Holiday Itinerary
Day One - Arrival in Quito
As your holiday in Ecuador begins, we’ll be there to pick you up and take you to your hotel, which is in the heart of Quito. You will probably be wanting some time to rest and get used to the altitude so we have left the rest of today free for you to relax. Your hotel is close to dozens of restaurants and cafes, as well as all the other facilities you'd expect from a capital city, so if you're feeling up to it then why not head on out and explore?
Day Two - City tour of Quito
After a free morning to relax and settle into things, we will pick you up after lunch and take you for a tour of Quito. We’ll focus on the beautiful colonial Old Town, with its winding cobbled streets and grand plazas. The area is a designated World Heritage Site, and it’s home to some of South America’s finest colonial architecture, including the stunning Cathedral and several other churches, all overlooked by the winged Virgin of Quito statue on the nearby Panecillo hill.
Day Three - Cotopaxi National Park
The snow-capped mountain of Cotopaxi is one of the enduring symbols of Ecuador, and no holiday in Ecuador is complete without a trip to see it. Today we will take you on a full-day tour through the Cotopaxi National Park, giving you the chance for some breathtaking photos before we head to a traditional Andean hosteria, where we'll spend the night.
Day Four - Into the Cloud Forest
Today we will pick you after breakfast this morning for the drive down the western slopes of the Andes, towards the town of Mindo. This area is known throughout Ecuador as “Mindo Lindo” (Beauutfil Mindo) for the stunning scenery you will see along the way. We will arrive at the El Monte cloud forest lodge in the later afternoon and we will take you to your cabin and show you around the lodge and the beautiful private gardens before one of El Monte’s superb lunches! In the afternoon, we will walk out into the forest along the banks of the Rio Mindo to appreciate the huge variety of bird and plant-life we can find here. We will then return to the lodge to relax before dinner and a short briefing on tomorrow’s activities.
Day Five - Wildlife in the Cloud Forest
This morning we will rise early to head out and see some more of Mindo’s amazing wildlife – toucans, parrots, quetzals, flying squirrels and agoutis can all be seen in the area and we’ll hope to see as many as possible. We will then head back to the lodge for breakfast, before going for a longer walk up into the Nambillo valley in the hills behind the lodge. As well as the chance to see more fantastic wildlife, we will end our trail at a beautiful waterfall with a crystal-clear pool underneath, where we can cool down and swim. We will then head back to the lodge for lunch before driving back to Quito.
Day Six - Enough Beauty: time for the beach!
This morning we'll take you to the airport in Cuenca to catch a flight to the coastal city of Guayaquil. Here we'll pick you up and drive you further along the coast to the resort town of Salinas, where it's time to hit your 5-star hotel and then hit the beach!
Days Seven and Eight - Relaxation time
These two days are all about you kicking back on the beach and enjoy all the facilities and amenities your luxury hotel has to offer. All together now: deep breath... and relax...
Day Nine - Back to Quito
After breakfast this morning, we will pick you up and take you back to Guayaquil for the short flight to Quito, where you can get ready to head out for a final full day here in Ecuador. Postcards sent? Souvenirs bought? Then you're all set to enjoy a traditional meal before it's salsa time...
Day Ten- Onward bound!
Most flights back to the UK and to the Galapagos leave in the morning, so you’ll just have time for breakfast today before it’s time to say goodbye to Ecuador as we pick you up and take you to catch your flight either home, or on to your Galapagos cruise...
Options
Easy upgrades
As we've said, we can tailormake your itinerary to your exact specifications, and you can have a look at our Ecuador Guide or some of our other Ecuador Holidays for ideas about how to add to this holiday, but we can also offer you some easy optional extras which fit into this exact itinerary:
Upgrade accommodation - from £50pp
Except for your beach hotel, which is 5-star all-inclusive, this price is based on our standard 3-star hotels, which all have ensuite bathrooms, cable television, full buffet breakfasts, etc. However, if you'd like to upgrade your hotels to something with a little more luxury then please just ask and we'll make some recommendations!
Full-day tour of Quito - from £45pp
This itinerary includes a half-day tour of Quito's Old Town, which is one of the jewel's in Ecuador's crown. However, just north of Quito is the actual line of the Equator so if you'd like to see for yourself which way the water goes down the plughole, we can extend your tour and take you there to stand astride the world and to enjoy some of the weird and wonderful experiments you can only perform on the Equator!
Machalilla National Park - from £200pp
Why not take a couple of days and head a little further up the Pacific coast to the Machalilla National Park. As well as stunning beaches, off the beaten track so you can have them all to yourself, you also go whale-watching in the seas off Puerto Lopez and you can even stay in a top-of-the-range fabulous beachside treehouse!
Tailormade for you
Of course, what we want you to remember is that we're here to offer you any guidance and advice you need. We're not about trying to sell you more than you want - we want you to have the holiday that's right for you, so give us a call or send us an email and we can start to find out what sort of Ecuador holiday is right for you!
Prices
Because all our Ecuador holidays are tailormade, our prices are flexible and depend on the accommodation and activities you want. If you want to change the length of this holiday, or the activities you do, or the type of accommodation you use - let us know! We can send you a tailormade itinerary, including price, absolutely free!
Our standard price for this trip is £1050 per person. This price is based on two people sharing a double or twin room in our standard 3-star accommodation (details available on request).
And what does it include?
We know that you need to be able to see how much things are going to cost you, so everything that you read about on the previous page is included in this price. The only "biggie" that we don't include is your international flight to and from the UK as these can vary depending on the time of year. However, we will do all the research for you and find you the best deal going, so you don't to have expend any effort here.
Just to be absolutely clear, here is what you're getting for your money on this holiday:
- All accommodation in superior hotels we have personally checked out - including a 5-star hotel in Salinas
- All transfers
- All internal transport, including the flights from Quito-Cuenca, Cuenca-Guayaquil and Guayaquil-Quito
- All entrance fees
- Half-day tour of Quito
- Full-day tour of Cotopaxi National Park
- Half-day tour of Cuenca
- Full buffet breakfast every day
- All meals in the cloud forest
- Packed lunch on your Cotopaxi tour