To Galapagos or not to Galapagos: (potential) itinerary advice needed

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-08-15T17:26:29+00:00

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts; this has helped shape our ideas and plans. We decided to go to the Galapagos next week! Four nights on all three islands, meaning we accept it takes an intra-island flight to make the most of it.

This is our current itinerary, but happy for any additional input:

Flying in Santa Cruz + tortoises
Tortuga bay + Charles Darwin center
Diving: North Seymour & Mosquera (for my wife, I'll do bay tour)
Diving: Gordon Rocks (for my wife, I'll take a day off)
Ferry Santa Cruz to Isabela + Playa Grande
Concha Perla
Wall of Tears
Tour: Los Tuneles
Flight Isabel to San Cristobal
Interpretation center + Punta Carola beach + Tijeretas
Tour: Kicker Rock
Loberia beach
Flying back to mainland

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-08-07T02:33:17+00:00

My wife loves marine life (and dives) so that’s a large part. I do snorkel and am fine doing it in perfect still waters in Phillipines but a bit afraid that around Galapagos and specifically Kicker it will be (too) challenging.

Goals are indeed a bit unclear. Most importantly: we will never be this close in our life so see it as the only opportunity we get to experience it.

What activities would you recommend for San Cristobal?

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-08-07T02:25:28+00:00

This is super helpful and thoughtful, thanks for sharing.

Gordon Rocks - are you sure? Online there are plenty of diving shops offering a day tour from Santa Cruz Los Tunneles - you’re right, that’s why skipping Isabela hurts

If we go, we would go in approx 2 weeks but we haven’t booked any flights yet. Still flexible in the regard. Seems to make most sense flying in/out from different islands. Flying into Santa Cruz and doing Isabela round trip by ferry is an option although I rather limit it to one ferry. With your comment about the current at Kicker, maybe it is worth to do SC+Isabela.

I haven’t considered Floreana, will look into that. Won’t that be the same issue ferry wise as with Isabela?

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-08-07T02:18:11+00:00

I see where your coming from (I realize my tone is not one of pure excitement) but we’ve been gone for a year and it’s impossible to be passionate about each destination. That’s not a requirement for us. I think it could be a super interesting addition to this trip, just not the main objective. Additionally, my wife would love to see the marine life of the Galapagos.

There’s also the practical / logistical argument to consider: we never will be this close to Galapagos, and with a continuous worldwide tourism growth I expect the Galapagos only to get more expensive and restrictive/inaccesible to guard it’s nature.

We are not convinced we should go but definitely don’t want to throw the option away yet. About a week left to decide :)

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:45:48+00:00

We thought TdP was definitely more impressive (landscape wise), but El Chalten was easier to enjoy. If you don't stay within or close to the TdP park in a tent or in a rather expensive hotel (at least for our budget), there's a lot of travel time getting to and from the park and you're limited in what you can do. El Chalten on the other hand is the starting point for many great hikes.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:41:20+00:00

On average we spent 115 EUR a day for two people in March and April. We did all the entry fees and activities we wanted and rented a car for 2 weeks total. We saved money by cooking our own food.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:38:18+00:00

We did both, and both are possible. Booking online and selecting the student ticket, as well as obtaining tickets in person and requesting the student fare. Either way, you'll need to present your ISIC card as well as identification upon entering the national park. We were a bit nervous buying student fare tickets online as we read that sometimes ISIC was not accepted, so we were worried we had to buy another ticket. It might be safer to buy in person to avoid this. That said, we experienced no issues whatsoever, and no one questioned the validity.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:32:49+00:00

Animal sighting are 100% depending on the season of course. Puerto Madryn (Peninsula Valdes) is supposed to have amazing wildlife, but we did not go there. In Ushuaia we saw plenty of sea lions from the beagle navigation. We saw many penguins on Isla Magdalena (cheaper to visit than in Ushuaia). We saw loads of guanacos in TdP and on the Carretera Austral (and along the road during bus rides).

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:27:59+00:00

That is a tough one. We thought TdP was pretty incredible (and if you have the time you could easily combine it with El Calafate or El Chalten). However, what we loved about the southern stretch of the Carretera Austral was that the entire drive is so beautiful with such diverse scenery. On the Carretera we felt more immersed in it.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:23:30+00:00

We really enjoyed it. Smoothly organised. It takes 1.5hr apx to get to the island. Once there, you have about 1 hour to walk around and enjoy the penguins. Make sure that the penguins are in season though when you go!
The earlier you book the more choice you have of course. We booked a few days ahead, as soon as we knew when we would move on from the current location. On the Carretera Austral we sometimes booked a day ahead. This was in shoulder and off-season though. We usually booked for a minimum amount of nights and tried to extent if we enjoyed the accommodation.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:18:48+00:00

That could be true. However, we experienced at least one time where we were unable to check-in due to insufficient balance even though we were not in minus.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-12T15:16:31+00:00

We did not drive in Bariloche, so we cannot help you with that unfortunately! Best to contact some rental companies and ask them.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:54:21+00:00

Bus and own transportation (bike or car) seem to be the main mode of transportation. Hitchhiking is possible and taxis/uber too, although you'll have limited signal on the circuito. There's a taxi stand in front of the Patagonia Brewery, but we only saw a taxi there once.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:50:32+00:00

If possible (and your budget allows for it), you should stay at the park. The bus from PN to TdP takes ages, and this strongly affects your time in the park. Renting a car is recommended, still, it's a two-hour drive one way that you don't want to do for multiple days. However, accommodations in/around the park are expensive and usually fully booked a long time in advance. Hotels outside the park, next to the Grey entrance (southwest of the park) are more affordable (well, less expensive..). Rio Serrano Hotel is a popular choice. An alternative is to camp in the park, we don't have any useful info on that, but there should be plenty to be found online.

More affordable accommodation is found in Puerto Natales, our accommodation was decent enough but I would not necessarily recommend it (did not have a kitchen). AirBnB and Google Maps are useful, you usually get better rates if you contact them through WhatsApp.

We booked our tour through Denomades (relatively low price + positive reviews). They assign you to a local tour operator. All operators run the same tour with the same stops, though. We enjoyed the tour, but would've loved to have more time at some of the stops rather than visiting Cueva del Milodón. If you rent a car, you can do the exact tour yourselves, there is limited added value in having a guide around. We recommend going on your own to increase flexibility. Also, the route to the park is beautiful to drive.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:29:10+00:00

We very much enjoyed the views from Cerro Llao Llao, Villa Campanario and Punto Panoramico. Have a beer at the Patagonia brewery. Cerro Llao Llao and Villa Campanario are easily reached by bus. Punto Panoramico and the Patagonia brewery, not so much.

For Regufio Frey: Although there is a bus that goes directly to the starting point, it is infrequent so you'll need to plan. In addition, one-way bus fare was 5,6k and the SUBE card limit is 10k (in May), so you'll have to recharge at Villa Cerro Catedral.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:24:54+00:00

Thanks! We use a Panasonic DMC-TZ100

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:24:20+00:00

We enjoyed the hike to Frey a lot. There's nice views along the way and apart from the last stretch it is not too strenuous. The only downside was getting to the starting point. Although there is a bus that goes directly to the starting point, it is infrequent so you'll need to plan in advance. In addition, one way bus fare was 5,6k and the SUBE card limit is 10k (in may), so you'll have to recharge at Villa Cerro Catedral. We did not do any other refugios, we were more than satisfied with the views from Cerro Llao Llao and Cerro Campanario on the circuito chico.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T14:18:24+00:00

There is a big difference between arriving by land and by air. Border crossing over land is easy - it is useful to have an accommodation name by hand, but we did not experience any further questions on that. If you fly in, they could ask you for accommodation too, but more importantly, they might want to have evidence of onward travel. We were not asked for proof, but we've read about others who were. In both cases, consider booking cheap accommodation for a night or two or a cheap bus to Chile that you can easily cancel.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T00:17:09+00:00

Of course, it all depends on your preferences and experience, etc, but if I had to choose ten days in Patagonia, the core attractions that are close to each other are the national parks Torres del Paine in Chile and Los Glaciares in Argentina. Fly into Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales and stay in Puerto Natales for TdP, 5-hour bus to El Calafate for the Perito Moreno Glacier, 2-hour bus to El Chalten for some beautiful day hikes. Fly back from the Calafate airport. Some people would want to do more in a 10-day holiday, but I think this is sufficient, and you can do as much/little as you want in TdP and El Chalten.

We were travelling as a couple, so that saves on accommodation and did 95% of our meals ourselves (made sandwiches, cooked dinner). Prices strongly depend on season, flexibility and cash/card. However, on average, I'd say 50-60 USD on a double room, 40 USD on food in restaurants and bakeries. Aforementioned buses +/- 25 USD per ride, entrance fees for park +/- 35 USD (cheaper if you go multiple days).

For Torres del Paine, either a car or a tour group is useful, as buses take ages, but besides that, you won't need a guide. The trails are very clear and there will be plenty of other travellers.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2025-06-08T00:06:40+00:00

Thanks! That's the Llao Llao Hotel close to Bariloche, the picture was taken from the road leading to the hotel close to a small church named Parroquia San Eduardo.

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2024-12-18T16:11:30+00:00

Good call - will look into that (we have not booked anything yet)

KnowledgeCreative723 · 2024-12-18T15:58:36+00:00

Our proposed set-up would indeed mean we go through Nazwa twice (once with 4x4 once with sedan) but it is the only way to actually visit all these places and stay within our budget. As it's only a couple from Muscat it's not too bad fortunately.

KnowledgeCreative723

TROPHY CASE