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Travel News and
Articles -
Ecuador,
Galapagos Islands, More
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Today For Prices, Information, or Reservations!
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NOTICE: Baltra Airport Tax Increases
(in the Galapagos Islands)
- 25 March, 2013
UPDATED: 16 May, 2013
Effective 25 March, 2013, the new
airport at Baltra Island began operating. The new airport has
increased its taxes as follows:
| Residents (of Galapagos) |
US $5 |
| Ecuadorian non-residents |
US $10 |
| Foreigners |
US
$19.50 |
Information courtesy
of Andean Travel Company
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NOTICE: New Tax/Landing Fee
for Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island (in the Galapagos Islands)
- 25 March, 2013
Effective Immediately, the local
authorities in Puerto Villamil , Isabela Island, have started
charging a new tax / landing fee of US $20. Those traveling on
vessels with itineraries including Puerto Villamil will have to pay
this tax upon arrival there.
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NOTICE:
Changes To INGALA Procedures (Concerning Travel to the Galapagos
Islands)
- 06 March, 2013
 We
have been informed of important changes to the INGALA (Instituto
Nacional Galápagos) procedures for guests traveling to the Galapagos
which we need you, and your clients, to be aware of. The
authorities have not yet confirmed the date of the implementation of
the new procedure. We will be sure to inform you as soon as it is
officially announced.
The INGALA involves the control
of people traveling to and from the islands – in effect, an
immigration control.
From the confirmed date onwards,
[travel service providers] will no longer be able to pre-check
guests for the INGALA system as [they] have been able to do in the
past. The authorities have established two means of
registering travelers to the islands:
1) Travelers pre-register
online [we will post the link as soon as we have it] and fill out
all their personal information. Once at the Quito or Guayaquil
airports, they need to go through a process of identification, which
includes fingerprinting, and will then be issued with their INGALA
transit document with which they can proceed to the airline counter.
2) Travelers will have to
register their information in person at the Quito or Guayaquil
airports at a first counter and then go through the identification
process (above) at a second counter, before proceeding to the
airline check-in.
The fee for the transit document
is currently $10, subject to change, payable in cash only at the
departing airport.
This information was provided to
us by Metropolitan Touring.
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NOTICE: New Mariscal Sucre Airport to Open Near Quito,
Ecuador
- 07 February, 2013
As you may be aware, the new
Mariscal Sucre Airport is scheduled to open on 20 February,
2013. The last flights into the old airport will occur
about 5:00 PM on 19 February and the first flights out of the
new airport will depart around 9:00 AM on the morning of 20
February.
Please note that the new
airport is located outside of the city of Quito, in the area of
Tababela. With the road and traffic situation, it will
take approximately 1.5-hours to bet there from Quito.
Also, the airport has
increased the taxes of US$8.10 for domestic flights and US$15.86
for international flights.
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NOTICE:
Restriction on Visits to South
Plaza Island
- 19 November, 2012
The Galapagos National Park
authorities have issued a notice that visits to South Plaza Island
will be restricted from 17 November until 17 December, 2012.
Itineraries that include visits to South Plaza Island will be
modified to substitute other locations and/or activities during the
stated period.
No reason was specified.
Please be aware of this when
planning your Galapagos visits.
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NOTICE:
Kayak Service Ends onboard
M.C. Anahi
- 17 August, 2012
 FYI:
We have been informed that as of August 10, 2012, the motor
catamaran M.C. Anahi (also known as M.C. Galapagos Journey
I) will no longer offer kayaking on its cruises.
Please be aware of this when
booking your cruises aboard Anahi.
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UPDATE: La Selva Jungle Lodge to Re-open
- 28 June, 2012
We have learned that La Selva
Amazon Ecolodge and Spa will re-open on July 2, 2012.
Some renovations will continue.
During July, traditional huts and family suites will be
available. Superior suites will be available starting in
August.
Renovations to the Canopy
Tree Tower are scheduled for completion by September. La
Selva is negotiating with another community to visit their
tower.
The butterfly spa is
scheduled to re-open in September.
All work at the lodge will
be done while our guests are in the forest engaged in activities
that are offered.
La Selva had closed for
renovations on 14 March, 2012.
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NEWS: Lonesome George has Died
- 26 June, 2012
We learned some sad news today. Over the weekend,
Lonesome George died at his home at the
Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz
Island in the Galapagos.
Lonesome George was the last surviving La Pinta
giant tortoise. He is estimated to have been at least 100-years
old. His species in now extinct. It is a sad day.
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Read:
Our Trip to the “End of
the World” -
Patagonia
- October 17 to November 3, 2011 by Jan H. and Jamie R.
(- Received: 08 December, 2011)
This was a surprising and wonderful trip. Oddly enough, however,
there are only a very small number of relatives and acquaintances to
whom we would honestly recommend this trip.
In terms of the
surprises, the biggest is that we left at all. Jamie had a very bad
bike accident 10 days before we were scheduled to leave (serious
concussion, 2 broken ribs, multiple bad abrasions and bruises etc.).
He wasn’t even able to sleep in a bed until after we left. Given
that this was intended to be an extremely active trip (lots of
hiking, horseback riding etc.), we weren’t sure whether he would be
able to participate, either partially or fully, in our intended
activities. As it turned out, recovering on vacation was better than
staying home and going to work. By the time we got to our first
destination, he was able to do almost everything. The only thing we
excluded was horseback riding (for Jamie). Even a small risk of
falling off a horse with broken ribs and a sore head made riding too
obviously stupid to even contemplate...
For More Click Here
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NOTICE:
Galapagos Flights Fare Increase
- 07 December, 2011
Dear friends and agents
As you might have heard already, the Ecuadorian government has
decided to stop subsidizing the cost of jet fuel for the airlines in
2012. As a result, airlines will face a 15 to 20 percent
increase in the cost of fuel starting January 1st. Local
airlines have not yet said anything regarding how these costs will
affect ticket rates but we are expecting to see a resulting increase
of 15 to 20 percent which will result in price adjustments from
January 1st, 2012. We would appreciate if you could pass this
information along to your customers planning to come to Ecuador and
the Galapagos in 2012. We will keep you aware of any news on
this issue and notify you immediately as soon as we have the new
flight rates. We thank you for your continued business.
Kind regards
LARC
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NOTICE:
Runway Maintenance at Jorge
Chavez International Airport - 03 October, 2011
Lima Airport Partners, operators of
Jorge Chavez International Airport, have announced that maintenance
work on the runway will take place 3 October, 2011 until 31 January,
2012. During that period, the runway will be closed daily
between 1:00am and 7:00am. There will be no flights during
these hours - flights have been rescheduled accordingly.
The Lima Airport will not be
closed during the runway maintenance works.
IMPORTANT:
Passengers are strongly recommended to arrive early at the airport:
at least three hours before departure time for international flights
and at least two before departure time of domestic flights to avoid
inconveniences.
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NOTICE:
New TSA requirements
for bookings
- 13 July, 2010
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now requiring by law from all airlines that all
passengers traveling within or originating in the United States and its territories to have the Secure Flight Passenger Data in the reservations booked for travel November 1, 2010 and beyond.
The TSA allows no exceptions; compliance is mandatory.
Under Secure Flight Passenger Data American Airlines and most of the domestic and international carriers are already collecting and transmitting this data to the TSA.
Therefore, as airlines are starting to implement this new phase on different dates prior to the November 1 deadline, we strongly recommend that starting with the receipt of this communication - when requesting reservations for your clients it is important that you provide to us the following accurate information from each passenger at the time of booking.
- Name exactly as it appears in passport or Government Issued ID
- Date of Birth
- Gender (Female or Male)
To learn more about the TSA Secure Flight program, please visit
http://www.tsa.gov/secureflight
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NOTICE:
Transit Control Cards To Galapagos
- 23 April, 2010
Please note that the INGALA (Instituto Nacional Galápagos) is no longer issuing a card to guests going to the Galapagos Archipelago, and have substituted the plastic cards for a paper form, a more environmentally friendly material.
The new form, which will have the information of the guests already printed (same as with the previous card) has two parts; one to be handed to the INGALA authorities upon entry to the islands and the second part, which should be kept by the guest to be handed in upon departure.
Additional information should be completed by the guests before their arrival to the Galapagos.
There has been no change in the cost (US$10) nor in the information to be provided to
INGALA.
The Transit Control Card for Galapagos was implemented some months ago to assist in the control of illegal migration to Galapagos.
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Read:
Argentina
Trip Report by Jan and Jamie
- 21 October - 05 November, 2009
We’d probably give this trip a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. Some real good stuff, excellent food and places to stay, some really fun activities and touring. It was a more relaxing trip than some of our recent ones - less scheduled, less activity oriented. So, definitely worthwhile and fun, but not in our top 10 trips.
Read
More. . .
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PRESS RELEASE: La Mirage Recognized as 'Environmentally
Friendly Hotel' by Conde' Nast Johansens Luxury Hotel and
Spa Guide
- 24 February, 2009
Read
Press Release . . . |
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Travelers to Ecuador Advised Not to Bring US $100 Bills
- August 2005
LARC has been receiving reports that a large number of near perfect
counterfeit US $100 bills have entered Ecuador from a neighboring country.
To prevent the circulation of these bills, Ecuador’s commerce and banking
system is no longer accepting $100 bills.
We advise all persons traveling to Ecuador not to bring US $100 bills with them because these will not be accepted, cashed or
changed even at banks. Travelers are advised to carry smaller denominations
of US bills instead. (The US dollar was adopted as the official currency of Ecuador on March 14,
2000.)
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Read what
happy traveler George Pike had to say about his visit to
Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands during February and March
2004 in:
It's
Ecuador, By George!
| Part-1
| Part-2
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Text and pictures used
with the permission of the author.
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More articles
will be added here as they become available
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Call
Today For Prices, Information, or Reservations!
TOLL FREE IN THE USA & CANADA: 1-800-327-3573
LOCAL
/ INTERNATIONAL:
1-863-439-1486
FAX:
1-863-439-2118 |
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Copyright©
2003-2013 Latin America Reservation
Center, Inc. ® All rights reserved.
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To
make reservations or just ask questions . . .
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Call
the experts! |
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Latin America Reservation Center® |
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P.O. Box 1435, Dundee FL 33838 |
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TOLL FREE IN THE USA & CANADA:
1-800-327-3573
LOCAL
/ INTERNATIONAL:
1-863-439-1486
FAX:
1-863-439-2118
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~ Normal office hours: 9 AM to 5 PM EST ~
Please email ahead at
travel@larc1.com
for a phone appointment during off hours.
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Copyright©
2003-2013 Latin America Reservation
Center, Inc. ® All rights reserved.
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Read what one happy traveler had to say about her visit to
Ecuador in _150w.gif){kind=logo}
