Most travelers reach the Galápagos in two hops rather than one: an international flight into mainland Ecuador, followed by a short domestic flight out to the islands. On the international leg, US travelers commonly fly into Quito or Guayaquil on carriers such as American Airlines out of Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth or Los Angeles, Delta out of Atlanta or New York, or United out of Houston or Newark. From Europe, Iberia connects through Madrid, Air France through Paris, and KLM through Amsterdam, all routing into Quito or Guayaquil. Travelers coming from Australia typically fly Qantas out of Sydney and connect through Santiago, Chile, before continuing north to Ecuador.
Once in mainland Ecuador, the second leg is a domestic flight from Quito's or Guayaquil's international airports to the islands themselves, flown primarily by LATAM Airlines and Avianca Ecuador. Galápagos has two airports: Seymour Airport (GPS) on Baltra Island, which handles most arrivals, and the smaller San Cristóbal Airport (SCY). The archipelago sits roughly 600 miles off the Ecuadorian coast, so this final hop, though short, is unavoidable — there is no direct international service to the islands.
A few logistical details are easy to overlook when booking: arriving passengers pay a national park entry fee and must carry a transit control card, domestic flights enforce luggage weight limits worth checking in advance, and because Galápagos-bound seats sell out, especially in high season, booking well ahead of a liveaboard departure is worth doing. Travel insurance is also commonly recommended given the distances and connections involved.