I'm thrilled to hear you guys both had such great experiences with Happy Gringo. We didn't need them to anything "emergency-like" for us last summer but they were just fantastic from beginning to end and I got the feeling that they would be there IF we needed them.

Good to hear as they have looked after our bookings for Jan 2012!!

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We are just back from 2 1/2 week trip through lovely Ecuador, and wanted to add our hearty endorsement to the Happy Gringo accolades below. Eva at Happy Gringo listened to our early suggestions for what type of trip experience we were looking for, and she put together a customized trip that more than met our expectations. We did the range from little out of the way villages off dirt roads to a luxury Galapagos boat, and enjoyed every minute of it. The hotels Eva booked, the drivers, and the tour guides were all top-notch, and the rate that she got us for the Galapagos boat was much less than we later heard our fellow travelers paid (they booked through US-based agencies). She was incredibly organized, and our the detailed itinerary Happy Gringo prepared was the most thorough, and easy to follow, one I"ve ever received from an agency. All went without a hitch, until the last day when we got to the airport and realized we'd left a piece of luggage in the car. We called Eva, and even though it was EARLY on a Saturday mroning, she managed to get the driver to retrieve the luggage and hand deliver it to us while we were wating in line to check in. Top Notch Company, all the way around....

Great to see so many people had a good experience with Happy Gringo, I hope these positive recommendations will ease the concerns of some people who may be, as we were, nervous about dealing with an agent in Quito, especially when you are talking about transferring large sums of money for a Galapagos trip.

They really are a great agency, and if you are reading this and thinking of using them I hope these comments convince you.

They are also very easy to contact, being available on the phone, email, skype etc so why not have a chat with them if you need reasurance!!

Happy travels!!

I also can report a very positive experience working with Happy Gringo from Boston to arrange a Galapagos tour for myself and my 17 year old son in Aug 2011. Eva at Happy Gringo helped us select an excellent cruise (on the Samba), Quito Hotel (Casa Sol) and made the cruise, hotel and Quito<->Galapagos flight reservations for us. All communication was by email, with replies usually within a day or so; all ticketing was electronic. Funds had to be transferred to their Florida bank account, but that went smoothly. They are located in the Mariscal district of Quito (near Casa Sol) where a lot of tourists stay, so they are convenient if you need to interact with them in person (I didn't).

We just returned from two weeks in Ecuador. Happy Gringo arranged our visits to the Galapagos Islands on the Seaman Catamaran, and to Sacha Lodge in the Amazon rain forest. We were very impressed with the service provided. The transition between the two legs of the trip was smooth and instructions were clear. Our primary contact, Eva, was terrific. When a question arose about a portion of the Galapagos trip, Eva met us in our hotel in Quito to be sure everything was explained fully and we were completely satisfied.

Normally, we make all of our own travel arrangements and do not use an agency. Because if the logistical difficulties we encountered trying to make the two disparate parts of our trip work, we turned to Happy Gringo. We strongly recommend using Happy Gringo to make your arrangements in Ecuador.

Definitely agree. The Happy Gringo Travel Agency is fantastic. We worked with Marcello to book land-based Galapagos and Amazons trips. Everything was wonderful!

Agree with the other comments. I dealt with them mainly by e-mail to set up our arrangements before we arrivd. Eva, was our main agent - she was amazing. Helped us pick the right trip, arranged for papers to be waiting. I can't say enough about this agency. 5 stars!