Ian Mitchell

Hi, my wife and I are planning a trip to the Galapagos in July/August and need recommendations for budget cruises/ We've been quoted good prices for Pelikano and Fragata boats--anyone have experience with them? Or other boats to recommend? Thanks

trish

We were so naive and believed in some advertisement that introduced Pelikano to us. It sounded great but what we experienced was oposite to what they promised. Boat itself was in a need of repair.

gp

Ian,<BR><BR>I was thinking about doing this for a vacation I'm taking next week (decided on Mexico instead b/c of time constraints, etc). If you do a search on this forum for "Galapagos" you will find a fair bit of info. Several people recommended a book (name escapes me at the moment) which gives a lot of detail about the types of charters, differences between tours, boats, etc--I bought it and highly recommend it...you will understand much better what you're paying for, the right questions to ask, etc. (Bottom line, for the most part, you tend to get what you pay for. The "good prices" may be b/c it's actually a combo of a 3 d and 4 d tour making up a week, meaning you essentially lose a day, or your guide is not as experienced, etc.) I also emailed a couple of the outfitters to find out what was available--I thought the people at foruminternational.com(person who wrote to me was Natasha--and NO I have absolutely no relationship w/ the company) were pretty responsive and helpful, ie actually had some substantive opinions about which boat, why, etc. Hope this helps!

John

Ian- we went two years ago on a boat called the Coral II for a week at the Galapagos and it was incredible! The guides were great as well as the food. The accommodations were nothing special, each room had two bunks and a tiny private bathroom- make sure you get a room on the top level though- those below were musty and very claustrophobic. The trips were absolutely incredible and made even more so by the knowledgeable and friendly guides. The same company has the Coral I which looked pretty nice, but didn't get a chance to see inside.

Harry

We used Coral II but we had a such different experience than John. Guides were really uneducated about fauna of Galapagos. If we only had different guides it could be the best trip. So before you make decission do some extensive research. GP mentioned a book which we did not buy because we found out too late about it.

justin

I was on MS TROPIC SUN boat in Sept.2001<BR>on a 4 day cruise, boat was fine, nice rooms, good food, good sights to see, guides are good, <BR>I bought it once I got in Quito, on Amazonas Ave. It's hard to pick an agency but this agency owns the boat so I trust them more than other agency,<BR>let me know if you need their site on the Net...<BR>

Anne

The Galapagos Islands are FANTASTIC! My husband, teenage son, and myself were on the M/V Santa Cruz about 3 years ago. I didn't want to go home. The staff was great. The naturalist guide was awesome. Watching the animals in "their" environment was thrilling and exciting, especially with the guide explaining the behavior we were seeing. A totally wonderful experience, I'm ready to go back. I don't know if this is "budget" or "good price" but worth every penny.

MDP

My wife and I did an eight day cruise on the Coral II. The guide we had was fantastic. His name was Billy. Everyone will know who your talking about if you just use his first name. So maybe you could ask for his schedule. Our experience on the boat was great. The food was fantastic. Like a previous response, the rooms were far from special though. But then again, the only time we were in the room was to sleep at night an maybe an afternoon cat nap. There are so many oportunities for things to see and do, trailwalking, snorkeling, dinghy rides, and eating, that if you wanted to you could constantly be busy.<BR>There were only 12 passengers on our boat (room for 20 which was the perfect size.) Obviously if you go on a bigger boat the rooms will be larger and there will be more public space. But I would highly discourage it because your nature walks and snorkeling would not be as thorough or exciting.

Tom

I would like to travel to Galapagos last week of August. My only concern is weather...will it be too cold or rainy ?<BR>Do you have to bring your own wetsuit ?

joe

We had a great trip on the MV Santa Cruz. At the moment its pretty chilly and you will need a jacket. Yes, bring a wetsuit.