You spend a couple of nights in Quito, Ecuador's capital city, before heading down through the Andes. Quito is a fascinating city with a beautiful heart of old colonial villas and churches and a more vibrant new town with bustling shops and restaurants. After your long international flight to Quito, you will need time to unwind and relax before heading south.
Travel south from Quito down through the southern Andean highlands. You'll drive down the famous Avenue of the Volcanoes with it's breathtaking scenery and stop at Cotopaxi National Park. It's a great place for some walking. You'll pass through small villages with traditional markets and you'll visit ancient Inca ruins before reaching the lovely town of Cuenca. This place is full of old colonial architecture and has a charm of its own. Then we'll take you out of the mountains driving down to the coast at Guayaquil from where you catch a flight to the Galapagos.
For any wildlife enthusiast or nature lover, a Galapagos Islands cruise is one of those ‘once in a lifetime' trips which, if you're going to Ecuador (or even Peru), you just HAVE to make time and budget for. It's not a cheap experience, but it is absolutely worth the money. A Galapagos Islands cruise has to be one of the very best wildlife experiences on the planet. Where else in the world does the wildlife, even the birds, have no fear of man?!
At the end of your cruise, you will fly back to Quito to board your international flight. However, Ecuador is blessed with a variety of attractions all within easy reach of Quito. You can drive north to the famous market town of Otavalo, head to the cloud forest for a couple of days, or take a short flight to the Amazon rainforest.
This is one of Tribes' Down to Earth holidays. This is a great range of more affordable, set itinerary holidays, as opposed to our tailor made trips.
The Down to Earth holidays also have their own website where you will find lots more details about each trip.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE DOWN TO EARTH HOLIDAYS PAGE FOR THIS HOLIDAY
Duration: 18 days (19 with flights)
Day 1: Fly to Quito (if flight selected). Transfer to your hotel.
Day 2: Half day city tour of Quito.
Day 3: Drive to Cotopaxi. Guided visit to the national Park with lunch at Tambopaxi
Day 4: Day at leisure in the Cotopaxi area.
Day 5: Drive to Riobamba with a market visit en route.
Day 6: Continue to Cuenca visiting Ingapirca.
Day 7: Guided tour of Cuenca.
Day 8: Free day in Cuenca
Day 9: Drive to Guayaquil with a visit to Cajas National Park.
Day 10: Transfer to the airport. Fly to Galapagos to start your cruise.
Days 11 to 16: On your Galapagos cruise
Day 17: Fly back to Quito. Transfer to your hotel.
Day 18: Transfer. Fly to the UK (if flight selected)
