Galapagos Intensive 5 Days, Land Base (3islands) Excludes Galapagos Flight

An amazing experience seeing the main sites in Galápagos Islands and 3 islands. Tour company have been very organised and helpful throughout my trip and it’s all worked out to schedule / plan. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Would of loved to have spent more time in Isabella Island as that is beautiful, would recommend to others to spend more time in Galapagos overall than just 5 days and make sure to bring underwater camera / go pro for some truly amazing sights

Travelers on National Geographic Endeavor were a friendly and helpful bunch. The ship is fairly basic (no TV) but clean, and the staff is just dear. You can create your own degree of difficulty with your abilities, and read a book if you just cannot face another hike. It was an expedition trip. Meals in one big dining room, and you have a chance to meet everyone. We saw all the finny, furry, feathery and hard-shelled guys we had hoped to meet. The guides are fabulous. It was extremely casual, everyone was a good sport, and one comes away with new friends. Luxury? no. But a wildlife experience you'll never forget.

We had a pleasant trip with them. The organization was excellent and the staff was outstanding, always reachable and very friendly. Everything went according to plan and they provide us a great service. We truly believe this is the best choice to explore Galapagos!

I should have known there would be problems with communication when the first message I received after booking the trip was addressed to someone else. The communication was horrible throughout the trip, and the competence of the local travel agent was sub par. I had to rely on tour guides not associated with this agency, hotel owners, and other travelers to get all the information I needed, such as what to wear and what to bring each day. The first day we arrived, they had one activity planned for us in the morning and then expected us to sit in the hotel and do nothing the whole afternoon. We asked for suggestions of things we could do on our own and were told nothing helpful. Then the second day, they told us we were doing one activity when we got picked up for a different activity. Not only were we not prepared for what we were doing that day, but they had expected for us to do nothing for half the day again. Even after we were picked up and doing something, they kept replying to my messages saying we were doing something else. It appears the local agent changed our itinerary, but didn’t bother to tell us or anyone else, including the other people at Galapagos Natural Life. It was a textbook definition of the right hand having no idea what the left hand was doing. After I sent an email about how upset I was, someone did respond promptly and provided us with another activity to fill up the afternoon. For this reason, I’m giving three stars instead of one. A manager did reply quickly and did something to fix the situation, and I was grateful for that. For the amount of money that they charged, I expected that we would have planned activities all day, every day. Had I not advocated for my family, this wouldn’t have happened. The communication and lack of information up front continued to be an issue, but the local guides (who are separate from all the tour agencies) were amazing and helped make sure we had a positive experience.

We had a wonderful time in Galapagos and Quito. The guides were very well informative and knowledgeable. The recommendations for places to visit and the planning and execution were great. Galapagos Natural Life is a great team to work with. Their reps in both places were very helpful.

5 days are not enoufh to discover the Gelapagos Islands, but if the time budget is limited, this is the perfekt trip. Well choosen Hotels, a vairiety of different program points, all that combined with the special atmosphere of the Galapagos Islands made an unbelievable trip.

Great! Booked 2 days before departure and everything was arranged perfectly. Good communication and great tours to al the highlights. I would recommend :)

Beautiful experience as promised . Isabella the best and tuneles the best tour. Watch out for ferry rides- totally out of control- fast superboucy and the smells of fumes. Total 2 hours nightmare. Take a plane or a yatch! Rooms and hotels- it depends… cleanness and infrastructure is an issue in some- All service was always excellent . Go Galapagos!

This was a great trip. It was my first solo trip, and I booked only 4 days before departure so I wanted to go through a tour agency to minimize the research and planning I would personally have to do. The team here did a phenomenal job planning my trip and made sure I had the best experience possible from landing to departure. I felt very safe the whole time especially being a woman traveling alone and all the inter-island transportation went seamlessly. I even wanted to add a few free days in between and extend my tour and the team was able to help me extend my 5 day tour to 7 days and gave me recommendations on what to do during those days. The tours themselves were unreal and ensured that I saw all the major highlights and more. Additionally, this tour had me stay on Isabella island which was a highlight for me, and I realized that most other tour companies make you take the ferry back to Santa Cruz the same day (which is a lot less fun). I highly recommend booking this, especially if you’re looking for a solo adventure or are planning a last minute trip.

From the moment we booked our trip until our last moments in Galapagos, we were taken care of by the wonderful team at Galapagos Natural Life. The excursions were well organized and happened as planned. The accommodations were nice and comfortable and we were met with very warm hospitality at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Cruz and the wooden House in Isabela island. The excursions were magical as we saw many of the famous Galapagos wildlife including gigantic tortoises, penguins, blue footed boobies and sea lions. But the snorkeling activities took it to another level as we experienced beautiful gigantic sea turtles, a seahorse and so many beautiful baby sharks! Our only wish is that we could have stayed a few more days to experience more islands and snorkeling. Galapagos is an experience of a lifetime. Thank you for helping make it a memorable and amazing time.

Everything was taken care of from arrival to departure. The excursions and experiences covered all the highlights of what Galapagos and Quito has to offer. Rodrigo was very professional and prompt about about addressing and concerns or questions and organized a well planned and executed itinerary.

Would like to thank Mr Rodrigo from Galapagos Natural Life tours for organising a wonderful trip and great communication with regard to the tour. We had flights from Quito included. The hotels were grest and in a great location. The experience was a once in a lifetime must do. The guides on the tour and the boat crew were professional and helpful.

The trip to the Galapagos Islands was fantastic. Such an amazing time, with the team from Galapagos Natural Life Tours looking after us well. They were very knowledgable and enthusiastic about their home. Trip was well co ordinated showing us as much as possible in the time we had. The team ensured we were able to see the key wildlife of the area via land and sea (snorkelling). Thanks for a great time.

Great way to see the Galapagos with limited time. Everything was essentially taken care of for us and it was smooth to get to all of our activities and very nice to not have to plan everything out and we benefited from local knowledge.

This was my first time traveling alone. The people were so accommodating and helpful and I was always able to contact them. I was recovering from a broken ankle so needed help getting on and off the boats and buses and there was always somebody there to help me. I had a wonderful time and highly recommend this trip.

I booked this trip last minute while traveling solo in January 2025. Pros: I didn’t have to worry about anything. Every day was packed with activities, especially snorkeling. The activities weren’t always in the exact order suggested by the itinerary, but I ended up doing everything and more. On the first day, one of the tour operators took me on a hike to a farm with her family, which was a really kind gesture. For me, that’s the main advantage of this tour. The moment you land in Galápagos, you’re off on an adventure. Of course, you could probably do these daily tours more cheaply on your own, but you’d need much more time to organize and negotiate everything. There’s a different guide every day since many of them work on a freelance basis. Maybe I was lucky, but all the guides I encountered during this tour were excellent—really knowledgeable and approachable. The hotels were simple but clean and conveniently located near all the meeting points. The staff at the hotels were always willing to help. Cons: I’m not sure everything would’ve gone so smoothly if I only spoke English. Luckily, Spanish is my first language. One time, my name wasn’t on the list of people taking the ferry to one of the islands. I contacted the tour operator via WhatsApp, and they resolved the issue quickly. Some mornings, breakfast was really basic - just a piece of bread, an apple, and a small juice, which you had to request one night in advance at the hotel. All in all, if you’re a control freak, this is not the tour for you. But if you’re easy-going and the breathtaking views and wildlife of the Galápagos Islands are what matter to you at the end of the day, hit the "book now" button.

The Galapagos was beautiful, but this tour company was extremely disorganized and unreliable - I do not recommend Galapagos Natural Life. When we landed, we were greeted by a tour guide who said hello to us, and then left us at the airport, with no instructions or anywhere to be found for the next 30 minutes... We had no idea where to go or what to do? Then, after he finally comes back, we drive to our first tour stop (the Highlands) on Santa Cruz, and as we're driving, he gives us a 1 minute description of where we are going. That's it. Upon arrival at the Highlands, he just silently walks us through the site and tells us "ok take pictures there." We ask him to explain where we are, what we're looking at, the significance, history, etc...because none of us knew what we were even looking at, and he yells at my friend and says "I already explained to you on the bus! I am not explaining again!" I'm sorry but he did not explain anything on the bus, other than the name of where we are going and why it's foggy in the Highlands...he spoke for probably 60 seconds maximum. We could not believe he yelled at us for asking him questions while we were there. Pretty sure that's the job of a tour guide - to answer questions. Another not-so great experience we had was with a woman named Betty, who was our Galapagos Natural Life on-site coordinator and she messed up our entire schedule. We received one itinerary from Rodrigo (who is amazing - the Galapagos Natural Life Manager), but then when we came to the hotel, Betty provided us with a completely different schedule with different activities, different times, etc than we were promised. The best part was when she told us that breakfast was included on our Snorkeling tour (so we did not eat at the hotel), and we show up to the tour, and there was no food at all. We had to starve until 3pm that day because that is when they served the first meal of the day. The tour told us that they don't serve breakfast and have no idea why Betty told us that. Overall, the Galapagos was awesome, but I would be wary before choosing this provider. Not a fantastic experience.

Got us a last minute deal on a great boat , Grand Daphne. We waited till we got to Quito to book anything and they exceeded our expectations.

This was a truly amazing experience with all the animals up-close and the history of darwin. We left with heartache and will be coming back if possible enjoying meeting the species we did not yet encounter on the trip

Definitely worth going to Galápagos Islands but there are probably cheaper ways than this tour. You don’t even get a constant guide. You are picked up in a bus and transported to your first tour. Then you are handed between drivers to get around each day, with different tour guides. It’s quite confusing and chaotic. However, we did see the tortoises and turtles. It was a beautiful trip overall. The hotels were quite average quality. The included meals are very basic. There was a lot of mixed information for example being told different pick-up times or being told there would be towels on the boat and there wasn’t. You go snorkelling everyday, so be ready for it. It was nice staying on Isabella island overnight, so I do recommend that. It was also useful to not have to research and plan each detail ourselves.

One of the best trips i’ve had. The daily tours were very well organized. Galapagos is beautiful and has so much to offer. I always felt safe, even as solo traveller. The different places we explored were all worth it, and well timed. The description says it’s an “intensive” trip, but I had good enough free time to explore parts of the island of my own and rest. Thank you to Rodrigo and Betty who were always attentive to my needs, as well as the different tour guides.

It is a good tour. We like the islands visited, watch the sea lion closely, especoilially 3 days snorkling was great!

The tour operator did a great job of organizing activities and accommodations. Had the opportunities to see much of the Galapagos

Discovering the Galápagos Islands by boat was incredible ! We saw so many animals ! Working with Rodrigo was great - he made it so easy and was a great communicator 😊

Rodrigo perfectly arranged our Galapagos tour. He was very quick to respond via WhatsApp to any concerns that we had, and had all of the guides, transportation, ferries etc. arranged for us as well as a contact person on the islands in case anything came up. We were able to modify the trip details to add an extra free day in Puerto Arroyo. Would definitely use again

Galapagos and Quito trips were awesome. Yumiko and Rodrigo did a fantastic job creating the right customized schedule for me that included airport pickup and drop offs, Quito day tour, North Seymour/ Mosquera island day tour, and Bartalome island day tours. They booked my hotels and took care of all my itinerary needs. Always responsive over WhatsApp. They coordinated with Betty from Galapagos Discovery very well. Highly recommend them for their professionalism, thoroughness and exceeding expectations!

Let's just say I didn't want to go home. Stayed in San Cristobal. Nice small beach town with a Malecon. Plenty of eating choices. The local downtown is just a few blocks up the hill. It helps to at least speak survival Spanish. Got a very professional haircut for $5. U.S currency used here and in Ecuador. That means higher prices than most latin countries. The surroundings and wildlife are, of course, world class. A $4 dollar taxi ride gets you to a beach where you can snorkel (ok) and see some fish, Mostly it's swimming with turtles and sea lions. You don't need my photos. Internet search it. In closing, it's a shame/blessing you can only stay 2 months. Rents are low. It's such a chill place. Slow pace. No crime. Everyone should visit once.

This tour was amazing and affordable- I would highly recommend it. We went on the Coral i which was a tiny bit outdated but was amazing anyways. The crew were very hard working and attentive to our needs especially David! The tours were great and Jose the guide was extremely knowledgeable and there wasn’t anything he didn’t know :). The food was great too. The only down side was you had to pay $80 for the Wi-Fi which I didn’t!

Fantastic experience. We had a bespoke tour that allowed us to see the highlights of the Galapagos Islands in the short time that we had available there. We enjoyed every day and had a good mix of snorkelling and hiking. Staff (Rodrigo and Betty) were on hand at all times to help with anything we needed and checked in daily when we were there. Rodrigo called me to chat through our requirements before booking.

Amazing experience in snorkeling and being up close with flamingos, iguanas, seals, sharks, penguins, pelicans and blue footed boobies. Better to stay on Santa Cruz (which has the best hotels, restaurants and amenities) and make day trips to the other islands

This is not an organised tour. It is a travel agent that books separate tours at what seem to be highly inflated prices. You are largely left in the dark as to where you will be. For example you do not know what hotel you will booked into until the last minute so you cannot check anything. We added 3 extra days to the trip but had no idea where we would be staying. Of course we had to let the “agent” book the extra days as we had no idea where we didn’t know the hotel name. We were then charged 100 a night extra (50 dollars a person). When you finally find out where you are booked it turns out you can book a double room for two people for 51 dollars. A 100% mark up is just a rip off by anyone’s standards. On the final day the taxi that was supposed to have been arranged to take us back from Santa Cruz never turned up and we had to pay for a taxi after a nervous wait. Alright sometimes there is a slip up but when you appreciate this is a shoddy outfit without proper coordinations of events, they are just booking other people’s tours it makes sense. Most reviews are positive and they are mainly focusing on the Galapagos itself which is amazing. The tours themselves are reasonably and professionally run but they usually involve up to a 2 hour boat journey to go to an island, perhaps 2 hours walking or snorkelling and then a two hour boat journey back. For young travellers this is probably fine but for older folk this just becomes gruelling, when repeated day after day. We most enjoyed the three days not on tours where we could explore ourselves. If you are younger than say 60 and here to look at the amazing wildlife and geology and receive reasonably informative talks from the guide on each individual tour then you will be at the right level. However, the guides are not experts and if you are travelling for detailed insights into the biology or geology you may be disappointed. To put my review in perspective my wife and I were only in Ecuador because I accepted a last minute invitation to be a keynote speaker at a scientific conference in Quito. We therefore booked this off the shelf tour as a last minute add on to our conference trip as we did not have time for detailed investigation.

Wow. I was so impressed. My flight was delayed, but using WhatsApp, we were able to coordinate my pickup. I was busy with an activity every day. I learned to snorkel, and when one tour would have me learning to scuba, I requested and received a last minute tour change. Such a wonderful experience and everyone was so friendly. Small detail, get a Claro Sim card if you went decent service on the islands.

What an incredible experience! The Angelito is a lovely boat, Jorge was a fantastic guide and the Galapagos is a truly magical destination. If you ever get the chance to visit in your lifetime and love nature, this is a must!!

Galapagos Natural Life ensured we had an amazing trip, from getting picked up at the airport to the accommodations (we used the hotels included in the price of the tour - these are basically 3-star hotels with private rooms and some shared spaces like a kitchen and open patio; they were clean and secure and we liked them), the driver was always on time, and meals (except breakfast) were included. We always had direct local contact who could answer our questions or accommodate requests. Special thanks to sales manager Yumiko, who helped with our reservations and went above and beyond to answer questions immediately and address concerns. We highly recommend this tour operator.

I decided and booked the trip 7 days before leaving so the help of Yumico was very useful. Before the buy of flights and trips, I contacted this agency to be sure that my flights were good and in according to the "Galapagos Intensive 5 days, land base (3Islands) Excludes galapagos flight By Galapagos Natural Life. Yumico supported me and prepared all the organization of my holiday. For any my question even trivial ones that came to mind, I received an exhaustive answer. The Galapagos islands are fantastic or better to say unique. I got along very well with Galapagos Natural Life. Betty of Discovery Galapagos, on site, has been most gracious and invaluable in support. The organization was practically perfect, above my expectations. I'm serious. Many compliments. To this plan got on TripAdvisor, I added a day trip to Santa Fe with Leverage trans and I had a very good time with them as well. The other two free days, the first day I went to Tortuga Bay on foot, and the other day I saw the small beaches La Ratonera and De La Estacion (both reachable on foot) and the Charles Darwin Research Station (for free). I'm so happy. It was a mix of relax and nature. Hostel in downtown of Puerto Aroyo e Isabel. During snorkeling at Tuneles, I was lucky to meet and swim with all the "locals" like penguins, sea lions, sharks, mantas and blu footed boobies. About improvement points: - the last day the drivers picked up me 20 minutes on delay and so I missed the Twins Craters to arrive on time at the airport. I watched one of them at my arrival, for this reason I'm not angry. - Bartolome trip: the boat polluted so much as you can see from the attachments The smoke made it impossible to sit on the back seats. The guide did not snorkel with us. This ruined the experience because I am not familiar with the areas and the habits of the animals. It would have been better if he had joined us and given explanations and advice about what we were seeing. - the second day in Isabela, we snorkeled without fins. Take these 3 little suggestions for a five stars service by you.

Grandma and adult granddaughter took the tour enjoying snorkeling and wildlife especially. The hike to Sierra Negra is very long and strenuous but we did it and had wonderful guides. Betty at the agency was very helpful and willing to make adjustments and offer options. Highly recommend this company. Galapagos is a welcome retreat into a world of friendly gentle people and a safe clean environment.

Amazing experience. Our tour planner Betty did a fantastic job making our itinerary. She was responsive and communicates every step of our journey. Upon arrival she gave us an overview of what we would be doing everyday. The multiple day trips were fun, informative, and lead by local guides that were educated on the islands and its' wildlife. We loved every single minute of it. Helpful tip, if you get motion sickness, bring some medication. The ferry ride between islands is an adventure all on it's own. Also bring lots of $1 bills for water taxi services and island entry taxes.

Great tour company to see the Galapagos - Rodrigo was responsive and helpful over Whatsapp during the booking process, and provided very detailed and clear information about what to expect. The company actually works with other tour companies as well, so you join different tours everyday with different companies and you get to meet different people each time, which is awesome. It also means that they can be flexible and amend the activities depending on what you want to see and do. You get briefed on your itinerary when you arrive, and can ask questions on Whatsapp whenever you want (although wifi signal is poor on the islands!), so we felt reasonably well informed. The tours were all well organised, the guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and the food was amazing.

Galápagos Natural Life were excellent. They organised everything for me so that a car would pick me up every morning and take me to wherever I needed to go, and I had no problems. They also chose a really enjoyable and interesting itinerary for me. Highly recommended!

It was the first time to visit Galapagos Island for me, the team provided us with the best experience. We could see a variety of wild animals like turtles, sea lions, iguanas, and so on. It's basically packaging local day tours as your preference, which means that flexible. We could choose the hotel, and change one day's activity from snorkeling to hiking to the volcano. Also, the team was very helpful to give us all-time support on the chat app, it made us feel secure throughout the five days.

Rodrigo was extremely helpful in finding us a last minute tour to explore the islands! Everything was arranged well and we had an excellent experience.

Great time in Galapagos and Quito! Rodrigo planned our tour perfectly! He made sure I got good Vegan food in all places he booked. Great customer Service, always available on phone and WhatsApp.

Excellent organization and coordination for a group of over 40. The complexities were intense but the experience was amazing. Great hotels, good transportation, delicious food choices, excellent guides, amazing in every way. Everyone felt well cared for and the owner went above and beyond to connect with individual needs.

Rodrigo did an excellent job of making our trip a great success. We had a great time. I would definitely book through Rodrigo again.

The Galapagos are amazing! We hired the Ocean Spray to be our home for five days/four nights. I was with my same sex partner and had spent the previous three weeks in Peru where we felt welcome at every one of the hotels/boats/excursions. The experience on the Ocean Spray was not that. While our guide was amazing (Morris!!!), the rest of the staff was not only aloof, but sometimes rude. Ugh! After eating for three weeks at very nice restaurants and on board the Aqua Nera in the Amazon, the food on board was "okay"/"average". And the final insult was on the second to last day....when the tips are outlined. We were on the boat for four days and were told that the tips expected would be $400 for the staff and $200 for our guide. The $200 for the guide...no problem. But the $400 for the staff...for four days? Totally inappropriate and I was sorely disappointed. I left $100. Yes, I overpaid based on our experience, but wanted to leave something. c'est la vie.

My travel was amazing. I took a lot of pictures of gigant turtles, blue footed boobies and penguins. Therefore I did scuba dive with sharks, sea turtles, sea lions and hundreds of fishes at Seymour, Mosquera and Daphne islands. Hotel was very comfortable with a beautiful sight of the sea. Also I visited Bartolomé Island, Tortuga Bay beach and Bahía de los Perros. Food was delicious at the entire island and Angermeyer restaurant is one of a kind. People in the islands are very kind and is 100% secure to travel despide of the coronavirus. Security is amazing cause there aren’t robbers. I totally recommend this experience!!

It is was the most beautiful experience in my life, thanks Rodrigo for your help, you did the perfect trip for us

Highly recommend Natural Galapagos Life tours! Rodrigo is CEO and a very good point of contact. He replies to all emails quickly and professionally! We even had a problem with our flight being delayed...and Rodrigo was available to chat on WhatsApp. Our trip was planned well. Betty the point of contact in Santa Cruz did have some communication issues but otherwise we had a great time!! Please see FlipFlopTraveler.com for our experience in the Galapagos!

Top! Really good advice, great travel arranged and above all really well looked after, Rod has kept us informed via mail and WhatsApp - was best!