Anyone been to either the Fragata or Golondrina? They are owned by company called Tierra Verde. I look into this website http://www.tierraverdetours.com/ and they offer a better price for the b
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Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE6C1B3
Cat:Central and South AmericaForum:0EE6C1B3Discussion:7444b2b5-60f8-4221-b022-58a3e4c229c1
Anyone been to either the Fragata or Golondrina? They are owned by company called Tierra Verde.
I look into this website http://www.tierraverdetours.com/ and they offer a better price for the boats than others (because they state that they own it). I am just wondering if anyone has actually booked from them directly through this website?
Yes I did end up going on the Fragata Galapagos Cruise at the end of last year. I do have a very positive testimonial on the cruise.
In fact I have just completed writing up a review on it. I hope that I can help fellow travelers decide on their cruise, as the pictures from all the Galapagos Cruises seem to be from the 80s.
We were booked for a cruise on the Fragata, which also owns the Golondrina. Because of a relatively small number of bookings on both boats, they switched us at the last minute to the Golondrina. When we arrived in the Galapagos, we were informed that *oops!* they had overbooked the boat, and we wouldn't be able to take the cruise. There we were, abandoned at the Galapagos airport, without any help or guidance. DO NOT BOOK WITH THE FRAGATA OR GOLONDRINA... you'll regret it!
So this is too late to be helpful, but other folks might be interested... We had a wonderful experience on the Golondrina (with all respect to how awful it must have been to get stranded). For an economical boat, the service was excellent - the guide (Manuel) was great - and spoke English. The rest of the staff were cheerful, helpful and friendly. We were taken to all sorts of amazingy beautiful places where we got to see TONS of wildlife such as iguanas, lava lizards, boobies, flamigoes, penguins, sea lions and tortoises, and went snorkling twice a day. We were served three tasty meals a day, and even had little appetizers brought to us while resting on deck between activities! The cabins are TINY, but neat and clean, and have private bathrooms with plenty of hot water though not excellent water pressure. Someone tidied them up every day while we were out, sometimes twice a day. I felt very safe leaving my ipod etc in the room, but just in case you want more security there are locking cubboards in the rooms. Cabins 1-4 are beowdecks, where it can get stuffy, and 7-10 are on the top deck which has walkways going by the windows, but we were in Cabin 6 which is on the middle deck along with 5, and is a great position. The engine is sometimes loud when motoring but this did not bother me; I think it may be more unpleasant in the lower rooms. The boat is small but there were plenty of comfy places to sit - a large main sun deck, a smaller shaded mid deck, the front deck and also the smallish but pleasant dining room which is always open. If you are a high class traveler who wants luxury this is not the boat for you, but if you are a practical and budget-minded person who wants to see the Galapagos in comfort, then I highly recommend this boat. One thing is that I would be a little uncomfortable bringing elderly folks or small children on board, since the stairs between decks are VERY steep and at the bottom is the access gate to the water, which is roped off with several cords but a small person could easily slip through. Also be sure to bring plenty of suncreen, motion sickness pills and other medication you need as you do not go to a town for 4 days after landing at the small airport and these supplies are not provided by the boat. There are no stores or ATMs at the airport (though you can get some last minute souveniers). Also we found we got the best price by booking through a travel agent once in Ecuador.
