29 Jun 2024
The trip was excellent. Snorkeled with giant tortoises, sharks, penguin, sea lions, sea horses. Every day trip ran like clockwork. All the drivers were prompt and on time. All the employees were very friendly and professional. The only thing which was a major turn off was the San Vincente hotel. The staff were very friendly and professional, but the hotel was a dump. It reminded by of a cheap hotel on the side of a highway in America. It was clean but bare bones and extremely dated. I would give it a 2 star rating. You got a bed, towels, soap and toilet paper. No refrigerator. That was about it. There were dogs barking all night long. The thing I disliked the most was it did not have a safe in the room. That created security issue that was impossible to properly overcome. According to most first world countries you are never supposed to give your passport to someone else to hold. It is lent to you by your country and belongs to your country. Also I had a large sum of cash on me. My choices were to give the passport and cash to the hotel to put in their safe, hold onto the money and passport (perhaps it could get lost or stolen) or leave it in my unsecure luggage and possible have it get stolen by the staff. I would have been fine paying another $40 or $50 a night for a better and more secure hotel. Overall, I was very happy with the trip.