Ecuador Galapagos Travels

I must say Maria and her team made this vacation a dream vacation for me. As a solo traveler, it went above and beyond my expectations with making me feel valued and safe in my travels!

I have been looking into going to the Galapagos for a few years now for the last couple being serious. I kept reading up reviews on travel companies or looking on sites where they have group tours and reading up information and just became so paralyzed and being able to make a decision because I looked at too much information and overwhelmed myself.

I happen to see an ad for Kim Kim on the internet and email about the possibility of a vacation in the Galapagos. And it was so easy from there. The team of Maria and everyone who helped her asked me lots of questions what I like to do, what time of year I wanted to go ,what my budget look like, the length of time for vacation and took that all into consideration and gave me a different couple of plans to look at to see which one would best fit my needs.

And so after thinking about it for another couple days I pulled the trigger as nervous as I was and I do not regret a second of it.

Once I selected a plan Maria and her team spent time with me on the phone going detail by detail of the plans even letting me know I never had to worry about setting up my own transportation to and from the airport or with any of my planned excursions which was fantastic because I really needed a vacation where I didn't have to think I just wanted to enjoy it. And removing the barrier of me not having to worry about finding cabs or how do I find cabs how do I get from here to there all that worry and stress was taken away.

The casas and hotels I stayed at were super cute staff was friendly I love that they were nice and small facilities I love the nice breakfast, and especially love that lava house had a house dog ❤️

Oh and my driver in Quito and the hotel in Quito were wonderful as well!!

The area of the casas and hotels were so safe I loved being able to walk around the entire Island and not be worried about anything and I was a standard at how clean the Galapagos was there was not a single speck of trash anywhere on the streets.

The first excursion at lobos island was memorable! The guide was so nice and the other people on the tour as well, it was nice and small! I finally got to see, in real life, blue footed boobies!! The snorkeling in the clear blue water was spectacular!! Some of the guests and I even explored around San Cristobal together and visited the Discovery Center and had a mojito together! The restaurants also had amazing food! The fresh shrimp ceviche was mouthwatering!

I must say kicker rock was my favorite excursion! The people on my excursion were all college students and their professor, the guides kept us all entertained and engaged w us all! We saw and swam w hammerhead sharks, manta rays, seals and sea turtles!

To have my last day on San Cristobal involve that was perfect! I must say how ecologically and forward thinking the Galapagos islands were was quite impressive!

Then I left for Santa Cruz on my second leg of the journey ❤️ another fabulous journey that was seamless!

Lava House was an adorable place to stay! Even had a resident house dog that I got to play with. I also loved the hammock on my balcony!

The first day there was a free day and I wandered to the beautiful Tortuga Beach. Breathtaking in scenery! The swimming iguanas were so cool!

My first adventure there involved visiting the Darwin Station and listening to the guides walk us through the history of Galapagos and how the center came to be, with lots of tortoises to see! There was also a lovely beach not far from their either! thet afternoon a trip into the Highlands to visit another facility with land tortoises and lava caves was great! Ran into more nice people there as well

Floreana Island was the perfect adventure to end my stay at Galapagos 🤩 our guide spent so much time talking w us about his island's history, and took us snorkeling in this wonderful lava rock beach. I had at least ten wild sea turtles just swim right with me and literally looked me in the eye! Tons of gorgeous fish like parrot fish, puffer fish, clown fish, and even saw a shark! It was breathtaking!

Next we went to another part of the island and got to swim at the black sand beaches. A wonderful lunch followed with delicious fresh caught tuna, vegetables and lentils followed. The group was small and we all enjoyed talking to each other and learning about everyone

Then we went to the Highlands of Floreana and learned about their efforts to save the tortoise species endemic to their island, explored lava caverns and enjoyed seeing the gorgeous views!

I really enjoyed walking the town when we got back and went back to my favorite restaurant to indulge in tuna ceviche and mojitos.

I sat back and thought that I'd never had such a phenomenal experience - I literally forgot what day it was! All of the memories I will have and pictures I've shown my friends!

My last day was seamless as well with my guide taking me from my hotel to the water taxi and then the airport. Absolutely nothing went wrong or was uncomfortable this whole trip! Any questions I had throughout my trip was quickly answered by my local guide or Maris!

I cannot state enough how much work this team put in to give me the ultimate dream vacation. 2024 was a very rough year. Kimkim and their wonderful team gave me the most memorable birthday day over ever had along with the most breathtaking of memories.

I will not hesitate to use them again. I cannot wait to go back and explore more of our wonderful world with them !!

Thank you so much for all that you and your team did for me! I wish I could write all of my guides to let them know how much their time truly mattered to me ❤️

Hotel Reviews

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

I arrived late at night, and was still welcomed with open arms by the staff. My room was so nice and comfortable. I especially loved the reminders the hotel wrote in regards to conservation and waste. I really loved the gift bag w chocolates too! My breakfast was perfect for the early morning trip!

Authenticity & Character

It stayed true to being uniqu

Location

It was not far from airport, was well lit, felt secure and so clean!

Staff

Very friendly and reminded me about my breakfast and asked about any allergies

Cleanliness & Comfort

I packed way too much as the hotel supplied everything I needed

Casa Pimampiro

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

This was such a a cute casa with an easy walk down to the town area. It stayed locked and secure, the rooms were super comfortable. I loved that the staff asked each day what time I wanted breakfast as well. The conservation reminders were perfect

Authenticity & Character

Very unique

Location

Easy walking distance, safe

Staff

Everyone was super friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lava House Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

Loved this hotel! From the feeling of safety, the proximity to everything, walking was super easy to get anywhere. The room was extremely comfortable and loved that they had a water refill station! But I must say the house dog, lava, was truly adorable and I love throwing the ball for her

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful plants and maintenance around the facility I really love the hammock on my balcony

Location

Super easy location to walk anywhere you wanted to and walk back, a feeling of safety whenever you were outside the gates and they locked it to stay secure

Staff

Always very friendly , the lady serving breakfast were very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Welcome to the Capital of the Andes; Quito!

Galapagos Islands

I absolutely love my guy who picked me up. We spent a lot of time talking about Ecuador and keto and other places and he was very friendly and engaging got me to and from the hotel super easy I never had any stress about making it on time to the airport the next morning

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was very nice and friendly and made it so easy to get through customs the next morning to get to my plane it would have been confusing had he not been there

Transport

Wildlife Encountering at Lobos Island

Galapagos Islands

I truly love my guides on this trip. It was a nice small group so they made sure we were all safe and had walking sticks to go over the lava rocks which were not very stable. We got to see all the animals and he gave a great explanation for why this habitat why this animal needs to protected what this environment is all about and really made you feel in awe of nature

Quality of Experience

The planning and expectations set by the guide were perfect.

Food

I loved having the nice lunch of fish rice lentils and veggies they also had a chicken option and a vegetarian option too

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide on the islands David did a great job making sure that I had all my supplies for this trip it was perfect

Transport

Very easy and smooth and you're on a boat so you may get wet

Kicker Rock: A Snorkeling Adventure

Isla San Cristóbal

This by far was my favorite adventure! I really love the whole team that helped get us prepared for this from taking us to the initial Beach and explaining to us how this plays a vital role in the galapagosis ecology and then taking us to see the estuary where we got to see baby white tip reef sharks baby manta rays puffer fish all these unique fish and creatures in the mangroves And then our guy spent a lot of time talking to us about safety and expectations when we get to kicker Rock and that rock is even more intense when you see it in person it's like five stories taller if not bigger and just all the time that we spent snorkeling and our guide took wonderful videos and pictures with his camera so that those of us who didn't have them could experience the beauty and the memories of that excursion

Quality of Experience

The guides did a fantastic job just explaining and showing everything they could of their world in that experience I cannot thank them enough

Food

They have a chicken vegetarian and tuna option but if you're in the Galapagos always choose the tuna it was so fresh with the lentils and the vegetables in the rice loved it

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were so warm and caring and made sure we all had a great experience and they just feel like a team too

Transport

From the moment I was picked up at the hotel to the water taxi to the boat to the excursion was flawless

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island & Afternoon at Leisure

Puerto Ayora

I really enjoyed getting to explore the island by myself for a bit on my own and visit a beach and some restaurants on my first night

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Cruz Island: Charles Darwin Station, Highlands & Planting a Tree

Puerto Ayora

The Darwin station is amazing. From the little area you can walk without your guide, to the entire tour from the beginning to the end you just fall in love with Galapagos and it's love for its environment whether it be animals or plants or the water.

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

This day was utterly amazing. The sheer beauty of floriana just really hits you only 150 people live on this island. Yet there conservation efforts out due our large cities. The cleanliness and respects this place has for nature and its land is just awesome inspiring. The beaches are Christine the waters are clear the people are friendly the food is amazing every experience they'll let you see something different of our world

Quality of Experience

The guide was on point. Very passionate about his island and the shear beauty of nature

Food

That restaurant had the most amazing fried tuna, veggies, rice and lentils 🤤

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Airport on Baltra Island - Flight back to Mainland

Galapagos Islands

I am so grateful for my guide that picked me up from the hotel and then took me to the water taxi then rode with me and the water taxi then rode with me on the shuttle to the airport as it's the most unique airport I've ever been to and how to get there. It made it stress-free. In the States you have to get to the airport at least 3 hours ahead of time at that airport I was there an hour and 20 minutes ahead of time and there was no problem. Plenty of time to make the plane and he made sure that I had plenty of time I was never worried

Quality of Experience

My driver was more than I could ask for making that sad day of leaving the Galapagos to go home run smooth

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thought all of our guides were great! Stephano, Alexis, Justin, Azu did a great job teaching us and helping us to have fun! Jacquie was our support person and she made everything run very smoothly. If I had a question, she could confirm the plan or make sure things went as planned.

Hotel Reviews

EB Hotel by Eurobuilding Quito

Quito

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Authenticity & Character

Location

You have to take a little walk and free boat (provided by the hotel) to get to town, but it was all part of the experience and we loved the location!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was a bit small, but we didn’t spend much time there! The beds were very comfortable and the room was kept very clean.

Hotel Indigo Galápagos

San Cristóbal

This is a lovely hotel by the water and close to everything. We enjoyed sitting by the pool in the mornings and listening to the sea lions.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kayaking Tortuga Bay (by boat) - Afternoon at Leisure

Puerto Ayora

Tortuga Bay was beautiful. We saw so many marine iguanas and learned about the sea turtles nesting. The waves were incredible and made the walk to Mansa beach a lovely one. We kayaked in the calmer water and saw the mangrove and many, many sea turtles. My daughter loved this!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

We had a great time seeing all the different birds and learning how to identify them. We saw iguanas and sea lions as well. The snorkeling was fun too! We saw rays and reef sharks as well as many varieties of fish.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

There was a lot of waiting on this tour. We had a great time, but when it was all over we had to wait a long time to leave.

Welcome to San Cristóbal Island! Visit the Interpretation Center, Tijeretas Hill, or La Lobería

Galapagos Islands

We enjoyed talking with our guide, Justin. The Interpretation Center was okay. La Lobería was beautiful and it was cool to see the sea lions. The conditions were a little rough for snorkeling, but we had a good time. There was heavy rain on the way back to our ride.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home (Departure)

Galapagos Islands

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands (Plant a Tree) & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

This was a very cool experience. The restaurant was nice, and we were able to watch the tortoises in the rain. They had rain boots and umbrellas for us. We didn’t end up planting a tree, because my daughter got stung by fire ants in that area. My only suggestion would be to find a way to treat for fire ants.

Quality of Experience

The ants made it a little less amazing. But otherwise it was great.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stephano was very knowledgeable and his English was great. We learned so much that day!

Transport

Wildlife Encountering at Lobos Island

Galapagos Islands

This was our favorite day! We saw lots of wildlife at Las Lobos Island and enjoyed snorkeling as well. Right after snorkeling we actually followed a pod of Orcas rather than going to the beach. Apparently this is super rare, so maybe don’t expect an orca sighting!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Expedition to El Junco Lagoon - Galapaguera Colorado Hill - Puerto Chino Beach

Galapagos Islands

Welcome to Ecuador: Let Your Adventure Begin!

Galapagos Islands

Marco was so kind. He took us to the hotel and then picked us up early in the morning. The process to fly between Quito and Baltra was not self-explanatory, so it was nice to have his guidance!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My trip to Ecuador was wonderful thanks to Kim Kim and their local partners. The guide they assigned to meet me at the designated airport in Quito was amazing, had no problems finding me, and/or need of further clarifications. The customized trip itinerary was seamless , clearly understood, required some last minute changes and easily modified as that took into consideration. The tour guides provided were highly skilled, knowledgeable, and personable in each of the areas of Ecuador I visited. I highly recommend using Kim Kim for all your travel needs/destinations.

Hotel Reviews

Riviera Sucre

Otavalo

Authenticity & Character

Character and charm

Location

Central

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Casa Aliso Hotel Boutique

Quito

Hotel was beautiful and charming. The lobby hostess Michelle was amazing and helped me resolving a personal health issue.

Hacienda El Porvenir

Machachi

So beautiful and charming. Highly recommend.

Activity Reviews

Arrival and transfer to hotel in Otavalo

Ecuador

Hiking around Cuicocha Lagoon - Quito

Otavalo

My tour guide knew about local flora and birds. He was amazing and so much fun hike with.

Majo was amazing! She helped us craft a number of experiences that met our budget, answered all of our question promptly and adjusted her recommendations to meet our needs.

The team they work with in Galápagos was so great! From our arrival at Baltra airport, they had everything covered and through mostly different guides and drivers each day, we were always well taken care of.

The experiences were mostly different so hard to pick the best. We spent most time on Santa Cruz and enjoyed the El Chato tortoise preserve and lava tunnel experience. Kayaking on Tortuga Bay was fun and the guide even stayed with us when we chose to snorkel after (bring your own mask/towel). Bay tour was great as well.

For our trip to Isabela, they took us to the pier for the ferry (with all passes ready for us) and met our guide upon arrival. The Tintoreras tour had a little bit of duplication but still great experience.

Majo and the Galapagos lead Rita communicated with us daily via WhatsApp (we had Airalo eSIM that worked great everywhere). We were well cared for and so nice to be able to relax and just enjoy the amazing experiences they curated.

We booked a 3 week trip to Ecuador with KimKim. The agency made the trip very easy for us, for the most part. The three weeks included time in the Andes for a Cotopaxi expedition, the Galapagos, and the Amazon.

The booking and planning process was simple and convenient as well.

As far as the trip itself goes, the Galapagos and the Amazon went seamlessly, and we were grateful to have gone with KimKim. Outside of that, our tour guide, Marco, was fantastic - taking us to Mindo, Otavalo/Cotacachi, Riobamba, Cuenca, Cajas, Guayaquil, and Antisana. Not to mention, multiple trips to the airport and back. He went above and beyond to keep us comfortable and happy.

For the Andes portion of our trip, we realized it might have been better to go with a company specialized in mountaineering to ensure we got the experience we wanted—proper acclimatization and ultimately summiting Cotopaxi. We had to make last-minute itinerary changes in Ecuador, and we felt some of the acclimatization days at the start could have been used more effectively. Additionally, we had some confusing experiences with our mountain guide. The most stressful part for me was that the itinerary we were given and following had us staying an extra night at Chilcabamba lodge (the night we were to summit Cotopaxi), and I believed we could safely leave our luggage there while we summited Cotopaxi. However, when I asked about it, we were told we'd need to check out before the climb and that a driver would watch our luggage while we climbed—this was not the case. In the end, our mountain guide arranged for our luggage to be left at the ranger station at Cotopaxi National Park. This aspect of the plan felt poorly executed, and I was stressed about our luggage being left behind in such an uncertain manner.

The other thing I would have liked is to have an idea of how many guides we would have to tip and how much cash would be required- we arrived in Ecuador with far less cash than we should have brought with us. Luckily, the agency was able to get more cash to us so we could appropriately tip.

For the Galapagos and the Amazon, we had several domestic flights, which all went rather smoothly. KimKim booked us a cruise for the Galapagos, which was fantastic, and a wonderful Amazon lodge where we had some great experiences. I would definitely recommend KimKim for vacationing in Ecuador, as long as mountaineering is not involved.

Alvaro and Jacquie did an excellent job planning our Galapagos trip. On a video call we discussed what we wanted to see, and more importantly, they suggested a number of activities for our consideration. We added a number of these ideas. The itinerary they planned with transportation, guides and accommodations worked seamlessly. The guides were knowledgeable, personally engaging and gave an in depth understanding of the geology, plant, wildlife and human history of the islands. The were resourceful and allowed us to revise the plan for one outing so all of us could more comfortably complete the hike. Highlights were the giant turtles of Santa Cruz, penguins, Sierra Negro volcano hike, and Kicker Rock snorkeling. Jacquie kept in touch during the trip to ensure all was going well.

Our visit to Ecuador exceeded our expectations. Alvaro was detailed in his planning and offered options when booking accommodations and activities. Overall, his recommendations were excellent like the Lodge in the Yasuni National Park. I would go back there to visit again. Adres and Mariano, our guides there were very knowledgeable about the Amazonian animals and plants which made the trip exciting and rich.
We would highly recommend visiting Hacienda Zuletta, a beautiful hotel in the Andes. It is set in the mountains with hiking, biking and horseback riding. Also, they make cheese on site which is served with every meal - quite delicious!
The Galapagos surprisingly, while beautiful, were a bit touristy for our taste. However, we enjoyed the Finch Bay Hotel - a luxury hotel on a snorkeling beach.
Alvaro met us at the end of the trip in Quito for a debrief. He is extremely professional and knows the country quite well. I'd recommend him strongly.

Tamer with KimKim planned an amazing trip to Quito, Mindo Rainforest, Amazon Basin and Galapagos !! It was a trip of a lifetime! He was so helpful planning the trip and answering all our questions. Everything went smoothly from beginning to end and he kept in touch the whole time we were there.
The guides for each part of our trip, Sebastion in Quito and Mindo, Pedro in at Napo Wildlife Center in Yasuni NP, and Carlos in the Galapagos were incredible and added so much to our experience. They had so much knowledge about the country, culture, and areas we visited.
The amount of wildlife and plants we saw were amazing! Caymans, giant river otters, monkeys, sloth, so many birds everywhere, bats, sea lions, penguins, sharks, rays, turtles, tortoises, frigate birds, iguanas and red and blue footed boobies...
The food, accommodations, and people on the Galapagos Endemic ship were awesome!
We highly recommend KimKim! Thank you for helping us create such beautiful memories!

KimKim did an incredible job planning our trip. Their communication was excellent. When we wanted to change something at the last minute, they got it done. Fast! I will absolutely use their services again and will tell others to use them too. Shout out to Jacquie and Alvaro! Thank you both so much for showing us the best parts of the Galapagos!! ❤️