Booking The Suites

Notes

• Areas include balcony or terrace
• # Guests assumes adults in full-size beds. "+ 1 child" indicates that, in addition to the adults, there is space for a small child (12 or younger) on a sofa bed. These are the capacities for direct booking only . Reservations on Booking.com, Expedia etc. may have reduced capacity - Verify when booking. If the third occupant of a double room is older than 12, we charge an additional $30 per night.
• Additional guests may be accommodated, at $40/night, only by prior arrangement at the time of booking. This cost may be waived in some cases, for example: parents visiting students or volunteers.
• Prices are in US Dollars.
• Minimum stay is 2 nights – We accept one-night bookings only in exceptional circumstances - Ask us.
• Taxes: Residents of Ecuador, including anyone who will be in country for more than 90 days, also pay 15% local tax (IVA).

Payment Methods

Credit card services in Ecuador are expensive and unreliable, leading to delayed, cancelled or duplicated payments which can take considerable time to fix. So, like many locally-based businesses, we do not accept credit cards. We do accept the following methods of payment:

• PayPal
• Bank transfer or deposit to our bank in Canada or Ecuador. With limitations - See below.
• Interac eTransfer from a Canadian bank.
• Cash - Only in exceptional circumstances

For PayPal, we need an email address, to which we send a PayPal Money Request which includes a link to make payment. You can use your existing PayPal account, open a new account, or just pay directly with a credit or debit card.

When making a bank deposit or transfer, we send you the necessary bank details and ask you to pay the transfer fees charged by your own institution. Most international transfers require an intermediary, "correspondent" bank, which charges us an additional $30 or $40. For this reason, we accept international bank transfers only for amounts over US$400. If you plan on using a Foreign Exchange Service for the transfer, ask us first. Some of these services (eg: Wise) charge an excessive hidden fee at our end.

For a Canadian Interac eTransfer, you only need the name of our bank and a suitable email address which we will provide.

Payment & Cancellation

Standard Terms

To secure a reservation, we request a 50% deposit at the time of booking. The balance is payable 30 days prior to arrival. If you reserve less than 30 days before check-in, the entire amount is due at the time of reservation.

Payments are not refundable, but we do offer full credit for alternative nights if your plans are disrupted by causes beyond your control, including Covid-19 impacts. Nonetheless, we urge all travellers to obtain travel and health insurance to cover sickness, cancellations, and delays. The Law of Galapagos requires that visitors obtain sufficient health insurance to cover the considerable cost of emergency evacuation in the event of serious illness or injury.

These terms are necessitated by the nature of our business and characteristics of the Galápagos market. Most visitors plan their vacation well in advance and last-minute bookings are rare. So the chances of finding a replacement guest for a cancellation are very low and, in the interim, we have lost the opportunity of renting that room to other guests. Unlike a hotel with multiple rooms, the impact to us is significant.

Please review the comments below, regarding insurance.

Acceptance of Terms

If you have concerns or require clarification of any point of pricing or policy, please do not hesitate to ask. Payment of a deposit or final payment indicates to us that you accept and will be bound by the booking policies.

Check-in & Check-out

Check-in: Any time after 1:00 pm

If we are able to prepare the room the day before, we may be able to admit you on arrival at the Suites.

At check-in, we deliver a short briefing concerning the features and maintenance of the suites, local attractions, services, restaurants, wildlife, etc.

Check-out: Any time up to 10:30 am

Guests may keep their luggage in our office while waiting for a later airport check-in or afternoon ferry.

Arrival in San Cristóbal

We offer a free pickup service for guests arriving at the airport.

If you are arriving by sea, we will send a map with directions. It's a 10-minute walk from the pier, but we recommend taking a taxi if you have luggage.

Special Deals

Students & Volunteers

San Cristóbal is a popular destination for student volunteers. And we are just down the road from the GAIAS Institute and Science Centre. The Galeodan Suites are thus ideal for parents visiting or enrolling their children at the various institutes or volunteer programs. Where the student can be accommodated in the same suite, we will waive the normal extra-guest fee.

Seasonal Offers & Promotions

From time to time we offer discounts – Contact us for further details.

Insurance

Suite rental is just one component of a visit to the Galápagos Islands and we do advise travellers to take out insurance against illness and missed, cancelled or delayed flights.

Injury or illness could require emergency evacuation to the continent at considerable expense ($10-$20k). Accordingly, Article 49 of the Special Law of Galápagos (LOREG) requires that all foreign tourists visiting Galápagos carry private health insurance.

In support of tourism, the law had not been applied prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the emergency resulted in new travel protocols which state that the law does apply, and that private health insurance is a pre-requisite for entry to the Galápagos. Commercial interests may cause this requirement to be downplayed, or even lifted, but we caution that the law still exists and may be activated at any time in response to evolving circumstances. To avoid the risk of exceptional costs, or even refusal of entry to Galápagos, you should assume health insurance is needed. If you have state, employment or group insurance, check the policy - Do not assume that you have adequate coverage for all contingencies such as emergency evacuation.

Comprehensive travel and health insurance, including Covid-19 impact, is readily available and is required by many tourist operations. We urge all travellers to purchase such insurance. You will find a few of them <here>.

Online Travel Agencies

When you reserve through Booking.com & Expedia, you still have to pay us directly . That means you will not be using your credit card unless it is in conjunction with PayPal.

Booking.com does not take payment from guests - All it does is pass on the necessary information, which may include your credit card number and security code, to the hotel - And the hotel makes the charge. We do not process credit cards, so you will need use one of the payment options described here (PayPal, transfer etc.). Our Booking.com listing also appears on affiliated platforms including Kayak and Agoda.

Expedia has two payment methods, depending on the hotel: Expedia Collect (where the traveler pays Expedia) and Hotel Collect (where the traveler pays the hotel). All our Expedia reservations are Hotel Collect , so like Booking.com, you still pay us for the reservation. Expedia may require your credit card details but that is only for their own use - We will not be processing it. Expedia partner sites include Hotels.com, Travelocity, Trivago.

AirBnB and Vrbo have separate listings for each of our suites. They will take your payment directly but you will pay a significant fee for that convenience - 8% to 14%. Expedia also dispays our Vrbo listings, in which case you do pay through Vrbo.