Ecuador

Galápagos Islands

A protected island group. You buy a transit card before your flight and pay the park fee on arrival.

The park fee is US$200 for foreign tourists over 12 and US$100 for those under 12. Children under 2 are exempt. You pay it at the arrival airport. The park's page does not say if you pay by cash or card, so ask your operator. The transit control card, the TCT, is US$20 per person per trip. You pay it online by credit card and get a QR code.

Flights leave from Quito or Guayaquil. You show your TCT at the Governing Council's counter before check-in, and your bags go through a biosecurity check. Flights land at Baltra or San Cristóbal. The bag check happens again before you travel between islands from populated ports. Ecuador uses US dollars, so you do not need to change money. The park's page gives a maximum stay of 2 months.

The new fees took effect on 1 August 2024. The old fee was US$100 for a foreign adult. The United States is not on Ecuador's visa-required list. India, the Philippines and China are on it, and no Ecuadorian page says a US visa or green card changes that. A 90-day tourist visa costs US$50 to apply and US$30 when issued.