Most messages that reach our WhatsApp before a booking come down to the same worry. What exactly am I paying for, and what do I still need to organise once I land?
These are the questions travellers really ask before booking a tour in Ecuador. We answer them with our own trips as the examples. So every figure below belongs to one specific trip, not to all of them.
Do I need to book in advance?
In practice yes: what limits you is the departure day, not the seats. Our shared day tours from Quito run on fixed days. For example, Cotopaxi Hike and Bike goes out on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Quilotoa Culture and Hike runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Otavalo Cultural and Shopping departs on Tuesday and Saturday. Meanwhile, Mindo Adventure and Sweet leaves on Friday.
In the Amazon, every Cuyabeno programme has its own calendar. The Cuyabeno 3-Day Rainforest Escape starts on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Then the 4-Day Jungle and Community Tour runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The 5-Day Amazon Expedition goes out on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays. Finally, the 6-Day Paddling Expedition departs every day, with a minimum of two passengers.
However, two options bend to your calendar. The Half Day Walking Tour Quito runs every day at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Also, our Napo Amazon EcoLodge programmes depart any day.
How many people does it take to confirm a departure?
We confirm our shared day tours from one passenger, so travelling alone never means waiting for a group. The high mountain is different. Acclimatization hikes and glacier climbs run from two participants. Also, the Cotopaxi Summit Climb needs a minimum of two climbers, or a private departure for one. That is a safety rule, not a commercial one. After all, ASEGUIM sets the rope team at two climbers per guide.
What does the price include, and what do I pay on the day?
Every tour page lists it in full, and the lists genuinely differ:
- Cotopaxi Hike and Bike, $61 per person: the price brings a bilingual guide, authorised tourist transport and a menu-type lunch. It also covers the bike, the helmet and the protected area permits. However, it leaves out extra food and drinks, snacks and tips.
- Quilotoa Culture and Hike, $56: the price covers guide, transport, lunch and permits. But you carry cash for the $2 lagoon entrance and the $1 Toachi Canyon entrance. Also budget for the optional kayak at $3 and horses at $10.
- Half Day Walking Tour Quito, $13: you get the bilingual guide, plus the traditional sweets and chocolate tastings on the route. The page lists food and beverages under not included. So any other food or drink is on you, and so are entrance fees to museums and churches.
- Galapagos cruises: you normally pay the National Park entrance fee of US$200 and the US$20 Transit Control Card separately, in cash. Meanwhile, we quote flights to the islands apart from the cruise.
Prices are per person on a shared basis. Also, we quote a few programmes on request, our Cuyabeno lodge tours among them.
Where does the tour actually start?
Most day tours from Quito pick up at Foch Square at 7:10 a.m. The second stop is Zular Coffee Shop on San Blas Square at 7:20 a.m. Do not turn that into a rule, though. For example, Mindo starts earlier, at Zular at 7:00 a.m. The Half Day Walking Tour meets at the Basilica del Voto Nacional instead. Meanwhile, the Cotopaxi Summit Climb leaves from our office at Venezuela N11-99 y Carchi at 10:30 a.m.
The Amazon starts far from your hotel door. All four Cuyabeno programmes begin at 11:00 a.m. at Puente Cuyabeno, the bridge over the Cuyabeno River. You reach it by overnight bus from Quito or by flying the day before. The Napo tours begin at the Arajuno River Bridge at 12:00. Then it is twenty minutes by canoe to the lodge. Neither price includes that journey, though we help you arrange it.
Do the guides speak English?
Yes. Every tour runs with a certified national guide working in English and Spanish. Also, our high mountain guides hold ASEGUIM certification, and part of the team works in German.
How fit do I need to be?
In the Andes, altitude decides more than fitness does. Quito is already at 2,850 m. The Quilotoa day carries a moderate rating. Expect about three hours from the viewpoint at 3,900 m down to the crater lake and back up. Also, the climb back is the hard half. The Cotopaxi Hike and Bike is moderate too. But the vehicle does the altitude gain to the parking lot at 4,600 m. From there you walk to the refuge at 4,800 m.
In the Amazon it depends on the programme. The shorter ones count as easy. For example, on the Cuyabeno 3-Day the main effort is a three-hour walk on forest trails on day 2. You do it at an easy pace with your guide. Meanwhile, the Cuyabeno 5-Day and 6-Day expeditions and the four-day Napo programme carry a moderate rating. Glacier climbs are another sport and demand several days of acclimatization first. That is exactly what our acclimatization hikes exist for.
What should I pack?
What you carry depends on where you are going.
- Andean day tours: warm layers, a windproof jacket and gloves with neck and ear protection. Also pack sunglasses, a sun hat, sunscreen and shoes for mountainous, sandy ground. Average temperature on the Cotopaxi day is around 5C / 41F.
- Amazon lodges: long-sleeved shirts, trousers rather than jeans, repellent, a torch with spare batteries, dry bags and your passport. We lend rubber boots in EU sizes 34 to 45, a rain poncho and a life jacket. Outside that range, bring your own.
- Glacier climbs: we supply the technical equipment: plastic boots, crampons, harness, helmet, ice axe and rope. You bring your own layers, sleeping bag and sunglasses.
How do I pay, and what if I have to cancel?
Write to us on WhatsApp at +593 98 094 2338 or to info@ecosportour.com with your dates and tour. WeTravel, our secure booking platform, handles card payments. Deposit amounts and terms depend on the service and the season. Likewise, cancellation conditions differ between a day tour, a Galapagos cruise and a lodge programme. So ask before you book, and we will send you the policy in writing.
Ask the people who actually run the tour
When you write to us, you are writing to the operator, not a reseller. We run our own transport and guides in the Andes. Also, we own the lodge in the Cuyabeno reserve and the lodge on the Arajuno River. Start with the Cotopaxi Hike and Bike page if you have one free day in Quito. Then browse all our tours in Ecuador. You can also send a WhatsApp to +593 98 094 2338 with the question that is holding up your booking.
