Add your sail date and the links open on the night before.
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Royal Palm is the big-brand option, and it’s second. Hilton puts the airport about 45 minutes away, and its inclusive packages include return airport transfers, which is where your line meets you.
The evening scores well: two places to eat, a pool with two hot tubs and a fitness centre. The spa is under refurbishment, so it doesn’t count.
Breakfast holds it back. Hilton doesn’t say a standard rate includes it; only the packages do. Ask which rate you’re on.
Book it if
- You want a resort with a pool the night before
- You want the drive to Baltra shorter than it is from town
- You’re travelling with a pet
Look elsewhere if
- You want to walk to dinner in Puerto Ayora
- You want breakfast confirmed in a one-night rate
- You want a spa this year
Your night before, from here
From check-in to the gangway, using only what Royal Palm publishes and our own map estimates.
The Lava Lounge Restaurant and The Highlands Cafe, with cocktails by the pool, per Hilton.
Hilton’s inclusive packages include return airport transfers, and Baltra airport is where the lines we checked meet you. Outside a package, the hotel arranges a shuttle at extra cost, with no fare published.
Hilton doesn’t say breakfast is in a standard rate. Its 3- to 5-night inclusive packages cover breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Hilton puts Seymour Airport about 45 minutes away. Take the package transfer or arrange the hotel’s shuttle ahead; your line’s documents set the meeting time at the airport.
Hilton lists free parking, but nobody drives to a Galápagos cruise, and nothing says it covers a voyage.
Night-Before Score: 59 of 100
Every point comes from Hilton’s pages for the hotel; the hub explains how the Night-Before Score works.
Getting here, and on to the ship
By our map estimate Royal Palm is about 22.3 km from Baltra Airport in a straight line, and about 23.4 km from the Baltra dock. Every question mark below is a ride you book yourself.
Hilton says to take the airport bus to the Itabaca Channel and the 10-minute ferry, then the hotel shuttle (extra, arranged ahead) or a taxi from the canal. Its inclusive packages include return airport transfers.
Hilton’s inclusive packages include return airport transfers, and Baltra airport is where the lines we checked meet you. Outside a package, the hotel arranges a shuttle at extra cost, with no fare published.
From GPS without a hotel shuttle
From the airport it’s three legs: a bus to the Itabaca Channel, a ferry across (US$1, per the national park), then a bus (about US$2) or a pickup taxi (US$25 for up to four) to Puerto Ayora. The park calls the airport bus free; Quasar and Galapatours put it at about US$5. The airport page has the fares, the fees and the timing.
Hilton lists free parking, but nobody drives to a Galápagos cruise, and nothing says it covers a voyage.
Parking for your stay: Free parking, per Hilton.
Hilton’s inclusive packages include return airport transfers, and Baltra airport is where the lines we checked meet you. Outside a package, the hotel arranges a shuttle at extra cost, with no fare published.
Flying in the morning you sail? The lines we checked are built for it: they meet the morning flights at the airport. the airport page has the landing check.
Which quay
the Baltra dockMeasured to the Baltra dock, where Celebrity and Lindblad bus you from the airport to board, Royal Palm is about 23.4 km away in a straight line, and about 12.3 km from the Puerto Ayora pier. Between Santa Cruz and Baltra sits the Itabaca Channel, crossed by ferry, so every trip to the ship includes a boat. Celebrity says its ships don’t come pier-side; you board by tender. The Baltra cruise guide has the rest.
Source: celebritycruises.comDistance
~23.4 km, straight lineAbout 23.4 km from the Baltra dock in a straight line between our map pins. That’s a ride, not a walk.
Airport bus
Not statedNo bus runs to the door. The airport bus goes only as far as the Itabaca Channel; then it’s the ferry and a bus or a pickup taxi on Santa Cruz, per the national park.
Parking while you sail
Cruise parking
Cruise parking unconfirmedHilton lists free parking, but nobody drives to a Galápagos cruise, and nothing says it covers a voyage.
In town
No car to parkParking isn’t a question here. You can’t drive to Baltra: you fly in from Guayaquil or Quito, and your line’s guide meets you at the airport. No cruise parking is published anywhere on Santa Cruz.
The evening and the morning
The evening
Food or bar on siteThe Lava Lounge Restaurant and The Highlands Cafe, with cocktails by the pool, per Hilton.
Breakfast
Depends on the rateHilton doesn’t say breakfast is in a standard rate. Its 3- to 5-night inclusive packages cover breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Address
Km 18 on the Puerto Ayora road, in the highlandsKm. 18 Via Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, about 500 m above sea level, per Hilton
Hotel website
The fine print, in one place
Times, fees, rooms and the small stuff, from Royal Palm and the sources named under each fact. We couldn’t confirm whether a standard rate includes breakfast, the shuttle fare, room count, so ask when you book.
Check-in and check-out
Breakfast
Hilton doesn’t say breakfast is in a standard rate. Its 3- to 5-night inclusive packages cover breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Parking for your stay
Free parking, per Hilton
Pool
An outdoor pool with two hot tubs, set in the gardens, per Hilton.
Pets
Pet-friendly, per Hilton; no policy details.
Food and drink on site
- Lava Lounge Restaurant
- The Highlands Cafe
- Poolside cocktails
Rooms
Hilton doesn’t give a room count; it calls the rooms the largest on Santa Cruz.
Accessibility
Royal Palm’s pages we read don’t detail accessible rooms, so ask before you book one.
On site
- GymYes
- Sauna or spaNot stated
- Family roomsNot stated
- Pets allowedYes
Also worth knowing
- About 45 minutes to Seymour Airport, per Hilton
- The spa is under refurbishment; in-room treatments are offered
- Check-out is 10:00
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Check-in 12:00, check-out 10:00, per Hilton.
- The hotel shuttle costs extra and has to be arranged ahead.
- The spa is under refurbishment.
What we couldn’t confirm
- Whether a standard rate includes breakfast
- The shuttle fare
- Room count
Every hotel fact here comes from Hilton’s pages for the hotel, read October 2026, unless we name another source. Distances are straight lines between our own map pins, and almost every pin is our estimate from a street address or less.
Worth a look alongside it
Before you book Royal Palm: the Baltra (Santa Cruz) cruise guide and our Galápagos cruise guide.
A pool in the highlands, then a shorter ride to Baltra.
Tell us your sail date and we’ll check Royal Palm for the night before. No payment on the form.
Royal Palm FAQ
How far is Royal Palm Galápagos from Baltra airport?
About 45 minutes by road, per Hilton, including the Itabaca Channel ferry.
Does Royal Palm Galápagos have an airport shuttle?
Its inclusive packages include return airport transfers. Otherwise the hotel arranges a shuttle at extra cost; no fare is published.
Is breakfast included at Royal Palm Galápagos?
Hilton doesn’t say for a standard rate. Its 3- to 5-night inclusive packages cover all meals.
What time is check-out at Royal Palm Galápagos?
10:00, with check-in at 12:00, per Hilton.
Booking the cruise too?
Tell us the sailing and we’ll line up Royal Palm, the ride to the ship and the cruise itself. No fee, no obligation.
Got it — thank you.
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