Wondering if the Galapagos Islands Multisport Adventure trip is right for your family? Our most recent review of the trip is a great description of the experience and evaluation of the tour. This family of five traveled with their three teenage kids (ages 12, 14, and 16) in April 2014. They booked a privately guided tour so they could have as much flexibility with the itinerary as possible and added on the optional Los Tunneles tour while on Isabela. You can read their review below and learn more about the Galapagos Island Multisport Adventure tour they did by clicking here.
“We had an incredible trip!!!! Everything went smooth and I could not say enough about the trip, the itinerary and the people we met.First off, Jorge was very pleasant, and punctual and even put us in the right direction for dinner the night we came back from the Galapagos and stayed in Quito. What a great city, we would have loved to stay a few more days there.
Veronica met us in Baltra and her and her husband Tom, from Tropic showed us around Santa Cruz until Christopher (our guide) was able to meet us because he was bumped from his return flight the day before. Besides the fiasco trying to find me fins that fit, (Tom had many friends and resources) we were off to Floreana, on our own private boat, the captain was excellent and it was a very smooth ride. We were greeted by the seals and the iguanas first in Floreana and the blue footed boobies in Baltra so the animals were a delight to see right away. However, the people were even better. The Cruze family were incredible, they were so accommodating and even though the Lava Lodge is rustic and simple, they made us feel like we were royalty. The meals were the best, I never ate so much food, the eggs and the jam at breakfast, and the meat, chicken and rice at lunch and the fish the first night at Lelia’s and the pizza the second night at his other sister’s restaurant really made us feel like family . Snorkeling, hiking and kayaking were fun and seeing the tortoise breeding center and the frigate birds were amazing
The boat trip from Floreana to Isabela was great, just our family and a very smooth ride. Isabela was beautiful, the accommodations were excellent, right on the ocean, across the street from the beach and the kids loved, even though we had little time, to relax in the pool. The driver in Isabela was not as overwhelmingly nice as in Floreana, but each night we walked into town and had dinner with the tourists and the locals and it was very nice. The best day by far was Los Tunneles. We had a good time in Los Trinteras, saw a lot of iguanas, seals, some penguins and swam with the turtles. The hiking day was exhilarating, great exercise and fantastic views, a little too hot for my wife, but my kids and I made to the end and it was worth the hike. However, the best day was the snorkeling and the trip to Los Tunnelles, seeing the masked bookies on the way and then being 2 ft away from the blue footed boobies, swimming with the seals and sea horses and the sharks occurs once in a lifetime and that day was worth the entire trip!! Christopher even taught us all how to surf that afternoon, which was the highlight for my son. My daughter walked a tightrope with the locals on the beach, and everyone was very nice.
The only bad experience was the boat ride from Isabela to Santa Cruz, like 24 people on a small boat, hot, no ventilation, everyone sitting on top of each other for a 2 hour trip that was bumpy, and everyone was tired because we had to be awake at 5am for the truck to take us to the dock at 530 am ( the only negative about the trip and it was not that bad, but just spoiled from the first two boat trips ) The Angermeyer Inn was AMAZING, unfortunately we were only there for one night, but we made the most of it. The quant atmosphere the serene waterfront location, watching the local kids swim to the big boats and jump off was all again a very local feel. That day was quick, breakfast and bike riding to the beach with some incredible views. The beach was nice but did not compare to Isabela. However, again our guide Christopher made a once in a lifetime trip even more amazing when he walked us behind the hotel to a local spot to go cliff diving…… IT WAS AWE INSPIRING and my little girl probably jumped 30 ft into the water on her 12th birthday …. What a birthday to remember! That night Christopher came through again in finding a #12 for my daughter to blow out on the birthday cake for her birthday dinner GREAT!!!
I cannot say enough Great things about the trip and the itinerary!! IF you have teenagers they want to do more than look at birds, iguanas, and tortoises mating. They want to do more than look at trees and understand the theory of natural selection and evolution determined from these incredible islands ….. they want to do things and that is where your guide comes in. Christopher was like part of our family, he was young, very knowledgeable, but also since he was born on Santa Cruz he knew how to have fun and the kids had a great time. Never a dull moment, and lots of memories for all. I recommend this trip for the active young family that are adventurous and inquisitive. We learned about the human history of the Galapagos, saw all the incredible species both land and sea, met some very nice people and made great memories that we not only from being in a special place, but also being with a very special and talented guide.
I would love to send you [Detour[ a big thank you, because the experience with you initiated an overall great experience The trip was great, Christopher was by far the best guide we could have ever asked for. All the kids got along with him like a big brother , and he went above and beyond.”
-Submitted by David N.
