Our passion
If you're looking for a Galápagos Cruise, you will have quickly noticed how difficult it is to find out which ships offer spaces for a given date and price range. At Galapatours, we host the only independent database of all 82 approved Galápagos cruise ships, bringing together every departure date and every route, with daily updates on availability and pricing.
This means, if you're looking for a Galápagos Cruise, you can filter through all departures - by date, cruise length, price or even by the islands or animals you will see, and find your perfect cruise in just a few simple steps.
Meet Benno, the founder of Galapatours. When Benno first traveled to Galápagos in 2016, he came in order to organize a photo- and video shoot for a South America travel agency. Benno quickly noticed that the more interesting and pristine Galápagos Islands cannot be discovered with day tours, based off a hotel. The only way to discover these remote islands (Genovesa, North Isabela, Española etc.) was and is on board of a multiday Galápagos Cruises. He was surprised, however, to find out that there was not a single webpage to list all the ships, their sailing dates, routes, available cabins and prices! A business idea was born.
Immediately after founding Galapatours, Benno moved to the Galápagos and started personally exploring the whole archipelago, building long-lasting relations with the shipowners, who are our partners (and friends in many cases) to this day. Today, what started as a crazy business idea, has become arguably the world's most complete booking platform for Galápagos Cruises.
What it means to travel with Galapatours
Our passion for Galápagos results in going the extra mile for our customers. To travel with Galapatours means that you will get an exclusive service from one of our Galápagos specialist who will ensure to help you find the ideal Galápagos cruise for you and your family. That special service starts the very day you contact us and ends the day you step off the ship and return to your home destination. We will be making sure you have all the services on board that you require and get you the best accommodation on the perfectly fitting ship for your desires.
And the best thing yet? Thanks to your trip, good things are happening in the destination. Your trip is an investment in the country and the islands. Also, animals and nature get protected thanks to the economic benefit of preserving them for travelers. You will not just have the vacation and cruise experience of a lifetime, but will also be able to feel good about your contribution to Ecuador and the amazing Galápagos Islands.
Our promises to you
Galapagos Specialist
We all know Galapagos personally and gladly share our knowledge.
100% Carbon Offset
We compensate all CO2 emissions of our trips - both flights and cruises.
Best Price Guarantee
Let us know if you find a better deal anywhere. We will match it.
What you will see
The team
We are a young team of travel fanatics and all share a common passion for Galápagos. Our love and experience around this pristine archipelago is what makes us real experts in the field. Our main office, which we share with our mother company, ventura TRAVEL, is in Berlin, but all Galapatours team members are free to work from where ever they please. So, if you speak to us on the phone, do feel free to ask us on the phone where we are at the moment. You might catch us in Quito. Or Costa Rica. Or maybe during one of our yearly off sites, such as in South Africa, Morocco or Colombia where we went last. What can we say: We all love traveling!
Hitomi Kamimura
Galápagos Specialist
Adventures are the best way to learn
Born and raised in Ecuador. As a daughter of a Japanese and Colombian, growing up in two completely different cultures caused her an enormous curiosity to explore the world. Passionate for tourism and with a vocation for service, Hitomi has been helping travelers to plan the best trip to the Galapagos Islands for over nine years. In her spare time, she loves being outdoors taking pictures of landscapes, visiting local cafes and learning new languages.
Jessica Mainusch
Galápagos Specialist
History and nature travel enthusiast!
Jessica loves traveling, the culinary arts and the history of distant countries. She is especially fond of Central and South America. Her motto is, "No matter how many times you've traveled to a country, there's always something new to see and experience and new photo opportunities to discover." She brings her knowledge and passion to her work as a Travel Specialist for Galapatours to help travelers have an exciting and amazing time in the Galápagos Islands.
Micaela Garcia
Galápagos Specialist
A truth-seeker with a passion for travel
Born in Argentina, half raised in Canada. She knew from a very young age that traveling will be an important part of her life... she strongly believes that to travel is to learn. Did her universities studies in Buenos Aires, and became a multilingual Tour Guide. Seeking new challenges, she's now part of the Galápagos team as a travel specialist ready to deliver an amazing experience! In her free time, she loves vintage stores and is a spiritual truth-seeker who meditates 2 hours a day.
Andre Kiwitz
CEO & Founder
Authentic Travel & Modern Entrepreneurship
Andre founded Viventura - the first Ventura TRAVEL brand - while still a student out of a desire to make trips more fun and show travelers the real South America. On the ground there, he set up different offices that took care of travel organization, trip development and customer service. He moved back to Berlin in 2012 and, three years later, he founded Ventura TRAVEL. Since then, he has been supporting tourism professionals who have a passion for a specific tourism niche to build their brands within Ventura. Through this construct, these "intrapreneurs" develop their vision for their destinations, while having an experienced team with professional infrastructure on the background for areas such as finance, marketing, IT, and HR. Privately, Andre enjoys spending time with his wife and son and tries to eat good ceviche as often as possible.
Benno Schmidt
Executive Director of Platforms
Travel addict, polyglot, and paragliding fanatic
A true travel addict, Benno has ventured all over the world and speaks five languages (six, if you count Portuñol). When he discovered Galápagos in 2014, he immediately fell in love with the pristine archipelago far off Ecuador's coast, and founded Galapatours.com - a booking portal specialized on Galápagos Cruises on board small, sustainable expedition vessels. In 2020, he created Polartours.com - a booking portal specialized in Antarctica and Arctic Cruises on board expedition vessels. His third startup, Fairtrips.com, is a non-profit, aiming at providing indigenous communities all over the world a booking portal for their exciting touristic products. In doing so, his goal is to help those participate in the value chain created by tourism, who need it most and who oftentimes have the most authentic and exciting products. Write Benno: [email protected]
Erick Feijoo
Integrator, Head of Business Operations
U.S.-born, Ecuadorian bred, Berliner by choice
Erick works from our Berlin office as Integrator and oversees our company's business operations. From a very early age, he's been fascinated by new languages and cultures, and he especially enjoys getting to know countries' politics and history. Erick's family is from Ecuador and Peru, and he previously worked on economic development issues across different Latin American countries. He joined Ventura TRAVEL after working in Washington D.C., Germany, Belgium, and Costa Rica.
Johanna Schroeter
Marketing Brand Specialist
Peripatetic on the hunt for good stories
Johanna joined Ventura TRAVEL as part of the marketing team in Berlin and is responsible for its brands. She is a creative storyteller and always on the lookout for a new photo to take or a new picture to paint. At Ventura, she is able to combine her interest in travel with her passion for authentic experiences and sustainability.
Eduardo Alejo Mahauad Wittmer
Galápagos Guide & Galapatours Ambassador
There are few people in this world who know as much about Galápagos as Eduardo, and arguably no-one who can combines his expert knowledge with such an incredible rich, family history: Edu's great grandfather, Heinz Wittmer, was one of the very first settlers who came to the Galápagos, and his larger-than-life story has been the subject of many books and movies. Edu's grandfather, Rolf, born in a stone cave on Floreana in 1933, was the first person to be officially recorded as born on the Galápagos Islands (deceased in 2011). He would later become a true pioneer of tourism on the islands, opening up this little-known paradise to the rest of the world. Eduardo today continues his family's legacy and is one of the most accomplished guides in Galápagos: As one of the very few guides with a license to guide both, diving and naturalist tours through the Archipelago, he is an unparalleled source of knowledge, and we're proud to be able to call him our friend and Galapatours Ambassador!
Gustavo Cataño
IT Director
Using technology to make life easier
I love tech things, and use this passion every day in my work with our IT team to deliver great value for Ventura Travel. I like to travel and enjoy riding my bike along unknown roads. However, above all things, I really enjoy spending my free time with my family and my daughter.
Louis Poissant
Performance Marketing Specialist
Always open to novelty
Specialist of performance marketing, he is a big fan of sports and gastronomy. After an MBA in Paris and first work experience in Berlin, he decided to move to Asia for several months and took Japanese classes to increase his immersion. In charge of performance marketing in the marketing department of Ventura Travel, he is able to combine two things he enjoys: numbers and writing.
Marcia Sanchez
Human Relations Director
Passion for travelling and discovering new cultures
Born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia she is mad in love with the cultural diversity of her country. She loves working with people and found her passion working in Human Resources. In her spare time, she loves to read historical novels, travel and feels the happiest when she can get to know a new country, a new culture and new people.
Simon Newton
Content Creator
A native Brit, Simon is responsible for all the English language text on our website. Passionate about using words to convey emotions as well as facts, he always aims to make every page a pleasure to read. Whether it's describing the wonderful ships and the amenities they offer, writing about the amazing wildlife and habitats you will see, or making sure our terms and conditions and policies are clear and easy to understand, his goal is for the words to enhance your time on our site, not get in your way.
Susana Ceron Baumann
CSR Manager & VSocial General Coordinator
"Feel the ground and touch the sky!"
Susana is one of our few native Berliners. She studied business administration with a focus on tourism management. With over 20 years of professional experience, she is a veteran in tourism, with a particular passion for charity. Her mind and soul have been shaped by her countless travels around the globe and the diverse cultures and people she met. As daughter of a Spanish immigrant, she does not consider herself German or Spanish, preferring instead to describe herself as a citizen of the world. Susana is in charge of CSR and responsible for Ventura's non-profit VSocial.
