What company or boat should we use for a 8-11 day Galapagos cruise?

June 28, 2015 9:31 PM

I'm looking for a small (probabl 16-20 passenger) Galapagos tour boat for a 8-11 day cruise. My group likes traveling in comfort and is particularly interested in finding a boat with very well-informed guides (and the more of them on board the better). We expect to pay more for this. We're getting overwhelmed with all of the options and know older info can get dated fast. If you've been, would you recommend your boat (and why or why not)? Thanks!
posted by arnicae to Travel & Transportation around Ecuador (4 answers total)

We went on La Pinta, and LOVED it - it wasn't a huge boat, about 30+ people. A smaller boat means no need to transfer to smaller boats overtime you go inland, which was fantastic.

You got to know most people because it's small, and there was 4 guides so a great ratio for personalised attention and information. Despite not being a big boat, it was very stable and there was no sea sickness by anyone on the boat as far as we knew. Food was fabulous, and the tour guides themselves were incredibly knowledgable. The snorkel gear and wetsuit provided were good quality, and it was a truly lovely experience.

We booked through Columbus Travel, a very reputable Ecuadorian travel agency that specialises in exactly this. They were very professional, and also have a great promotions page that lists any specials they may have for certain dates. Even though we paid a premium for La Pinta, we didn't pay full price, or anywhere near what travel agents in Australia were trying to charge us.

Colombus was also able to book our domestic flights, hotels in Quito/Guayaquil, and ensured all our transfers were sorted. The travel agency came recommended to me by an ambassador of Ecuador, and I was very happy I got this information directly from him!

Have an amazing time - we did 8 days and found it was more than enough.
posted by shazzam! at 5:33 AM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

We went with Lindblad and loved it. The boat was a little larger at 80 people but that size meant that they could support more staff for educational purposes, which rocked.
posted by samthemander at 7:47 AM on June 29, 2015

Check your in box - sent a PM.
posted by HeyAllie at 9:56 PM on June 29, 2015

I went on the Encantada - very small at only 11 people and one guide, but really valued the experience. You can really feel the boat get rocked around when its moving, which may or may not affect your enjoyment, I personally loved it. You got to know everyone on board and the guide and staff really well.

But I really think any boat will serve you well, as I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about any of the tours available.
posted by Admira at 6:22 PM on July 1, 2015