Galapagos question from "erichK"

[Doc]

This was pm'd to me, but it deserves a broader response. I believe the inquiry is in regards to land based options (of which I am a big fan), but it would deserve a look from y'all as well... Here's the pm that I received:
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We would appreciate any advice you could give that would help us to decide whether a week of so there would be an affordable/viable option this December.

We're also concerned about safety/comfort. Wife and I are in our 50's and our daughter is 16. Daughter and I have 60+ dives and ACUC OW, PADI AOW, PADI Nitroc and DAN O2 cert's and drysuits and dove the Browning Wall, etc with the Nautilus Explorer liveaboard (many current and deep dives). Wife has only ACUC OW and PADI Nitrox, dives only wetsuits, has about 40 dives and has done some Pacific coldwater. Whole family dove Cuba (Isla de la Juventud), Dominica (Soufriere Bay area) and Saba. We'll likely get in a few more cold water dives over the summer (probably a dozen at most) and could move up to Rescue Diver and AOW, respectively.

We'd probably want to do six to eight dives (with wife likely sitting out a day) and also do a fair amount of hiking, photography, etc. We may be able to use our airmiles to get to Quito, but are concerned about the cost of the rest of the trip.
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erich
saskatoon, ca

 

[erichK]

There has been some progress. The cost of the return flight from Quito to the Galapagos is about $400 US. Accommodation costs seem quite variable, from over $250 a day to as little as about $40 per person per day. Diving, we'll be going with SCUBA Inguna, which is very environmentally and safety conscious. It turns out that such land-based diving costs less than half (given a reasonable hotel) what the fancy, live-aboard yachts would cost. There is also a $100 per person park entrance fee for visiting the Galapagos. That is one bill we will be very happy to pay!