Advice on Galapagos Boats
 

Hi,

Like many other users on these boards, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choice of boats for the Galapagos. My husband and I are trying to decide between the Guantanamera and the Eden. Does anyone have any experience of either of this? Or could recommend a good boat for an 8 day trip that is less than $1500?

Thanks,
Sarah

Hi there:

I cannot comment on either of the boats personally, but when I went to book by trip I was almost ready to book the Eden, but changed our minds and wanted to do the South Islands instead. If we were going on the Eden, our four night trip would have been to the North Islands. I am pretty sure though that the Eden is in a bit higer class than the other.

Check this web site out. www.sangay.com

This is a travel agent I used out of Quito, and they have very good info on thier website about the boats.

If this doesn't help, at least it will top it and maybe someone else can give you better recommendations.

FYI, I was on the Aida Maria which was similar to the Eden.

Hi There:

I went about a month prior to Peg but the same tour company booked our tours.

Okay he is some info:
Eden:
1. First Class yacht.
2. 16 passengers in total
3.Crew of 8
4.It it srated 4 star out of 5
5.Guide Class is 3 rated from 1 to 3
6.Snorkel is free
7.It departs the Island of Santa Cruz on Wednesday and Saturdays.

If you are going to be there 8 days , you will get to see all the islands that you need to see.

Guantanamera:

1. Rate 3 star.
2. 16 passengers in total.
3.Guide Class is 3
4.Snorkle is $15.00 extra.
5.This yacht departs on Thursday and Sundays.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record , I would e-mail Martin at www.sangay tours.com
or
[email protected]

He and his brother operate Sangay Tours out of Quito Ecuador.

Tell him Percy from Edmonton and Peg from Ohio referred you and he will take good care of you.

You do not have to book with him to obtain information from him.

He would be more than pleased to give you whatever info you are after , plus he has complete details to all the yachts cruising the Galapagos.

He got me a much better price than my own Travel Agent could here in my home city.

The Yachts are rated as :
1. Luxury
2.First Class
3.Tourist Superior

They all depart from the Island of Santa Cruz.

Need more help!!? Just ask
Percy

Hi Peg

Welcome back from Texas.
Percy

Hi Percy:

Thanks. Too short of vacation, although I cannot complain the weather is kind of nice here in Ohio. Didn't find a cowboy though!! Cute guy from Miami, but no cowboys.

We just booked for a tour on the Eden in July - also through Martin at Sangay (through recommendations on these boards).
Martin was really helpful in making a decision about the boat. In the end we were lucky to get on any boat as things were pretty booked up.
We're happy with the Eden, but there was another boat that looked really good, which we would have prefered - the Arhipegal. I think it's not that much more expensive than Eden.

Yes the Arhipegal is a very nice yacht.
It is inthe First Class category and it looks very nice.

I am looking at a picture of it right now.
it departs on Mondays and Thursday and it tours all the islands,depending on how long your Galapagos tour is.
It is a 16 passenger yacht and in its class it is rated 5 star...which is top of the line.

belhr, I am glad Martin looked after you so well, but then there was never a doubt.!!!
Have fun when you go

Percy

We saw the Arhipegal on a couple of the islands that we were at also. It did look like a nice boat. Isn't it one of the newer yachts?

belhr: I hope everything works out for you on your trip. As much as Percy and I have recommended Martin, I don't want anything to go bad.

Hi Peg:
yes, the Archipegal is one of the newer one and out of the First Class Category it is one of Martins's favourites.

This means other have liked it also.

belhr:
The longer you stay at the galapagos , the more islands you see, but each yacht has its specific run as to which islands it goes to
Percy

This is a good trip to consider. Wondering, if my husband and I booked, are there single rates for a friend?
Thanks, Skelley

Skelley:

There are single rates for travelers, but unfortunately, they are usually double the cabin price. With many of the boats being small, they cannot afford to have them not full. We ran into this when we first started looking, because there are only three of us that usually go on our girl trips together. Our option was to pay the higher price for the one, or take your chances with a room mate. Fortunately, my mom decided she wanted to go so we didn't have to make that decision.

I just got off the Archipel a little over a week ago and it was great! I would highly recommend this boat. It's very popular though, so often full. We also felt that being a catamaran, it was very stable. The only warning I would give is, regardless of what any website says, the Archipel does NOT have air conditioning. They have a ventilation system with fans that circulate the air inside which was fine for this time of year. But I'm not sure if it would be sufficient for the hotter months. We're still traveling around and won't be home for another week, but I'll be glad to answer any questions when I get back.

Hi Peg and Percy,
Thanks for all of your advice. Everything went very smoothly with Sangay. We also loved Bellavista!

Hi Patty:

Glad that eveything went great with Sangay.
I ama bit amazed that the Arcihpel yacht does not have air conditioning.

When I was there 9 months ago in late August early September ,it was 82-88 F at the Galapagos.. so air conditioning was great to have.!!!

What did you think of all those hummingbirds at Bellavista Cloud Forest !!!
I have been to two Hummingbirds Gardens in Costa Rica , but the amount of hummingbirds here ar Bellavista is just tremendous. and far superior to the nummber I saw in Costa Rica.

Glad Peg and I could help.

You must be touring Ecuador now on your way back !!??
Percy

Patty:

Glad to hear your trip went well and you liked Bellavista!

Peg

Hi Percy,

I'm back home finally! We went to Jamaica (for our anniversary) and NY (for SIL's wedding) after we left Ecuador, sort of a long roundabout trip!

The A/C issue was the only thing that I felt Sangay wasn't quite upfront about. Maybe they didn't really know the situation. But like I said, it worked out fine. I would say the temps when we were there weren't any hotter than your trip in August. We had some cool, overcast days too. I would still highly recommend this boat & its crew, with this minor caveat.

The hummingbirds at Bellavista were amazing! I would just sit in front of the feeders and watch them.

I'm in the process of sorting through and uploading my pictures. I'll post a link to them when I'm done :)

Thanks Patty:

I will be watching for your picture postings.
I heard the Arcipel was a very new yacht and was very popular and booked up quickly ,just cannot understand why no A/C, hmmmm
Percy