5 Day Classic Isabela Island Tour

First let me tell you all the people we can in contact with were very gracious. From the hotel staff to the cook and the people that meet us at the airport and Isabel were wonderful. Most all the guides did a bang up job and for the most part the excursions were pretty good. Now, let me also tell you the Island Hopping was not really Hopping. The hopping consisted of transfer from the island of Santa Crews to the island of Isabel. We DID NOT visit any other islands including Santa Crews other than driving to the dock with a brief stop for lunch. All the experiences and excursions were on the island of Isabel. This is a very rustic place with no paved streets and not much activities outside of the twice daily excursions. We did not receive an itinerary until the day we arrived and we had to ask for it then. Also no times were ever published. The staff at the hotel told us daily when and were we needed to be. This was a once in a life time trip. If we were to design this over we would have chosen a different itinerary so we could see more of the Galapagos islands. The object of going there was to see more of what the islands had to offer. Review the tour descriptions carefully.

One of the best trips in my life. Timely and efficient

It was a great trip in the Galapagos if you like the ocean, wild life and tranquility. Dont like the arrangement of the tour as they are actually sending us on different local tours each day with different tour guides and some of whom dont even speak English. There are lots of hidden costs such as the entrance fee to the National Park, water taxi fares and speedboat fares. One day they switched our schedule and told us to take out swimsuit from the luggage to go swimming in short notice of 10 minutes without even having a hotel room ready for us to change !!! Another day, a substitute guide just drew us a crude map and told us to walk and tour to the Charles Darwin station by ourselves from the hotel. Not happy with the tour booking agent at all. I have knee problem. On booking, they already advised me not to go to the Sierra Volcano on Isabella Island but to go on a snorkeling trip at Los Tuneles instead, but I had to pay 60 USD more. Correspondences had been made via email several times to confirm that i was going on the Los Tuneles snorkelling tour. How could they forgot totally to make the arrangement ??? When I arrived at Isabella, I was told that nobody there knew of my knee problem and they had to put me on a second floor room in the hotel which had steep stairs. No one had arranged the snorkelling tour for me and the Los Tuneles tour was already fully booked and the only option I had left was either to climb the volcano or to go to the Tintoreas with an additional charge. Also even written that snorkelling equipment rental fee was included , they were asking us to pay. Some of the tourists are very upset with the hidden costs, but the guide was showing this bad attitude saying you could well go ahead to complain if you wish !!! I would not recommend joining this tour at all.