Most US citizens pay two fees to reach the Galápagos. The park fee is US$200 for an adult, from the park's own table. The transit card is US$20, from the Governing Council. You also need an airport bag check, and a flight from Quito or Guayaquil. Ecuador uses US dollars, so you do not need to change money. Everything below comes from Ecuador's government pages, read on 13 October 2026.
The park fee: US$200 for most foreign adults
Price: Entry fee for protected areas, foreign tourists: US$200 over 12 years old, US$100 under 12. Andean Community or Mercosur nationals: US$100 over 12, US$50 under 12. Ecuadorian nationals and foreigners who live in Ecuador: US$30 over 12, US$15 under 12, over 65 or with a CONADIS disability card. Foreign students not living in Ecuador who are enrolled at Ecuadorian schools: US$50. Children under 2 and people with the transit category are exempt (Galápagos National Park fee table, file name dated 14 Apr 2026, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: The table says "over 12" and "under 12". It does not say which fee a child who is exactly 12 pays. Ask the park or your operator (same table)
The park's arrival page says the fee is paid at the arrival airport and takes effect from 1 August 2024. The Governing Council's technical report on the fees, filed in March 2024, lists the old amounts: US$100 for a foreign adult and US$50 under 12. So the fee doubled (Governing Council report 126 on protected area fees, read 13 Oct 2026).
The table says "foreigners who live in Ecuador" get the US$30 rate. A US resident who lives in the US does not live in Ecuador, so the US$200 rate reads as the one that applies. The table does not use those words, so that is our reading.
Note: Payment method: the arrival page says you "pay the entry fee at the arrival airport" and does not say cash or card. Some tour operators collect the fee for you in advance. Ask yours (Galápagos National Park arrival page, undated, read 13 Oct 2026)
The transit card: US$20 from the Governing Council
The Consejo de Gobierno del Régimen Especial de Galápagos, the Governing Council, runs the Transit Control Card. It is the TCT.
Price: TCT: US$20 per person. Paid by credit card on the Council's online platform. After you pay you get a QR code, which the Council's staff validate at its counters in the Quito and Guayaquil airports before you board, and again on the way out (Governing Council press release dated 17 Nov 2023, which said the digital card started on 28 Nov 2023, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: The Council's older FAQ page says the TCT is needed for tourists and for transit workers, is shown on entry and exit, and is paid again for each trip. The page is undated and old, so we use it only for the "each trip" rule (Governing Council FAQ page, read 13 Oct 2026)
The Council's page "Para ingresar a la provincia de Galápagos" links to a TCT registration system at siig-registro.gobiernogalapagos.gob.ec. We could not read the form itself. A tour operator's blog says the system changed on 29 May 2025. That is not an official source, so we do not rely on it. Use the link from the Council's own site, and do not pay a site you reached from an ad.
The park's arrival page says the maximum stay is 2 months.
The airport: flights, bag checks and the cabin spray
Flights to the Galápagos leave from Quito or Guayaquil and land at Baltra or San Cristóbal. The park's arrival page lists these steps in order.
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Before check-in at Quito or Guayaquil, you show your TCT at the Council's counter.
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Your luggage goes through a check at the ABG room. ABG is the biosecurity agency that stops plants, animals and soil from reaching the islands.
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Before landing, the airline sprays the cabin with a product approved by the World Health Organization.
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At Baltra or San Cristóbal you hand over your TCT when staff ask.
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You pay the park fee at the arrival airport.
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An ABG inspector checks your hand luggage for organic items.
The page says you repeat the bag check before you travel between islands from populated ports. It does not list banned items. It points to ABG's list of prohibited, restricted and permitted products at bioseguridadgalapagos.gob.ec/lista-de-productos/, which we did not open. Read that list before you pack food, seeds or plants.
We did not check airlines, flight times or fares.
Ecuador entry for US citizens
We tried the US State Department's Ecuador page twice on 13 October 2026, and it blocked both requests. The facts below are from Ecuador's side.
Note: Visa: Ecuador's foreign ministry page "Lista de países que deben presentar visa al ingresar al Ecuador" names 45 countries and does not include the United States. The page shows no date. We read the absence as no tourist visa for US citizens, but the page does not say that in words (Cancillería de Ecuador, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Stay: a tourist stay is up to 90 days in a year counted from your first entry. It can be extended once by up to 90 more days, for a fee of one third of Ecuador's basic unified wage. South American citizens have a different 180 day rule (Ministry of the Interior procedure page on gob.ec, last updated 31 Oct 2025, read 13 Oct 2026)
Passport validity for entry is not confirmed. The only six month rule we found on an Ecuadorian page is for visa applicants. Check the date on your passport before you book, and ask your airline.
If you live in the US but are not a US citizen
Indian, Filipino and Chinese passport holders are the three largest groups of foreign nationals in the US. All three nationalities are on Ecuador's visa-required list. That means you need a visa before you fly, even for a short trip.
Note: India, the Philippines and China are named in the foreign ministry's list of countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Ecuador. Neither the list nor the gob.ec tourist visa page says a US visa or a US green card changes this (Cancillería de Ecuador list, undated, and gob.ec tourist visa page, last updated 31 Dec 2024, both read 13 Oct 2026)
Price: Tourist visa, 90 days: US$50 to apply and US$30 when it is issued. You apply at an Ecuadorian consulate outside Ecuador. The list of documents includes a passport valid for at least six months, a criminal record certificate for adults, proof of means to support yourself, and a trip plan with return tickets. The visa is valid for 90 days counted from your entry (gob.ec page, last updated 31 Dec 2024, read 13 Oct 2026)
| Passport | Visa before entry? | With a US visa | With a US green card |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Yes, on the list | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed |
| Philippines | Yes, on the list | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed |
| China | Yes, on the list | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed | No exemption on either page. Not confirmed |
The gob.ec page says the consulate, in the country where you live, takes the application in person. We did not open the consulate list, so we do not know which Ecuadorian consulate in the US covers your state. The park fee for you is also US$200 for an adult, since you do not live in Ecuador.
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 13 October 2026: the Galápagos National Park's fee table, the Governing Council's March 2024 report on the fees, the park's arrival page (undated), the Governing Council's TCT press release of 17 November 2023, its FAQ page and its entry pages, Ecuador's foreign ministry list of visa-required countries (undated), and the gob.ec pages for the tourist visa and the stay extension.
Not confirmed: the US State Department's Ecuador page and advisory level (blocked), how the park fee is paid, the date the TCT process last changed, the TCT registration form itself, the ABG prohibited items list, passport validity for entry, airlines, flight times and fares, which Ecuadorian consulate covers each US state, and whether a US visa or green card helps Indian, Filipino or Chinese citizens. We did not enter Ecuador for this page.
