Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We had a marvelous trip to Ecuador working with Ashton and his team. After a marvelous two days exploring old Quito with a wonderful guide and staying in a wonderful boutique hotel (Casa Gangotena, right on the main square), we made the trek to Mashpi Lodge in the cloud forest. We spent four days here and had a number of amazing experiences (waterfalls, hummingbird experience, sky bikes, canopy gondola, etc.) Not something we would have found on our own but certainly a highlight!

The final leg of our journey was to the Galapagos, with eight days spent on the Ecoventura boat “Theory.” The 3 boats in their collection are all new, well designed, have excellent crew and naturalists with a maximum of 20 guests. Food was incredible as was the variety of activities and, of course, the Galapagos was full of amazing nature. We especially enjoyed snorkeling with the sea lions. The ships are members of the Relais & Chateaux Association, and it clearly shows throughout the ship and the voyage. One of our guests suffered a fall and needed emergency medical attention, and the speed and actions of the captain and crew to get her to a safe port and in excellent medical care was unparalleled (she has now recovered). All in all, a wonderful journey!

After several years of consideration, we contacted Ashton. He is very friendly and eager to answer any and all questions. After several days he had a list of several ships. We discussed the pros and cons of each ship and itinerary. We chose Seabourn Venture. Then we worked with Gretchen to do all the planning. She answered all our questions and if she didn’t know she got back to us within a day. She was still helping after our trip was finished. The trip was wonderful. I could not have imagined all the things we saw. The penguins were the most fun. We also saw seals and whales. There were a lot of beautiful icebergs and fields of ice. The crew did a great job on our excursions.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go to South Georgia Islands because the ship’s stabilizers were not working. We were very disappointed as this was one of the reasons we chose this cruise and probably won’t be able to go again. Seabourn did not notify passengers until the day before the cruise started.

This was an issue with Seabourn and not with Expedition Trips.

Kris Naglich swinging above Quito, Ecuador.

Traveler Kris Naglich swinging above Quito after riding the teleferico to the peak.

We traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands from 4/3/25 to 4/16/25. Our trip was planned by Ashton from Expedition Trips. After our zoom call with Ashton and deciding we wanted to go to the Galapagos, we worked mainly with Ashley and Monica planning our trip. They were super helpful with our planning and very receptive to changing day trips according to our wishes. They always got back to us in a very timely matter and answered all of our questions. We really appreciated this and we felt well informed about our destination. When I use a planner I really appreciate when they let us know what to pack, how much money to bring, tipping of guides etc… We had all of this information and more.

We started our trip in Quito, Ecuador. Our guide met us at the airport. Vanessa was an excellent guide and having her meet us at the airport gave us all the information we would need for our next day’s tour. We had a full day tour of the old town and a full day tour to Cotopaxi National Park. Both days were so different and we enjoyed every moment. We loved riding the teleferico to the top and hiking to the swing. The churches in the old town were amazing and we learned all about Ecuadorian chocolate from bean to bar. We also enjoyed our hike around the lake and seeing Cotopaxi volcano up close. The lunch we had after at Chilcabamba and the very bumpy ride when it was pouring rain was quite the adventure. Luckily we had the best driver and he tried to miss as many ruts in the road as possible.

Next we flew to the Galapagos for a cruise with National Geographic on the Islander II. The boat was lovely and the service was perfect. We really enjoyed all of our excursions to the islands and seeing the animals of the Galapagos that you can’t see anywhere else. The food was delicious and it was nice to meet other travelers on the boat. I wished our cruise was longer. If I was giving advice for the Galapagos, I would say go for a longer cruise on a smaller boat. It was so amazing that I hope I can go back and see more someday.

Last we stayed at the Mashpi Lodge in the cloud forest for three nights. The lodge was beautiful and peaceful. We felt like we really escaped from it all. We were paired with another family for our hikes and we all had such a good time. Seeing the birds, swimming in the waterfall, our private hot tub night, and watching the hummingbirds were our favorite activities but we really enjoyed everything.

Visiting Ecuador and the Galapagos was never on my bucket list but I’m so glad Ashton suggested it. We will always remember this wonderful trip. We want to plan a trip to Antartica soon and we will be contacting Ashton to help us do our planning.

Karen Davis and a sea lion on a beach in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Traveler Karen Davis encountered “curious and playful sea lions” while snorkeling and on the beach.

When we first spoke to Ashton, we thought we wanted him to help us plan a trip to Antarctica. Ashton personally spent quite a bit of time educating us all about the details of an Antarctic trip, and then we threw him a big curve ball. We told him that, upon reflection we had changed our mind and decided we wanted to go to the Galápagos Islands, and we wanted to go the next month! Well, Ashton took our change of destination and short time frame in stride and hit a home run with the trip he planned for us to Ecuador!

When we asked what other destinations we could add on to our Galapagos visit, Ashton suggested that we spend a few nights in the colonial Old Town of Quito and then the Mashpi Lodge located about 60 miles north. These turned out to be excellent recommendations! In Quito we stayed at the beautiful and historic Casa Gangotena Hotel where Ashton scheduled romantic rooftop cocktails and appetizers for us. The next day (which turned out to be Election Day in Ecuador) our lovely and informative tour guide took us all around the Old Town where we visited the beautiful churches and cathedrals and then to the Middle of the World Monument near the equator.

The Mashpi Lodge, located on a 3,000-acre biosphere reserve at 3,300 feet elevation in the Choco Cloud Forest, offered us an immersive, educational and enjoyable experience. We were assigned a naturalist guide who took us and two other couples on exciting adventures each day. We put on the tall rubber mud boots they provided and hiked up a river, rode sky bikes over the tops of the tree canopies, looked for creatures during night hikes, swam under waterfalls, and explored the magical world of hummingbirds, birds and butterflies at the Life Center. The Lodge has floor-to-ceiling windows in the common areas and rooms, which make you feel like you are a part of the lush and peaceful cloud forest. The food, service and spa are all top notch, and the comfort level, even in the very wet and humid environment, is first class.

Finally the grand finale of our trip—the Galapagos cruise! Ashton gave us three cruise companies to choose from and we picked National Geographic/Lindblad. We flew from Quito to the island of Baltra where we boarded the Islander II which sails with 48 guests. All of the transfers we experienced (from Quito to Mashpi and back, Quito to Baltra and Baltra to the ship) were comfortable and seamless. Ashton had put us into good hands with the National Geographic/Lindblad team! Once we boarded the ship we were welcomed like honored guests and treated throughout the entire voyage like family. Every member of the staff, from the ship captain and crew to the activity director to the 5 certified naturalist guides to the chef, waiters, bartender and cleaning staff, introduced themselves to us and took excellent care of us.

We visited several islands during our five-day journey—Bartolome, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Espanola, and San Cristobal. The Islander II would anchor at each location, and several times during the day we would board small zodiac boats to head to shore or to snorkeling locations. Each day we awoke before sunrise and were excited about the day’s activities which were accurately described by the activity director the evening before. Our guides were all Ecuadorean and a few were even born in the Galápagos Islands! They were passionate about educating us about what we were seeing and experiencing, and about the great importance of safety and conservation.

A few of the many spectacular moments that stood out were snorkeling in the clear blue water and noticing a penguin swimming right under us; hiking up the 380-step boardwalk at sunrise to the top of Bartolome Island with its moon-like surface, volcanic formations and expansive views; introducing ourselves to the curious and playful sea lions which we ran into during almost every snorkel and beach activity; watching the blue-footed, Nazca, and red-footed boobies take care of their babies; kayaking at sunrise and seeing the bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs and colorful marine iguanas on the black volcanic rocks; looking over the side of the ship at night and seeing in the small bit of light hundreds of sharks which were madly trying to catch some flying fish; and finally spending a morning with the gentle, Galapagos Giant Tortoises at the the reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz.

We returned from our Mashpi and Galapagos trip exhausted from the rigorous daily activities but with our hearts full of awe and wonder and gratitude. We felt admiration and respect for the Ecuadorean people whose care and passion have kept these magical places preserved and open for visitors. We were grateful for our guides who spent unlimited time with us and educated us every day, in a fun and interactive fashion, about every ecosystem, bird, reptile, fish, mammal, plant, flower, tree, landscape, research and conservation program.

Kudos to Ashton for making sure that every detail of this trip was well taken care of. (He even responded to a weekend call from us to request a time change for our transfer service from Quito to Mashpi when an urgent work call came up.) This trip moved us and greatly exceeded our expectations—mainly because one could never even begin to predict the awesome, life-changing experience that is Mashpi and the Galapagos!

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