WHY THIS TRIP
The M/Y Coral I and II fill a unique niche in the Galapagos Islands: providing a slightly larger (and therefore more stable) cruising vessel while maintaining the friendly atmosphere of a small expedition yacht. The adjoining rooms, expansive decks, and many communal areas make the Corals ideal for families or for larger groups who prefer to charter a vessel. The variety of 4- and 5-day itineraries are also handy for those who are looking for a shorter tour in the Islands; comprehensive 8-day tours are also available.
TRIP DESCRIPTION
The M/Y Corals are elegant, classic, and charming sister yachts that travel together. It is perfect for explorers who want to experience the islands with both privacy and supreme comfort; its high cruising speed means less time traveling and more time visiting the islands. You will be on either the Coral I or the Coral II, which is decided on the departure day.
The Coral’s layout is carefully planned; the dining room is right next door to the lounge, both surrounded with picture windows which allow you to enjoy your meal without missing anything outside. The bar offers a tasteful variety of drinks and cocktails. The outside decks (in the front and on the top of the boat) are great places to relax and enjoy the views. Experience Kleintour’s service, superb dining, top-quality guides, and attention to detail, and you will soon realize that a holiday on the Coral is unlike any other.
The variety of itineraries, from 4 to 8 days in length, provide lots of options for exploring the Galapagos. For those with limited time, the 5-day cruises are a lovely option since you see a number of diverse Islands and it’s not too short to really experience the magic of the Galapagos. For those who are combining their cruise with a land-based tour of the Islands, the 4-day cruise is ideal. For those who want to get to the most remote Islands, an 8-day itinerary will be right up your alley.
Each day will be filled with naturalist walks and snorkeling excursions with your guide. The Coral’s guides are all trained by the national park, bilingual, and happy to show you the beauty of the Islands. When you’re not out on naturalist walks or snorkeling, you’ll be going out for zodiac rides or visiting the Islands’ charming towns.
LOCAL OPERATOR: KLEINTOURS
Kleintours is one of the top Tour Operators in Ecuador and a Deluxe Cruise Line in the Galapagos Islands. Its nearly 30 years of experience has strengthened Kleintours as a reliable and top-quality company.
Laurie Cohen –
Excellent service, excellent guides – particularly Billy.
The guides passion about the islands is very present. What I came to realize through them is that it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the biodiversity. Therefore, preconceived notions about what you think you’ll see should not be depended upon. The Galapagos experience does NOT look like the PBS documentary. We had 30 people on board, which was a lot – but half of them were pretty stand-offish, and the other half were friendly and fun. I was happy we had all adults. The hikes were interesting and the snorkeling was mostly good. The last day on the black lava site was fantastic for snorkeling. The weather (of course unpredictable) was not great, so there was enough turbidity to interfere with the best snorkeling. I was somewhat disappointed in not having a kayak option. I loved my single cabin on the Coral II. I had been worried about seasickness but instead found the rocking of the boat made for excellent sleeping. The food was good, the service great. The last day was a rush to see the giant tortoises – forty minutes on a bus, tromping around in the rain in the mud for twenty minutes was definitely not worth the trip. Then back to the airport by bus…I felt it was a wasted day. Planning transportation from the US to the Galapagos should be thought out. If you’re going to the Galapagos first, as I did, it would be better to fly to Guayaquil from Miami rather that to Quito, etc. Overall, a very interesting experience.
Alix –
We really lucked out and only had 8 people on board. All of whom were very interested in exploring and visiting the islands. This made all our excursions more intimate and personal. We also realized how lucky we were to not have children on our boat. The coral 1 had many children who were very distracting during the activities and at times disrespectful to the islands and wildlife. We were very happy we did not have to deal with them 24/7. Our guide was also super great. He loves the islands and takes his job very seriously. We learned a lot from him. We had tons of great opportunities to snorkel and experience the islands and wildlife. The staff on board was also fantastic. Our chef won Ecuador’s version of Top Chef a few years back and the food was delicious. Overall, we had a great time and I would recommend to any of my friends visiting the Galapagos to consider the coral 2. A couple things to be wary of are the amount of children that could be on board and possible sea sickness. Luckily all of us did not suffer from sea sickness, but there was one night where we were all really close to getting sick. The boat is rather small, so while traveling to other islands over night there can be some intense turbulence. As long as you pack enough Dramamine and some sea bands, you should be good to go 🙂
Neil –
This review is for the Coral I, the larger of these two sister ships. The Corals travel together, and passengers usually don’t know which ship they are on until they arrive. We requested the larger ship as we wanted to minimize rocking in the waves and thought a larger ship would be smoother.
In general Kleintours has excellent guides. We booked pre and post Galapagos tours on the mainland and had a great guide (Odette) for those trips.
We had a great time on the trip but really needed a vacation after our vacation to recover—it was a very active trip. Our only negative was the cabin on the boat. We had a standard cabin in the bow of the boat. The bathroom was fine but the room was so small we couldn’t both be in the room at the same time. The bed was almost a double bed but not quite. One of us had to crawl over the other to go to the bathroom. Halfway through the trip a large group of college students that had been on the boat left and we were able to change to a much nicer cabin. We recommend paying extra for an upgraded room as they are much more comfortable. Our first night on the ship the college students ate all of the food at dinner and we didn’t get much variety. After that meal the ship served the rest of the passengers first and then fed the large group of students after we had filled our plates.
Our naturalist guide was good but not as good as the guide on the mainland. The itinerary was good, and always balanced swimming time, beach time, but no shade on beaches
This trip is an adventure, not a classic relaxing vacation. It was much more difficult than a car or bus tour.