We spent a wonderful 3 weeks in Ecuador and on the Galapagos Islands. After a detailed discussion with Mrs Zwerman, in which we expressed our ideas, the trip was put together by them and our wishes regarding the accommodation etc. were excellently implemented. After our arrival in Quito, we were welcomed by Yannik, who provided us with useful tips and was always ready to help with any questions. Our first stage took us to the Cuyabeno Lodge in the rainforest. Even the drive there was an adventure. The excursions with Tamara were very exciting. We were able to observe many of the tropical birds, caimans and several species of monkeys in their natural habitat, swim in the lagoon for sundowners in the evening and watch the dolphins. Back in Quito, we explored the city centre and set off the next day by rental car towards Cotopaxi. Luck was with us, so we were able to see both Cotopaxi and then Chimborazo under blue skies and go on the small tours we had planned. From here we went via Sangay NP with its lagoons to Guamote and then on to Cuenca with a visit to the Inca fortress Inga Pirca. We felt very much at home in the lively colonial city. The way was the goal on the journey from Cuenca past the Cajas NP (3900m above sea level) -with a hike around the Laguna Toreadora- through all vegetation zones down to Guajaquil at sea level. The interesting old town with river promenade, galleries and in the modern part with chic shopping centres and food courts. The next day we fly to San Cristobal, our first Galapagos island. Flight with Latam was good, no luggage hassle etc. Was well prepared by them! Lovely guesthouse, countless sea lions making the beaches and roads their own. On our explorations in the turtle nurseries and on the hiking trails, we observe the various Darwin’s finches, the mockingbirds and in the sky the frigatebirds circling. Snorkelling in the bay and by boat out on the Leon dormido we can spot the giant turtles, rays, even a hammerhead shark in the depths, as well as numerous corals on the rocks and a variety of fish in wonderful colours. After 3 days we continue our flight with a small propeller plane to Isabela, the largest of the islands. Here Rebecca gives us a very warm welcome, takes us to our cool beach hotel and helps us with the activities: Volcano hike, bike and snorkelling tour. Here on the sandy island, the time has stood still. Everything is a bit more leisurely. We were able to observe wonderful animals – iguanas, flamingos and turtles as well as the droll blue-footed boobies and on the boat trip the white-tipped reef sharks and a totally relaxed water turtle feeding. After 3 full days, we took the speedboat to Santa Cruz, the most modern of the islands. Here Tobias meets us and takes us to the hotel. In the afternoon we explore the Charles Darwin Station with its turtle breeding programme, where we are informed in detail by a highly motivated guide. On the last day, we take a boat trip to North Seymour, a tiny island with breeding grounds for frigate birds and blue-footed boobies. There are also land lizards next to the iguanas. It is a wonderful experience to walk the circular route and see the many young birds and mating frigatebirds. Then snorkelling at Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz – a wonderful end to the island tour. Back in Guayaquil, we stroll through the old town and are captivated by the courtship display of the land lizards that live here in the city park. At short notice, the Nieśderlands changed their entry regulations, so that we had to take a quick test on the last morning – which Yannik organised for us at the hotel.

We are very happy that we decided to do this trip and that we did it despite the Corona situation.

Of course, the long flight with mask is a challenge, but since we also wear masks for 8-9 hours a day for work, it was ok. The consistency with which the Ecuadorians wear their masks is admirable. We never saw ourselves in any form of danger from corona or anything else and were able to enjoy the trip in a relaxed way. There were only a few guests in the hotels and lodges beside us, and we also travelled in small groups of four for the activities.

Once again, big praise to the Galapagos Pro

Everything was very well organized.

We had such a nice experience in Ecuador and Galapagos. The Galapagos Pro staff was very professional from the beginning when it was only an idea, until our last minutes there. Traveling alone with 2 kids is sometimes not easy, the staff was always worried about our safety, pleasure and trying to stay very close to our expectations. It’s very comfortable to have people living in the places we visit. We know there is always someone who can help us in any case. I warmly recommend this organization and I congratulate them for the professional work.

Dear Galapagos PRO team,

we had a magical trip. Thanks for the good organization. We will give details in bullet points.

Quito:

• Wantara Suites is unique and Wolfgang a great host! Awesome!

• We would strongly advise against renting a car in Quito, the traffic is murderous. If we had taken the car, the second challenge in our eyes would have been the delivery at the airport, the rental car points are almost 1km away.

• Cotopaxi was great. As a pregnant woman, I would have liked to know that we would drive for almost 7 hours on unpaved roads. You need warm clothes and it is quite exhausting, but a great experience.

• Quilato Lagoon and Cotopaxi in one day is impossible, so do not recommend. In the end we could not see the lagoon.

• HOP ON / HOP OFF was very nice after initial difficulties finding, because there is no bus stop sign. Only traffic messes up the mood in between. Nevertheless, this tour is a must do.

• We went to the equator, that was great!

• The old town is really worth seeing, the best experience we had at the basilica. Very nice! Visit all churches!

• Taxi is best booked with UBER, the prices vary extremely.

• Our tour guide Edy was great! Thank you!

• Rukkalodge has a great restaurant, rooms were also very nice. The breakfast was quite sparse and unloving, does not match to the rest of the ambience. The only station where I could enjoy a non-alcoholic beer ;) good recommendation!

• Airport explanation regarding arrival in Galapagos was great! Has worked perfectly. Thank you!

San Cristobal:

• Manuala is very nice and Luis(?) From Casa Iguana, is the world’s best host. Unbeatable! Great hotel, mega satisfying breakfast and perfect location between city and beach!

• All excursions were great. Nice team and well-versed nature guides.

• favorite island!

• The harbor is the most beautiful of the three islands. So many animals!

Isabela:

• Rebekka took great care of us!

For the Cormorant we have a few thoughts, the hotel is not good.

• The room is a construction site

• Door handle broken in the bathroom

• Door trim to the bathroom loose

• bed broken at the side

• Night cabinet does not open

• Air conditioning needs urgent maintenance, replacement of filter and water, it stinks cruelly

construction sites

• left is being built

• Right is being built

• The road is torn up

• At 7.15am the construction noise and loud talking at the lobby begins

Things that cost nothing for a good experience

• Control of the water tank

• Open the door in the morning

• put a table on the balcony

• More storage space in the bathroom

• Clean extremely dirty fly screen

• Remove soap from the previous occupant

• There is only one neatly accessible outlet in the bathroom

• Refill towels to the beach regularly

• The hotel is in need of major renovation after 2 years

The three employees (owners?) At the front desk are only on the laptop and really do not care about their hotel. As the head of a team, you have to lead by example. You could even remove the 1000 flies that hang on the walls, (not bad at all, the hotel is very open, you could at least remove them in the morning;))

The Comorant Beach Hotel is not well run and we advise guests not to stay there. We have always been looked after by such nice hosts on the rest of our trip who love their job and treated us incredibly warmly.

One senses, that from this hotel the maximum profit margin is drawn. There are no additional services at all: hair dryer, laundry etc.

When asked if we could do laundry would politely tell us that it is possible in the town center. No further explanation. We only received directions and an explanation about breakfast after repeated requests. We run a three-star hotel and are very aware of prices, room amenities and services to the guest.

We feel that the Comorant Beachhotel is nothing more than a modern hostel that has a huge renovation backlog without soul.

Please look for another hotel for your guests.

The location on the beach is good. That was a lot of fun. We were able to walk for hours.

• The Los Tuneles tour was great. Here the food on the boat was especially good.

• Bicycle recommendation was also great for us.

• Definitely recommend Concha de Perla and the small beach, we could swim with penguins. Unique!

• The restaurant Coco Sun must absolutely be recommended to your guests, best dinner during our entire stay – we went there three times!

Santa Cruz:

• Karin also looked after us wonderfully. Has given very detailed tips, she was great!

• Mathias and his wife are great! Best care. You can immediately feel that both WANT you to feel comfortable. Incredibly helpful! Thank you!

• Great apartment! Thank you

• The island was our “least” favourite. A little neglected.

• The trip was great too. The boat was by far the best! Great crew.

• The Bay Tour was not so exciting for us anymore but it was nice.

• Both nature guides did not have as much passion as the other guides.

• The driver to the airport did everything to perfection, his son even queued for us while loading our luggage! We could not thank him enough, please tell him again that it was a perfect farewell.

We think detailed feedback always helps. It is not a case of criticism (except Cormorant), but just our impression. Everything was brilliantly organized. The service during the booking was perfect, and this continued throughout our whole tour. We are very glad that we found you. We can fully recommend Galapagos PRO.

best regards

Katrin Kleemann

(translated from German)

We are a family and we were in the Andes and the Galapagos for 3 weeks.

Highlights at the Andes

1. Hacienda El Porvenir

This is a great hotel especially getting to ride up to 4100m above sea level.

2. Hiking at Volcanoes (Cotopaxi und Chimborazo)

Even though we traveled with kids but we managed to reach the “Refugio” at 4800m and 5000m. The air was thin but still doable. The view is perfect when there are no clouds.

3. Papallacta Hot Spring

A really nice place. The breakfast buffet is just wonderful. The ‘private’ pool at the bungalows was just really cool.

Highlights at the Galapagos

1. Sealions at San Cristobal Island/ Isla Lobos

2. Snorkeling at Los Tuneles (Isabela)

3. Flight Transfer to Isabela

3. Giant Tortoises at Santa Cruz Island

Overall, it was an unforgettable experience. Galapagos PRO has organized it seamlessly for us and the care we received in the Galapagos was perfect and really helpful.

We definitely recommend booking with them.

All in all, we had a great stay in Ecuador as well as in the Galapagos Islands and we thank you for your competent and great support! We will definitely book with you again next time.

All the best and greetings from Cologne

Dear Mrs. Zwermann, Mrs. Rodinger, and Mrs. Friedrich,

Our trip is almost coming to an end and here we would like to thank you and your team. You have given us the best recommendations and helped us select the great accommodation in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands as well as planned a very exciting and varied program for us. Whenever we think that nothing could top this, you continue to exceed our expectations.

Your team in Ecuador also took great care of us and we would say thank you to them.

We would like to thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts and we will surely spread the word!

Many greetings,

Lisa R.

Overall a wonderful holiday, everything worked out smoothly and we brought home many amazing memories.

Dear Mrs. Friedrich,

4 weeks have now passed since we came back from Ecuador and everyday life has got us under control again.

It was an exciting and varied holiday, with experiences we had previously only dreamed of and we are still filled with the beauty of the country, including Galapagos.

We had a bit of bad luck, as both hotels, both Isla Isabela and Santa Cruz, were under heavy construction, but you can not help that.

In any case, we would like to sincerely thank you for helping to make it such a beautiful holiday and we are very happy to receive your gift, thank you very much!

Especially, we would like to mention our tour guide on Isabela Island: Rebekka, we have not had a better tour guide at any trip yet. She is incredibly attentive, very knowledgeable and likes to pass on everything she knows to us guests. She is a very fantastic hostess! She has a wonderful warmth that spreads amongst her guests. We felt very comfortable with her by our side!

Saludos cordiales,

Dagmar

Galapagos PRO: fully recommended. Everything worked out 100% in terms of organization. In addition, the care was excellent and warm. The wishes and concerns are read from the lips, the contact with the caring contacts is warm and personal. Thanks Galapagos Pro

(translated from German)