This was a trip I have wanted to do for many years. Hearing someone talk about his experience on this trip and seeing his pictures, the trip became a reality. My wife and I are in our late 60's and in decent health. We decided on the trip that included Espanola Island because I wanted to see the waved albatross which is only on that island. Note they leave the island sometime in December and return later. From what we heard either route would be great. We opted for the 10 day package that included 3 nights in Quito. You may want to consider the Peru/Machu Pichu package. On hindsight wish we had. We did book air through Celebrity because our flight did not get into Quito until after 11:00 PM. The Quito airport is about 45 minutes - 1 hour from the city. We wanted the guaranteed transfer.

All 3 nights in Quito at the JW Marriott were great. Celebrity had a trip coordinator at the hotel during a good part of the stay. He was most helpful and asisted us greatly rescheduling a delayed flight The tours in Quito were interesting and enjoyable. If you are adventurous, you may want to opt out of the 0'0'0' site trip and do something on your own, but it was OK. Breakfasts were in the hotel. We had one lunch at a restaurant with an Ecudorean buffet. The food was fantastic with a good survey of local dishes, especially the cerviche. Dinner was at a very nice white table cloth restaurant. Dinner on the return was a set meal with choices at the hotel just for those of us who were staying the last night.

The trip to Baltra was on a Celebrity chartered flight with only guests and staff. A very nice lunch was served both going from and returning to Quito. Read more