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[Aaliyah]

I have the following possibilities for 8 day cruises:

Angelito (but only through Cometa Travel). I have hardly been able to find anything on Cometa Travel on google. Tourist superior, cost is $1375. Angelito goes to Espanola, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Genovesa, Bartolome and Rabida.

Nemo II - first class (catamarin), cost is $1900. It goes to Espanola, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Bartolome and Isabela.

Mistral - first class, cost is $2350. It visits the most number of islands: Floreana, Espanola, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Genovesa, Santiago and Fernandina.

I have heard wonderful things about Angelito, not so much about the others. When multiplied by 2, there is a jump of about $1000 for each of the yachts.

Would appreciate any comments on these 3 yachts/itineraries, as well as the travel agencies: Cometa Travel (Quito), Inti Travel (Canada) and Columbus Travel (Quito).

[Shahan]

Hi,

I would say you will generally be getting what you pay for when cruising in Galapagos.

Angelito is operated directly by Cometa Travel - a small, but serious operation. My clients come back happy, recognizing that they will not be getting top luxury on this ship, but attentive service, good guiding and a decent itinerary.

Inti Travel is a reliable travel agent, dealing in Galapagos cruises. I have little personal/professional info on the Nemo II to share with you. It is operated by Creter Tours.

I have heard good reviews on Columbus Travel - they are also a travel agent. The Mistral is operated by Quasar Nautica, an older, but well maintained and spacious ship.

So again, this is a classic case of getting what you pay for - but if money is tight, I would have no problems recommending the Angelito.

Regards.

[Vruyk]

Hello -

I have just returned from a 5 day cruise of the Galapagos through Columbus Travel. We looked around for about a month and they really have the best deal.

What I recommed doing is #1 - figure out how long you want to go and #2 what islands (and wildlife) you want to see. Read up on islands as they are all very different. And some boats do the northern islands one week and the southern islands another. Finally, #3 is decide how big of a boat you want. The 90 passenger vessels are nice in that you see more islands (some very close to one another and therefore not much difference between them) but you are also put on the island with 90 other people and kept to a very very rigid schedule. The smaller yachts will not provide the same comfort (more rocking) but you will have a very personalized tour and some flexibility in your schedule.

Once you know how many days and what islands, I would email Columbus Travel. We worked with MariaElena and she was wonderful. You can pay securely through Paypal and negotiate additional perks like transportation to an from the airport.

We went on the Fragata Yacht which is listed in just about every class depending on the website. We paid about $800 for the 5 days, with one night spent in Sata Cruz. The staff is wonderful and the three course meals were much better than expected.

Hope this helps!