Ecuador is small by South American standards and still hands you four different trips: the volcano corridor south of Quito, the cloud forest on the western slope, the Amazon lowlands, and the Galapagos. Nobody sees all of it in one visit, and the hard part is to choose an Ecuador tour out of the fifty-odd available.
These are the questions we ask undecided travellers, in the order that narrows things down.
Start with the days you have, not the places you want
Everything follows from this. The catalogue splits into four bands:
- Half a day. The Half Day Walking Tour Quito is 3 hours on foot through the Old Town, $13 per person, every day at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
- One long day. Most trips out of Quito run 10 to 12 hours. Cotopaxi Hike and Bike is 10 hours at $61; Quilotoa Culture and Hike, Otavalo Cultural and Shopping and Mindo Adventure and Sweet are 12 hours at $56.
- Two days. Cotopaxi + Quilotoa 2 Days 1 Night puts the refuge and the crater lake in one trip for $152, with a hotel night in between. The glacier summits are two-day formats too.
- Three days and up. Amazon lodges run 2 to 6 days, Galapagos island hopping 5 or 6, cruises 4 to 15 depending on the yacht.
With three days in Ecuador, the Amazon and the Galapagos are out: two of them would be travel.
Check which days it runs before you fall in love with it
This rearranges more itineraries than anything else. Our day trips do not all leave every morning:
- Mindo Adventure and Sweet: Fridays.
- Otavalo Cultural and Shopping: Tuesdays and Saturdays.
- Quilotoa Culture and Hike: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
- Cotopaxi Hike and Bike: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Half Day Walking Tour Quito: every day, morning and afternoon.
The Amazon is more mixed. Napo Amazon EcoLodge takes guests any day, and so does the Cuyabeno 6-day paddling expedition, with a minimum of two passengers. The other three Cuyabeno programmes run on set days that change with the length: the 3-day leaves Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the 5-day Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Be honest about altitude
Quito sits at 2,850 m and most Andean tours go higher. Every Ecuador tour carries a difficulty label, and when you choose, remember it is about the air as much as the terrain.
- Easy. Otavalo, Mindo, the Quito walk, and the shorter jungle programmes: Cuyabeno 3 and 4 days, Napo 2 and 3 days. No altitude issue, no fitness requirement.
- Moderate. Cotopaxi Hike and Bike, where the van climbs to 4,600 m and you walk up to the Jose Rivas refuge at 4,800 m; the three-hour hike into the Quilotoa crater and back; the acclimatization outings, Fuya Fuya at 4,290 m and Guagua Pichincha at 4,790 m, both $130; and, for stamina rather than altitude, Cuyabeno 5 and 6 days and the 4-day Napo programme.
- Challenging and demanding. The glacier summits. Cotopaxi Summit Climb is 5,897 m over two days at $405, Chimborazo 6,310 m at $485. Both include the technical gear and an ASEGUIM-certified guide in rope teams of two climbers.
No previous experience is needed for the summits, but acclimatization days are. That is what the one-day hikes above Quito are for.
The Amazon: Cuyabeno or the Napo?
We own a lodge on each side, and they are different trips.
- Cuyabeno Dolphin Lodge sits inside the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve. Programmes of 3, 4, 5 or 6 days, all meals, bilingual naturalist guide and rubber boots included. You meet the canoe at Puente Cuyabeno at 11:00 a.m., so you need an overnight bus from Quito or a flight the day before. The 4-day tour is the best seller, with a full day among the Siona of Tarabeaya.
- Napo Amazon EcoLodge is on the Arajuno River. You meet at the Arajuno River Bridge at 12:00, then 20 minutes by motorised canoe. Departures any day, from $192 for two days, $243 for three and $354 for four, with a pool, kayaks and Starlink in the common areas.
Rule of thumb: Cuyabeno for deep-reserve wildlife, at the cost of a night of travel; the Napo for comfort and flexible dates. Cuyabeno rates are quoted on request.
Galapagos: cruise or island hopping?
The real difference is where you sleep.
- A cruise sleeps you on board and moves at night, so you wake up at the next visitor site. All meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on the last day, a certified bilingual naturalist guide, and each yacht has its own fixed departure days.
- Island hopping sleeps you in a hotel with air conditioning on Santa Cruz, Isabela or San Cristobal, with a bilingual naturalist guide licensed by the Galapagos National Park. Daily departures, 5 or 6 days, breakfast and lunch included, dinners not, snorkelling gear and towels provided.
Almost every programme leaves the mainland flight out of the rate; the Tip Top IV is the exception, and its price generally includes it. Budget as well for two fees paid separately in cash: the $200 National Park entrance and the $20 Transit Control Card, both already inside the Hermes catamaran rate. And book your Galapagos flights with us: some yacht operators charge a penalty otherwise.
Read the ‘not included’ list before the itinerary
The itinerary sells the tour. The exclusions tell you what the day really costs.
- Small fees add up. Quilotoa charges $2 for the lagoon and $1 for the Toachi Canyon viewpoint; Otavalo adds $5 at Quitsato; in Mindo the hummingbird farm is $5, the canopy $10 to $20 and the chocolate factory $10.
- Amazon extras. Community and shaman visits in Cuyabeno are $10 each; the community and Pañayaku reserve entrance on the Napo side is $10.
- Breakfast is not automatic. Cotopaxi Horseback Riding does not include it, and the two-day Cotopaxi and Quilotoa trip covers breakfast on day 2 but not day 1.
- Gear. The summit climbs include plastic boots, crampons, ice axe and harness, but not your sleeping bag or sunglasses. Rucu Pichincha does not include the cable car ticket.
Still not sure which Ecuador tour to choose?
We are the operator, not a reseller: our own guides, our own transport and our own lodges in Cuyabeno and on the Arajuno. That is why we can tell you whether a tour runs on your free Thursday. Browse the catalogue on our tours page, start with the Cotopaxi Hike and Bike if you have one day, or send us a WhatsApp at +593 98 094 2338 with your dates and we will tell you what fits.
