While the Galapagos is a beautiful destination, our experience booked through KimKim Agency was deeply disappointing due to poor coordination, significant communication breakdowns regarding dietary restrictions, and a total lack of preparation for the logistics involved. We provided detailed health and allergy requirements well in advance, yet they were repeatedly ignored.
Here is a breakdown of the issues we encountered:
Severe Dietary & Allergy Negligence
Hotel Ikala: The hotel staff did not know their own ingredients. Despite our severe dairy, egg, and nut allergies, we were given completely wrong information (such as claiming items were safe when they actually contained avellana [hazelnut] and milk). For a hotel of this tier, a severe lack of basic food hygiene is shocking and unsafe. Management needs to address this immediately. Given my family's severe dietary needs and allergy requirements, which were communicated well in advance, finding pests in our meals is a severe food safety and hygiene violation that is entirely unsafe.
Tour Boat Food: The food provided during the first two boat tours was mediocre at best—usually just a few random vegetables thrown into a tomato salsa. We would not recommend the Altamar for accommodating vegan/food allergies nor providing sufficient food. It is not too hard to make beans and rice and plantain patacones. The food on the second day was particularly bad. For a pre-planned itinerary, they should have provided substantial alternatives like beans or lentils. To make matters worse, snacks ran out entirely, leaving us with very few options during the long boat ride back, despite giving ample notice.
Casa o Puntia- Their staff was incredibly attentive and accommodating with our severe dietary requirements. On our first day, they made us delicious, safe avena and lentejas, and on the day we were leaving, they prepared patacones (plantains) and gave us fresh avocado, tomatoes, and basil.
Hygiene & Room Quality Issues
Hotel Ikala: We experienced a severe ant infestation. Ants were not only crawling in our room, but they were literally in our food—specifically in the patacones de papa and a large ant was found right in the salad.
Casa Opuntia (San Cristóbal): Upon check-in, our first room also had several ants. We requested a room change and were moved to a significantly smaller room that lacked a fan and a TV, having only an AC. This second room also had ants and was full of fruit fly-like bugs.
Logistics & Guiding Failures
The Inter-Island Speedboat: We were given absolutely no warning about the notoriously rough and dangerous speedboat ride from Santa Cruz to San Cristóbal. We received zero heads-up about the severe motion sickness it causes. On top of that, our driver was late getting us to the pier, adding unnecessary stress to the ordeal, we were not seated together. The severe crashing and cresting of the waves, felt like we were on a roller coaster and then thrashed to the ground- and we were flung on our seats and then back down. The vomit plastic bags handed out on the boats were not enough- and extremely short notice to prepare for such a tough journey that lasted over 2 hours.
Guide Language: The agency failed to instruct the guides to speak and conduct the tours/explanations in Spanish as preferred.
Guide Engagement:
Our guide Martin on our trip to Bartolomew was just okay and left some of the people in the group behind. The boat company Altamar - could have also made the experience better.
Once we arrived in San Cristóbal, our guide spent most of her time on her phone and lacked any genuine enthusiasm or interest in showing us around. We could have spent time exploring the Loberia but instead she was on the phone. The timings should have been better assessed by the guide, when we got to the Loberia- it was high tide and we could not snorkel/swim in the water. So we requested to go back to the Playa where we climbed to see the vista- but the guide left us and luckily for us the taxi driver came and picked us up after we were done.
I want to give a special shoutout to two of our guides who made the experience unforgettable. Our first guide, Reuben, on the Tortuga tour was truly one of the best—incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. He spoke to us in Spanish, was very patient, funny and was incredibly happy to answer our curious questions. And on our last guided tour, later in the trip, our guide at Española (with Sharksky) was also nice and went above and beyond by snorkeling right alongside everyone, excitedly showing us the school of dolphins as we approached the island, and later on making the entire group feel safe, comfortable, and confident in the water. Amazing guides make all the difference!
Conclusion: When you book through a specialized agency like KimKim, you pay for seamless logistics, vetted properties, and safety coordination—especially regarding life-threatening food allergies. Unfortunately, KimKim failed to pass vital information to their local partners, leaving us to navigate safety risks, bug infestations, and poor service on our own. I expected much better oversight for the price paid.
Hotel Reviews
Casa Opuntia Galapagos Hotel
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
Upon check-in, our first room also had several ants. We requested a room change and were moved to a significantly smaller room that lacked a fan and a TV, having only an AC. This second room also had ants and was full of fruit fly-like bugs.
While the room was very disappointing (and we mentioned this to the front desk), their incredible kitchen staff and outstanding hospitality deserves thanks. Traveling with severe dietary requirements can be incredibly stressful, but the team here went above and beyond to make us feel safe, welcome, and incredibly well-fed.
On our very first day, they thoughtfully prepared a delicious meal of avena (oatmeal) and lentejas (lentils). And on the day we were leaving, they made us a fresh patacones (crispy plantains) topped with avocado, tomatoes, and basil.
Cleanliness & Comfort
The ants and fruit fly like bugs in the rooms were not nice to deal with during our entire stay
Ikala Galapagos Hotel
Puerto Ayora
The hotel staff did not know their own ingredients. Despite our severe dairy, egg, and nut allergies, we were given completely wrong information (such as claiming items were safe when they actually contained avellana [hazelnut] and milk). On the one day we asked them for breakfast, we got ants in our patacones de patas and a big ant in our salad leaves that went with the patacones. That level of hygiene is unacceptable. For a hotel of this tier, a total lack of basic pest control and food hygiene is shocking. What makes this worse is that we had communicated severe dietary restrictions and allergy requirements well in advance. Serving food with insects in it is not just unhygienic; it is a serious health and safety hazard.
The room was also infested with ants and had moths. They did not change our room the first night and the second night we had to tell them as there were thousands of ants in the room. We could not wait to be out of there.
Wyndham Quito Airport
Quito
A Truly Wonderful Experience
Absolutely outstanding experience. The chef went above and beyond to accommodate our vegan dietary needs and carefully prepared special dishes to address my son’s multiple food allergies. A big shout out to Karla- Karla and her team were really the best and went out of their way to help us.
The entire staff was wondeful, the hotel was clean and the beds comfortable. We cannot recommend this place highly enough. The entire staff was very friendly and helpful. Muchas Gracias!
Activity Reviews
Santa Cruz Highlands, Lava Tunels and Charles Darwin Research Station (if times allows)
Isla Santa Cruz
Our guide Reuben was very knowledgeable, super nice and took us around to explain everything. He spoke to us in our preferred language (Spanish) and he answered all our curious questions. He also made sure that our food catered to our allergies.
Food
The salad, juice, rice with vegetables were good and met our dietary requirements
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Shared Shuttle Transfer from Quito Airport to Nearby Hotel
Galapagos Islands
The person picking us up was not in the aiport so we had to look around for him and search by car as there were no instructions as to where to go. We did eventually find him and got on the shuttle.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Arrival in San Cristóbal – Interpretation Center & La Lobería (from Pier)
Isla San Cristóbal
The guide was not engaging, and always on her phone. Did not check her timings for the tides and we could not snorkel in the la Loberia when we got there. She was talking on the phone, texting or walking ahead or going away to the side to talk on the phone. It was not pleasant being with her.
Quality of Experience
The sights playa and the view point/nature was nice
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Guide Engagement and attentiveness
Española Island Day Tour (from San Cristóbal)
Isla San Cristóbal
Quality of Experience
The guide was patient and spent time explaining things and showing us the sights.
Food
The chef had prepared food but we did not eat it as we did not want to get sick on the boat
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Edwin and the boat staff were very helpful and fun to go with
Embarking on the North Seymour Yacht Adventure
Isla Santa Cruz
The guide was going ahead with a small group of people. Some of us were left behind and missed out on the things the guide explained and he did not repeat the same things when we were there.
Quality of Experience
For the price we paid the tour could have been better
Guides, Drivers and Staff
They ran out of flippers of the correct size
Discovering Bartolome a full day yacht experience
Isla Santa Cruz
Our guide Martin was okay. He should have included the entire group when he was explaining things as some of the people were left behind. The crew of the Altamar also especially the Chef could have ensured we had beans and rice and adequate food as well (there were no snacks left). The flippers and snorkeling gear should have been tried either the day before or as soon as we got on the boat, instead of a few minutes before we were going to go snorkeling.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transfer to the Airport for your domestic flight to the Galapagos Islands.
Quito
Guides, Drivers and Staff
