www.ecuadors.org

[Tawnya]

Looking for suggestions for tours to the Galapagos - interested in all price categories.

Thanks

[Nabirye]

i just did a tour of the galapagos that i booked through southern explorations. they were great! i went on the estrella de mar, which holds 16 passengers, the crew was friendly, the guide very knowledgable (his name is hansel martinelli) and the cost including rt airfare to galapagos from quito was about $2360. all they boats, luxury or not travel a similar itinerary.

Estrella de mar is considered a first class boat, but wasn't "snooty" the passengers also were great- there was a wonderfull mix of nationalities.
call or email southern explorations- they are totally on top of stuff and have info on lots of boats!

[Hadiya]

I booked my Galapagos cruise through Guide2Galapagos. I booked the 8 day cruise on the Fragata for about $1450 (including airfare from Quito to the Galapagos). I paid in May, for a trip in late Sept/early October. About a week before my cruise, I received an email indicating that my reservation had been cancelled/lost/??? due to an "unintentional error" and I had been upgraded to the Beluga - at no extra cost to me.

I was disappointed that the Beluga did not go to Genovesa/Tower Island, because I really wanted to see red-footed boobies. However, it did go to Fernandina and Isabela, and I was very happy to visit these islands.

A couple of times, the itinerary for the Fragata and Beluga crossed paths. The Fragata looked like a nice ship from the outside and the people on it seemed happy (mostly 20-something backpackers) and the guide seemed good.

The Beluga was a fabulous ship and was clearly an upgrade. It normally sells for about $2500-2700 for the week. The common areas of the ship were spacious, the food excellent, the guide was great, and the crew went out of their way to be helpful. I was extremely satisfied, and would have felt like I got my money's worth even if I had paid the "full/normal price". The passengers were a bit older (ages 30-50), but not senior citizens.

If I would have seen a red-footed boobie, it would have been perfect! More details can be found on my travel blog.

Good luck in your planning.