AGENT (British): Worldwide Journeys. This is Courtney. How may I
help you?
CUSTOMER (British): Good day. My wife and I would like to visit the
Galapagos Islands this year for our vacation, and a friend told us that your
travel agency offers some good packages.
AGENT: We do indeed have several Galapagos tours to
choose from. You said it’ll be just two of you, right?
CUSTOMER: Right.
AGENT: And when do you plan to go?
CUSTOMER: Ideally, we’d like to go in May. But if that’s not
possible, then June or July.
AGENT: Any of those months are fine, but May is usually a
bit rainy. If you want to be outdoors more, I’d wait for June or July.
CUSTOMER: Hmm…We don’t mind rain, but we do love to swim. Is
the water warm enough in May to splash around?
AGENT: Oh yes, definitely. And if swimming is a priority,
then you most certainly want to go in May. Starting in June, the temperature
does drop a bit, so the water cools down as well.
CUSTOMER: May it is then.
AGENT: And for how long?
CUSTOMER: Two weeks or so.
AGENT: Perfect. Most of our tour packages are between 10
and 21 days, so your timeframe works brilliantly.
CUSTOMER: Uh, it will be 16 days maximum for us.
AGENT: Fair enough. And you are leaving from London, yes?
CUSTOMER: Yes.
AGENT: OK. Now let’s pick out the perfect package for the
two of you.
AGENT: We have three general categories of tours. One is
hotel-based tours. You are based out of a few select hotels and make day trips
from them.
CUSTOMER: Uh-huh.
AGENT: Another option is one of the island hopping tours.
On these tours, you stay at hotels some of the time and on boats sometimes as
well. You get to see more places because you’re constantly on the go.
CUSTOMER: All right. And the third option?
AGENT: Diving tours. These have you staying on a boat
most of your trip, save a few nights in a hotel at the beginning and end of the tour.
CUSTOMER: Accommodations are not as important to us as
activities. We want to see and do as much as possible.
AGENT: Well, you get to do quite a lot on any of the
tours, but they each have different emphases.
CUSTOMER: For example?
AGENT: The hotel-based tours only include one day of
diving, and the island hopping tours only two days. So if that’s your cup of
tea, you’ll obviously choose a diving tour.
CUSTOMER: Right.
AGENT: But for bird watching, the hotel-based tours are
top-notch. You take day trips to some of the best bird-watching sites in the
region.
CUSTOMER: What kind of activities do the island hopping
tours specialise in?
AGENT: General exploration, I’d say. You get to visit so
many islands, which is great for geology buffs, or for people who want to
compare the flora and fauna on the different islands.
CUSTOMER: The hotel-based tours seem like the best fit for
us. What’s included in one of those tours?
AGENT: Accommodations, meals, transportation, and your
guide.
CUSTOMER: What about flights?
AGENT: You have to get yourself to Puerto Ayora airport,
and then we get you from there.
CUSTOMER: OK.
AGENT: You also have to cover your own Galapagos National
Park entrance fee. That’s £70 per person.
CUSTOMER: So, how much per person for the hotel-based tour
package?
AGENT: For 14 days, that’s going to be… £3,400.
CUSTOMER: That’s bloody expensive!
AGENT: It’s not a cheap destination. But worth every
pence, I promise.
CUSTOMER: Well, I suppose we best just bite the bullet. Why
don’t you put us down for the end of May.
AGENT: I’d be delighted to. What’s your name?
CUSTOMER: Patrick Hughes. H-U-G-H-E-S.
AGENT: Brilliant. If you can hold on the line for just a
few minutes, I will register your trip and then give you a confirmation number.
CUSTOMER: Not a problem.