Home Cities - Quito, Ecuador

Departure from your home city to Quito, Ecuador. Once we arrive in the international airport of Quito, we will be greeted by our local English-speaking guide, and will transfer us to the Hotel. The transfer drive will take approximately 1 hour and upon arrival at the hotel you will be welcomed by the attentive staff and give you the room keys. Then, our guide will give a short briefing about the next day's activities.

Quito - Otavalo 

This is a great and amazing day! We drive to Otavalo, through the Valley of Sunrise, passing by small villages lost in time where not much has changed from ancient times. Otavalo is one of the biggest and most colorful indigenous markets in Latin America. The market of Otavalo is famous around the world for its colorful tapestries, hand-knitted wool sweaters, native paintings, wood carvings, silver jewelry, and much more, at bargain prices. The people of the area of Otavalo are known as skilled craftspeople and great musicians. We continue our journey and visit the village of Cotacachi, where you can purchase the best articles in leather at bargain price. Overnight will be in a Colonial Hacienda, where Liberator Simon Bolivar stayed.

Quito - Pinsaqui village - Mitad del Mundo - Cloud Forest

A stop to visit the iconic Middle of the World Monument and the line that marks the northern and southern hemisphere. You can take your picture straddling between north and south hemisphere.

We arrive in Mindo. No other place on earth shows hundreds of species of hummingbirds that could be observed at distance of two feet. Bring your binocular. The lodge is called “Seventh Paradise” It is a “paradise” hidden in the cloud forest. A perfect place to relax, enjoy the pristine forest, and the swimming pool. 

Mindo Cloud Forest to Quito

This morning, feast your eyes by seeing hummingbirds and taking pictures. We always offer two optional experiences, ride a zip-line that takes you from tree to tree, through the pristine cloud forest. You could admire the different species of hummingbirds coming to the feeders We also offer an optional visit to a butterfly farm.  Overnight in Quito.

Quito to Galapagos Islands

After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport for a flight to the mysterious Galapagos Islands. The flight takes approximately two and a half hours. Upon arrival at the Baltra airport, we will be met by Galapagos Element personnel and drive in a bus with other passengers to the Itabaca Channel. Our group sails across the channel and disembark in Santa Cruz Island. We visit one of the private farms and tortoise reserves located in the hills, where giant tortoises wander around freely. You will learn about how these farms help protect the tortoises. At the farm, it is also possible to admire different kinds of birds, such as tree and ground finches, vermillion flycatchers, paint-billed crakes, yellow warblers, and cattle egrets.

Seymour Island and Bachas Beach

This is a shared tour. Morning pick- up at the hotel sail to North Seymour Island, where the turquoise waters contrast beautifully with the white sand and black lava of the shoreline. Beyond, a red carpet of scarlet Sesuvium Succulents, which serves as groundcover for a grove of luminescent green prickly-pear cactus. During the short hike you can spot yellow-grey land iguanas sunning beneath the cacti, and waiting patiently for prickly pears to fall to the ground. Their favorite meal. Along the coastline you can observe sea lion colonies, frigate birds, Blue footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, and waters birds. Afternoon picnic lunch on Bachas beach. 

Santa Cruz Island to Floreana Island

The Element Wind Catamaran will take us to Floreana Island, the smallest inhabited island in the archipelago; population a little bit over 100. The accommodation is on small cabins along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a short navigation. If you are prone to get sea- sick pack Dramamine. During the evening hour, when the sun sets, the horizon is afire with the most vivid yellows and reds you may have ever seen. In 1932, a German family settled the islands. The descendants still live on the island. During the hike to the highlands of Floreana Island, we enter a circled space where tortoises live. We visit an area called Asilo de la Paz, (peace asylum) where the Wittmer family settled in the early 1930’s. After breakfast, a short hike to Lobos Beach. This is another place where you can enjoy a few hours on the beach, snorkeling at your heart content. The beach is not a long extension of sand, but small coves protected by the wind. We will have a chance to visit the local school. I suggest bringing some school materials for the children. More information coming. 

Floreana Island to Isabela Island

Early morning, we sail to Puerto Villamil, the largest town in Isabela Island. After lunch at the hotel At 2:00pm we return to the pier to board a water taxi. We will explore the area to see the black marine iguanas, a very particular specie endemic of the Galapagos. Usually, iguanas are reptiles that live on the sandy grounds. In other islands we will see the land iguanas, which are a yellow whitish color. Be prepared to snorkel in the lava canals, surrounded by rock sharks. When you return home, you can tell your friends and family that you have snorkeled with sharks. 

Isabela Island

This morning the adventure will take us to see the second largest volcano crater in the world, after the Ngorongoro crater in Africa.  The Sierra Negra volcano offers a spectacular view of the Isabela Island. The caldera is also the shallowest of all the volcanoes that form Isabela Island. All the islands are part of extinct volcanoes. Some of them have luscious vegetation that serves as a protection for birds and other species.

The afternoon tour will take us to the wetlands and the tortoise breeding center. Here we see the gigantic tortoises from birth to maturity. The “Humedales” or wetlands cover a great extension. This is the place where we see flamingos and many other birds populating the shallow waters and trees.

Isabela Island to Santa Cruz Island

A three-hour sailing on the Element Wind, takes us to Santa Cruz Island and to the Ikala Hotel. Along the way, we navigate around Tortuga Island. The cliffs of the island serve as a breeding ground for blue footed boobies, the Nazca masked boobies, frigate birds, dolphins and hopefully whales. Free time to explore Puerto Ayora and do some shopping. Afternoon, visit the Darwin Research Center where we learn about the endemic species and its adaptation to the environment. Free time. Lunch on your own, You may like to enjoy a fine lobster lunch, or anything you prefer. 

Santa Cruz Island to Quito

This is our last day in the Galapagos Islands. After breakfast, we make two stops on the way to the airport. We have scheduled a visit to Rolando’s workshop. Rolando will demonstrate how tortoises, seals, blue footed boobies, and other birds are carved. It is a perfect place to buy souvenirs. The second stop is going to be at a small coffee and sugar cane plantation, we will learn how the sugar cane juice is made into a drink.  Bring cash to pay for your purchases. I am sure you will spend money shopping for souvenirs at Rolando’s Afternoon flight to Quito. Transfer to the hotel.

Quito

Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, is one of most beautiful colonial cities in South America and was declared by UNESCO as part of the Cultural Heritage of mankind. We will explore the colonial area by walking along the cobblestone streets. Our tour starts in the heart of the city: Independence square, with the presidential palace, the city hall, and the Cathedral. We will walk and visit La Compañía Church, dating back to 1605, with its breathtaking gilded altars, it is one of the finest examples of baroque art in America. We continue to the San Francisco convent, built in 1535. From this point we drive up to the Panecillo hill, for an amazing view of Quito from above. Here we can admire the only winged-Virgin statue in South America. This is a great spot to take pictures above Quito. At the end of the tour we return to the Swiss hotel for a few hours of rest, before our departure home.

Quito to U.S.A.

Return to your home city.

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To Book This Tour, Contact:

Carol Alegre, Tour Manager
Tel: (801) 483-6165
Email Carol

TOUR ID#9224J11

CASH DISCOUNT of $100.00 for final payment by check