Ecuador & Galapagos Islands: Andean Highlands and Galapagos Islands Meets Thread

[familygoboston]

Disneekrazee- I will add to kristlews comments about the transfer day assistance, that with ABD there were multiple benefits while on board the ship that even the other groups on board didn't get (We had a Japanese tour group and a British group on a 6 week long grand tour of SA)
Check out my review where I enumerate them all in a "tips" section, all kinds of things like first seating for meals and getting out first for excursions etc etc.

As for pricing differences, they are largely due to popularity, ( for instance holiday periods are always more) but also, the trips are priced with some early booking slots at one price and then once those are gone, the next slots are X+ and then once those are gone, the next folks to book pay a little more. Say hello can probably explain it better than I am!

Kristalew- I love the refugee comment...I know I was wrung out and cranky, I can't imagine what it would have been like without the VIP lounge and someone holding my tickets and moving my luggage and getting us in the right lines!! The line to board the zodiacs to get on board the GE2 was the worst time, the other pax were pushing and shoving...I was glad I had my ABD guides to tell us what was happening!!

 

[sayhello]

As for pricing differences, they are largely due to popularity, ( for instance holiday periods are always more) but also, the trips are priced with some early booking slots at one price and then once those are gone, the next slots are X+ and then once those are gone, the next folks to book pay a little more. Say hello can probably explain it better than I am!

I don't know if it's any better than your explanation, but...

Every trip, when the season is announced, has a "price range". Most trips will start out at the low end of the price range (although, as familygoboston said, some more popular dates might start out a bit higher). As the trips fill up, the price goes up. It's a supply and demand thing. So if you see a departure that's still at the low end of the pricing range, it's probably not selling as well. If it's a lot higher, then it's selling well.

Hope that helps!
Sayhello

 

[kristilew]

Wow! That's surprising! Austin-Lehman is not cheap, and has a pretty great reputation. I'd be very upset if that happened to me!

Sayhello

to be fair, it was clearly not an AL guided group trip. We couldn't actually figure out what the deal was, and it seemed rude to ask. I think it's possible to arrange "accompanied" trips where they set you up but you are also kind of on your own.

The family was very nice, and clearly had a lot of $ invested in the trip (at various times, I was shamelessly coveting their matching luggage, matching fabulous boots, and their high end snorkel gear), and they were in the suites at the very top of the ship. When our group got back to Quito, on the same flight as this family, we saw that a uniformed guide was with them once again outside the airport, and was calling transportation for them. But, they had to lug their own bags off the carousel, load them on a cart, and get through the checkpoints on their own before they got up with her. I have no idea what the problem was, but they certainly didn't strike me as the kind of people who were "difficult" or would have been unhappy no matter what. Clearly, something had happened.

Anyway, we had been seriously looking at AL's Argentina trip for this December, but now I am a little hesitant. I am going to do a lot more research for sure.

 

[kmc33]

I don't know if it's any better than your explanation, but...

Every trip, when the season is announced, has a "price range". Most trips will start out at the low end of the price range (although, as familygoboston said, some more popular dates might start out a bit higher). As the trips fill up, the price goes up. It's a supply and demand thing. So if you see a departure that's still at the low end of the pricing range, it's probably not selling as well. If it's a lot higher, then it's selling well.

Hope that helps!
Sayhello

Does anyone know what the low end of the price range was for Ecuador/ Galapagos when the 2013 season was announced? I can see the current prices for a couple of July 2013 dates and I am wondering how much less they were when the bookings opened. Thanks for your help.

 

[familygoboston]

Does anyone know what the low end of the price range was for Ecuador/ Galapagos when the 2013 season was announced? I can see the current prices for a couple of July 2013 dates and I am wondering how much less they were when the bookings opened. Thanks for your help.

Hi Kim
I have info from 2011 for 2012: I can tell you we paid $5007 pp for our party when we booked (we got the dates the day ahead because we had traveled with ABD previously, so my TA reserved us the very first day!!) when the 2012 dates opened in August 2011. The prices did go up pretty quickly because my signed paperwork got lost in the mail and the reservation had to be re-made, and a couple of weeks later my invoice reflected a higher #, but my TA took care of it right away, restored our original price and the above is what we paid. The we paid for our air through ABD too, so each persons whole package was much closer to $6500.

I think since then ABD tries to get the pricing out by May so that people can plan their summer vacations a year or more in advance. (Sayhello can probably confirm that!) I was a little freaked out planning a trip of this magnitude less than a year out, but that was how it was in 2011. Good luck!!

 

[sayhello]

Hi Kim
I have info from 2011 for 2012: I can tell you we paid $5007 pp for our party when we booked (we got the dates the day ahead because we had traveled with ABD previously, so my TA reserved us the very first day!!) when the 2012 dates opened in August 2011. The prices did go up pretty quickly because my signed paperwork got lost in the mail and the reservation had to be re-made, and a couple of weeks later my invoice reflected a higher #, but my TA took care of it right away, restored our original price and the above is what we paid. The we paid for our air through ABD too, so each persons whole package was much closer to $6500.

I think since then ABD tries to get the pricing out by May so that people can plan their summer vacations a year or more in advance. (Sayhello can probably confirm that!) I was a little freaked out planning a trip of this magnitude less than a year out, but that was how it was in 2011. Good luck!!

Yes, everything points to the new schedule coming out in mid-to late May like it did in 2012.

Sayhello

 

[familygoboston]

Yes, everything points to the new schedule coming out in mid-to late May like it did in 2012.

Sayhello

We don't have an ABD booked, but those of us booking for 2012 howled long and hard about them releasing dates in Aug in 2011 and I think they made the effort to do it earlier in 2012 for 2013 trips. There was a lot less hue and cry last year, so it's likely they will try to get close to the same time of year again, rathe than hear from the likes of us again

Kim - I hope you get to go, it is an amazing trip!

 

[kmc33]

Kim - I hope you get to go, it is an amazing trip!

Thanks! This is one that I have been wanting to do. I have been reading your trip report and looking at your photos which got me even more interested. Thank you for taking the time to put together such an informative report! And thanks for the information about the pricing.

 

[richflour]

Just booked May 29th trip
Me and daughter age 10
Had originally booked Norway , but decided on this one for the shorter flight

 

[CastlesandDreams]

Oh! Wonderful. Let me know if you have any questions. I had a great time on that trip!

 

[sayhello]

Just booked May 29th trip
Me and daughter age 10
Had originally booked Norway , but decided on this one for the shorter flight

I've added you to the roll call.

Did you switch before the 14 days were up?

Sayhello

 

[richflour]

I've added you to the roll call. Did you switch before the 14 days were up? Sayhello

I switched before the agent called it into abd
I Change my mind a lot (call it a fault)

 

[sayhello]

I switched before the agent called it into abd
I Change my mind a lot (call it a fault)

Hey, that's our prerogative!

Sayhello

 

[richflour]

Hey, that's our prerogative! Sayhello

I almost changed my mind again , to the Greece trip after reading you post on it!(it sounds like so much fun)

 

[sayhello]

I almost changed my mind again , to the Greece trip after reading you post on it!(it sounds like so much fun)

I haven't done the Galapagos yet (some day!) but Greece was AMAZING! It's the favorite of my 5 trips so far, just squeaking by the Arizona & Utah trip. I'm a bad influence, I guess!

Sayhello

 

[andrewket]

We are leaving today for Ecuador and the Galapagos. This is our first ABD trip. We tried last year with a DCL add-on but the reservation was lost and DCL/ABD was unable to fix it. Keep your fingers crossed for us! 6 ppl, 10 and 8 yr olds plus two grandparents.

 

[sayhello]

We are leaving today for Ecuador and the Galapagos. This is our first ABD trip. We tried last year with a DCL add-on but the reservation was lost and DCL/ABD was unable to fix it. Keep your fingers crossed for us! 6 ppl, 10 and 8 yr olds plus two grandparents.

I'm so sorry about your DCL/ABD add-on! DCL administrates all that, so I imagine ABD's hands were pretty well tied.

But you're off to Ecuador!! Have a FABULOUS trip! Be sure and come back and tell us all about your trip! Just be aware, ABD's are HIGHLY addictive!

Safe travels!

Sayhello

 

[anncro54]

Please post here if you would like to talk with anyone else who has signed up to travel to Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands with ABD.

You can also share information/ask questions about the Equador & Galapagos Islands: Andean Highlands and Galapagos Islands ABD.

Please try and keep this thread on topic to discussion and questions about the Ecuador & Galapagos Island ABD. Off topic posts will be deleted or moved.

Thanks!
Sayhello

Roll Call:
Current:


Previous:

• Dec 18 - 26, 2012 - kristilew & family
• Aug 14 - 22, 2013 - familygotoboston, DH, her folks, daughters (15 & 17)
• Apr 3 - 11, 2015 - DCPhotoGal, husband & two daughters (9 & 11)

Does anyone have plans for this ABD for next October 2016?

 

[anncro54]

I have just booked this trip for October 14, 2016. Am so looking forward to going. Anyone else going then?

 

[anncro54]

I'm going alone on the October 13th trip. Hope there are others that I can meet and mingle with. Anyone ever travel alone before? I really would like some insight as to how your trip went if you traveled alone.