Hi, I am planning to do a rtw trip from e/o December this year, going South America - Australasia - SE Asia. The only part I am unsure about is booking a trip to te galapagos islands. It is somewhere I really want to go but I have heard you have to book months in advance. On some other travel sites I have seen that people have booked last minute tours from the mainlad a few day before. Has anyone had any experience of this? Is it possible / cheaper than booking through an travel agent in England? Similarly for Machu Picchu. Any thoughts welcome, cheers
Reply to this Hi,
for Galapagos, if you have time and flexiblity..and you have a tight budget, keep it last minute. You need to find yourself in Guayaquil or Quito on your ticket itenary.
For Machu Pichu it's all depend if you want to do the Inca Trail or not. If not, you can book everything really at the last minute.
I went to Galapagos in Feb 08...a true dream, and been twice to Machu Pichu over the last 6 years...both are amazing places.
Peter
Reply to this Thanks for that Peter. I would like to do the inca trail, is this best to book before leaving would you say?
Chris
Reply to this Hey Chris - I booked about two weeks in advance for the Galapagos earlier this year. If you're on your own you can get a better deal a few weeks out - but you can't be as choosy about which boat you go on and there's a chance you might miss out. I found a great agent in Ecuador I can recommend - speak to Paul from
CarpeDM. I went on the Encantada and LOVED it. For research sake - I recommend looking at the
happy gringo website which has useful pics and descriptions of every boat. Don't book through them though - them were quite a lot more expensive when I got quotes.
In terms of Inca Trail - bookings were 5-6 months in advance when I did it back in May (I just made the cut). Really glad I did the Inca Trail 'proper', rather than the alternative. The alternative looks cool too, but it's not a wonder of the world. I wouldn't recommend the crowd I booked with - InfoCusco - who were average. Hopefully someone else throws you a tip!
Happy Travels, Ellen
Reply to this Hi Chris, I would follow the advise of Ellen. for Galapagos it's all depend of your budget. If you are a diver, there are only 3 good...well...three liveaboards these days, so booking is months way in advance, or last minuteschance luck, and a very nice budget....did dive Darwin Arch's and Wolff Island, some of the best diving I ever did.
Peter
Reply to this Or you can dive seperately (ie. not off your tour boat). After my boat trip on the Encantada, I based myself in Puerto Ayora for a few days and did some diving with Scuba Iguana which was pretty cool. I haven't loaded my pics yet, but I know Ali dove with the same crew and has some good pics.
Reply to this Hi Ellen,
Don't know if you had a look at my entry on Galapagos, the diving around is great, but you can't compare it to Darwin and Wolf. Lot more and a lot bigger than around all the other sites. But I had to plan it 8 months in advance to have a spot!
When is your next diving trip? For me it's just 10 days away...it will be a first for my son, 8 years old, will do his bubble maker and bring my new girlfriend to do her open water....should be cool...
Peter
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