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Recommended tour companies for the Galapagos Islands

Recommended tour companies for the Galapagos Islands

Old Apr 30th, 2015, 07:23 AM
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Recommended tour companies for the Galapagos Islands

We would like to visit the Galapagos islands but are unsure about the best way to see it. This would be for next year and as there are quite a few flights I thought it would be best to decide on a tour company first and then deal with the flights. Also recommendations for the best time of year. Thank you
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 06:35 PM
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Wondering if anyone has heard of a boat called the Athala which carries 16 people and tours for about 8 days. My friend recommended this boat having visited the Galapagos islands about 10 years ago. I have read some reviews but nothing recent. Any other recommendations for similar smaller boats?
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 07:22 PM
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I visited the Galapagos in Feb/Mar this year with G Adventures and was very favourably impressed. I sailed on the Queen of the Galapagos, a 16 passenger 90 foot catamaran with quite spacious cabins. G Adventures offers a variety of tours on three different boats, and I took the 10-day Central, South and East Island tour (8 days in the islands). All their tours start and end in Quito and the flights to and from the islands are included. The naturalist/guide and crew were excellent and very helpful. I can certainly recommend them.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 03:41 AM
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We leave in two days so my information is only about the planning.
After doing a bunch of reading and contacting multiple tour companies, we decided that, for us, one week wasn't long enough to get to all the islands with unique birds/animals, but we worried that two weeks would be too long.
We found Galapagos Travel, which leads what they call nature workshops for 10 nights/11 days.
All of our dealings with them have been very positive, and the four of us are travelers who always have lots of questions.
We'll be sailing on the 16 passenger Tip Top IV. One of the things we liked was that GT adds a tour leader (in addition to the required naturalist) to provide additional information and give evening lectures on the islands and photography.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 06:02 AM
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Thank you, I'll follow up and look into both of these boats.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 01:50 PM
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There are many boats that are 16 passengers. Something about the guide to passenger ratio makes that a sweet spot in boat size.

I won't be going til the end of June. Booked with Angelito directly (Cometa Travel).

Will let you know.
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Old May 5th, 2015, 02:56 PM
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I decided just last month to do the Galapagos this month. I emailed Happy Gringos and JulioVerne. I chose JulioVerne, because the price was a bit - just a bit - cheaper, and the because the cruise is Friday to Friday. I can use Sunday to back to the U.S.

I'll be on The Fragata in two weeks. I do wish I was on one that focus on photography, but that type of specialized cruise tends to be much more expensive. Maybe next time.

It should be an interesting experience being in tight quarter with a group of strangers
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Old May 16th, 2015, 08:05 AM
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Hi! Ecuatraveling is a great tour company for Ecuador and Galapagos. They have various cruises in Galapagos, with different itineraries, number of days, boats... They also sometimes have good deals for the flights to get there. You should get in touch with them and ask for a quote.

Have a great time in the Galapagos and Ecuador! *jealous*
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Old May 19th, 2015, 09:41 AM
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We are flying home from Quito today. Our trip on the Tip Top IV was fabulous and I recommend Galapagos Travel very highly.
Although the park requires one guide for 16 passengers, GT always provides an additional tour leader, often also a certified guide. That was invaluable when the 14 of us were in the 2 pangas; I can't imagine how one guide could do it.
The ship was what we call "nice enough": attractive public areas, very good food, small but comfortable cabins, wonderful staff.
GT does 11 and 15 day cruises; we picked the 11 and got to North Seymour, Santiago, Genovesa, Fernandina, Isabella, Floreana, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Espanola, and Mosquera. That allowed us to see all of the species unique to a particular island.
Almost too fabulous for words.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2015, 05:56 PM
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I just got back from an 8D/7N cruise on the Fragata yatch booked through Julio Verne Travel. The Fragata crew was great. The guests were great. The yatch can hold up to 16 guests, but there were only 11 on my trip, so the three single travelers, including myself, each got his/her own room. That was a Godsend, because each cabin room was small.

I normally poo-poo guided tour, but this trip was one of the best vacation experiences that I've ever had.
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Old Jun 11th, 2015, 09:16 PM
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Tip Top II crashed end of April.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...s_Islands.html
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Old Jun 23rd, 2015, 06:24 AM
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Just returned and I highly endorse "Angelito I" another small motor yacht like Fragata. I agree with Axel2DP, one of the top three experiences.

One thing I realized after I returned is that websites such as Sangay are not up to date. For example Angelito was remodeled a few years ago and doesn't even look like the picture posted anymore along with some significant changes eg new engines, twin beds (not bunks) and the upper deck now has a lounging area. So as you narrow down be sure to look at the operator own websites.

I liked the 16-person size also, and the fact it is a family operation (just the one ship) makes for a more personal experience.

I can't say enough great things about our guide Maja. She chose our landing times to avoid the larger touring ships which also had the same time slots, so we were often the first group, and were leaving as others arrived. If there had been two guides I think everyone would have felt slighted if not in her group. The only time it was a problem we were actually just 12, and just wasn't enough room around the snake eating the rice rat to the side of the trail.

In choosing a boat and tour itinerary, one thing to consider is seasickness. The long 'navigations' from north to south were quite rough on a small boat (eg Genovesa to Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz to Espanola).

You may need to book 6 months out to get the boat and cruise itinerary you want in high season. I was scrambling in February to find one that fit within my airline miles plane tickets after my first booking was cancelled by the tour company Road Scholar.

Another thing to note is that not all companies want to work with you if you have your own flights to the Galapagos. Fortunately Angelito was not one of them, but they did want me to come in at least one night early. I met them at the Baltra airport.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2015, 06:32 AM
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BTW I asked our guide her favorite months, and she said April May. I had been trying to go the last weeks of May also, having done the earlier research. But we saw everything that I wanted, Blue-footed Booby and Waved Albatross courtings and lots of playful sea lions. The water mid to end June was warm enough although possibly rougher than the earlier months, the islands still had green. The 'garua' affected only one morning and the trip to the highlands tortoise place(actually a welcome relief from the sun for me).
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