Tribes Travel

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Tribes Travel, 12 The Business Centre, Earl Soham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 7SA, UK

Tribes Travel

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    Review

     

    1. Sue W
    2. 31/03/2010
    3. 4
    4. Ecuador, Galapagos Islands

    5. Overall level of satisfaction

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    7. A memorable holiday

    8. Tribes service

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    10. Booking with Tribes was a pleasure. Paul was clearly very knowledgeable, and patient - prepared to consider various changes of ideas, give advice and answer questions. Pre-departure information was excellent - detailed, and informative.

      The only bit of information that could usefully be added is that the airline flying between Quito and Napo does not allow you to take any aerosol sprays on board (none of the other airlines used, e.g. to Galapagos had this rule), so our poor guides had to look after several cans of deodorant while we were away! It would have been useful to be aware of this before we left.

    11. Expectations

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    13. Absolutely - in every way.

    14. Guides

      • Excellent

      Excellent

    16. See below for comments on guides at the various places we stayed. Our guides in Quito were very efficient and helpful - always being in the right place at the right time to collect us, making sure that we were passed on to th right person at airports. The half day tour of Quito was interesting, and a contrast to the \'wildlife focus\' of the rest of our stay.

    17. Social & Environmental Responsibility

      • Good

      Good

    19. Napo in particular was clearly benefitting local people.

    20. Other comments

    21. The cloud forest was perhaps the least impressive element of the holiday, but was worth it for the hummingbirds alone!

    1. Accommodation

    1. Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge

    2. Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge with award-winning TRIBES TRAVEL
      • Average

      Average

    4. Rooms were OK, though beds had the hardest matresses! Food average. Altogether more \'amateurish\' than any of the other places we stayed - our guide was bright, articulate and cheerful - but had a degree in Psychology and was volunteering on a gap year to improve his Spanish - the difference in depth of knowledge compared with guides at Napo & Galapagos was obvious, but not surprising. Walks were fairly tough for the \'middle aged-not particularly fit\' - steep and slippery. We did manage, but it might be worth warning people. Group sizes on walks were quite large, and on narrow tracks it was often difficult to get close enough to the guide to hear, or see what he was showing.

    1. Napo Wildlife Centre

    2. Napo Wildlife Centre with TRIBES, the Fair Trade Travel Company
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    4. A beautiful location, high standard of accommodation, excellent food. Our guide David was excellent. The only adverse comment we could make is that group sizes were very variable, some as small as 2-3, while we were in a group of 8 for 3 days, with a family including 2 teenagers, who would clearly have preferred to be on their own.

    1. Patio Andaluz

    2. Patio Andaluz, Quito
      • Good

      Good

    4. A good hotel. We only ate there once, food was a bit expensive, but interesting. As we effectively just slept there, in retrospect a slightly less \'smart\' hotel would have been fine, but that is in no way a criticism.

    1. Yachts

    1. Sagitta

    2. Galapagos Islands - Sagitta
      • Excellent

      Excellent

    4. An amazing experience. Comfortable accommodation, good food, a brilliant group of like-minded travellers, and our guide Luiz was extraordinarily knowledgeable - a true naturalist, with 20 year\'s experience in the Galapagos and a very infectious enthusiasm.

    1. Experiences

    1. Exploring the Amazon

    2. Exploring the Amazon
      • Had a whale of a time!

      Had a whale of a time!

    4. Rain forest does exactly what it says on the tin! So lots of rain - sometimes heavy - we had to bail out the canoe on our way back to Napo one afternoon, which added some excitement!
      We saw lots of birds, and monkeys, though often at a distance, which could be frustrating for photographers. The rain forest is a truly beautiful place, and paddling gently down the stream as the light faded, and the glowworms appeared, watching bats fly over the water and listening to the frogs call, was a magical experience.

    1. The Galapagos Islands

    2. The Galapagos Islands
      • Don't even think about missing this!

      Don't even think about missing this!

    4. Amazing! Animals here that you will never see anywhere else. A fascinating range of different environments, some islands flat, some hilly, some covered in lava. Walking was sensibly paced, and easily maneageable most of the time. Snorkelling was also a brilliant experience - turtles, seals, reef sharks, and an astonishing array of brilliantly coloured fish. A guided snorkelling trip was a new experience for me - despite worries about my swimming ability, I managed to keep up without difficulty, and would recommend anyone who isn\'t quite sure to give it a go!
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