Ecuador & Galapagos Entry Requirements and Tourist Visa

Updated: 28th February 2022

Everyone must go through Ecuador to get to the Galapagos Islands. Please check with your local Ecuadorian embassy regarding entry and visa requirements for Ecuador if you are unsure. As a general rule, your passport should have at least six months of validity for your entry to Ecuador.

According to art. 131 of the Law of Human Mobility, visitors from the following countries are required to apply for a visa before entering Ecuador. Recently added countries are in bold.

Corona measures are effective

Ecuador is coming through the Covid 19 crisis better than its neighbouring countries. The vaccination campaign is showing great success. Since January 2022, more than 86 percent of Ecuadorians are fully vaccinated and a significant number of people has already received the booster vaccination.

In Ecuador, the general obligation to wear a mask will be lifted on the 31st of March 2022 and is strictly respected by the entire population. Hygiene regulations are in force in hotels and restaurants and are implemented very consistently. Respectful spacing also takes place. The measures allow people to move freely in their country again. The same applies to tourists. The government has announced that it will lift all Covid19-related measures by March 31st 2022.

The CEO of Galapagos PRO, Beate Zwermann, has travelled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in February 2022 and experienced an almost normal country first-hand. Feel free to call us if you have any further questions. Click here to make an appointment.

A health declaration must be submitted upon entry. Travellers receive a tourist visa by means of a stamp in their passport, which gives them a permit for a stay of up to three months. This is free of charge. Entry data has been stored centrally for several years. So if you are planning a longer stay in Ecuador, it is best to inform yourself about the residence regulations at the embassies of Ecuador in good time.

Entry to the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Provincial Council (Consejo de Gobierno de Regimen Especial de Galápagos, CGREG) tightened the entry requirements for visitors to the Galapagos Islands on July 1, 2020: Visitors must now register their travel program in advance with the Ministry of Tourism through a local travel agency or hotel based in the Galapagos Islands and have it approved. All services must be verifiably booked and paid for. The confirmation (a so-called Salvoconducto, SC) must be presented at the airport when purchasing the Transit Control Card (TCC). The itinerary should only include providers (hotels, excursions, and transport) that are registered and certified by the health authorities, as well as the outward and return flights to the islands.

As of 11 February 2022, those entering Ecuador or the Galapagos Islands from the age of three only need proof of vaccination (at least 14 days after the second vaccination) or a (negative) PCR test, which must not be older than 72 hours (from the time the test was taken). Infants under three years of age do not need any proof of vaccination or test.

If travellers do not have a test or proof of vaccination, they must take it directly at the airport and then stay in a hotel in Quito or Guayaquil until the results are available.

Further entry formalities such as the Transit Control Card registration should be done online just like the check-in to the flight. Galapagos PRO takes care of the registration for its guests.

To enter the Galapagos Islands, travellers must present the following documents:

• Passport
• Return Flight ticket to and from the Galapagos
• A negative result of an Antigen- or RT-PCR test, no older than 72 hours before entering the province OR proof of Vaccination no less than 14 days prior to departure.
• Children under the age of 3 do not have to present either.
• Salvoconducto (travel plan registration). As of July 1, 2020, all travellers must present their itinerary to the Ministry of Tourism through a travel company or hotel with a registered office in the Galapagos Islands. They will then receive a confirmation which they must present at the airport before departure when applying for the Transit Control Card (TCC). The travel program must be fully pre-booked and paid for. It may only include providers who are certified for compliance with hygiene standards.
• Transit Control Card – available at the airport
• Health Declaration, which is filled out upon entry into Ecuador and contains the whereabouts of travelers while traveling in mainland Ecuador
• Private travel health insurance

At airports in the Galapagos Islands, travelers must purchase/present the following:

• Presentation of Health declaration form
• Payment of the national park fee

*Entry is possible without quarantine.