judi_in_guatemala

A friend and I are in the planning stages for a trip to the Galapagos in Jan. 2011. She is on a very limited budget and wants to spend about $2,000. for an 8 day tour. We are looking at www.galpagoslastminute.net which has some great deals that include r/t air fare from Quito to the islands. Does anybody have any experience with this site or have any other recommendations.

qwovadis

Careful with your site and on TA Galapagos forums

dodgy scammy "experts" shammy really agents/resellers

will scam you at 300%-900% mark up..

www.gotmyfare.com The Legend package

from $2k all in from the US including air nice Quito hotel

might be your best your best bet...

For yur best local bet for local cruises

www.galapagosislands.com

run by Colombus Ecuador a decades old business #1 for this

for nice cats(best) sales from $800-1200

including FREE air out to GPS airport usually..

If claustrophic or seasickness prone go with a big boat

Avoid the small monohulls do only the Cats like SeaMan II

and Nina for best value experience...

www.saecplorers.org/clubhouses/quito

good info..anyway pay no more than $800-1200

good rule of thumb for a good local boat including air

It is so sad to see so many get scammed on this...

qwovadis

www.saexplorers.org/clubhouses/quito

sorry for typo(s) above...

ecuaddict

I have not heard any complaints from the forementioned company, but have not seen it around either. You can try www.travelgalapagosislands.com as well, great good last minute deals.

Other sites as www.galapagosislands.com are also a good resource but make sure that they have the updated 2011 itineraries as the new regulation in Galapagos is coming to effect.

Ecuaddict

judi_in_guatemala

I read something about new 2011 regulations. Do you know what the difference between the current and new regulations are?

GalapagosExpert

HI Judi,
As of February 1st, 2012, all Galapagos cruise itineraries will work on the 15 day rotation (no visitor sites can be repeated within the 15 days-except Puerto Ayora), creating less human impact on the existing sites, as well as opening up new visitor sites. Each company will decide how they will manage the lengths of cruises within these 15 day blocks, and the itineraries must be set and approved with the National Park of galapagos. Certain companies have decided to start this program before the mandatory date.

judi_in_guatemala

Galapagos Expert, Do you have any experience with "Galapagos Last Minute" tours? Can you recommend any other agencies? My friend is adamant about spending $2000 including air fare from Quito to the Galapagos. She thinks we can get the best deal on one of the last minute bookings. I am reluctant to go that far and only have a bare-bones experience. She says "bad food, bad boat...look upon it as a camping trip".

ecuaddict

www.travelgalapagosislands.com/faq you can find the info there. All ships must change their itinerary by Feb 2012 but some ships are already changing them.

Ecuaddict

ecuaddict

http://www.travelgalapagosislands.com/information/faq sorry for my mistake

GalapagosExpert

Hi Judi. In my opinion it is always best to book well ahead to ensure you get what you want, if you have specific requests/islands/standards you are looking for. Many of the "last minute specials" on line are offered only a few weeks in advance, or even a month in advance! January falls into the "high season" category, so the last minute specials will be more difficult to obtain. The site you were originally looking at seems to offer them during a 2 month period (Currently says Oct-Nov). You could risk waiting a while longer, depending on how set in stone your schedule is. If you only have a particular number of days in Ecuador, and must cruise between X date and Y date, then I wouldn´t risk it. You generally "get what you pay for" in Galapagos...you definitely don´t want "bad food, bad boat..a camping experience!" in my opinion. Galapagos is so special that it is worth investing a bit more in having an enjoyable experience! Good luck hunting around!

DeCal

I agree with Galapagos Expert! You really want to book ahead as the Galapagos is not really one of those last minute places. You also want to be sure that the company you are with is eco-friendly, which is #1 when in the Galapagos. Some companies offer amazing prices...yet do not follow eco-procedures. I am happy about the new 15 day enforcement in 2012. We need to preserve the Galapagos as it is such a magical beautiful place. Here's the company I went with if you are interested- http://www.galapagos.com/