Galápagos entry fees and the TCT card (2026)
You pay twice to enter Galápagos, at two different points in your journey, and mixing them up is the most common planning mistake we see. There is the Tarjeta de Control de Tránsito (TCT), a $20 transit card you sort out on the mainland, and the national park entrance fee, up to $200 for foreign adults, paid in cash when you land. Here is the full picture, verified against official sources in September 2026.
First payment: the TCT transit card ($20)
The TCT (Tarjeta de Control de Tránsito) is issued by the Consejo de Gobierno de Galápagos (CGREG) and is mandatory for every non-resident visitor. You present it when you enter the province and again when you leave, so keep it with your passport for the whole trip.
- Cost: US $20 per person.
- Where: the CGREG office in the Quito or Guayaquil airport, before you check in with your airline, or online.
- Online: since 29 May 2025 the government runs official registration at the CGREG portal (siig-registro.gobiernogalapagos.gob.ec). You enter your passport and return-flight details, pay $20 by card, and download a digital TCT with a QR code. The government recommends registering 24 to 48 hours before your flight.
- Limits: the card covers up to 60 days of tourism per calendar year and is not extendable. Children under 2, Ecuadorian or foreign, are exempt from the $20 payment.
If you have read about an “INGALA card”, that is this card. INGALA is the old name of the issuing institution, now CGREG; guidebooks never updated. The TCT is not the park fee, and the $20 does not go to the park.
Second payment: the national park entrance fee
Park rangers collect the entrance fee (tributo de ingreso) at counters in the arrival airports, Baltra and San Cristóbal, as you walk off the plane. Bring cash. The current table, in force since 1 August 2024 and ratified by provincial ordinance in 2025:
| Category | Age / condition | Fee (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign non-resident | 12 and over | $200 |
| Foreign non-resident | Under 12 | $100 |
| Foreign non-resident | Under 2 | Exempt |
| Andean Community (CAN) and Mercosur, non-resident | 12 and over | $100 |
| Andean Community and Mercosur, non-resident | Under 12 | $50 |
| Foreign student enrolled in Ecuadorian educational institutions | Any | $50 |
| Transit passenger (as qualified by CGREG) | Any | $15 |
| Ecuadorian national or foreign resident in Ecuador | 12 and over | $30 |
| Ecuadorian national or resident | Under 12 | $15 |
| Ecuadorian national or resident | 65 and over | $15 |
| Ecuadorian national or resident | CONADIS disability card | $15 |
CAN means Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Mercosur means Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Nationals of those countries pay the reduced rate as long as they are not residents of Ecuador.
For most English-speaking travellers the number that matters is $200 per adult and $100 per child under 12, payable in cash on arrival.
Why it doubled
The adult foreign fee was $100 for decades. Resolution 002-CGREG-24-02-2024 raised it to $200 from 1 August 2024, the first increase since 1998 according to secondary sources, and the 2026 collection rules (Res. MAE-PNG/DIR-2026-0010-RM) confirm the same table is still in force. If you find a blog quoting $100, it is out of date.
A few practical notes from the 2026 collection rules: payment runs through Banco del Pacífico channels, tour operators can pre-register their passenger lists with the park 24 working hours before arrival, and there is now also a collection counter on Isabela, though nearly all international arrivals still pay at Baltra or San Cristóbal.
About “ISABENA”
Some older trip reports and notes mention an “ISABENA fee” or “ISABENA card”. No Ecuadorian government source uses that name. What exists, confirmed on official sites, is the TCT issued by the CGREG, and before that institution was renamed it was called INGALA. If someone quotes you an ISABENA charge, they mean the $20 TCT. Ask them to itemise it as such.
Budget summary
For a foreign family of two adults and two children under 12, entry costs add up like this: 2 × $20 TCT + 2 × $200 park fee + 2 × $100 park fee (children) = $640, before flights. It is worth setting this money aside mentally from day one of planning, because it does not appear inside cruise or tour prices. How it fits into the total is in our Galápagos budget breakdown, and if you are still choosing airports, the fee is collected at either one: see Baltra vs San Cristóbal.
Last verified: September 2026