I spent a couple weeks touring around Ecuador and the Galapagos with my mom! It was a wonderful experience with all the wildlife and terrain we were able to cover. We saw sea lions on the beaches and tortoise's on the islands. We hiked volcanic craters and explored cathedrals in historic Quito. I will never forget our time together in this beautiful and diverse country.
Mom and I standing on either sides of the Equator. (Kassandra Magruder)We leave the Seattle airport early in the morning today. In fact, our flight leaves so early that we stay at a hotel next door to the airport. That alarm at 3 am was not wanted, but we pull ourselves out of bed to start our journey.
Mom is flying up in first class today, while I'm back in coach. She checks in with me every so often, bringing me a drink and some headphones. Thanks, Mom!
We finally arrive in Quito late at night. I'm amazed at how much the airport has changed in the 8 years since I last visited Ecuador. Everything seems so modern and clean. I love how easy the Quito airport is to navigate. All of the signs are in English and Spanish.
We clear customs, pick up our bags without trouble and walk out the doors to the waiting throng of people outside. I nervously glance around, hoping that I'll recognize the head of our Ecuador office, Betty. She has my name on a sign and a big grin on her face. We chat as she takes us to Hotel Eugenia. Mom and I fall asleep right away in the quiet room.
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
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
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
