ESSENTIAL ECUADOR-GALAPAGOS
Season 2017
6 nights program in Ecuador continental + 3 nights at The Galapagos Island
QUITO/ OTAVALO/ LASSO/ RIOBAMBA/CUENCA/ GUAYAQUIL/GALAPAGOS
5 reasons to sell this circuit
- Accompanied circuit of 11 days with visits to all the major sights.
- English-speaking guides participants –
- Excellent 3* hotels in great locations
- Circuit of 15 days including Galapagos extension.
- Galapagos: visit four islands sheltering the key flora and fauna of the archipelago.
What you should know
Long road time driving through mountains between certain stages. The scenery is wonderful but we prefer to inform our customers.
For Galapagos: accommodation in one hotel and boat trips every day to visit the nearest islands. From 2 to 4 hours of sailing per day.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
- Air: The program is based on the schedules of Iberia airline with arrival in Quito in the afternoon of day 1 and from Guayaquil in the afternoon of day 10. However, it is possible to use other airlines with regards to other cities and the arrival and departure times to avoid additional transfer fee when joining the group.
- Formalities: passports must be valid at least six months after the date of return.
- Health: No vaccinations are required. Antimalarial treatment is recommended as well as an anti-mosquito lotion for the Amazon stage.
- Altitude: The majority of stages of the circuit (except Amazon and Galapagos Islands extension) is over 2000m. Some collars are over 3000m.
- Climate: Wide variety of climates. The most pleasant season is probably between June and December: temperate or cold in the mountains, hot and humid in the Amazon and Guayaquil.
HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR TRIP IN ECUADOR
- Discovery of the historic centers of Quito and Cuenca, cities classified heritage of humanity by Unesco.
- The passage through the equator between the two hemispheres, which was calculated by La Condamine in the eighteenth century.
- Stroll in the Indian market of Otavalo, considered all of South America’s largest.
- Contemplation of the Avenue of the Volcanoes: the countries of central valleys surrounded by towering snow-capped volcanoes.
- Visit the Cuicocha Lagoon, located in the heart of the crater of a volcano, part of the ecological reserve Cotacachi-Cayapas.
- Getaway aboard the Andean train to the site of the “Nariz del Diablo”, performed zigzag along the slope.
- Between Cuenca and Guayaquil, beautiful road of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean and the estuary of the Guayas River.
- Small, comfortable boutique hotels, part of the selection made by Quimbaya Latin America. Menu meals chosen for you to taste specialties from the Ecuadorian cuisine.
Daily transport time:
Day 1: Arrive in Quito.
Day 2: Quito / Equinoctial Line / Quito (1h30).
Day 3: Otavalo/ Cotopaxi/ Lasso (4 hours drive).
Day 4: Lasso /Baños/ Riobamba (road about 5:00).
Day 5: Riobamba/ Train des Andes (1:30 Train)/Ingapirca/ Cuenca (road about 5:30)
Day 6: Cuenca/ Guayaquil (4 hours drive).
Day 7: Guayaquil Q Baltra (2h flight)/ Santa Cruz.
Day 8: Santa Cruz Tour Navigable Seymour
Day 9: Santa Cruz. Tour Navigable Santa Fe o Plazas
Day 10: :Santa Cruz/ Baltra Q Guayaquil (2h flight, no included ) or Quito (2h50 fligt, no included).
Q Europe (not included)
HOTELS
Quito
EMBASSY****
Standard hotel located strategically in the commercial area of the city, near hotels, banks, malls, museums, galleries, theaters and other tourist sites. Our 30 year experience in customer service allows our visitors to feel truly at home. The hotel offers comfortable single, double, triple rooms, suites and apartments all equipped with hot water. Wi-Fi access in rooms and a safety box are also available.
Web Site: www.hoteles-embassy.com/
Otavalo
EL INDIO INN***
Small hotel located in the heart of Otavalo at only 300 m (1/5 mile) of the famous Otavalo Market. It has 33 comfortable rooms with private bathroom and hot water. The hotel has a restaurant where you can try the exquisite Ecuadorian flavors and some international meals. Security box is available at the lobby.
Web Site: www.hotelelindioinn.com
Lasso
LA QUINTA COLORADA ***
Hosteria La Quinta Colorada is located in Ecuador’s Andes mountains, at an altitude of 3,100 meters. The hotel is located in Lasso, at Km 5 of the Toacazo-Sigchoscon Highway. Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport is 1h50 away and Latacunga’s international airport is just 15 minutes’ drive. From La Quinta Colorada you can admire the stunning Cotopaxi Volcano, Which stands at an altitude of 5,897 meters and Which is Considered to be the country’s second highest mountain.
Web Site: www.quintacolorada.com
Riobamba
MANSIÓN SANTA ISABELA ***
The Mansion Santa Isabella is a beautifully restored colonial house in the center of Riobamba. It is the inspiration of an English/Ecuadorian couple and their family. The hotel places an emphasis on warm personalized service, modern comfort in classic surroundings and making sure that all of its guests enjoy Riobamba and its stunning surroundings to the best.
Web Site: www.mansionsantaisabella.com
Cuenca
INCA REAL***
The hotel has a magical and elegant atmosphere with a quarter century of service. The “Inca Real” was recently declared part of the architectural heritage of the city of Cuenca. In this wonderful place you will enjoy the charm of fifty years of history and comfort along with all the installations of a modern hotel. You will find 25 delightful rooms, each one with bathroom and hot water showers, television and telephone. Security box is available in the lobby. Wi-Fi Internet access.
Web site: www.hotelincareal.com
Guayaquil
CONTINENTAL***
The Continental Style is the product of one family’s 50 years old tradition in the hotel business.
The Hotel Continental was inaugurated in 1974 and during its existence it has been relentless in making sure that all its services offered to customers be the very best.
Architecturally speaking the Hotel is a complex that projects itself with its own personality and versatility allowing us to incorporate new technologies in different areas of service.
The Hotel is literally surround by very interesting buildings and facilities as: the Parque Seminario, The Metropolitan Cathedral, the Post Office and Telecommunications building, the new Malecon 2000 and the Cristal Palace Hall. It is actually located right in the heart of the banking and commercial district, which is very convenient, whether you are in the City for pleasure or on business.
check out 12h00
Web site: www.hotelcontinental.com.ec
Galapagos – Santa Cruz Island
FERNANDINA***
Program
Day by day
Day 1 – Arrival in Quito
Arrival at Quito airport. Meet your English -speaking guide and transfer to hotel. Free dinner. Overnight at the hotel EMBASSY*** or SIMILAR.
Day 2 – QUITO/EQUINOCTIAL LINE/OTAVALO
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit the historic center of Quito, UNESCO Wrold Heritage site. Discover its architectural heritage dating from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Walk on the Independence Square where the Cathedral and the Archdiocesis is, embellished with arches and fountains. Continue to La Compañia (Church of Jesus), Mudejar baroque jewel whose interior is a golden fairy. Walk on the esplanade, always lively located opposite to the Church of San Francisco, built on the foundations of an Inca palace whose interior is home to masterpieces of Latin American religious art and surrounded by pretty colonial houses.
Lunch in a traditional restaurant.
Departure to the Middle of the World, which was established with precision crossing the Equator line in 1735 by French Geodesic Expedition. Visit the small ethnological museum that tells the Ecuadorian ancestral culture. Road to the Indian village of Otavalo to be present the next day at the famous market.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel EL INDIO INN*** or SIMILAR.
Day 3 – OTAVALO / COTOPAXI /LASSO
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit of the most important Indian market of South America.
Walk around the area devoted to fabrics and crafts and the fruit market, vegetables, seeds and spices …
All stalls are operated by the Otavalo community dressed in traditional costumes and jewelry.
Lunch in a traditional restaurant.
Road through the region Quiroga and páramos up Cuicocha to admire the old crater of Cotacachi volcano, now a natural lake.
Promenade to admire the flora and fauna around the lake to a sundial.
Continue to the national park overlooked by the Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world (5987 m). Walking in the nature reserve inhabited by llamas, wild horses, Andean wolves and with a little luck, see some condors.
Walk around the lake Limpiopungo.
Departure to Lasso, typical agricultural town where we find one of the oldest haciendas in Ecuador.
Dinner and overnight at the LA QUINTA COLORADA*** or SIMILAR
Day 4 – Lasso / Baños / Riobamba
Breakfast at the hotel.
Road through the “Avenue of the Volcanoes” to Baños, a charming town surrounded by sugar cane fields, orchards and Andean mountains covered by thick vegetation.
The hot springs and waterfalls complement the decor.
There will be a walk of about forty minutes to reach the site of the “Pailon del Diablo” embellished by an impressive waterfall.
Lunch in a traditional restaurant.
Departure to Riobamba through the legendary Pan-American Highway through the Andes.
Walk in the historic center of this typical town of the Andes of Ecuador.
Contemplate the beautiful snowy mountains including the Chimborazo volcano around Riobamba.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel MANSION SANTA ISABELLA*** or SIMILAR.
Day 5 – RIOBAMBA/ ANDEAN TRAIN / INGAPIRCA/ CUENCA
Breakfast at the hotel.
Early departure to Alausí.
Boarding the Train of the Andes *.
Crossing different landscapes distant villages before arriving at the “Devils Nose”, reach it through a zigzag road(Journey to /).
* Important: This path may be subject to unforeseen (landslides) and Ecuadorian railways can then cancel the train. In this case, the route will be offered by bus without passing through the “Nariz del Diablo”.
Lunch in a traditional restaurant.
Continuation bus until Inca archaeological site Ingapirca.
Located 3100m above sea level; the ruins are the most important pre-Columbian site in the country.
Ingapirca 15th century, during the reign of Emperor Huayna Capac.
The mystery of its actual use remainsa mystery, wondering if it was a fortress, observatory or a temple.
Departure to Cuenca, art city whose historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel INCA REAL*** or SIMILAR.
Day 6 – CUENCA / GUAYAQUIL
Breakfast at the hotel.
Discover the unique architecture of Cuenca composed of houses and churches in the colonial and republican styles.
Stroll through its picturesque streets and lush gardens.
Passage through the flower market on the square of the « Carmel de la Asunción » Church.
Visit the main halls of the Aboriginal Cultures Museum. Factory tour and museum hats “Panama” of the Ortega family.
Lunch will be served in a historical center of the restaurant.
Nice way to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s Pacific port.
Guayaquil is the largest city and one of the liveliest of Ecuador through its African heritage.
Panoramic tour of the town facing the Guayas River and the Pacific Ocean.
Dinner at a restaurant on the river
Overnight at hotel CONTINENTAL**** or SIMILAR
Day 7 – GUAYAQUIL – BALTRA /SANTA CRUZ
Breakfast
Transfer to the airport in Guayaquil. Flight from Guayaquil towards Baltra (flight not included). Transfer in three stages to the island of Santa Cruz
- 1st step transit from the airport to Canal de Itabaca(10 minutes by bus).
- Step 2 transfer by ferry to Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island (about 10 minutes).
- 3rd stage private transfer to the highlands (45 minutes) to visit a reserve of giant tortoises, emblematic animals of the Galapagos. These turtles migrate to the reserve in search of shade and water. Walk through the volcanic soil of the reserve.
Lunch at a local ranch.
The afternoon will be devoted to the excursion to “grietas” and to the beach “Playa de los alemanes” The “grietas” are an inlet surrounded by cliffs. The waters are populated transparent multicolored fish and birds. At the beach of the Germans we can observe iguanas and sea birds … and dive into the Pacific waters. Return to the hotel. Meeting with the guide for information about your visit to the Galapagos.
Dinner with local specialties in a restaurant at Puerto Ayora. Overnight at the hotel FERNANDINA*** or SIMILA
Day 8 – NAVIGATION NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND
Breakfast at the hotel.
Ferry transfer with support in English / Spanish.
Boarding of a board yacht can accommodate up to 16 passengers.
Navigation to Seymour Island (about 45 minutes).
NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND
Excursion to the island inhabited by colonies of sea lions, “blue-footed boobies,” dovetail-tailed gulls, lava gulls, frigates and two species of marine iguanas.
Desert scenery dotted with lagoons where flamingos fly away.
Lunch on board the yacht.
Navigation to Mosquera beach where you can go diving and snorkeling.
Dinner at local restaurant then free return to the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel FERNANDINA*** or SIMILAR.
Day 9 – NAVIGATION SANTA FE OR PLAZAS ISLAND
Breakfast at the hotel. The tours are booked depending on availability :
OPTION 1
Ferry transfer with support in English / Spanish. Board the yacht and navigate about 40 minutes to the island of Santa Fe. This visit will delight lovers of desert landscapes dotted with cactus. The island is home to species of endemic iguanas including the iconic Galapagos: large iguanas with a light color and a pronounced dorsal crest .. And of course, you will come across many sea lions and sea turtles in the cove. Short walk in the island and the possibility to go diving and snorkeling. Return to the yacht for lunch. Continue walking with the possibility of also going diving and snorkeling. Back to the hotel around 4pm.
OPTION 2
Ferry transfer with support in English / Spanish. Boarding the yacht and sail to the South Plaza Island (about 45 minutes). This small island in the archipelago offers stunning volcanic landscape with cliffs formed by lava and covered with cactus. Walking tour to observe one of the largest sea lion colonies (over 1000 individuals) and many species of iguanas yellow purplish. You will find the gull to dovetail tail, phaeton (straw tail), the frigate, the blue-footed booby, the masked booby, the Audubon puffin. Sometimes you can see sharks, turtles and stingrays. In terms of flora, Plaza South is lined by a singular endemic plant, Sesuvium. Green January to June it turns bright red during the dry season, from June to December.
Lunch on board.
After visiting Punta Carrión, continue near the Baltra island to observe marine wildlife and snorkeling.
Dinner in a traditional restaurant. Free return to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel FERNANDINA*** or SIMILAR.
Day 10 – SANTA CRUZ/BALTRA – GUAYAQUIL – EUROPE
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Baltra airport with support in English / Spanish or French with supplement.
While being transferred, stop at Los Gemelos craters, impressive volcanic wells.
The place is full of birds, including the “red tyrant” and “lark”.
Flight to Guayaquil (not included, arrival in the afternoon).
Assistance for the flight back to Europe (not included).
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR GALAPAGOS
VISITS: Depending on navigation conditions on site, it is possible that some excursions or islands are replaced by others.
GUIDES: English speaking guide accompanies passengers throughout the yacht tours.
During transfers assistance will be in English / Spanish.
No guide and transfers for dinners.
However it is possible with extra to have assistance in French and / or accompanied transfers.
END OF OUR SERVICES.