- CHILDREN
DISCOUNT [children less than 12 years of age] - see above
- SINGLE CABIN: USD $3,990
Prices do not include
(unless otherwise specified):
Round trip
Galapagos airfare (reserved in conjunction with cruise);
Galapagos
National Park entrance fee [$100 per adult / $50 for children];
INGALA
(Tourist Migratory Control Card) [$10 per person];
Alcoholic
beverages & soft drinks;
Tips/gratuities;
Personal
expenses.
REVIEWS
You asked for some
feedback on Samba after
our trip so here it is:
Guide
Fantastic (Juan Salcedo)
- a local from Puerto Ayora, extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic,
partook in all the activities (unlike some we saw from other boats who
didn't snorkel with the guests) &
genuinely appeared to be enjoying the experience himself.
Crew
Excellent in all aspects - courteous, skilled & eager to please.
Boat
Good facilities, clean, comfortable ( thanks for getting us the double
room cabin!).
Itinerary
I guess this is
partly dictated by the length of the cruise & the geography but it
appeared very well constructed with a wide cross section of the
islands/landscapes covered.
Safety
As should be expected.
Food
Of unbelievable variety & quality given the somewhat limited
kitchen facilities.
I think you can
maintain your "Highly
Recommended" status!
Thanks again for
organising the trip - it
was a wonderful experience.
Regards.
Andy F. & Carolyn
C.
We are
just back from the Galapagos.
We cant thank you enough,
the whole trip was magical from start to finish and we thought the
samba was excellent. If you want us to fill in a recommendation form,
or comment form let us know. We would happily tell everyone to book
with them.
Merry Chistmas
Matt and Lynda
Sorry
for the delay in getting back to you, been on the
road it seems
constantly since the cruise, anyway here goes some comments on the
cruise.
My girfriend and I did a 7 night cruise on
Samba and had an
absolutely
fabulous time. We chose the boat mainly because of the itinerary it
took, it seemed to take in more islands than any other boats of touring
for the same no of nights and in the same price range. As it turned out
we think the itinerary was fabulous we saw so much and never felt like
we were rushing it - making the effort to get over to Isabela and
Fernandina is definitely worth the effort. In terms of the boat and
crew we also were very pleased with it; the boat was spotlessly clean
and we thought the berths were very comfortable (plenty of space for a
couple and good hot water showers) and not at all noisy. The food was
first class, three large meals a day as well as snacks and drinks
available throughout the day, and the crew were friendly and
accommodating at all times.
We are a couple in our early 30's and are very
active and this trip
suited us perfectly, but our group included a couple of teenagers and a
lady who was 70 and everyone was able to participate in almost
everything, and everyone had a good time. We had come off a few months
backpacking in S America so were blown away by the luxury of the boat,
but i think even coming over just for a short vacation the boat would
also be very acceptable (naturally space is somewhat limited but it was
way bigger and better than our expectation as long as you don't expect
something the size of a suite in a 5* hotel!)
In terms of our guide we didn't get the normal guide
that Samba uses as
his wife had just given birth. We heard that apparantly he is one of
the best on the islands but of course we can't verify that. All i can
say is that we got a backup freelance guide who was amazing; his
English was perfect and knowledge of everything first rate, he also
loved snorkelling so fitted in additional trips for that because he
knew that our group loved it too. Also interestingly it was his first
time on Samba and he said how blown away he was with the itinerary it
does, the best he'd known on a 7 nighter (of course that could be his
spiel but he seemed genuinely very excited throughout).
The only criticism we all had was that the boat
charged an additional
amount for wetsuits and snorkelling equipment, everyone thought this
was just penny pinching given the cost of the cruise; but if that's all
we came up with its not bad.
I don't think its possible to really have a bad
experience in the
Galapagos islands but we thought Samba was amazing and have already to
recommended it to all of our friends who are interested in visiting.
Obviously all trips to the Galapagos are very expensive and we were a
bit worried about forking out that much for a week, but it was worth
every penny to us and Samba was a big part of that. So far this
was the
most memorable week of our 15 months travelling the world. Big thumbs
up!
Hope this is useful to you....thanks again for
organising, we were very
happy to have booked through your agency too.
Warmest regards
Matt
How are
you? Sorry for the delay in the trip report. You can use this
report any way you want.
Many thanks for your help.
My Wife and I took a trip on the boat M/V Samba on
May 5-12, 2008. This
trip
was booked with Robin Slater through Sangay Tours. Robin was very
helpful in getting us on this boat as I heard it had a great route and
was a good boat. We wanted a small boat (<20 passengers) with an
active group. M/V Samba was everything we had hoped for!! The Samba was
the perfect size for us -13 passengers in 78 feet of boat, it was very
comfortable, clean and ran like a charm. The guide Juan Manuel Salcedo
was fantastic! He was extremely knowledgeable of the biology, ecology
and geology of the Galapagos. He was very enthusiastic and spoke with
perfect English. The food on board was plentiful and very good. Captain
Guillermo and crew were very professional and helpful. We had a
fantastic time on the boat. Juan and the crew had us hiking and
snorkeling both morning and afternoon. They worked hard to make sure we
were the first ones at the landings. We were amazed at the wildlife,
there were so many sea lions, iguanas and birds. While snorkeling, we
saw many kinds of fish, sharks, turtles, sea lions and our favorite -
penguins. We can't say enough about our trip, it was truly a trip of a
lifetime.
Thanks again Robin for all your help. I would
recommend your services
and this boat cruise to anyone!!
Bill and Gaynor H.
It was so nice to
finally
meet you in Quito. We had an amazing 8
days on board
the Samba. We were very
happy with our choice of
yacht and
the crew and guide were great. Thanks again for all your
help.
Lynda R.
