Ecuador Galapagos Travels

Our custom private trip through Ecuador designed by KimKim exceeded all expectations. Maria Jose was our local specialist and she was very easy to work with throughout the whole planning process. It took 5 drafts to get the trip to look exactly how we wanted which was a very fast process only taking about 2 days. Maria was happy to make any and all adjustments to the trip until it was exactly how we wanted it. She booked all parts of our trip for us: hotels, excursions, private guides, and private transportation for the entire trip. All of the excursions and activities were amazing and so much fun!
There were multiple points on our trip where plans had to change due to unforeseen circumstances and Maria was quick to get everything handled. She checked in on us daily and even stopped by our hotel the first day to drop off some goodies and welcome us to her country! She was so kind and attentive throughout it all and we are so grateful for her!

Our first guide, David, took us birding in the cloud forest of Mindo. His excitement for birds was infectious and his love for his country was obvious. He was such a wonderful guide and we thoroughly enjoyed our day with him.
Our second guide, Sebastian, was so easy to get along with. Laid back and kind, he took us from Quito to Cotopaxi to Mindo. For 2.5 days, he guided us on little hikes and adventures and he felt more like a friend than a paid guide. We changed plans multiple times and he always was amenable to whatever we wanted. His knowledge about his country was impressive. We had so much fun with Sebastian.
Our final guide was Eva who guided us through the Amazon jungle for 4 days. So kind, so knowledgeable, and so fearless when it came to handling the Amazonian creepy crawlers. We did so many adventures together and it always felt like she was just our really cool friend who was doing everything with us.
All three guides were top notch and had multiple similarities: so laid back, kind, knowledgeable, and were clearly proud to be Ecuadorian.

Our trip was a 10/10 from start to finish and we would absolutely do it all over again!

Working with KimKim took all the hassle and stress out of planning and navigating our trip, well worth the money spent!

Thanks Maria and KimKim!

I went with three others on an 8 day cruise on the ship Archipel 1 over Christmas with the naturalist Christian. The boat was well-appointed, the food was excellent and the others cruising with us were all very pleasant. Angel did an outstanding job of remembering everyone's food likes and dislikes and kept bringing us our favorite foods. Carlos kept the cabins immaculately clean and the beds made well.
We snorkeled and hiked with Christian, who was very well-informed about the geology of the islands as well as the biology. Besides this type of trip, Christian runs diving excursions too.
The trip covered Genovesa in the north, Batholome and Santiago in the central along with Santa Cruz, Floreana and Espanola and finally San Cristobal in the East. If I'm ever fortunate enough to return, I'd very much like to see the western islands too.
The birds were fascinating, but I would have liked to do even more snorkeling than I did, so my suggestion to others is that they emphasize the snorkeling and come equipped with the ability to take underwater pictures and movies.
Nick was always punctual with replies and was outstanding to deal with. There were no hitches with the plans.
We stayed at the Wyndham Quito Hotel near the airport, and it's a very nice hotel with modern comfortable rooms and an excellent and delicious free breakfast buffet and a similarly excellent dinner buffet.

Karlita did a fabulous job planning our unforgettable trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos. She accommodated all our family group's interests and abilities (ages 30- 65+). I appreciate that she advised us thoughtfully and raised the right questions to help us make the right choices. For example, she worked with the local guide Sebastian in Quito to provide suggestions like flipping the order of certain activities to make more sense and allow us to fit more things in a logical way. Another example was how she had hotel rooms conveniently arranged for us on the day we returned from the Amazon, so we didn't have to hang around the airport for 12 hours until our international flights home from Quito. She did not simply say yes to everything we asked for without thinking - she genuinely guided us, which is what we needed. No detail was left unthought of! Including special surprises for the special occasions on the trip.

Highlights: The GO Hotel in Quito was amazing! We especially loved our guide in Quito, Sebastian. He is extremely knowledgable and passionate about Ecuador, plus personable, friendly and fun! We also loved the staff and our local guide Cheyanne at the NAPO Cultural Center eco-lodge. Overall, Karlita was able to fit such a diverse mix of activities and parts of Ecuador into our 15-day trip without it feeling totally exhausting.

My only point of feedback: We were probably limited by our budget and availability by the time we booked (last-minute), but the only thing I would have appreciated is being offered more tiered options / operator choices for the cruise in Galapagos and eco-lodge in the Amazon, so that we could have understood the differences and chosen to upgrade to something higher-end if we wanted.

Our trip planner is Karlita
I have nothing but praises for the planning and attention to detail for this trip to Ecuador. I have such great memories. It was a fantastic vacation! Thank you Karlita. You listened and delivered. You also told us when we suggested something and you said it was too much. The trip was a great combination of history and nature. Our guide Sebastian (in Quito) was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, fun and loved to share his country’s history as well as personal. He took good care of my sisters when hiking in Antisana. He bought some local snacks for us so we could enjoy them along the drives.
In Galapagos I have no complaints about the crew, the activities or the guides. The cabins on Coral 1 are a little old and definitely use updating. A big complaint is that when the boat sailed during the night the noise from the engines was very loud in the cabins. We could not sleep. I think the ship can do something to mitigate the noise. Or for future planning we would request higher level cabins.
In the Amazon the Napo Culture Lodge was an amazing experience. I loved being in the community and watching the people. Our community guide Cheyenne was excellent - he knew the animals and spotted so many things for us.
Overall - Karlita thank you for putting together this amazing trip for us. I have no hesitation in recommending your company to my friends and family.
Thank you!

Karlita was absolutely wonderful to work with! She did a fantastic job planning this and working with us to help create an unforgettable and truly magical trip! From the get go she did a great job asking questions and listening to what we wanted and really got to know what kind of activities we would like as a family. We loved our guide in Quito, Sebastian, he was very knowledgeable and easy to work with. In the Galapagos, we saw great wildlife. The boat was quite loud and hard to sleep in the bottom area so in the future would prefer the option to have the top floor rooms but otherwise was a good experience. We ended in the Amazon and appreciated being at a lodge which was started by the community. Our local guide, Cheyenne, was fantastic and great at spotting animals and we saw a lot of incredible wildlife. We appreciated the care taken when planning and all the helpful information given in advance, especially about appropriate tipping amount as the amounts given by Karla were reasonable compared to the somewhat outrageous suggested tips given by the Galapagos. Finally, Karla went above and beyond in arranging little surprises for a family member birthday and anniversary which absolutely made our day! We had a great time and would definitely use Karla and team again for any other planned trips in the future! And will definitely recommend Karla and team to all our friends and family who are planning to visit.

Our trip to the Galápagos Islands was everything that we expected and more. Nicolas did an amazing job of answering my numerous questions. And I had a lot! The itinerary was well put together and followed like clockwork. It was great to know that we didn’t have to worry about any details.

Nicolas arranged special arrangements for us and was great to work with.

We had a fantastic time in Ecuador with so many different experiences and did not expect that a small country had so much to see and do. In our travels in central and south America, Ecuador is definately one of the best places we have visited. Each area we visited were special in their own way, making it hard to pick a favourite.
Our trip would not have been as enjoyable without the planning that Jacquie and Alvaro did.
Further the guides we had, Sofia in Galapagos, Guido in Amazon, and Dan in
Quito were some of the best we've come across. Their knowledge of their areas, the support they gave, their enthusiasm and professionalism made our trip very fulfilling.
We would like to specifically mention Dan who spent so many days with us and made it very enjoyable by being flexible on our tours, very knowledgeable on many aspects of Ecuador, and showed his fondness of his country with his upbeat personality. He is an asset to your company and we definately would recommend him to anyone who would travel to the area.
We hope to someday come back to Ecuador and hope to have Dan, Sofia and Guido show us around again and for Jacqie and Alvaro plan our new adventures.
Our best wishes to you all.