Ecuador Galapagos Travels

I would note, especially for American travelers, that this hotel has no air conditioning and no screens in the windows so getting airflow without getting bugs in the room was difficult.

This was our favorite stay of the trip. The cultural experience and community outreach this hotel does are wonderful. My Dad and I bought so many gifts here from the shop & wish we could have gone to the local market! We just stayed on the wrong day.

The river view and getting to sleep with the sound of the water right outside our hotel room was a wonderful surprise.

The night before we got to wander around Baños and had a delicious dinner at the Italian restaurant in town. We started the day with a tour of waterfalls around the Baños area and then continued onto Guamote. Our only wish is that we could have gone to the market in Guamote but we were ther a day early!

We loved Cuenca. It is such a beautiful town and we see why a bunch of expats have moved here! The tour was great and we got to see a lot in our day here. This is also where we did our cooking class instead of having it in Quito like the itinerary stated. It was a private cooking class at a very fancy hotel with a beautiful view of the blue domes! We could tell Chris had a good relationship with many of the vendors at the market & wish we had more time to sample things here but we didn’t want to eat anything right before our cooking class!

Unfortunately, due to weather & road closures, we didn’t get to do Cajas but that was in no way our guide or KimKim’s fault. We loved the mango & chocolate hacienda. I would note that it isn’t mango season so we just did the chocolate experience which was wonderful. The family that ran it was so great. Jamil & Estefano were very knowledgeable and we loved making our own cacao drink & chocolate bars.

The airport hotel was extremely convenient. The shuttle was efficient and got us to the airport quickly. Guayaquil airport was small and easy to navigate & security lines were quick.

Our flights got in too late to do anything in the city this day. Our driver picked me up because my flight got in 5 hrs before my Dad’s and then he went back for my Dad which was greatly appreciated and gave me time to settle into the hotel & grab dinner instead of sitting at the airport for 5 hrs.

We got to see a ton for only being in the city one day.

This was a beautiful stop & we are very happy we got to see it!

We broke up our waterfall tour & our Amazon tour to the local community. This day we visited the local indigenous community & got to go on a waterfall hike. Michaela was our face painter as well as our waterfall hiking guide and she was great. The lunch they made for us was delicious and we even had their pet monkey make an appearance! We then got to go to Yanacocha which is an animal sanctuary for animals rescued from the black market or who were orphaned and aren’t able to be released back into the wild. It was great to see them all treated so well!

We loved Ingapirca and are very glad we got to go. It is a beautiful ruin!

Amazing trip and our guide was fantastic

Exhilarating trip to Rainbow Mountain. Highly recommend taking the optional motorcycle trip up the mountain

Clean, great service, and so well kept…best of the three hotels we stayed in during our trip.

The hotel we stayed at on Isabela Island was awesome, mainly due to its location right on the water. Although it's a bit weathered from being so exposed to the elements, it offers an amazing view which we really appreciated.

Amazing snorkeling and great lunch on the boat. The guide was great. Hammerheads, turtles, blue footed boobies, Red Frigate birds (inflated!), rays and seals that came and played with us!

Amazing. Greatest sea lion experience ever! They are so fun and playful. Snorkeling was great too. The private guide with the kayaking and snorkeling was the best way to start the trip so we could get the focus and attention we needed given we were doing group snorkels the next three days. The pictures say it all

Awesome. Got a selfie with a penguin, saw multiple rays, swam within a foot of 10 different giant turtles, and up close and personal with blue footed boobies! Great ceviche too!

The Santa Cruz Highlands & Bay Tour Experience was not our favorite. It was a bilingual group, and we were the only English speakers, so we didn't get as much engagement. It paled compared to the other tours, especially being our fourth day there.

We loved this hotel! The staff members were extremely friendly, personable, and helpful. The breakfast and restaurant was amazing, and it was conveniently located near the heart of Cusco.

Enrique was our tour guide for this portion of our trip, and he was nothing short of amazing! He was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. I could not have asked for a better experience to such a memorable part of our trip!

This was a quaint hotel - very quiet - perfect location to local beach and to town as well. It was perfect for a family stay with a small pool outside our door. Breakfast was home cooked and the “honour” fridge was really convenient with soft drinks and beer.

Relaxing, accommodating hotel! We spent three nights total and we found that staff were very helpful and professional! We were able to store a bag for our return and they found an e-book that was left in the safe! Their complimentary breakfast was 5 Star! My only criticism would be the lack of a wine list - very little choice, considering the abundance of South American wines.

The picture…is exactly the way it looks outside our room - but I would recommend requesting an exterior room. That being said - all the rooms were spacious and clean.

This is a gem!! Lovely, quaint accommodations, locally owned and with a history to go with it! Rooms were perfect with amenities well thought out. Breakfast on the terrace was a lovely way to start the day. Beach towels provided, unlimited filtered water and location couldn’t be better

This involves a boat ride and a stop at Lobos where we hiked about an 1 1/2 hours - we couldn’t believe our eyes being able to see the male frigate birds with their red expanded breasts hoping to be picked by a female. Also, blue footed boobies, iguanas, baby frigates.

Great guides - super experience!

This was our second time to visit - bringing family this time…very cool experience for all ages - during the tasting, our 11 and13 yr old in the group was able to participate as well - with non alcoholic agave tastings.

Our last full day in Galapagos and it couldn’t have been more enjoyable! Our family of 8 and 6 others gave us lots of space on a lovely cabin cruiser - with great staff and a delicious lunch!