8 Day Galapagos Adventure in San Cristobal, Santa Cruz & Isabela

Our family of eight recently took the 8 day trip, and we loved every minute of it. The hotels were perfect with either a pool or on the beach for the younger kids, ages 6 & 7. Most of the time we were able to pick our food choices from the menu; sometimes, we were given only a few choices; however, it was delicious and ages 6 through 70 were satisfied. The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly. We loved learning how well preserved the islands are and the care that is taken to keep them that way. The snorkeling was enjoyed by all. We only wish we never had to leave this magical place.

We recently went on this tour with Viator to the Galapagos Islands and we had a very good experience overall. Firstly, you get to see all three main islands on this tour and this means you really do see all the main animals on the islands and get a great feel of the culture. Eight days is enough to see all the main tourist sites without getting bored of doing the same thing. I really don't think you need a longer tour unless you are especially into birds, insects / marine life, or sports. The tour was mainly on Isabela island which is, by far, the best of the three islands. The amount on each one was appropriate. The tour guides on the whole were very good and knowledgeable, there were a couple that were obviously picked last minute / didn't have the knowledge but this only happened once on the trip. The organisation is very good and the hotels tended to know who you were and what time you were being picked up and going to each attraction. The tours always tended to have bathrooms, and explained what you need to bring in advance and had the right balance between explaining the science / siteseeing. There was also no pressure / begging / doing the American thing of "expecting" tips, you gave tips when you felt they deserved it (most of them we did tip) - on a lot of tours they basically pressure you at the end. That was not the case here. They don't pressure you to spend extra money unlike a lot of tours which get you to buy more drinks or go to certain shops. The reason it is a 4*, and not a 5* is for the following reasons: - This tour included all meals and they were, generally, the same day in day out. You tended to always have chicken / fish with rice and chips which is altogether nice, but you tended to crave a pizza or curry by day 4. I would recommend getting a tour with only breakfast and one other meal, because you WILL get bored of the food quickly and you will end up spending more, and Galapagos is an expensive place to eat out. - The exception to this rule was the last hotel on our trip, Hotel San Vicente which is owned by the tour operator who did this tour (called San Vicente) and has better staff, food, room and is in the best location of all the hotels. I think this tour should focus getting the other places to stay up to scratch, because the tour company do a magnificent job picking out the best place to stay, the first two places are a let down . - The internet everywhere sucked Overall, great tour though and we would recommend

My wife and I did the Magic of Isabela 8 day trip that included San Cristobel and Santa Cruz. Great itinerary and range of activities both land and sea, excellently coordinated by a range of people on the islands so we were able to fit in a lot during the trip - so much to see. The myriad of transfers went smoothly. Great guides with personalized service - Ceasre and Ricardo is both excellent. The water based tours which linked in with local operators were great Hotels excellent - we chose the top option. Only downside for us were the included lunches and dinners were in the hotels a In hindsight we should have tried to negotiate a lower cost and found our own meals a more local restaurants, but all inclusive might suit others. Overall very highly recommend. I think a much better experience than a boat cruise option