Amazon and Galapagos feedback ?

[JenaRuns]

Hmmmmmm....I think I'm going to have a headache the day we're offered the piranha swim. :-0

Yes! Please tell us about your guides and group size!

 

[MKMK]

Perfect! Great to hear. I just couldn’t find any good detail regarding that ferry! LOVE the lake pics...last question (for now)....group size and guides...I can’t imagine having 40 people doing all these activities in the Amazon. I hope it was a smaller group! And were your guides fabulous as always?

We had 30 in our group. Not sure, but I don't think the Anakonda (or Finch Bay) could hold many more people than that. For most of the activities, we were split into groups of two as the excursion canoes tended to hold a maximum of 15 - 18 people. The guides were awesome.

 

[kerry annette]

We had 30 in our group. Not sure, but I don't think the Anakonda (or Finch Bay) could hold many more people than that. For most of the activities, we were split into groups of two as the excursion canoes tended to hold a maximum of 15 - 18 people. The guides were awesome.

I love it! I really appreciate the info you’ve provided. Now I’m even MORE excited about this trip. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[Disney_fans]

It was awesome! Yes, we made it back alive So glad we did this trip.

The trip report from the adults only adventure in 2016 was very helpful. There are a few changes, but it is pretty much the same. One major difference is the 2016 trip was in the winter (i.e. we had the rainy season in the Amazon and dry season in the Galapagos).

The kids loved it. A few highlights:

1) Jungle walk at night - amazing -- we saw so many things including several very hairy tarantulas that were bigger than an adult's hand
2) Swimming in Piranha Lake (no joke) then fishing and catching foot long piranha with huge teeth from the same lake
3) Canoeing thru the jungle - we saw monkeys, sloths, parrots, pink river dolphins, macaws, toucans, anaconda, etc
4) Eating ants, grubs, piranha, termites...
5) Playing mud soccer with the local school kids
6) Howler monkeys - probably the kids favorite
6) Scuba diving in the Galapagos
7) The wildlife in the Galapagos - sea lions, land lizards, giant tortoises, marine lizards, sharks, blue footed boobies etc Amazing you can get so close - they are not afraid of humans


Happy to answer any questions...

Hello MKMK, we are going on this ABD in June. I’m trying to book our flights today. It seems that the flights leaving Guayaquil are either very early (6am) or very late (11pm) Did you experience this, and if so, would you recommend one time over the other? Any other tips would be appreciated.

 

[MKMK]

Correct. We experienced the same thing. We chose the flight that left at 6 a.m. the last day of the adventure.

If we were doing it again, would have chosen to take the 11 p.m. flight the last night of the adventure (leave after the farewell dinner). Several people in our group did this and I wish we would have too. If you take the 6 a.m. flight the last day of the adventure, you end up getting up super early anyway, and in our case, the connection thru Panama City was a long one and we wasted an entire day due to travel. If we would have taken the 11 p.m after the farewell dinner, we would have been home the next morning --- giving us a mostly full day to start unpacking etc. I am not sure if Disney encourages you to leave before the adventure is technically over, but a lot of people in our adventure did.

Two more thoughts that may influence your decision one way or the other. Most of the folks on our trip thought it was long/strenuous, so while they had a fabulous time, they were ready to go home (very few elected to spend more time in Guayaquil). We went on the China adventure last year and we thought this trip was a piece of cake compared to that one in terms of length/activity, but wanted to pass along that most people were exhausted by the end. The second thought is, if you are interested in seeing Guayquil, definitely take the 11p.m. flight. We didn't think there was too much to see, which is why we opted for 6 am.

 

[Disney_fans]

Correct. We experienced the same thing. We chose the flight that left at 6 a.m. the last day of the adventure.

If we were doing it again, would have chosen to take the 11 p.m. flight the last night of the adventure (leave after the farewell dinner). Several people in our group did this and I wish we would have too. If you take the 6 a.m. flight the last day of the adventure, you end up getting up super early anyway, and in our case, the connection thru Panama City was a long one and we wasted an entire day due to travel. If we would have taken the 11 p.m after the farewell dinner, we would have been home the next morning --- giving us a mostly full day to start unpacking etc. I am not sure if Disney encourages you to leave before the adventure is technically over, but a lot of people in our adventure did.

Two more thoughts that may influence your decision one way or the other. Most of the folks on our trip thought it was long/strenuous, so while they had a fabulous time, they were ready to go home (very few elected to spend more time in Guayaquil). We went on the China adventure last year and we thought this trip was a piece of cake compared to that one in terms of length/activity, but wanted to pass along that most people were exhausted by the end. The second thought is, if you are interested in seeing Guayquil, definitely take the 11p.m. flight. We didn't think there was too much to see, which is why we opted for 6 am.

Thank you so much for the quick reply and advice. We’ve done Peru, Africa, Norway, and SE Asia with ABD and understand that a lot of people are ready to go home by the end. My teens, however, never want it to end. I looked online for things to do in Guayaquil and didn’t see much, so I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be missing anything if we took the early flight. I have to book return flights all the way to the UK, so no matter what we do, it will be a long travel day. Any special packing tips? I usually rely on Cousin Orville’s trip reports but haven’t found any, so this trip is pretty much a mystery. I did LOVE your piranha picture!

 

[MKMK]

Thank you so much for the quick reply and advice. We’ve done Peru, Africa, Norway, and SE Asia with ABD and understand that a lot of people are ready to go home by the end. My teens, however, never want it to end. I looked online for things to do in Guayaquil and didn’t see much, so I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be missing anything if we took the early flight. I have to book return flights all the way to the UK, so no matter what we do, it will be a long travel day. Any special packing tips? I usually rely on Cousin Orville’s trip reports but haven’t found any, so this trip is pretty much a mystery. I did LOVE your piranha picture!

Awesome... I am going to pick your brain on the Africa/Peru/SE Asia trips ... these are on our "to do" list

Re: packing. First, check out the Anaconda web site ... they have the best packing advice and provide more information on the excursions you will be experiencing. Also check the Finch Bay website -- they don't have packing tips, but they do provide great overviews of the excursions. Second, in the welcome message you will receive from ABD, they say that the best advice they can give is to pack 2 changes of clothing per day. That is great advice -- especially in the Amazon. My kids changed 3+ times a day as they guides organized so many fun ad hoc activities (let's play soccer in the mud flats along the river!) they were constantly a sweaty, muddy mess.

In addition ... Dri-fit clothing was a life saver -- we bought a ton of it and were so glad we did (wish we would have thought of that when we went to "Hot Kong", "Shang Hot"). Sure we probably won't wear it much again because it isn't exactly fashion forward (maybe Africa??) but it was perfect for this adventure.

Not sure if it is a "spoiler" or not, but after we completed the Amazon leg of the trip, when we got back to Quito, the Guides offered to send as much dirty laundry as you would like to the cleaners for free. OMG ... THE BEST ABD extra ever !!! You can get cleaning on the boat, Quito and Finch Bay ... but given the remote location super expensive and not as fast as they claim.

 

[mathgeek]

Was this the 11-night Adventure? I'm so confused b/c there are apparently two Ecuador/Galapagos trips. Guess I'll need to do more research to figure out the differences.

 

[MKMK]

Yes, this was the 11-night Adventure. The original intent of our trip was to visit the Galapagos islands. When I read the 2 itineraries, the 11-night Amazon/Galapagos option sounded intriguing - primarily because cruising the Amazon was something we would not likely book as a standalone destination. The 11-night does spend less time in the Galapagos (3 vs. 4 nights on the 9-night Adventure). When I was doing my original research, pretty much every forum I read said you couldn't do the Galapagos justice in less than 7 days (....but ABD doesn't offer a 7 day Galapagos Adventure). So....the kids wanted ABD and we really liked the idea of cruising the Amazon too and that is how we came to our conclusion.

 

[AquaDame]

Yes, this was the 11-night Adventure. The original intent of our trip was to visit the Galapagos islands. When I read the 2 itineraries, the 11-night Amazon/Galapagos option sounded intriguing - primarily because cruising the Amazon was something we would not likely book as a standalone destination. The 11-night does spend less time in the Galapagos (3 vs. 4 nights on the 9-night Adventure). When I was doing my original research, pretty much every forum I read said you couldn't do the Galapagos justice in less than 7 days (....but ABD doesn't offer a 7 day Galapagos Adventure). So....the kids wanted ABD and we really liked the idea of cruising the Amazon too and that is how we came to our conclusion.

Do you ultimately agree that the Galapagos would have been better had you stayed seven days..? Or were you quite happy with this?

 

[MKMK]

We were quite happy with this. They packed a lot into the 3 days we were in the Galapagos.

 

[CrazyZeus1]

We've done both trips (Ecuador/Galapagos and Amazon/Ecuador/Galapagos) and am happy to answer any questions you have! If you want to get an amazing feel for the diversity of each island in the Galapagos, do the trip without the Amazon. If you want to get a great experience in the rainforest/Amazon and just a little taste of Galapagos, choose the Amazon trip.

 

[met19]

We've done both trips (Ecuador/Galapagos and Amazon/Ecuador/Galapagos) and am happy to answer any questions you have! If you want to get an amazing feel for the diversity of each island in the Galapagos, do the trip without the Amazon. If you want to get a great experience in the rainforest/Amazon and just a little taste of Galapagos, choose the Amazon trip.

Can you add more into your thought process for each trip. There is a good chance I will only do one or the other mainly as I am a solo traveler and want to go other places (SE Asia, Japan, Africa).

 

[fosterkittymom]

Hello MKMK, we are going on this ABD in June. I’m trying to book our flights today. It seems that the flights leaving Guayaquil are either very early (6am) or very late (11pm) Did you experience this, and if so, would you recommend one time over the other? Any other tips would be appreciated.

Disney_fans - are you booked on the June 25th 2019 trip by any chance?

 

[Disney_fans]

Disney_fans - are you booked on the June 25th 2019 trip by any chance?

Yes, we are on the 25 June trip and are so excited. We have 13 people in our group (all friends from other ABD trips).

 

[amberwc]

We've done both trips (Ecuador/Galapagos and Amazon/Ecuador/Galapagos) and am happy to answer any questions you have! If you want to get an amazing feel for the diversity of each island in the Galapagos, do the trip without the Amazon. If you want to get a great experience in the rainforest/Amazon and just a little taste of Galapagos, choose the Amazon trip.

How do you rank these trips against the other ABD's you have done?

 

[fosterkittymom]

Yes, we are on the 25 June trip and are so excited. We have 13 people in our group (all friends from other ABD trips).

I guess we will see you there! I am traveling with my daughter, mother, and aunt - a girls trip to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation. My daughter and I have done two previous ABD trips - China and Italy.

 

[Disney_fans]

I guess we will see you there! I am traveling with my daughter, mother, and aunt - a girls trip to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation. My daughter and I have done two previous ABD trips - China and Italy.

Yay! I’m happy to hear you will be joining us. I’ve sent you a PM.

 

[SallyS]

We had 30 in our group. Not sure, but I don't think the Anakonda (or Finch Bay) could hold many more people than that. For most of the activities, we were split into groups of two as the excursion canoes tended to hold a maximum of 15 - 18 people. The guides were awesome.

Lots of questions.....did you get yellow fever shots &/or malaria pills for the trip to the Amazon?

 

[MKMK]

No we did not. We travel quite a bit for work internationally so we felt like we were up to date on what we needed.

LOL... my advice for the Amazon is to prepare for the heat and the mud!! It is an incredible trip. You will love it!