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 - Otavalo Market
An early start today, as we head out of Quito into the mountains to the north for a slice of the Real Ecuador! We'll be heading to the bustling local market at Otavalo - a typical mountain town that just happens to be home to the largest market in Ecuador! You can check out the beautiful local textiles, haggle over some excellent leather goods, or just sit back with an Ecuadorean coffee and take it all in! After a full day here, we will return to Quito in the evening.
Day Four - Free day in Quito
We’ve left today free for you to relax and enjoy the lovely city of Quito. There’s loads to see and do here, from great museums to top shopping, and one of the best ways to get a birds-eye view of it all is to take the new ‘Teleferiqo’ cable-car up to the top of the Pichincha mountain! Of course, if you’d prefer something a little more active, then we could arrange something like a whitewater rafting trip or some downhill mountain biking...?
Day Five - 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 Six - Lake Quilotoa
Today we will head away from Cotopaxi to the volcanic Quilotoa lake. We guarantee you've never seen anything like it - climbing up to the lip of the (extinct!) volcano, you look down into a bluey-green lake that seems utterly surreal. You can then head down to the lake and take out a rowing-boat or canoe, before coming back up by horse to your waiting driver. In the evening, we'll head back to Quito for another night in the capital.
Day Seven - Into the jungle!
After breakfast this morning, we will pick you up and take you back to the airport for a flight across the Andes and down into the Amazon basin. We will land in the jungle town of Coca, from where we will head to the river to continue our journey deep into the Amazon basin by motorized covered canoe. On our journey down the Napo river, we will have plentiful opportunities to see wildlife such as hawks, large- and yellow-billed terns, and hopefully even the famous “umbrella” bird. After a two-hour trip downriver, we will arrive at the entrance to the Yasuni Biosphere reserve, and transfer to smaller canoes for the journey up a small tributary of the Napo to the shores of Añangu Lake, where the Napo Wildlife Centre is situated. We will show to your cabin and leave you to relax ahead of dinner this evening.
Day Eight - Clay licks at Napo Wildlife Centre
Today we will visit two of the best clay licks in the Ecuadorean Amazon, in the company of our expert local guides. After breakfast we will travel downstream again to visit the first lick, located just away from the main Napo River. We will be able to watch and get some amazing photos as hundreds of brightly-coloured parrots arrive to eat the clay which provides much-needed minerals to supplement their diets. From our specially-designed concealed blind, we can watch all the different species of Parrots (particularly Mealy, Orange-winged and blue-headed parrots) squawk and fight it out for the best spots! When the activity at the first lick dies down, head over to the second lick, located deeper in the forest. Here, Cobalt-winged parakeets, Orange-cheeked parrots and Scarlet-shouldered parrotlets land at the entrance to a small cave to eat the clay and sip water from a pool. Birds begin arriving here in the late morning, and as the parrots enjoy their lunch we will be able to enjoy lunch here as well, from the security of another concealed viewing blind.
Day Nine - Napo Wildlife Centre
Today we will head out onto the pristine waters of Añangu Lake. Giant otters inhabit the lake and surrounding streams, and you may encounter a family fishing in the morning or resting in the afternoon. There is also a good chance of seeing some of the 4m-long Black Caimans that live in the lake and you will see many birds and monkeys in the trees around you. After our lake trip, we will explore some of the the forest trails around the lodge area with your guide. This rich, lush primary rainforest is filled with exotic wildlife, including the golden-mantled tamarin, found only on the south side of the Napo. If you get really lucky, you might even spot a Jaguar or a Tapir!
Day Ten - Back to Quito
We will have an early start this morning and a chance to see the jungle sunrise as we head back down the Rio Napo to Coca to catch a flight back to Quito. On arrival we will meet you and take you back to your hotel to enjoy your return to civilization!
Day Eleven - Free day in Quito
A holiday isn't a holiday without some time to relax, so we've left today up to you - either to make sure you've explored Quito thoroughly, to get all your souvenir shopping done, or just to sit back with a coffee and make sure you get those last-minute postcards written!
Day Twelve- 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
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!
Cuenca: the prettiest city in Ecuador - from £250pp
Why not take a couple of days and head to Cuenca to see the traditional 'panama' hat makers at work and soak up the colonial charm in one of Ecuador's most pleasant cities.
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!
Relaxing on the Pacific Coast - from £400pp
If you want a bit more relaxation time then why not head to the warm Pacific Coast and soak up some sun? We have a range of excellent beach hotels so you can enjoy some comfort and relaxation after all that culture and wildlife...
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 £1395 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 and lodges
- All transfers
- All internal transport, including return flights Quito-Coca-Quito
- All entrance fees
- Half-day guided tour of Quito
- Full-day guided tour to Otavalo market
- 2-day guided tour of Cotopaxi National Park and Quilotoa lake
- Four day programme in the Amazon rainforest, including all guides
- Full buffet breakfast every day
- All meals while in the rainforest
- All meals while in the Cotopaxi National Park