After spending an entire summer in Ecuador with my family (12yr 9yr 5yr twins) we were taking the trip of a lifetime -We were going to the Galapagos Islands. Columbus Travel (working out of Simon Bolivar Spanish school) got us an excellent deal through Metropolitan Touring.

Airfare,hotel and meals were included and we had to pay separately for our day trips. It was a deal, the brochure was beautiful, The Finch Bay Hotel had it all, including The Delfin II, an 80 passenger yacht.The schedule was ideal for us, we were quite excited.

When we reached the hotel, we were told that the Delfin II had been sold, and because it was high season, we could not find 6 available spaces on any other day trips. Although very disappointed as well as angry, we made the best of our time touring Santa Cruz Island.

The staff at the Finch Bay Hotel were excellent and very understanding and sympathetic to our situation, they did everything to make our stay enjoyable. I cannot recommend this hotel however, because it is run by Metropolitan Touring.

Upon our return to Ecuador, I complained to both Columbus and Metropolitan Touring.

Columbus travel agency stated that the brochure was just to give me an idea of what the hotel looked like. I was to ignore the part about the amenities.Huh?

Metropolitan Touring stated that the Delfin II was not listed on my travel voucher so too bad. (Please note that Adventure Associates is the United States affiliate of Metropolitan Touring)

My hope is that as many people as possible are able to visit the Galapagos Islands, but I give a single star to Metropolitan Touring alerting people to their fraudulent business practices.
Do your homework and get the facts straight. Learn from our mistake.
Also note that as of today 8-25-03, if you look up the Finch Bay Hotel on the internet, the Delphin II is still listed on many sites




Recommended: No

Tour type: Individual
Tour format: Various
Tour length: Several Days