My tour de Ecuador took me from Guayaquil & the coast to the incredible Galapagos Islands and finally to Quito & the highlands. I was overwhelmed by the natural diversity of this small country, not to mention the warmth of the Ecuadorian people.
Guayaquil riverfront (Renee Noffke)It was a long journey from Missoula, but I finally arrived in Guayaquil at about 11 pm. I was relieved to have my luggage in hand and to be met at the airport and taken directly to the hotel. The Oro Verde was just a short 15 minute drive from the airport.
My father, Pete, had arrived in Guayaquil the day before, and since he had never really traveled outside of the U.S. before, I was feeling a bit apprehensive about what condition and mood I would find him in at the hotel. The guy at the front desk greeted me with, \"Are you Peter Noffke's daughter?\" ...I wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad sign that the hotel staff already knew my dad by name. But before long, I was listening to stories about his exciting day in Guayaquil. He had taken a guided city tour and explored the entire river front area on his own. He particularly enjoyed all of the insights his guide gave him about life in Guayaquil. His guide also advised him about which soccer team jersey to wear in order to make friends with the locals. Little did I know that he would wear the jersey every day of the trip!
As excited as we both were to finally be in Ecuador, we tried to get some sleep before heading to the Galapagos the next morning!
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
3 months ago
Great Experience! My trip planner, Jane, was available and knowledgeable. She made suggestions that suited the kind of adventure travel I like, still keeping within my physical limitations. She was very forthcoming with all of the details I requested. And she was always pleasant to speak with.
Charlene West
5 months ago
My travel consultant went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly, everything from the flight reservations to the final booking.
johnw
9 months ago
We have told everyone we know about Adventure Life. What a great company to work with and no detail is missed. Call them for your next adventure!!
Paul Rupert
9 months ago
Clara was great to work with. She presented lots of options and always responded promptly. And she found excellent options within our price range.