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[Marden]

At some point during the US school summer vacation, I would like to spend a week in immersion Spanish with my teenage daughter (we both have some beginning Spanish). I would follow the class week with a visit to the Galapagos. Recommendations and advice are welcome.

[Quint]

I would recommend staying in Quito - to me it's more interesting than Guayaquil, with the colonial center, Otavalo nearby, museums, etc. I take Spanish at the Vida Verde school - they are good, and only $6/hour for private lessons. They can arrange homestays as well, which I would urge you to do for real immersion. I have also heard that Simon Bolivar is good, but it's more expensive.

[Evie]

Hi,

sounds like a very nice plan! I would recommend you start by identifying and booking your Galapagos cruise, and work the spanish around it, as it will likely be a lot easier to find space in a Spanish school of your choice in the next few months, than it will be to find a suitable cruise. Summer is high season, and I'm already having difficulties finding the ideal cruise for some of my clients. Keep in mind the following:

Airfare from Quito to Galapagos: $396
Park entrance fee: $100

7 night cruise: From $1000 to $4,500 dollars, per person with a recommendation to be particularly cautious for anything under $1,500. I tend to recommend that you get what you pay for, but that the value for money starts leveling out after about $3,000.
Tips: If you are entirely satisfied, budget a total of about $200 ($100 from each of you and your daughter), to be split 50/50 between your cruise's naturalist guide on the one hand, and the rest of the crew on the other (rule of thumb, of course!).
You might want to consider staying a day or two longer in the islands for a bit of R&R.

Good luck with your plans!