Ecuador with the Amazon & Galapagos Cruise

Today, your journey towards Quito, the capital of Ecuador, begins with connecting flight(s) along the way. As you descend, you can admire Quito’s beautiful location in a lush valley in the Andes.

At the airport, you’ll be greeted by a driver/guide holding a sign with your name as you exit the arrivals hall. The drive from the airport takes you through Quito’s modern district down to the old town, where your hotel is located, and it takes about an hour.

You have the rest of the day to yourself, whether that means taking a short stroll in the old town or simply relaxing after the long tour. Remember to drink plenty of water and take it easy, as Quito is at an altitude of 2,850 metres, and your body needs time to acclimatise.

Quito was once a bustling Inca city, but when the Spanish arrived in 1526, the Inca general Rumiñahui soon realised that this was a fight he could not win. So, he destroyed everything in the city, leaving nothing for the Spanish. In 1534, the Spanish lieutenant Sebastián de Benalcázar founded the Quito that you encounter on today’s city tour, with its fantastic, well-preserved colonial buildings, squares and cathedrals. As Quito’s old district is the most well-preserved historical city centre in Latin America, it is not for nothing that Quito is an UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.

You’ll be picked up at your hotel by your guide after breakfast and the tour heads to the old district. First, you’ll visit the beautiful Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Square), which is surrounded by some of Quito’s most important buildings: The Presidential Palace, the Government Building, the Archbishop’s Palace, and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito. From Plaza de la Independencia, you continue down the cobblestone streets to the La Compañía Church, which is decorated with the finest gold sheets on the inside, as well as the San Francisco Church, which is Quito’s oldest.

After the old district, you are driven up to the Panecillo hill, where there is a wonderful view of the city as well as a 45-metre-tall aluminium statue named the Virgen del Panecillo. From here, the tour continues to the northern end of the city and La Mitad del Mundo, where the equator line is located.

Translated, La Mitad del Mundo means “the middle of the world” in English, and a massive, 30-metre-high equator monument stands here as a symbol of the unique geographical location. You can go up into the monument for a nice view of the area, where you can find souvenir shops, food stalls, a cocoa museum, a brewery, and a small planetarium. Here, there will also be time to eat lunch and walk around, visiting the many interesting exhibitions and museums.

The last stop of the day is the cosy, little Intiñan museum, which is located just 100 metres away from La Mitad del Mundo. Here, you can try out fun experiments that put the earth’s gravitational and magnetic forces to the test. After all, this is where the true equator lies. It turned out that the big, wonderful equator monument is placed slightly off due to imprecise measuring techniques used in the old days.

On the tour, you’ll also pass another of the city’s famous landmarks, the characteristic 115-metre-high basilica, the Basílica del Voto Nacional, which is built in neo-Gothic style and is the largest of its kind in the Americas.

After the city tour, you’ll be driven back to your hotel, and you can spend the rest of the day exploring the city on your own.

Quito is a beautiful city with many activity options, and you have the day on your own to go exploring in the big city. You can also purchase an optional excursion from home.

If the weather is nice, we recommend heading up to Cruz de Loma, which is a lookout point on the volcano Pichincha at approx. 4100 metres above sea level. A 2.5-km cable car named TelefériQo brings you up the steep volcano to the lookout point, where you have a magnificent panoramic view of Quito and the surrounding volcanoes and mountains in the background.

If your body has not quite acclimatised to being at altitude yet, you can instead visit Quito’s botanical garden, Jardín Botánico de Quito, for an exciting look at the many fascinating trees, plants and flowers.

You can also purchase a day trip to the small town of Mindo, which is located in a fantastical 500-km² cloud forest. This lush area is home to diverse plant and animal life, and it is very well-known for its production of delectable chocolates as well.

If you wish to experience Ecuador's indigenous culture and craft traditions, you can embark on a day excursion to the Imbabura province north of Quito, known for its beautiful landscape with idyllic lakes, majestic volcanoes, and the celebrated Otavalo market where you can purchase colourful blankets, scarves, and ponchos.

Today, you exchange the busy capital with the calm and magic of the Andes Mountains. The tour continues south from Quito along the beautiful Avenida de los Volcanes (“Avenue of the Volcanoes”) to Cotopaxi National Park; a trip that takes about 2.5 hours.

At Cotopaxi National Park, a light hike awaits you around the fairy-tale Laguna Limpiopungo, which is located at an altitude of 3850 metres. You have a skilled local guide with you to explain everything about the flora and fauna of the area, as well as exciting myths about the great volcanoes. You may be lucky enough to spot condors, hummingbirds, wild horses, brocket deer and guanaco in the park. The snow-capped volcano Cotopaxi, which stands at 5897 metres above sea level, is always by your side, and you truly get the feeling of being tiny next to such a mighty volcano.

In the afternoon, you are driven to your accommodation, which is located just outside the national park.

This day is at your disposal and can be spent on relaxation or activities in and around the cosy Hacienda El Porvenir.

You can take a walk on marked paths on your own, or join some of the activities offered by the hotel, such as, for example, horseback riding and mountain biking in the unique Andes landscape.

Note that the tours are with Spanish speaking staff, but instruction in, for example, horseback riding, is given in English before departure, so you do not need to be able to speak Spanish.

All activities are booked and paid for locally when you arrive at the hotel. However, the horseback ride is so popular that we recommend you purchase it from home.

If you would prefer a bit of relaxation, the hotel has its own day spa where you can pamper yourself with wellness treatments and relaxing massages.

After breakfast, your tour continues through the mountainous landscape. The next stop is the magnificent Quilotoa Crater Lake, which is approx. 250 metres deep and has a diameter of around 3 km. The colour of the water is quite remarkable and may shift from being completely turquoise to almost yellow, depending on the season and the mineral content of the water.

You have the option to go all the way down to the banks of the lake on a marked zig-zag path, or simply stay at the top and take buckets of photos of the picturesque lake. The walk down to the lake takes about 30 minutes, but the return trip up the steep path may take up to 2 hours. For an additional charge, you can rent a donkey, which will bring you back to the top without getting sweat on your brow.

After lunch, you continue to Baños, which sits in a lush valley at the foot of the volcano Tungurahua.

Baños is a popular travel destination for both international travellers and Ecuadorians themselves, as the city has activities for every taste. Regardless of whether you want relaxation with spas and hot springs or something more extreme with “canyon swinging”, zip-lining and mountain bike rides, Baños definitely has just the thing for you.

The town has a manageable size, and you can easily walk from your hotel down to Baños’s main street, where activity and good times are always waiting for you. Here, you can find countless eateries, bars, souvenir shops and tour operators, who sell adventure activities in the area.

You have all day today to explore Baños and the lovely area around the city on your own.

The town is surrounded by waterfalls, and a popular activity is to head to see Pailón del Diablo, which is the biggest waterfall of them all and impresses with its power and strength. You travel there on a local Chiva bus, a colourful bus without doors and windows to give you a great view of the beautiful scenery. This tour is easy to arrange locally. It costs approx. 15 USD PP.

You can also independently take the bus up to Casa del Árbol, which is a slightly different kind of lookout point. Here, you can take a swing over the abyss, giving you not just a thrilling experience, but some truly fantastic photos as well.

Baños’s full name is actually Baños de Agua Santa, which translates to “sacred baths”. The name comes from the town’s many hot springs, which are said to have healing properties due to their high content of minerals, which stems from the activity of the volcano Tungurahua. You can pamper yourself several places with a wellness experience in the hot springs, which are situated in the middle of the city in gorgeous surroundings.

The tour continues down winding mountain roads from Baños to the city of Tena, which is the entrance to the Amazon Rainforest. The drive takes about 3-4 hours and is truly beautiful trip with both volcanoes and waterfalls along the way. The temperature and humidity rise in step with your altitudinal descent towards the large jungle.
The road literally ends in the Napo River, where a motor-driven canoe waits to take you the last step of the way to your jungle lodge, which is located about 40 km from Tena, surrounded by lush jungle. The boat ride lasts about 15 minutes.

On your arrival at the lodge, you’ll be shown to your room and a delicious lunch awaits you. In the afternoon, your guide gives you an exciting introduction to cocoa production in the Amazon and the processing techniques for the humble bean that is the main ingredient in their fantastic chocolate.

Your day concludes in cosy surroundings at the lodge, with the sound of the rushing Napo River and the jungle’s inhabitants in the background.

After breakfast, a skilled local guide takes you on a walk into the jungle. The guide explains the medical applications of the various plants and trees, as well as the birds and insects you spot along the way. The Amazon Rainforest is also home to a plethora of different types of mammals and reptiles. However, there is not as high a chance of meeting them in this part of the rainforest, which is known as the upper Amazon, as it is too close to habitation. You will however experience the exotic animal life of the rainforest later in the day during a visit to the rehabilitation centre AmaZOOnico.

At the centre, you can meet animals such as monkeys, toucans, turtles, snakes, tapirs and perhaps even one of the more rare felines, like the ocelot. AmaZOOnico takes care of injured and confiscated animals, and seeks to bring them back to nature. Volunteer helpers give you a tour and explain about the animals they are taking care of at the moment. You cannot get up close to the animals that are soon heading back to nature, as they are to have as little human contact as possible.

You enjoy lunch back at the lodge until the afternoon, when you visit a small local society where old traditions are kept alive. Here, you get a unique look into how the locals live and grow their various crops, such as yucca, coffee, cocoa, and other tropical fruits. You are also allowed to taste the quintessential jungle drink “Chicha de Yuca”. The women make their own cups and pots for cooking by hand. It may look simple, but try it yourself; it’s not easy. They can make the most gorgeous ceramics from plain, natural materials.

You have the rest of the afternoon to relax at the lodge and enjoy its facilities.

Today, the time has come to say goodbye to the Amazon jungle. It may well be a little sad to leave this incredible jungle, but you will be bringing an unforgettable nature experience back home.

After a nice breakfast, you make the short trip by boat up the Napo river, where a driver is waiting at the river bank to drive you back to Quito. You again get a truly beautiful drive of about 5 hours through the Andes Mountains. Along the way, you make a lunch stop at Papallacta, which is known for its hot springs. If you like, you can throw on some swimwear and enjoy the relaxing therapeutic baths.

You spend the night just outside of Quito and close to the airport, so that you do not have to get up too early the next morning, when your tour continues to the magical Galapagos Islands.

You can safely look forward to the second part of your tour, which brings you in Charles Darwin’s footsteps to the enchanting Galapagos Islands. Here, some wholly unique animal and nature experiences await you on a 5-day cruise among these incredible islands.

In 1831, a young Charles Darwin went on an expedition that would change his life as a scientist. Because on the Galapagos Islands, he discovered that the finches here were different from those back home. Perhaps they had the same ancestor, but had developed differently due to the environment they lived in? The theory began to form in his head and would become his work On the Origin of Species, which is still considered to be the most important contribution to the understanding of biological evolution.

You will be picked up at your hotel in the morning and driven the short distance to the airport. Here, you will be required to pay for a Transit Control Card (cash) before you can check in. The flight from Quito to Galapagos takes around 2.5 hours. Upon your arrival at Baltra Airport, you will be required to pay for entry to Galapagos (cash).

At Baltra Airport, you are picked up and driven to the yacht Golondrina I, which will be your floating home for the next 5 days. Here, you are checked into your cabin, after which there is a small welcome meeting followed by lunch. At the welcome meeting, your guide will introduce you to the captain, the chef and the rest of the crew, as well as the other guests on the yacht, before they review the exciting programme for the afternoon.

The first stop is the small, flat, uninhabited island of Mosquera, which sits between the islands of North Seymour and Baltra. The island is just 600 metres long and 160 metres wide at its widest point, and consists mainly of white sandy beaches and cliffs. A large sea lion colony is located here, and you may also encounter pelicans, blue-footed boobies and many other waders.

Every day, the group gathers with the guide back at the boat before dinner to talk about the experiences of the day and reviews the next day’s programme, so that you know what to look forward to.

In the afternoon, you can enjoy a starry sky without any kind of light pollution from the deck of the ship. It is, quite simply put, a magical experience. As you head to bed after an eventful day, the ship sets a course for the next exciting island.

Note that the programme on Galapagos is always subject to changes. Poor weather conditions or recommendations from local authorities may result in your route being changed on short notice.

Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos Islands, and you will visit several unique sites on this vast, volcanic island on your cruise. The first stop is at Punta Vicente Roca. You do not go ashore here, but drive around many impressive volcanic formations along the coast in a small, motor-driven rubber boat (called panga). Here, you may be lucky enough to encounter penguins, seahorses, stingrays, pufferfish and sea turtles.

In the afternoon, you sail to the third-largest island in the Galapagos Islands, namely the island of Fernandina. The island is dominated by the active volcano La Cumbre, whose lava streams reach all the way down into the ocean. You go ashore at Punta Espinosa, where you will take an approximately 1.5 hour-hike along small, uneven paths made from sand and loose stones. On the trip, you can see the spectacular lava cactus and the island’s diverse animal life. Among other things, you have a good chance of seeing marine iguanas, penguins, pelicans, the Galapagos hawk and the Galapagos cormorant. The marine iguanas build nests and lay eggs in the ocean in the period from January to June.
After the hike, you have an opportunity to either go snorkelling from the beach, or to simply bathe and relax before you are taken back to the ship.

It is an altogether unique experience to be on a Galapagos cruise. You have the opportunity to visit uninhabited islands where the animal life is without equal. Not to mention that the crew will do everything they can to make your stay on the ship and in Galapagos unforgettable, and you will quickly pick up on the relaxed, familiar and not least, the pleasant atmosphere on-board.

Today, you travel by sea back to Isabela, where you visit Urbina Bay, which sits at the foot of the Alcedo volcano. The bay was at the bottom of the ocean until 1954, when volcanic activity in the area lifted it 5 metres above sea level. Alongside your talented nature guide, you take an approximately 2-hour walk here, experiencing exciting corals and seashells from the time the bay was at the bottom of the ocean.

On the island, you can also see a large population of the magnificent, colourful marine iguana, the Galapagos tortoise (June – September), and the Galapagos cormorant, which is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and is unique in that it is unable to fly. In fact, the Galapagos cormorant’s wings are just a third of the size they should be for such a big bird, making it impossible for them to fly.
After the walk, you have the chance to go snorkelling along the coast, where you can see penguins and enjoy the incredible sea life beneath the water’s surface.

Lunch is enjoyed back on the ship, and while you eat and relax, the boat slowly continues on to your next stop on Isabela. You make a stop at Tagus Cove, which once was a popular location for whalers and pirates. Many of them wrote their ships’ names on the cliff walls around the bay, and today you can still see many of the names on the cliffs.

The excursion begins with an approximately 2-hour hike through a forest of Palo Santo trees to the gorgeous saltwater Darwin Lake, which sits in an extinct volcanic crater. You hike all the way around the lake through the dry vegetation, where you can see many different bird species and reach a lookout point from which you can see the volcanoes Darwin and Wolf.

After the hike, you travel by panga along the coast and look out for animals such as penguins, colourful Sally Lightfoot crabs, boobies and cormorants. There will also be some time for snorkelling before you are driven back to the ship.

After an eventful day with many magnificent nature experiences, you can relax with a cold drink or a beer and gossip with the other guests. The boat lifts anchor in the evening, and a long, overnight boat ride to the island of Santiago begins.

After breakfast, you’ll go ashore on the black volcanic beach at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island.

Here, a beautiful 1½-hour hike awaits along uneven paths leading to an old salt lagoon crater. Along the way, you may spot Darwin’s finches, the endemic Galápagos hawk, marine iguanas, the distinctive Sally Lightfoot crabs, as well as fur seals and sea lions. After the hike, there’s time for a swim and some snorkelling along the stunning coastline.

Lunch will be served back on board as you set course for Espumilla Beach – an important nesting site for green sea turtles. Here, a walk through the mangrove and Palo Santo forest awaits. Along the way, you may encounter marine iguanas, rays, reef fish, and various coastal birds. There’ll also be time for more snorkelling.

The day ends with a panga ride along the coast at Bucanero Cove – a historic anchorage once used by pirates and whalers. You’ll explore dramatic cliff formations and caves, with excellent opportunities to spot sea lions, fur seals, penguins, and seabirds nesting along the rocks.

The natural world of the Galápagos is overwhelming and almost beyond description – visiting these islands is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

You will wake up this morning off the coast of Puerto Ayora, the main town on Santa Cruz Island, which is the second-largest island in the Galapagos archipelago. Your Galapagos adventure has reached its conclusion, and it is time to bid farewell to the boat crew. However, one final excursion awaits in Puerto Ayora – a visit to the fascinating museum and research centre, the Charles Darwin Research Station. Established in 1964, the centre promotes research and education on the Galapagos Islands, with ongoing efforts dedicated to research and conservation projects to preserve the ecosystems of the Galapagos.

After visiting the centre, you’ll be driven across the island to the Itabaca Channel, where a ferry will take you to Baltra, the airport island. From there, you’ll catch a flight back to Quito. The return flight often takes a bit longer (approximately 2.5-4 hours) due to a usual short connection in the city of Guayaquil.

Upon arrival in Quito, you’ll be picked up at the airport and driven to your hotel, located in one of Quito’s charming suburbs near the airport. You have the evening at your own leisure.

You’ll be collected from your hotel and driven to the airport to begin your journey home. Depending on your flight’s departure time, you may have a bit of personal time to enjoy the hotel’s facilities, relax in the lush garden, and reflect on the wonderful memories from your tour.

You will land at your chosen airport after an eventful tour in Ecuador.