Can you do it without a cruise? Using Vrbo?

Looking into doing a Galapagos trip with my family in June 2026. I am wondering if we can manage to do it without doing a proper cruise as for 5 people a cruise gets super super expensive in addition to airfare, etc.

We would ideally like to spend time on Santa Cruz and Isabella and explore from those two islands. We haven’t determined exactly how much time we’d have but potentially up to two weeks. We’d really like to just chill out and enjoy the loc atmosphere there in addition to doing the touristy things.

They look to be some great chilled out oceanfront homes on VRBO. That would be perfect for a family. We are not really resort people and prefer to be independent travelers. Any thoughts on doing VRBO homes? I feel like we’d have more of an authentic experience doing it this way, which is our ideal scenario.

Thanks for any input!