Travelers planning a Galápagos trip in the second half of 2024 ran into a change that hadn't happened in a generation. On February 24, 2024, the Governing Council of Galápagos approved an increase to the park entrance fee charged to international visitors, raising it from $100 to $200 per person. The new fee took effect for anyone arriving on or after August 1, 2024.
To put the scale of that change in context: the previous fee had stood untouched for 26 years. This wasn't a routine inflation adjustment — it was the first structural revision to the entrance fee since it was originally set.
Officials framed the increase around two goals. The first was funding: the additional revenue is meant to support conservation work and the sustainable development needs of the islands, which face growing pressure from both tourism and climate-related change. The second was about visitor volume — the Council described the fee change as a way to help stabilize the number of people visiting each year, protecting the long-term wellbeing of an ecosystem that draws visitors precisely because of how intact it remains.
For travelers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: budget for the higher fee, and be prepared to pay it in cash US dollars on arrival, as has been the standard practice for entrance payments. For conservation-minded visitors, there's also a more encouraging way to read the news — some of that funding is directed toward initiatives connected to marine protected area work in the region, including projects like the Galápagos Whale Shark Project.
Source: adapted from Galápagos Shark Diving's own published article on the 2024 update to the Galápagos entrance fee.