Trip of a lifetime
Galapagos Islands
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Jun 13 - Jun 24, 2026
When I started planning my husband and I ‘s trip to South America, I was looking at various destinations and was getting very overwhelmed. As a result,I decided to use a travel company and randomly found KimKim. I was connected to Paul. From the first conversation with Paul, he made me feel like he was there to plan a dream trip with my ideas, his input and he really worked to get to know what my husband and I wanted to do in Ecuador. Paul and I exchanged emails and even spoke on the phone planning the trip to Quito and the Galápagos Islands for about 4 weeks. From the day before we left for our trip, Paul was in daily contact with us and even when we flew home. Paul came personally to our hotel when American Airlines left our luggage in the USA and we worked with his contacts and American Airlines to get the luggage to our hotel quickly. Paul’s actions demonstrate first class service. The printout of our itinerary was very detailed with locations of places we would visit, hotels and the phone number of his team that would be part our trip. Using Paul as our travel planner was THE best money ever spent, because his involvement in our vacation journey made it the best trip for us and we have been to Asia, Africa and Europe. We are from the USA. Along with Paul, our guide in Quito was Cristobal. Cristobal is a very educated, kind person who took the extra time to teach us about the beauty of Ecuador and share his love for his country with us. We even feel like he is more than our guide but now we can call him our friend.. Some of experiences with Cristóbal involved learning about wildlife, flowers, plants and visiting the countryside and old town of Quito. Cristóbal went the extra mile by taking us to unique places like a small ice cream business where ice cream is made fresh with fruit as we were watching and taking us to the MegaMax to buy a suitcase. Cristóbal deserves the credit in making our trip in Quito so special and unique. The Galapagos Islands were beautiful and we loved the sea lions, other wildlife and our boutique hotels, but the trip would have been better if we had Cristóbal with us. Paul, and Cristóbal are definitely amazing gentlemen who care 💯 about giving first class service and we highly recommend them to other.
Hotel Reviews
We loved the tropical layout of the hotel grounds. We felt safe and welcomed by staff. The pool, hottub, bar and areas to sit outside were great. The bedding and towels were better than typical American hotel chains. The made to order eggs for breakfast were great. Our hotel room was very clean and had lots of storage space
The owner and family members made us feel very welcomed as if we were coming to visit their home. The breakfast was made to order and great. The layout of the hotel area was very relaxing . The public beach was very easy to walk to and also restaurants and shopping
I loved how we could open the windows and balcony door to let fresh air in. The room was very clean and modern. The staff was very welcoming and friendly. We stayed multiple days and enjoyed all of the them. Restaurants are in easy walking distance.
Activity Reviews
My husband really enjoyed the snorkeling at La Lobería. He got to see a shark and some turtles, which was exciting. The snorkeling was more physically demanding than other places we've been, as you have to swim quite far, even with a life jacket. The water was warm and comfortable, contrary to what I expected about the Galapagos water being chilly. Overall, it was a memorable experience, especially with the underwater footage our guide captured.
We did the 360° Tour, but I chose to stay on the boat because the swimming part was quite far and physically demanding. My husband loved it and saw many interesting things underwater, and our guide filmed some great footage with a GoPro. I enjoyed the peace on the boat while he explored. It was a good experience, though I preferred to relax rather than swim far.
We did the guided hike to Tortuga Bay, but it was more challenging than expected. The walk to the ocean was over a mile and not flat, with ups and downs, which my husband found too strenuous to do again. After the walk, we had to go another 30 minutes down the beach to find a swimming area. The ocean was rough, and the swimming spot was just a lagoon with not many fish, so it was less impressive. We preferred an alternative excursion instead.
One of the best parts of our trip was visiting the Highlands of Santa Cruz Island. We had an impromptu excursion to a horse sanctuary run by our tour guide, which was amazing. We got to walk in the field with wild horses, even though it was a bit rainy. It was a unique and memorable experience that we really enjoyed, and a great alternative to more beach time.
