Western Galápagos Cruise

Kasia Z.

Archipell I Galapagos Cruise

Mid Range Ship

December 2022

Thank you very much for organising my cruise so quickly. I wanted to share the feedback after my experience on the Archipel. I had the most wonderful holiday- everything was just perfect! I will start with the Archipel's crew, as thanks to them, the cruise was so exceptional. They all were just excellent at providing outstanding costumer service, showing what hospitality stands for. Whole crew was very friendly, helpful, and looked after us so well. Our guide Carlos, was a star from the very beginning. He collected us all at the airport and announced that during our stay, we will be part of Galapagos, not tourists. Calling us 'family', he really made us feel as we were welcome there. On top of being highly knowledgeable, he speaks fluently English, and has some good sense of humour as well. Carlos was very professional, and communicated frequently and honestly with us. We always knew what to bring and what to wear for activities. He takes pride in his work, and surly will be inspiration for many visitors. The atmosphere was so friendly and relaxing, no rushing, no waiting, everyone equally amazed by the beauty of the enchanted islands, and happy that we had such a cool team. The chef made us fabulous meals, and he skillfully managed to deal with special dietary requirements (there was quite a lot of it). Everything was fresh, tasty and I'm currently working out, how to come to terms with not having delicious snack, and fresh juice or hot chocolate, after every activity! Our cabins were cleaned daily, turned down in the evenings, the lounge and common area immaculate at all times. Coffee, tea, biscuits available anytime, as well as cold beer and drinks from the bar. The panga drivers, captain and every single member of the Archipel's crew was amazing. Always with a smile. Archipel had all the facilities I needed. Fortunately we didn't spend much time on the ship, as we were constantly busy with activities. The weather was great as well, which helped. Snorkeling equipment provided was of good quality, and I quickly switched my new, annoyingly foggy mask, for the one provided. Luckily Carlos sorted my mask problem out with the flame trick. I spotted a shark immediately when I put head under the water! Having the kayaks to use was also great! The itinerary for 4 days was packed with highlights of the islands. I can't believe, how many species we saw in only four days! I loved that cruise and I return to Galapagos next year for longer.

Wir kommen auf euch zurück für die nächste Reise! Danke Benno! Ich werde dich und das Galapatours Team weiterempfehlen. Ich will euch danken für diesen wunderbaren Urlaub und für die Hilfe bei unserem Gepäckverlust (die Airline hat unser Gepäck falsch verschickt). Es kam aber in unserem Hotel auf Santa Cruz einen Tag vor unserer Heimreise an. Meine Frau hat sich unglaublich gefreut über das Wiedererlangen der eigenen, geliebten Klamotten. Die Kreuzfahrt war ein Traum. Das Schiff war nicht ganz ausgebucht (5 Erwachsene und 2 Kinder) und wir hatten immens viel Platz für uns. Unser Guide Victor Rizzo warfabelhaft. Die Verpflegung war exzellent und die Besatzung hat hervorragende Arbeit geleistet. Abends spürt man das Schiff etwas wackeln, daran mussten wir uns gewöhnen. Wenn wir soweit sind auch die westlichen Inseln zu erkunden, werde ich mit Sicherheit auf euch zurückkommen!

The best holiday so far, without a doubt (Review from TripAdvisor) Ecuador Galapagos was without any doubt the single most impressive holiday I have taken so far. At first, I was hesitant because especially Galapagos (the main land not so much) is quite an expensive destination but friends convinced us and Benno of Galapatours found a great last minute price for us on board one of the Archipels. I can say we don't regret it a bit. The crew, the food, the cabins - all was first class! Esteban, our guide, was very helpful and even considering my sea sickness during the first night I consider this the single best holiday so far. Thanks, Galapatours!

A great crew, guide, experience Everyone was so helpful, friendly and courteous. We all enjoyed the cruise. The crew, captain and guide were so nice, kind and helpful. Our guide, Alex, was extremely knowledgeable on many topics and explained about plants, animals and geology. I would highly recommend this tour and this ship to others considering a trip to the Galapagos.

Großartige Erfahrung mit Crew und Guide Alle waren so hilfsbereit und freundlich. Die ganze Familie genoss diese Kreuzfahrt. Die Besatzung, der Kapitän und der Guide waren sehr nett, höflich und hilfsbereit. Unser Naturführer, Alex, kannte sich bestens aus und erzählte viel über Pflanzen, Geologie und Tierwelt. Ich empfehle allen zukünftigen Galapagos-Reisenden die Archipell I.

One of the most amazing trips I have ever done Taken from Tripadvisor forum: Hey Lachlan_GSyndney, Hope the Reply is not too late. I went to Galapagos Islands 2 weeks ago and did a 8 day trip with Archipell 1. Friends from Quito were recomending this boat. Galapagos has its price; so my expectations for this cruise were pretty high....and I wasn´t let down!! The natural Guide,Dario, is native to Galapagos and really knows how to explain things. The Itinerary itself was really, really great ( North Seymour, Genovesa, Isla Bartolome and Isla Santiago, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Española and San Cristobal). We had a lot of activities and the most amazing was the snorkeling ( but you need to use a wetsuit (available aboard) at that time of the year, because the water is sometimes pretty cold) The Boat itself was in perfect conditions ( I haven´t seen cockroaches; the only animal i saw was a roasted turkey onthe last day :P ). The cabins were always tidy and the standard was like expected: First Class. The crew is nice and the food was just amazing and always enough for everybody ! We were 14 people but it was definitly not overcrowded because the catamaran is huge (for just 16 people.) Furthermore, for myself I didn´t had any problems with seasickness, but i guess that depends on each person. The cruise with Archipel 1 was one of my most amazing trips I have ever done. I only know the other boats through my friends and their experiences (some of them worked on boats in galapagos for several years) but they told my archipell is one of the better ones. So I guess i would recommend it ;) I hope you have/had fun on your trip and experience/experienced the same on the Archipell and Galapagos I did. Greetz, Jonas