Ecuador testimonials

Morrie and I are back in Melbourne. I rang you when we arrived in New York on 23 May, but you were away. I just wanted to report to you about our fantastic "cruise" to the Galapagos Islands on the Santa Cruz.

We had a wonderful time, the boat was terrific (we hope the boat Archipel is O.K., but we are glad that we were transferred to the Santa Cruz), the naturalists were very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly, the boat crew were extremely kind and helpful (especially when we were getting on and off the dinghys!!), and the fact that we went off the boat in groups of no more than 14 people was excellent (one of the things I was concerned about going on a bigger boat).

We met some very interesting people on board - of course, there was a wider range of people than there would have been on the Archipel. As I have highlighted, it is not a "cruise", it is an expedition - up every morning at 6.30 am, 4 activities every day, and very hectic, walking, climbing, swimming - but it was amazing seeing all the animals and birds. It was lovely speaking to you and I want to thank you very much for your help in organising the cruise for us.

A friend of mine is planning a trip to the Galapagos in October, and I am going to give him your name, so he may contact you. Thanks again, Regards, Anita and Morrie Wail

Laura, We had a great trip to the Galapagos. Getting to and from the islands was well organized and efficient. The ship that we were on was terrific. Well organized, great staff--the guides were really wonderful—very knowledgeable. The room was very comfortable, spacious and well kept. The food was good, but not great. The service in the dining room was excellent.

Before the trip I was concerned about being on a ship with so many other people, but they were very organized and the excursions were excellent. We are very happy that we decided on a 7 day trip. Once again, we thank you for your excellent services. KW James

Laura, First of all, thank you so much for arranging our time in the Galapagos. It was definitely an amazing time, and one that I will never forget! The ship was fun, and the staff excellent.

Hot though, thank goodness for the air conditioning on the boat! I was able to do one dive on the boat, there seemed to be a little confusion as to the diving. They were unable to schedule me for a second dive, due to the air compressor on the Spondylus not working.

They advised that I contact you when I got home in order to receive a refund for the second dive. If you could organize this it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much once again,

Laura, Well, we are back, and had a wonderful time! Everything went without a single problem! We were met everywhere we went, and everything happened in a timely manner and was what we expected.

The boat, Archipel, is wonderful and quite comfortable and spacious. It was very easy for my mom to manage, and the crew went out of their way to make her safe and comfortable. We saw all the things we hadn't seen before; hawks and penguins, manta rays and eagle rays and white-tipped sharks. The diving worked out great, and was very easy on this boat. They coordinated it very well, and even with the diving, we really didn't miss much of anything.

We did the horseback riding in Isabella, and also did riding on that last day on Santa Cruz, and it was so fun! We rode past dozens of tortoises in the wild! Casa de Marita was relaxed and beautiful, and everything was very well arranged. Our time with Maria and Luis at Hotel Fernandina was like a reunion. They are upgrading their hotel, adding new rooms on a second floor, and getting ready to redo all their original rooms. They made us feel so welcome.

All of our guides were good, but we had a young woman named Josie on Santa Cruz for the two days there who was outstanding! So knowledgeable and attentive for a 21 year old person! If you ever have the chance to ask for her specifically, do so! Thank you, Laura, for all your work in making these plans. Between you and Galacruises, things went perfectly! We finally did have the trip of a lifetime! Now, where shall we go next??

Laura, We have now been back from our Galapagos tour for a while, but its certainly not a distant memory. It was a wonderful holiday, truly unique, and made special by all at Klein Tours and on the Legend. Everything went smoothly from our arrival at Quito airport until our return.,We will be traveling again. I am personally keen to visit Antarctica, but I am not sure that would be done as a family tour. I suspect that those expeditions are not designed for children. Our other target destination is Cuba, do you offer any options there? Again thanks for your help. All the best, Bill D.

Sandra, We had a fantastic trip and the majority of our plans worked out well. We enjoyed our time at Casa Marita on Isabella Island where we celebrated the New year with the owner and other guests. it was a multi national gathering and we were treated like members of the family.

We were given a New Year meal and the wine flowed freely! Our flight to Santa Cruz on the 5 seater plane was interesting! and I am still amazed that I had the courage to get on board. We were met at the airport by our guide for the Beagle yacht cruise.

The yacht was beautiful and we had a marvellous itinerary and an amazing guide- Balantina. her English was excellent and her knowledge of natural history and facts regarding the islands and the wildlife was superb. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and the snorkelling and kayaking.

The 3rd part of our trip was at the Finch Bay Hotel in Puerto Ayora. This is an amazing place to escape and unwind. The hotel was clean and the staff worked under the motto"everything is possible". The atmosphere was very laid back and relaxed. There was no TV, no traffic noise and very few children -all in all an ideal place to stay and we can highly recommend this hotel to your clients and our friends.

Thank You for all the organising at your end. The trip was excellent and we had a very very good holiday. I will try and send you a few photos. Look forward to your reply Helen

Laura. cuise was very good. I wish that I was there for longer. the food was good the guide was excellent and so as the boat. The only dissappointing thing about the cruise was the organisation of the diving equipment. I have my diving liscence but was not sure if I was going to dive or not so I didnt prebook. but was under the impression that I didnt have to. When we arrived on the boat there was insufficint equipment and it appeared as though you had to board the boat on the thursday if you wanted to get the diving equipment fitted. This is one thing where they could organise little bit better. Overall this did not spoil the trip at all. I had an amazing time and got to see all the things that I wanted to see. thanks very much. If I ever travel to galapagos again i will keep your company in mind and will have no hestaion to recomend you guys to friends in the future regards Jeremy U.

Laura We had a great trip. Many thanks for all of your hard work in making things run so smoothly. All of the arrangements worked really well. In particular, we enjoyed the Beluga trip and our stay at La Mirage, although our shopping contributed rather more to the Ecuador economy than was good for our bank balances. Again, to ensure I give the right message, the trip was great and your arrangements were flawless. I'd have no hesitation in asking for your help in future--so please let us know which countries you cover--you never know! Thanks again and kind regards Alan