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About Columbus Travel Group
WORLD CLASS SERVICE
Our mission is to offer travelers a seamless, top-shelf travel experience to Ecuador, Galapagos and Peru.
HISTORY OF COLUMBUS TRAVEL
Columbus Travel was born out of the collaboration of current CEO Luisa Cordova and former CEO Kjetil Haugan managing the Simon Bolivar Spanish School in Quito, Ecuador beginning in 1994. Columbus Travel started as a natural extension of the school’s mission, organizing highest quality cultural and wilderness experiences throughout Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. From its founding in 1997, Columbus Travel grew rapidly, becoming one of the most respected and highest-volume travel agencies in Ecuador. Columbus Travel Group was established, bringing in the Haugan Cruises, La Selva Jungle Lodge, and GalapagosIslands.com brands under one group and then spinning off each of the brands between 2006 and 2016. Since 2016, Columbus Travel is once again an independent organization, 100% focused on providing high-quality trip planning services to our clients.
Destinations Experts
Our trip planners are the center of the Columbus Travel experience.
Contact us with a booking form, email, or call 1-877-436-7512 US/CAN, or UK: +44 (20) 8638 0738
Sofía Valdivieso
I have been working in the tourism industry since I graduated from University. I always felt a sense of wanderlust, a feel for discovering other places, landscapes, cultures, and customs. Travelling is one of the most amazing experiences of one’s lifetime, which makes us increase our knowledge and be more sensitive as human beings. It is available for all budgets and ages. I have always felt very fortunate to live in a country with everything, from the highest mountains in the Andes to the unique Galapagos Islands. It makes me happy to help people worldwide have one of the best times in their lives.
Pablo Rea
I have been traveling in Ecuador since I was a child, but I discovered that it was what I wanted to do for a living after a trip showed me that traveling is what I love. I planned to go abroad to discover the world when I graduated from high school. While traveling, I understood that my passion was showing other people the wonders of my country. Ecuador has breathtaking landscapes, but the one which caught my heart is a lovely old Hacienda. Hacienda Zuleta is like the oasis in the middle of the desert, a charming, small, luxury hacienda where you will feel and discover all the wonders that Ecuador has to offer.
Tannya Merizalde
I love tourism! I love traveling around Ecuador and to different destinations worldwide, too. I am very fortunate to help so many people organize the trip of a lifetime based on my own experiences and passion for travel and customizing trips.
I’ve specialized in the Galapagos Islands since I learned about their vast tourism potential. I was fascinated and thrilled by the numerous endemic species and flora on land and beneath the waves! From the center of the world, I’m excited to invite you to visit Ecuador, my small paradise, hand in hand with a professional who, just like you, loves to travel!
Cristina López
My passion for traveling started at a very young age while visiting different places with my family. I soon realized that despite much to see worldwide, I live in a paradise. Ecuador has so much to offer, from the amazing Amazon jungle, the snowed peaks of the Andes, and the Pacific coast to the magical Galapagos Islands. A few years later, 17 years ago, I started working in tourism, and this passion kept growing and still is. I learned to see this beautiful country through a tourist’s eyes, which is just amazing!
It is a pleasure for me to plan trips that fulfill the tourists’ desires for them to have a wonderful experience and treasure memories that would last forever
Gabriela Fuentes
I chose to study tourism because we are in charge of creating experiences for a lifetime. I have worked in the Canary Islands, Key West and Ecuador. For me, my favorite destination is the Galapagos Islands. I was a cruise director for 8 months and traveling around Galapagos showed me that there is no better paradise than this one.
Every day I used to take a picture of the most spectacular sunsets I had ever witnessed. I never got tired of this amazing landscape. Besides, every hike and each time snorkeling is unique and different. Galapagos is for nature’s lovers. It was one of my dreams, and it came true.
Our Guides
Our trip planners are the center of the Columbus Travel experience.
Contact us with a booking form, email, or call 1-877-212-5536 US/CAN, or UK: +44 (20) 8638 0738
Pablo Nasevilla
Pablo believes that “being a Tour Guide is more than a profession, it is an opportunity to share your passion about nature, culture, tradition, within one’s hometown.”
Expect nothing less than a magnificent adventure along your Ecuador journey; of course, you should expect great jokes and caring service from one of our most experienced guides.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), Spanish (native)
Ramon Andrade
Ramon graduated with a degree in biology from the Catholic University of Quito. His passion for service helped him discover his lifelong career as a tour guide back in 1983.
Born and raised in Quito, he has deep knowledge of Ecuador in a wide range of aspects, ranging from nature, history, and culture.
With over thirty-seven years of experience on nature and culture tour guiding, he conducts special interest groups around Ecuador and Peru.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), Spanish (native)
Isabel Ramos
Isabel, born and raised in Quito has been helping guests discover Ecuador’s wonderful treasures for almost 30 years.
She describes Ecuador as “a little country with one of the highest biodiversity on the planet.”
Isabel will be happy to share all her stories about swimming with pink dolphins and piranhas, walking around giants tortoises, diving with hammerhead sharks, and hiking around Andes’s active volcanoes.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), French (fluent), Spanish (native)
Juan Vizcaino
Juan Vizcaino has been leading guests around Ecuador for 23 years. Since he was a young boy he enjoyed traveling around Ecuador especially through the Andean mountains and volcanoes.
A well-organized, Knowledgeable, and methodical person, he will be able to adapt to any scenario and always give the best of himself in any project.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), Spanish (native)
Romy Bustamante
Romy has been working in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands as a tour guide and tour director for English and German-speaking groups for over 20 years. Her field of expertise is Anthropology and Art history. In her early years, she worked for the Museum of Colonial Art of San Francisco de Quito, where she witnessed the restoration process of several masterpieces. During her free time, she loves traveling abroad to learn from other cultures.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), German (fluent), Spanish (native)
Fabrizio Yepez
Fabrizio Yepez was born and is raised in Quito. As a National Tour Guide, he has helped uncountable guests experience Ecuador’s most unique and remote destinations. With more than 20 years in the tourism industry, Fabrizio is very passionate about his job, expect him to get on his knees to take the best pictures of your adventures. He enjoys outdoor bike rides, preferably downhill. He also likes horseback riding, hiking, and taking pictures.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), Spanish (native)
Robby Delgado
Robby has 23 years of experience leading trips to many natural and cultural areas, especially the Amazon Rainforest and the Galápagos Islands. His passion and dedication to explore nature and conservation have taken him to places like Iceland, continental Europe, and many countries in America.
Languages Spoken:
English (fluent), Spanish (native)
