South America · Ecuador
Thirteen days with a private Italian-speaking driver-guide: Quito and the Equator line, Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Sangay Park and Cuenca, then four nights on Santa Cruz in the Galápagos, with excursions to Plazas and Bartolomé.
Quick facts
Indicative price from
€5,399
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationAndean Ecuador and the Galápagos, with a private Italian-speaking driver-guide on the mainland. It starts in Quito, with its colonial centre and the monument on the Equator line, and the Otavalo market.
Then you head south along the Avenue of the Volcanoes: Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, the high lagoons of Sangay National Park and Cuenca, a colonial city and UNESCO site.
In the Galápagos you spend four nights in Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island. From here, two days out by boat with a naturalist guide: South Plaza, with land iguanas and sea lions, and Bartolomé, with its volcanic landscape and penguins.
Private trip in Ecuador, English-speaking naturalist guide in the Galápagos; flights not included.
13 days in the programme
Welcome to Ecuador. Departure from Italy on a scheduled flight to Quito. Welcome at the airport and private transfer to the hotel.
The historic centre and the Equator. A tour of Quito's colonial centre, a UNESCO site, among squares, churches and monasteries. Then the Mitad del Mundo, the monument on the Equator line.
The Andean market. An excursion to Otavalo and its craft market of textiles, ponchos and woollen goods, the best known in the Andes. Return to Quito.
Cotopaxi. Along the Avenue of the Volcanoes to Cotopaxi National Park, at the foot of the snow-capped volcano, among high grasslands and wild horses. On to Riobamba.
High-altitude lagoons. A day in Sangay National Park, a UNESCO site, among glacial lagoons and páramo, the Andean grassland. On to Cuenca.
The colonial city. A tour of Cuenca, a UNESCO site: the cobbled streets, the blue-domed cathedral, the museums and a workshop making toquilla straw hats, the so-called Panama hats.
To the coast. The road descends from the Andes through El Cajas National Park to Guayaquil, the country's great port. Time for the Malecón riverfront.
Arrival in the Galápagos. Flight to Baltra and transfer to Puerto Ayora, across the Itabaca Channel and the highlands of Santa Cruz, where giant tortoises roam free.
By boat with a naturalist. A day trip by boat with a naturalist guide. On South Plaza you walk among land iguanas, sea lions and succulent plants; at Punta Carrión, snorkelling in calm water.
Lava landscapes. A day trip by boat with a naturalist guide. In Sullivan Bay you walk on a late 19th-century lava flow; on Bartolomé you climb to the viewpoint over Pinnacle Rock and snorkel, with luck alongside penguins.
A free day. A free day in Puerto Ayora: the Charles Darwin Research Station, Tortuga Bay beach or optional activities.
The flight home. Transfer to the Itabaca Channel and Baltra airport. Flight to the mainland and connection to Italy. Night on board.
End of the trip. Arrival in Italy.
