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If you've been to the Galapagos Islands - budget ?
Hi ladies,
As our recent Costa Rica trip made us realize, seeing the wildlife up close and personal is pretty much the most awesome thing we can do on vacation. I am starting to think ahead to (maybe) 2013 and try to envision a trip to the Galapagos Islands... I suppose the main budget components are: r/t airfare NYC - Quito; r/t Quito - one of the islands; and an 8-day cruise on one of the smaller boats. Staying in Quito for a couple of days before and after, and maybe a day trip, depending on how much time we have, shouldn't be too expensive, right? If you've done something similar, please advise on the budget, and I'll be delighted to read your blogs, too! Thanks much 
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Re: If you've been to the Galapagos Islands - budget ?
All of this sort of depends on what your version of 'expensive' is. We traveled through Ecuador for 2 weeks for about $40 per day per person. We unfortunately didn't have time for a cruise or it would have been quite a bit more.
The airfare is going to depend a little on what time of year you go, but last May the RT fares from NYC to Quito were around $600. You can probably do a little better with some diligent searching though. From Quito to the main island where the boats leave is usually around $300-400. We stayed at a nice little guesthouse in Quito, a great location, the price included breakfast and wifi, I believe we paid around $25 per night. There are some very nice hotels - small boutique places to things like a Hilton or a Marriott so it just depends on what you are looking for. For $50 a night you could have a very nice room, or you can spend upwards of $200 a night for 4-5 star hotels.
My best piece of advice, if you have some flexibility, is to go to Quito first and book a cruise last-minute from a travel agent there. The deals are incredible, you can get as much as 50% off what you would pay if you pre-book. There are deals for literally every day of the week, and every boat style/price range. You can go on a Monday, book your trip on Tuesday and leave on Wednesday....it really is that easy. When we were in Ecuador we met dozens of people who were doing or had done this. We have two other sets of RTW trip friends who have both gone in the last 6 months, one couple went a few weeks ago. I can't remember exactly what they paid, though you can certainly contact them and ask. One girl we met went for an 8 night trip on a small boat, maybe 16 passengers, and paid around $900. Your price point will depend on the size of the boat, the amenities included (kayaks, snorkel gear, alcohol etc) and the itinerary. I think generally the deals we saw when we were there ranged from $600-$2000.
Here are their blogs about their trips:
http://www.so-many-places.com/2012/08/paradise-is-galapagos-even-with-seasickness-part-1/
http://happytobehomeless.com/2012/05/boobies-hammerheads-and-so-much-more/
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We went with Lindblad. The boat wasn't tiny, I think it has almost 100 guests, but it wasn't huge either.
Our trip had everyone fly into Guayaquil. They often have promotions for free or reduced airfare to/from Guayaquil. From there, the tour package flew us to the Galapagos, where we boarded the boat and toured around. We arrived several days early for a couple of reasons. For one, we never trust flights and don't want to miss the start of a tour, so we arrive at least 2 days earl. But more importantly, we also did our own side trip to Puerto Lopez. It's an easy bus ride from Guayaquil. I think it was something like $5 for each of us and took maybe 4 hours to get there.
Puerto Lopez is notable for its proximity to Machalilla National Park and Isla de la Plata, aka the Poor Man's Galapagos. We reserved a hotel in advance, but booked an Isla de la Plata trip when we arrived in Puerto Lopez. It's the budget destination that people go to if they can't afford to get to the Galapagos. We met lots of nice backpackers mostly from western Europe. We were glad we did this because we saw lots of blue footed boobies doing their mating dance which we didn't see in the Galapagos at all.
Wow, I haven't even heard of it before! Thanks, achastain!