The Miraflores Belmond is a great hotel. It was used when we went with Tauck to Machu Picchu. Wife and I will be in Lima for other reasons in December and will use that hotel. I recently emailed them, and their reception desk is open all night...great for when your flight gets in at 1am. Rooftop restaurant is closed, however. I hope it opens, the views are great up there.
When we were there with Tauck, we did get the gift of time night. Did not arrive until perhaps 2am, but the front desk had a packet for us from the tour guide.
Oh, I should add, if you need to book a room here the night before the tour, and you have a platinum Amex, AND you are looking to use up that 200 dollar hotel credit...it can be used with the FHR program Amex has. Check the rates of course, but for when I'll be there they were similar on their website and the FHR website.
Hi Chris - thank you for your advice and reassurance! Yes, I have Am Ex Platinum. Thankfully, the whole thing got settled and I've been assured a room will be ready and waiting for me upon arrival. Whew! Great to hear the hotel is nice. Heaven knows I think we could all use a little pampering after the past year and a half! Ciao!
We often arrive early in Europe and the hotels will let us into our rooms early. The 2 times we had a long wait was in Rome (I think they forgot about us and we asked them again. ) The other time was Versailles. Meanwhile they offered us breakfast and our room was ready. We are going to the Galapagos in March and finally made our own reservation. First class Delta and arrival in the morning rather than the middle of the night. Tauck had nothing near the cost and could not book us on Delta. WE are hoping for an early check-
in; otherwise may nap by the pool.
Snorkeling only and I did it enough times to satisfy me, though more would have been better. 😊- these old lungs aren’t what they used to be. I don’t surface snorkel- I dive down to get up close to fish, etc, If SCUBA had been available I would have done it since I’m certified. Galapagos is at a point where 3 major ocean currents converge, so there can be significant upwelling of cold deep water if conditions are right. Water temps varied from spot to spot, day to day and hour to hour. I think a warm water suit like I had (I brought my own) or the lightweight neoprene wetsuits provided by the Isabela II we’re fine.
Deb - I was also concerned about water temperature for snorkeling. I remember a lot of googling about water temperatures and best time of year for snorkeling. We chose May of 2014. If I recall correctly, the currents cause the water to become even cooler starting in June. A very memorable trip.
There was far less snorkeling on our first trip to Galapagos with Tauck years ago than these days. We went again in December a couple of years ago. One area where there were lots of turtles, the sea was so cold that despite wearing a wet suit, I was frozen and virtually got straight back in the boat. The water temps vary a lot depending on where you are in the islands. It’s not unusual for the waters to be churned up with poor visibility and it is by far from my favorite place to snorkel. For me, the best part of Galápagos is the on land wildlife. You can still see most of the underwater creatures from above or just spend a small amount of time in the water without missing out on anything. Yes, we have swam with seals, seen the iguanas underwater etc.
Our snorkeling experience was different from that experienced by British. It was spectacular - lots of colorful fish, some sea lions, Galapagos penguin, turtles.
Visibility, like temps, varied by location- in one spot it was 50 - 75’ +, in another where there were about 30 or more sea turtles in a small area, it was turbid with only 15 - 20’ vis. I think I posted some of my U/W photos- do a search. FYI everyone used floatation so were restricted to the surface, I wore a weight belt! 😲
Alan, it seems you and I had the same experiences. I think I’ve been spoiled because I have snorkeled in some of the best places in the world such as Cayman
Comments
The Miraflores Belmond is a great hotel. It was used when we went with Tauck to Machu Picchu. Wife and I will be in Lima for other reasons in December and will use that hotel. I recently emailed them, and their reception desk is open all night...great for when your flight gets in at 1am. Rooftop restaurant is closed, however. I hope it opens, the views are great up there.
When we were there with Tauck, we did get the gift of time night. Did not arrive until perhaps 2am, but the front desk had a packet for us from the tour guide.
Oh, I should add, if you need to book a room here the night before the tour, and you have a platinum Amex, AND you are looking to use up that 200 dollar hotel credit...it can be used with the FHR program Amex has. Check the rates of course, but for when I'll be there they were similar on their website and the FHR website.
Hi Chris - thank you for your advice and reassurance! Yes, I have Am Ex Platinum. Thankfully, the whole thing got settled and I've been assured a room will be ready and waiting for me upon arrival. Whew! Great to hear the hotel is nice. Heaven knows I think we could all use a little pampering after the past year and a half! Ciao!
The anonymous, cowardly flagger strikes again. Thanks for the photos Alan and thanks for supporting him BKMD and BSPS1.
We often arrive early in Europe and the hotels will let us into our rooms early. The 2 times we had a long wait was in Rome (I think they forgot about us and we asked them again. ) The other time was Versailles. Meanwhile they offered us breakfast and our room was ready. We are going to the Galapagos in March and finally made our own reservation. First class Delta and arrival in the morning rather than the middle of the night. Tauck had nothing near the cost and could not book us on Delta. WE are hoping for an early check-
in; otherwise may nap by the pool.
As I see it, DrVon is lucky that the Tauck specialist noticed the missing info. They are good with details.
AlanS Were you diving or is snorkeling enough and what month was the water warm enough. Looking into that trip for next year.
Snorkeling only and I did it enough times to satisfy me, though more would have been better. 😊- these old lungs aren’t what they used to be. I don’t surface snorkel- I dive down to get up close to fish, etc, If SCUBA had been available I would have done it since I’m certified. Galapagos is at a point where 3 major ocean currents converge, so there can be significant upwelling of cold deep water if conditions are right. Water temps varied from spot to spot, day to day and hour to hour. I think a warm water suit like I had (I brought my own) or the lightweight neoprene wetsuits provided by the Isabela II we’re fine.
Deb - I was also concerned about water temperature for snorkeling. I remember a lot of googling about water temperatures and best time of year for snorkeling. We chose May of 2014. If I recall correctly, the currents cause the water to become even cooler starting in June. A very memorable trip.
There was far less snorkeling on our first trip to Galapagos with Tauck years ago than these days. We went again in December a couple of years ago. One area where there were lots of turtles, the sea was so cold that despite wearing a wet suit, I was frozen and virtually got straight back in the boat. The water temps vary a lot depending on where you are in the islands. It’s not unusual for the waters to be churned up with poor visibility and it is by far from my favorite place to snorkel. For me, the best part of Galápagos is the on land wildlife. You can still see most of the underwater creatures from above or just spend a small amount of time in the water without missing out on anything. Yes, we have swam with seals, seen the iguanas underwater etc.
Our snorkeling experience was different from that experienced by British. It was spectacular - lots of colorful fish, some sea lions, Galapagos penguin, turtles.
I thought the snorkeling in the Galapagos was amazing. We wore wet suits provided by the ship and we weren’t cold. Went the beginning of May.
Visibility, like temps, varied by location- in one spot it was 50 - 75’ +, in another where there were about 30 or more sea turtles in a small area, it was turbid with only 15 - 20’ vis. I think I posted some of my U/W photos- do a search. FYI everyone used floatation so were restricted to the surface, I wore a weight belt! 😲
Alan, it seems you and I had the same experiences. I think I’ve been spoiled because I have snorkeled in some of the best places in the world such as Cayman
Debi Horan - Tauck didn't notice nor say anything - my travel agent did.