Linda was beyond fabulous- knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating. Keep this woman happy, she is a wonderful asset to KimKim!
5 Stars: Ikala Hotel, Hotel Galapagos Suites, Highlands of Santa Cruz and our guide Daniela, Excursion to Seymour Norte and our guide, our guide Fabricio in Quito and his surprise add-ons to our Quito tour.
Special 10 stars to driver Alejandro and Casa Playa Mann for the biggest hearts and sincerest souls, as well as doing their job excellently. They are...
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Linda was beyond fabulous- knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating. Keep this woman happy, she is a wonderful asset to KimKim!
5 Stars: Ikala Hotel, Hotel Galapagos Suites, Highlands of Santa Cruz and our guide Daniela, Excursion to Seymour Norte and our guide, our guide Fabricio in Quito and his surprise add-ons to our Quito tour.
Special 10 stars to driver Alejandro and Casa Playa Mann for the biggest hearts and sincerest souls, as well as doing their job excellently. They are wonderful ambassadors for their country.
4 Stars: Kicker Rock. Best suited for true snorkel enthusiasts, which is not us- we are vacation snorkelers. Choppy and cloudy water, some strong currents that really took work to navigate, and while it was cool to see a few hammerheads, not much else to see. Honestly, perhaps the best part of the trip was the spectacular closeup views of the Galapagos birds. Great guide.
Our only neutral-to-negative outing was the Interpretation Center and Tijeretas Hill. These two sites definitely do not need a guide and would have been far more enjoyable exploring on our own. Karen, our guide, was not a good storyteller, and told us little that I hadn't already read in the guidebooks; perhaps if she had turned the walk up Tijeretas Hill into a nature walk, but she made few comments as we walked up this paved and well-signed path. But the truly negative experience was the snorkeling. There was a yellow flag out, and the entrance to the water is on sharp rocks, difficult for nonlocals to negotiate- during our time there, two tourists had to be saved from the big waves/currents and helped back onto the rocks. Karen gave no instruction, but after verifying that we could all swim, jumped in the water and began snorkeling. Only one of the four of us decided to try snorkeling, as the other three felt it too dangerous. My husband lost a flipper, and waited back on the rocks as Karen managed to retrieve the flipper (good for her), but then continued to snorkel as we all waited for her. While pleasant during her guiding, Karen seemed bored with this excursion and I think would be better suited to aquatic excursions only, as this seems to be her true love.
Hotel Review
Casa Playa Mann
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
Lovely place run by a lovely and sincere family.
Activity Reviews
Highlands of Santa Cruz Island
Galapagos Islands
Tortoises everywhere, need I say more???
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Snorkel at Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido)
Galapagos Islands
Everything about the day was great- transport, guide, the excursion to a remote beach- except the cloudy snorkeling itself is only worth it for the interesting experience of seeing hammerhead sharks.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Quito City Tour
Galapagos Islands
Much better experience with a guide than exploring on one's own. Ask for Fabricio!
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Our transport dropped us off at one end of Old Town and picked us up at the other end, so no backtracking!
Visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station
Puerto Ayora
Tortoises everywhere, need I say more? Ask for guide Daniela!
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Interpretation Center & Tijeretas Hill
Galapagos Islands
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Local specialist: Linda Schulz