannot do that in one day as ferry is twice a day and does not coincide with flight times. Most boats hold an allocation of seats up until a month prior to their trips and rates may vary as much as $100 depending on season, city pair, what baggage allowance is included, and who you buy them thru. They can sometimes be bought online but they are not always available during peak periods and one takes the risk that if one needs to change them for any reason, that they may end up non-refundable and non-changeable. Its also sometimes hard to tell online who you are booking thru - one client of ours booked their flights online at lowest rates but found the agent they booked online were based in Spain. When they found they had booked to wrong airport, they were told that tickets could not be changed and were non-refundable so they were forced to buy brand new tickets at total loss of what they had already paid.
One maybe able to buy a ticket all the way thru with your international flights, which may offer you some protection as all flights are on one ticket, but be sure that you arrive at the correct airport at the time recommended by the boat or your agent. Some flight arrive later than others which may mean you have to cover cost of transfer to boat and keeping other guests waiting for 2-3 hours for your late arrival is not always conducive to starting off a trip well. At the end of the day, unless you buy one ticket all the way thru, it is often preferable to have the boat or booking agent take care of it. Additionally, some tickets offer more baggage allowance or an extra bag, and some include cost of Visitor card, priority checkin and other benefits.
If you plan to arrive in GPS a day earlier than the cruise, you would then need to make your own way to a hotel in Puerto Ayora (about an hour away by taxi or public bus) and have to make your way back to the airport in the morning. These transfers are at your own cost and although not terrible, it would not give you any time to arrange a tour or dive with only one overnight.
Hope this helps and feel welcome to contact me if you have questions. We have been operating dive trips to Galapagos for thirty years and have offices in the US and Europe so I hope we can help you.
Dominick Macan
Dive Advice Travel
dom@diveadvice.com
www.diveadvice.com
Tel: +33 492 94 02 99 (France)
SKYPE: adventuredom
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