Oliver & Sophie-U.K
:”Thanks for sorting out our trip of a lifetime. From the moment we walked into your office, it was plain sailing all the way. Your honest approach and little touches really made a difference, we can’t thank you enough for your efforts. We wish CARPEDM all the sucess for the future. Thanks again Paul, your a top bloke! Your first ever customers.”

Niels Van de Voort – Holland: “Thanks again for everything. My time in Ecuador (just two weeks) was much to short, but also thanks to you I saw more than most people do in two months! If it wasn’t for you I would probably never got a refund from the agency for the Amazon trip. Thanks a lot. I really hope your company will grow to be a great succes (if it isn’t already), and that you will keep making other travelers happy. For me, I was really surprised to like really see and do the things a tour operator promised, that sounds bad, but I don’t mean it that way, you know you told me about the bad guide and you were right. It didn’t make my journey any less spectacular!”


Pritti & Deepak, Vedanta Patel – U.K: “We had an absolutely fantastic time on the Eden yacht, the guide, the crew, the boat, the itinery, the whole experience was really great. We ended up extending the cruise for 3 more nights, it was so good. Likewise the service we recieved from yourself was honest and efficient, we can´t praise you highly enough for recommending this cruise to us!” www.patelworldtour.blogspot.com
Sean & Dawn Lynch- USA: “We had a great experience with CarpeDM Adventures! Paul helped us to book a trip to the Galapagos, which was a dream come true. Paul helped us every step of the way, from choosing the boat and guide, to the airfare. He even took us to the airport! We had a fantastic time and I can’t say enough good things about the treatment at CarpeDM…no high pressure, no gimmicks, just great assistance from a great company.Thanks again!
“www.wanderingwhy.com
Lorraine Steele – New Zealand “Ecuador has been challenging for me to travel in alone, and your kind and knowledgable assistance has really made my stay here. I really enjoyed our visit to Mitad del Mundo and Rustys, loved the Amazon trip you booked for me, and don´t know where I´d be without the extra help you provided, such as organising the doctor, selling me the Guidebook, and the general advice. I´ll definitely be recommending you to everyone I know who´s going to Quito!”
Emma Fencott – U.K “I wanted to say a huge thanks for sorting out this trip to the Galapagos for me – I have had an amazing time!!!!! The boat was brilliant – much better than I was expecting!! The guide was brilliant, the crew were really helpful, the other passengers were great and the food was gorgeous!!! As for the scenery and the wildlife – WOW!!!!!! It is unbelievable!!!!! In fact it’s so good that I want to stay for even longer!!!!”
Paul Rutten & Agnes Capitan – Holland “Just wanted to let you know that we had a great time in Galapagos. Really an amazing experience thanks to you…The crew was friendly, the itinery perfect (we were lucky seeing most of the animals we hoped for) and the boat comfortable. Good food, good service..”
Jason and Kate Bevan – Oxford, England “A massive thank-you for helping us sort out our galapagos trip..you couldn’t have been more helpful. the trip was perfect..from the class of boat..to the guide..it really was a trip of lifetime….thanks again for all your help in getting the right deal for us…good luck for the future and we will be recommending you to all our fellow travellers who are coming to quito…”
Anne, Camilla and Siri – Norway “Just returning for the Galapagos islands we would like to thank you for booking our 5 day trip on the sailboat Merak. For young and independent travelleres we highly recommend booking a trip with a small boat as this allows you to see more in a shorter time – you do not have to wait in line for going on shore, snorkeling etc.The Merak had only 8 passengers which was a perfect for us! The crew was very welcoming, funny and took very good care of us. The snorkeling equipment on board for free and in very good shape.The Merak, being a small sailboat, of course had limited space but we did not experience any unconvenience. The cabins fitted 2 people each and it was also possible to sleep on deck if someone wanted that. Despite having a small kitchen the food served was excellent.Last, we would like to thank you for using so much time to check out availibilities with so many different boats helping us find the perfect match and making our Galapagos trip unforgetable…”
Melanie Shea – Australia “Just wanted to send you a huge thanks for setting up my cruise on the Darwin 8-12 may. it was just the best – a real highlight. Sergio the guide was great, the crew professional, helpful and super friendly. Company was also wonderful – can´t speak highly enough of my experience! I really appreciate your leg work for me.”
Darren & Chris – UK “Just wanted to drop you an email to thank you for the awesome experience that was summiting Cotopaxi on the 13th May!
The three day trip, including the initial acclimatisation climb of Pasachoa, was a truly memorable experience and easily one of the best things I have done in my last 7 months in South America.
Anouska Nelson –Australia ” After booking an Amazonian 4 day tour and loving every minute of it I did not hesistate to book my Galapagos adventure with Carpedm also. This is because I found the staff (Paul and Miriam) to be friendly, HONEST, trustworthy, thorough, professional and intuitive to my individual tour needs. Also, always willing to go the extra mile and offer the best value for money deals. On both tours the guides were extremely knowledgable and itineraries and meals were also excellent. The Amazon tour was a perfect combination of relaxing in a tranquil and safe environment, aswell as getting out into the wild and really experiencing the adventure of the jungle. The Galapagos tour was uplifting and awe inspiring, far exceeding my expectations. Getting so close to so many incredible animals and snorkelling with penguins and sealions was a definite highlight in my travels. So thank-you for all your hard work to make this holiday an incredible one for me. I would not hesitate to recommend your company to others in the future. ”
Paul Renn & Amy Emerson –USA ” Thanks for hooking us up. The trip went very well. I would definitely recommend cachalote to anyone into wildlife, especially bird watchers. We had several people on our boat who had an extraordinary level of knowledge in birds and nature and specifically chose this boat for the the very experienced guide Juan (a local w/ 18 years experience). The food was excellent, and the crew was the most professional group we have come across in over a year of traveling.You were 2 for 2 for us. Both the jungle excursion and Galapagos trip were some of the best excursions we did. Thank you very much. We’ll be more than happy to recommend you to every fellow traveler that goes through Ecuador.
If you ever make it out to California email us. had a fantastic time in the jungle ”
Van & Aaron –USA ” Thank you to you and Paul for
organizing our trip. Everything was great. I would highly recommend the trip to others. The
main reason for us to choose Dracaena is because it is isolated. It claimed that we would not see anyone else other than the people staying at the lodge. That is true, it is secluded and we saw no river traffic. It was lovely to be so far away. The down side of course is the long travel to get there. Please confirm with them but I estimate it takes 7 hours from Lago Agrio to get to the beautiful camp.”
Glen & Tamara – Australia ” We wanted to say a huge thanks for your help organising our Galapagos trip.
Everything about the trip was perfect – the boat, the islands, the wildlife.
The crew onboard Angelito were brilliant, extremely professional and made every effort to make sure we had a good time. And our guide Diago had a wealth of knowledge that he was eager to share with us.
Thanks again for your help – the Galapagos is one of our all time travel highlights.”
Tom & Susan Polakiewicz – USA “We had a great time in the jungle. La Selva turned out to be just the right level for us–very comfortable, but not so developed that you felt like you were staying in a Holiday Inn. Our guide, Luis, was extremely knowledgeable and very personable. He said he could identify 800 birds by their call, and 1,600 on sight, and I’m sure he could. He spotted things in the forest that I had a hard time finding with my binoculars. We really appreciate your recommendation of La Selva. We could have spent more on a jungle trip, I suppose, but couldn’t have had a better time.”
Gian Walhain – Holland “I promised you to give a reaction on my Galapagos trip: it was perfect. Our guide picked us up at the airport and brought us to the boat, which was so much more luxurious than expected. The food was excellent, the beds were nice and the company on the boat was great as well. Every day -which were without exception sunny and warm- we visited a new island, where our guide gave us some information about the wildlife and was willing to answer all the questions we had. The snorkeling was awesome, one big show of massive animals! Thanks for everything, had a great time. Good luck with CarpeDm”
Fraser & Emily – New Zealand “We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Galapagos Islands and were extremely grateful for your organisation of the tour and your patience with our situation. Finding a ¨last minute deal¨ that suited our budget and time frame was fantastic. The extra things you did above and beyond what is expected of the standard tour organiser were greatly appreciated. These included meeting us at the airline operator´s office, driving us to the airport in the early hours of the morning, giving us sea sickness tablets (luckily we didn´t need them), storing our luggage for us and offering flexible options with the payment. As for the tour itself, it was exactly what we were looking for, the boat, the rest of the tourists and the crew were awesome. The food was amazing!”
Vidya Iyer – USA “Thanks for sending us on the galapagos voyager cruise; it was really great! The boat was definitely nice, the first class service was good (very accomodating to my vegetarian-ness 🙂 The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable with many silly canned jokes.
The snorkeling was fantastic, and the land tours were fine (we´re not that into birds so we didn´t get as much out of them as the other folks). The guide let us hang out with them on our last day for longer than we were supposed to since we weren´t flying out till the next day so we go to go snorkeling once more which was nice.
all in all, it was really nice, thanks!!”
Jean, David & James Birnie – Australia “Just wanted to let you know how delighted we were with the 8 day Nemo 1 Galapagos Tour, you booked us on. The facilities were fabulous and the crew endlessly helpful. The flora and fauna we saw were simply beyond belief, it was all so gorgeous. To top it off, our weather was great, as well. I am not sure how much control you had over the weather, but well done. Thank you so much once again for a very memorable experience.”
Thia Konig – USA “The trip was amazing! i swam with penguins, sea lions, turtles, rays, and even saw iguanas eating underwater!!!!! watched courtship of frigate birds and was privilaged enough to watch, live turtle porn! a pod of 60 dolphins played with the boat while under sail, great boat, great crew and great people, the trip of a lifetime!!!”
Thomas & Relinde – Denmark “We still wanted to tell you we had a marvelous time on Galapagos. Lovely boat the Nemo II, friendly staff and we were blessed with a group of fellow passengers of our age (better than the 65+ mixed with youngers on other cruise boats).
Again, thanks for the great service and support during our stay in Quito! ”
Nikki Stonebank – USA “I couldn’t recommend the Samba enough (I was on a cruise on the Samba from 19th to 26th August). The ethos on board was very environmentally-friendly and awareness of the impact of the cruise on the Galapagos seemed very good. I was impressed by the effort the owner had gone to to reduce the boat’s impact. The cabins were comfortable and clean and the rooms were always nicely turned out when we came back from an island visit in the morning.The food was excellent and there was so much of it! I don’t know how the cook managed it but every meal was really good. The crew were really friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make you have a great trip.
The itinerary was really good, obviously I don’t have anything to compare it with but I felt that I got to see a good variety of islands with different attractions and got a really good insight into the Galapagos archipelago generally.
Finally, the guide was incredible, his knowledge seemed limitless and he was very friendly and approachable. He works with environmental projects on Santa Cruz and the mainland and was extremely passionate about conservation (and birds, which somehow managed to rub off to some extent!) which was great.
I’d encourage people to go on the Samba every time if they can!!! ”
Kieran McDermott & Emma Jack “Thanks for the excellent work in making my visit to Ecuador great.
The trip to Cuyobeno was fantastic, lots to do with a fantastic and knowledgeable guide (Nathan). The wildlife that was there was phenomenal.
The following trip on the Angelito around the Galapagos was simply breathtaking. Great value for money and a winning trip.
Thanks for the help ”
Chris & Emmy – UK “………just back from the islands…….they were amazing so thanks for all your help. the boat cruise was good. we took loads of photos……we have a blog for our travels on blogger.com & photos from our trip on flickr.com,
we are way behind on the blog (el salvador i think)but you will definetly get a mention when we get to equador section….photos are bit more up to date(panama i think)….and galapagos ones will appear soon…feel free to look when they do…maybe a few weeks time. http://thepassportstampcollectors.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26549048@N08/ thanks again for all your help and transport to airport…we would happily recommend you to anyone we come across planning to visit quito & galapagos.”
Ryan and Kate “ The Angelito was great. The crew were nice and always there when required and the boat was great, with lots of space for 16 people.
Overall I would definately recommend the boat. If someone didn´t enjoy themselves on the cruise they would only have themselves to blame.
Thanks again for organising it all for us. You were more than helpful and we have already been recommending you to others.”
David and Maria – UK “Just wanted to drop a line to say that we had a fantastic time on the cruise. Beautiful animals, great boat, perfect weather and the deal you got us made it even better value for money!
Maria’s got a job so we are about to move out of the parents and into a place in Brighton by the seaside where we want to set up our own sustainable lodge in a couple of years.
I hope the business is going well and we have passed on your details to others – easy to recommend your company. Say hi to my friend Ivan for me too – a very nice fella.”
Robbie Begg – Austraila “The Samba was fantastic, thankyou so much for finding it for me and sorting it all out. It was a bit weird to have a week were everything is done for you, but i soaked it up because it ll be a while before i have that much luxury again!
The boat has real character compared to the other ‘boxes on water’ that i saw and the staff, captain and guide were top class. The guide is Franklin who freelances and worked on the samba for a while before taking a break. He s back now and has a great knowledge of the area and doesnt rush anybody. So it was a realxing way to explore the islands with a guide but who were step back and let you enjoy.I really enjoyed my time and was sad to leave, but its best to leave when happy – no! So thankyou again and i m glad to hear matt and linda and family are booking through you for the samba. I hope all continues to go well and i will spread the word about you on my way southust wanted to drop a line to say that we had a fantastic time on the cruise. Beautiful animals, great boat, perfect weather and the deal you got us made it even better value for money!”
Mel Andrews – Austraila ” Galapagos – Angelito – Fantastic crew and guide. The organisation of the trip was exceptional. Everything was catered for, so I don´t have any negative feedback for these guys. They were terrific. I would highly recommend this boat and its crew to anyone.
Thanks again so much for all you help. Most appreciated!”

So in conclusion there is nothing negative that I could possibly say!
Thanks for everything”

Jessica Porter – USA “Thanks so much for helping to organize my tour to the Cuyabeno reserve.
The Samona lodge was fantastic and the guides were amazing. We saw 8 monkey species, several sloths (including one with a baby, which is apparently extremely rare), tons of insects, dolphins, piranas, tons of birds, etc., etc. I would highly recommend it to anyone!”
Emma Clark – UK ” Thanks for all your help! I had a great time thank you, the boat was very standard, as i expected, but it had everything we needed and a great guide. We saw so much and the snorkelling was amazing – sharks, rays, sea lions and turtles ! So all in all I had a great time, thank you very much!!”
Marly Zevenhek – Holland ” I can really reccomend Paul, from carpedm travel agency, because at the last moment, I decided that I wanted to go to the galapagos, that was on a wednesday, on thursday Paul aranged everything, flight and the boat on the galapagos, and that all on thursday morning. And friday morning I was already on the galapagos, so quickly…Paul is the best….and the Galapagos, in 1 word…….fantastico! Such beautiful islands, every island different, such a beautyful and a lot of animals and the people, also so friendly!
and the cruise, in one word great……everybody was nice and so helpfull, I stayed on the boat for 5 days, but i can reccomand 8, 5 days is just to short, because everyting on galapagos is like a paradise. It cost a bit, but everyting is word the money! Thanks for everything”
Reece Smith – UK “Just wanted to send you a quick mail thanking you for organising my Galapagos trip. I had an awesome time and enjoyed every minute of the trip as did the rest of the people on our boat. The guide and crew were really good and the cheif was amazing!!! How he managed to cook up so many dishes from his small kitchen I will never know! Anyway…..thanks again for all your help! ”
Marlies – Netherlands ” The jungle was muy bien!! We enjoyed really a lot. The guide, we call him Rambo, but his real name was something like Neizer, was great. He found all the animals we were looking for. Kaiman, monkeys, birds, pirana and after that we went for a swim in the river… how stange is that… The nightwalks were great with big spiders!! Nothing negative to tell, everything was great!”
Karen Winkworth – Australia ” Just a quick note to let you know we had an amazing time in the Galapagos. We really appreciate the effort you put in to finding us a tour that meet all our requirements and was within our budget. The tour was faultless. Your personal service makes all the difference – it added to our experience of both the Cotopaxi climb and Galapagos – and of Quito on the whole – and is much appreciated. We´ll be sure to pass your details on to other travellers and to our friends who are headed this way. Thanks again” – David & Karen
Anna – Poland and Lia – Indonezia – For the “Polish Fans:)” “Carpedm nie byla pierwsza agencja, ktora odwiedzilysmy, zebyzorganizowac wyjazd na wyspy Galapagos, ale okazala sie najlepsza.Jesli masz wyrafinowany gust, ale ograniczony budzet to miejsce jest najwlasciwsze, zeby sprostac twoim potrzebom. Paul sluchal nas uwaznie i dawal obiektywne rady, nie wspominajac o znaczacej znizce. 5 dni spedzilysmy na wyspach Galapagos na lodzi Amigo. Obsluga byla przemila, posilki pyszne, a rozmiar lodzi gwarantowal przyjazna atmosfere, co sprawilo ,ze mialysmy swietne warunki do podziwania tutejszych cudow natury.Polubilysmy ta agencje tak bardzo,ze jedna z nas wrocila tutaj,zeby zorganizowac wspinaczke na wulkan Cotopaxi. Paul i tym razem nie zawiodl. Zalatwil bardzo profesjonalnych przewodnikow, ktorzy probowali znalezc najlepsze rozwiazanie w bardzo trudnych warunkach pogodowych. Wszystkim goraco polecamy podroze z Carpedm.”
“Carpedm was not the first agency we went to for our Galapagos tour, but it certainly the one who gave us the best service. So if you have tastes for champagne and a budget for water there is no better place to balance your needs. Paul listened to us and gave impartial advice, not to mention a good deal and had a good itinerary. 5 day tour on Galapagos was on the boat Amigo.The crew was very nice, the meals just great and and the size of boat guaranteed the cosy atmosphere. We really had great time enjoying unique nature. We liked this agency so much that one of us decided to climb Cotopaxi with Carpedm as well. Again Paul didn’t dissapoint. The guides were professional and tried to find the best options in very bed weather conditions. We definitely recommend Carpedm for your travels!”

Brian and Nina“Definately our highlight of Ecuador was a 5 day trip into the Amazon basin organised through Paul at Carpedm. The 5 days included a fantastic canoe ride along the Cuyabeno River, pirhanna fishing, hiking in the jungle, a visit to a village and a spectacular range of wildlife sitings including river dolphins, anaconda, a sloth and a variety of monkeys and birds. Our guide was very knowledgeable with a great sense of humour and comfortable accomodation. All in all an experience one will never forget Cheers and hope to see you again sometime.”
Tom and Vera – UKWe both had an absolutely amazing time on our cruise, it was as we expected, the boat was fine and the crew were lovely and really friendly towards us. The itenerary was good, each day included something different to the previous days. The guide was really really knowledgeable and was able to answer any questions we had. The food was fabulous and plentiful.For us the whole trip was a highlight and couldn´t ask for anything more, apart from maybe making the sea calmer to avoid sea sickness :)!Thanks for organising a great trip!
Armen – AmazonThanks Miriam. First, I thought you were very professional, had answers to the questions I had, as well as a cheerful personality. Second, the jungle trip was probably my favorite part of my visit to Ecuador. I don´t think there is much that could have been improved. I´ve been recommending it to all the people I talk to. Thanks!

Let Paul know that the Canadian Men’s hockey team is playing tonight in the semi’s and we’ll win the Gold on Sunday. GO CANADA GO!

The activities were also very good and kept us busy, active and amazed at the animals and beautiful scenery. The trip to see the shaman was a highlight.The guiding was excellent – Jaio (spelling?) was extremely knowledgeable and skilled at spotting animals as was our boat driver.Thank you for the great trip!!!








The guides, food and especially the lodge were excellent.
Great value for money all round and an excellent experience!


The crew and guide were excellent. Alberro our guide was very knowledgeable and a great person. The itinerary was also very good, I think a 5 day cruise is a perfect time. 8 days would have been a bit too long for us.
Here’s a link to my photo’s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glovern/sets/72157623124867837/





The guiding was above average. Our guide was very knowledgeable and after a few days we learned his personality and how to enjoy him more.
