Galapagos - Question re travel arrangements

[CWK]

Thanks everyone

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

You are welcome but in fact I think I did not fully answer your question. The main reasons why Aggressor and others recommend that you fly via GYE instead of UIO are following: 1. Altitude - Quito is at over 9000 ft elevation and Guayaquil is at sea level. Some people suffer from altitude sickness - especially if you are just flying there for overnight. 2. Quito old town which is really the most interesting place to be, is around 1 hour transfer time from the airport and as you should be at the airport 2-3 hours prior to your flight, some of which depart at 9am, that means a very early rise. Also the transfer are costly. If you stay near the airport there is the Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel which is a good choice and can be booked online. 3. GYE airport is just a few minutes from town and although maybe not the same history as Quito, there are good hotels, restaurants, market and a board walk along the river estuary. The flights from GYE depart a little later as they fly from Quito and they costs a little less, so you do not have to get up quit so early and it is less chance that you get delayed in traffic.

Of course for those wishing to spend time in Ecuador, Quito is more historic and is the access to Valley of Volcanoes, Amazon jungle lodges and many other visitor attractions.

Have a great trip.

 

[CWK]

You are welcome but in fact I think I did not fully answer your question. The main reasons why Aggressor and others recommend that you fly via GYE instead of UIO are following: 1. Altitude - Quito is at over 9000 ft elevation and Guayaquil is at sea level. Some people suffer from altitude sickness - especially if you are just flying there for overnight. 2. Quito old town which is really the most interesting place to be, is around 1 hour transfer time from the airport and as you should be at the airport 2-3 hours prior to your flight, some of which depart at 9am, that means a very early rise. Also the transfer are costly. If you stay near the airport there is the Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel which is a good choice and can be booked online. 3. GYE airport is just a few minutes from town and although maybe not the same history as Quito, there are good hotels, restaurants, market and a board walk along the river estuary. The flights from GYE depart a little later as they fly from Quito and they costs a little less, so you do not have to get up quit so early and it is less chance that you get delayed in traffic.

Of course for those wishing to spend time in Ecuador, Quito is more historic and is the access to Valley of Volcanoes, Amazon jungle lodges and many other visitor attractions.

Have a great trip.

Many thanks.

 

[Manuel Sam]

CWK. Running into you all over Scubaboard. You have some serious diving coming up all over!!

I had some really nightmarish experiences flying TAME on multiple flights when I combined Machu Pichu with Galapagos during my trip in September 2017. Conversely I found LATAM to be refreshingly good. I can't speak for Avianca because I didn't fly them. As far as booking, all my bookings were done directly online.

I've done 5 Galapagos trips and personally prefer Guayaquil over Quito. It depends what your interests are when it comes to exploring a city. If you had a few days to explore, then maybe Quito would have more to offer. But by the sounds of it, you are just looking for a place to overnight. For me, Guayaquil is warmer, the flight to Guayaquil is cheaper, and as Dom implied, for a one night stay prior to flying out to Baltra, it has enough to keep you well fed and amused. I can recommend the Hotel Ramada, which is right across the road from the malecon or waterfront boardwalk. All kinds of restaurants and eating places are within easy reach.

 

[CWK]

CWK. Running into you all over Scubaboard. You have some serious diving coming up all over!!

I had some really nightmarish experiences flying TAME on multiple flights when I combined Machu Pichu with Galapagos during my trip in September 2017. Conversely I found LATAM to be refreshingly good. I can't speak for Avianca because I didn't fly them. As far as booking, all my bookings were done directly online.

I've done 5 Galapagos trips and personally prefer Guayaquil over Quito. It depends what your interests are when it comes to exploring a city. If you had a few days to explore, then maybe Quito would have more to offer. But by the sounds of it, you are just looking for a place to overnight. For me, Guayaquil is warmer, the flight to Guayaquil is cheaper, and as Dom implied, for a one night stay prior to flying out to Baltra, it has enough to keep you well fed and amused. I can recommend the Hotel Ramada, which is right across the road from the malecon or waterfront boardwalk. All kinds of restaurants and eating places are within easy reach.

Yes I have lots of diving scheduled. Many thanks for your advice.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

I've had KLM lose clients' luggage more than once. Pack as if you might not have your bag because usually, if you arrive the night before you fly to Galapagos and your bags don't arrive with you, you won't have them on your departure.

An extra day in Quito or Guayaquil before your trip could be like an insurance policy. It's fairly difficult to get luggage once in Galapagos, even if the liveaboard is still in reach of an airport on Day 2, as none of the international airlines have offices there. If it arrives after you depart, you may have to pay a boat $700-$1000 to bring it to you, again, if that is even possible. With some itineraries, it's not.

 

[CWK]

I've had KLM lose clients' luggage more than once. Pack as if you might not have your bag because usually, if you arrive the night before you fly to Galapagos and your bags don't arrive with you, you won't have them on your departure.

An extra day in Quito or Guayaquil before your trip could be like an insurance policy. It's fairly difficult to get luggage once in Galapagos, even if the liveaboard is still in reach of an airport on Day 2, as none of the international airlines have offices there. If it arrives after you depart, you may have to pay a boat $700-$1000 to bring it to you, again, if that is even possible. With some itineraries, it's not.

Yes. I usually arrive a couple of days early to adjust for the time zone and to give luggage a chance to catch up. The reason I choose KLM was that it had minimal change of planes, which should, hopefully, reduce the probability of luggage going astray.