The so-called limit is set above the number of people that want to visit so in practice there is no limit.
It is best to do a cruise beause many of the best locations are restricted to cruises. The national park does limit the number of boats in operation so that does put a cap on the number of visitors to the more special islands. However there are usually places available.
You need to fly to Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador and then fly out the next day to the islands. Any agent in Ecuador should be able to book flights or you can now do it online but if you are going on a cruise, you normally book them together as they like all the passengers to arrive on the same flight.
The cruise operator "Celebrity" does have a cruise available but about 90 passengers is large for Galapagos. I prefer the 16 passenger sized boats.
You need a visitors control card purchased at the airport in Ecuador (I think it was $10)and then you need $100 in cash for the national park fee payable at the airport on arrival in Galapagos.
If you are not doing a cruise, the largest town is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz where you will find many hotels. Fly to Baltra, get the free airport bus to Itabaca Canal then take the foot ferry to Santa Cruz for a few cents. From there a taxi to town is about 45 minutes and $15 or there is a cheaper bus to the edge of town where the taxi is then $1. You can take day trips to some of the closer islands around $100 each. A public ferry can take you to San Cristobal and Isabela but only one a day and you need at least 2 night stay on each island to see anything as they leave early afternoon and return very early morning. Its an often rough crossing of 2-3 hours on a speedboat.
At a price you can fly light aircraft between Baltra, San Cristobal and Isabela too but only small luggage allowance.
Great place to photograph birds without a super telephoto.
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Dave Peters
http://www.dpphotoimages.com 
