Luxury-trip 21 days
14 nights in Andes
4 nights in Amazon
3nights at the coast
Luxury-trip 21 days
Itinerary
day 1 arrival in Quito – transfer to Otavalo
day 2 activities in the hacienda/acclimatization
Day 3: Walk around Lake Cuicocha
day 4 morning in the hacienda – transfer to Mindo with a visit to the Equator Museum – day 1 Mashpi
day 5 Mashpi day 2
day 6 Mashpi day 3 – transfer to Quito
day 7 Colonial Quito
day 8 transfer to the airport – flight to Coca Cola day 1
day 9 Amazon day 2
day 10 Amazon day 3
day 11 Amazon day 4 – flight to Quito – transfer to Cotopaxi
day 12 Cotopaxi National Park
day 13 – visit Lake Quilotoa and Tigua – transfer to Chimborazo
day 14 Chimborazo National Park
day 15 transfer to Cuenca incl. ingapirca
day 16 City Tour Cuenca – free afternoon
day 17 Cajas National Park
day 18 transfer to La Danesa – Hacienda La Danesa day 1
day 19 Hacienda la Danesa day 2
day 20 Hacienda la Danesa day 3 – transfer to Guayaquil
day 21 transfer to the airport
- all excursions with private English-speaking guide
- all transfers with private car!
- For info and support you can always contact our EN-speaking colleague in Ecuador.
LUXURY
7 618 USD / person
based on 2 persons
Hotels
Otavalo: Hacienda Zuleta – standard room
Mindo Nevelwoud: Mashpi Lodge – Wayra room
Quito: Casa Gangotena – Luxury room
Cotopaxi: Hacienda San Agustin – standard room
Amazonewoud: Napo Wildlife Center – standard room
Riobamba: Hacienda Abraspungo – suite
Cuenca: Cruz del Vado: superior room
Milagro: Hacienda La Danesa Garden Cottage
Guayaquil: Wyndham Hotel – Junior suite
Includes
* All hotel nights with breakfast, transfers, domestic flights and excursions as mentioned in the program.
* Lunch and dinner in accordance with the program if stated.
Excluding
* Drinks, tips and expenses of a personal nature.
* International flights to and from Ecuador.
* Travel or cancellation insurance.
This is a sample trip. The order of the trip and the choice of hotels and excursions can be adapted to your wishes. You can combine this trip with another example trip or a cruise to the Galapagos Islands. The extensive range of hotels, excursions and cruises can be found elsewhere on this website.
DAY 1
Arrival in Quito
Transfer from Quito to Otavalo in private car (SP-language driver)
You will be picked up by a Spanish-speaking driver at the hotel (or airport) and taken in a private car to the hotel in Otavalo. This drive through the Andes Mountains takes about 2 hours.
Hacienda Zuleta – standard room double with breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hacienda Zuleta dates back to the 17th century and is located at an altitude of 2,800 meters, between Cayambe and Otavalo. The hotel is about a two-hour drive from Quito. The hacienda is an active farm and includes 2,000 hectares of farmland. The hotel was once the working farm of a former president of Ecuador. Today, the hacienda is still owned by the well-known Lasso family. There are seventeen unique guest rooms, all with wood-burning stoves. You can eat well in the renowned kitchen with homegrown products: there is an in-house dairy, an organic garden, a trout farm, etc. The hacienda offers several excursions. For example, you can explore the beautiful, centuries-old gardens on foot or on horseback.
For more information see zuleta.com
DAY 2
Acclimatization:
You can participate in the activities organized by the Hacienda itself. For a description of the activities at the hacienda: see Zuleta-activities
Hacienda Zuleta – standard room double with breakfast, lunch and dinner
DAY 3
Hiking tour around the crater lake of Cuicocha
Cuicocha is one of the most beautiful lakes in Ecuador. In a private car we drive to the entrance of the Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve, where we start a 5-hour walking tour that runs between 3,100 and 3,500 meters above sea level. Along the way, we enjoy the biodiversity, the views of the picturesque lake of Cuicocha with its two islands, as well as the panorama of the mountain peaks of Cotacachi, Imbabura and Cayambe.
Difficulty: moderate
Duration: approx. 7 hours
Included: English speaking local guide, private transport, meal or packed lunch
Mandatory: good walking shoes, sun protection, mosquito repellent, fleece or pull, water (min.1 liter)
Recommended: camera, binoculars, rain jacket, reasonable condition also at height
Hacienda Zuleta – standard room double with breakfast, lunch and dinner
DAY 4
Free morning in the Hacienda
Transfer from Otavalo to Mindo in private car (incl. visit Mitad del Mundo)
During this drive through the Andes you will cross the valley of Guayllabamba and pass the equator monument (Mitad del Mundo), where the driver will be waiting for you – so you can make a visit to the monument and to the Inti-Nan museum on your own (entrance not included).
Duration: 3 hours driving and 1,5 hour visit.
Mashpi Lodge – Wayra room double incl all meals, excursions, lectures, ….
Tucked away in a private 1,200-acre nature reserve, this state-of-the-art, high-end lodge is one of National Geographic’s Unique Lodges of the World. The design is completely adapted to the surrounding nature. You move around here on foot, by electric trolley, by cable car or by aerial bicycle. There are seventeen very spacious rooms and three suites, all with large windows overlooking the forest. There is a wellness with jacuzzi and a beautiful yoga room. In the restaurant you get to know the different regions of Ecuador through the flavors on your plate. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared with fresh Ecuadorian ingredients. The stay is all-in: meals, excursions, English-speaking guides and specialized lectures are included. Only the cable car “”DragonFly”” has to be paid for on the spot (49 USD pp). Upon arrival, you put together your own program from a choice list of activities.
For more info see www.mashpilodge.com
DAY 5
Mashpi Lodge day 2
Today you participate in the activities of your choice.
For a description of the possible activities see www.mashpilodge.com/explorations
DAY 6
Mashpi Lodge day 3
This morning you participate in the activities of your choice.
Transfer from Mindo to Quito in private car
This private car ride takes approximately 2 hours.
Casa Gangotena – Luxury Room double with breakfast
In the heart of colonial Quito, beautifully situated on the Plaza San Francisco, this top-class luxury hotel is located in a beautiful building, renovated in neo-classical and art-deco style. Colonial Quito’s main attractions surround the hotel. The hotel has 20 luxury rooms, 8 Plaza view rooms and 3 suites.
For more information see Casa Gangotena
DAY 7
Colonial Quito
For this excursion, the guide will pick you up at the hotel by car. We will visit the old and the new Quito: the parliament, the presidential palace, the Plaza de Independencia and the churches of San Francisco, La Compania and the cathedral. Then we go to El Panecillo, the statue of the angel and viewpoint that perches high above Quito. The guide provides information about Quito and Ecuador. The entrance to the listed sights is subject to opening hours.
Included: English speaking guide and private transportation.
Not included: any meal, entrance to museums and churches.
Duration: 4 to 5 hours.
Casa Gangotena – Luxury Room double with breakfast
DAY 8
Transfer from hotel to Quito airport in private car (SP-language driver)
You will be picked up at the hotel and taken to the airport
Flight from Quito to Coca
You will be met at the airport by a representative of the lodge who will help you check in. After a 30-minute flight over the peaks of the Andes, we land at the small airport of Coca from where we take a small van to the pier on the Rio Napo.
Canoe trip from Coca to the lodge
A large comfortable covered motor canoe now takes us in a 2.5 hour trip to the pier of the Napo Wildlife Center (NWC). Along the way we take a packed lunch. During this trip you can already spot several local bird species (herons, kingfishers,…). At the pier of the NWC we refresh ourselves and then continue for about 1.5 hours by tree canoe, paddling along a narrow creek, under the trees to the lodge on the other side of the lake. Along the way there is a good chance of seeing monkeys, and several larger bird species such as parrots, toucans and macaws. In the late afternoon you arrive at the lodge on the edge of the beautiful Añangu Lake. You will have a welcome drink and get to know the lodge and its people. After dinner there is the opportunity to participate in the search for caimans around the lake.
Napo Wildlife Center – 4D/3N standard cabin double
Napo Wildlife Center is one of the most beautiful and authentic lodges in the South American Amazon. Located deep in the jungle, on the shore of a gigantic lake, it is ecologically run by the local Añangu community. Here you will be immersed in their lives for several days and watch the beautiful surrounding flora and fauna together with them. The lodge is built in natural materials but is very luxurious. Included are overnight stays, all meals, water transport, all excursions (in the forest there is a beautiful clay lick where you can spot parrots in the morning), local indigenous guide and English-Spanish speaking nature guide, Yasuni National Park entrance, rain ponchos and rubber boots.
For more info see Napo Wildlife Center.
DAY 9
Napo Wildlife 4D/3N – day 2
DAY 10
Napo Wildlife 4D/3N – day 3
DAY 11
Napo Wildlife Center – day 4
See program on lodge website
Flight from Coca to Quito
The canoe and plane will take you back to Quito from the lodge in a few hours.
Transfer from Quito to Cotopaxi in private car (SP language driver)
You will be transferred to the hotel in Cotopaxi. This is a 1.5 hour drive through the mountains.
Hacienda San Agustin – standard room double with breakfast, lunch and dinner
This small beautiful hacienda is located among the fields at the foot of the majestic Cotopaxi volcano. You will spend the night here in an original Inca building, unique in Ecuador! The original Inca fort is integrated into the main building, the chapel and the dining room. The main building (Casa Inca) is located around the patio and has 2 suites and 3 standard rooms. Casa del Callo is a separate building with 1 suite and 2 standard rooms plus a common area with kitchen and is therefore more suitable for families. Casa Cotopaxi is a beautifully restored stable with 2 suites and has views of Cotopaxi. The suite at Casa de Callo also has a view of the volcano. Ije gets here an extensive tour of the estate. Also feeding the llamas is included in the package.
Included are the three meals, a welcome drink and the use of bicycles.
For more info see www.incahacienda.com
DAY 12
The Cotopaxi volcano
The driver will pick you up at the hotel in the morning. The National Park is an hour’s drive from Quito. On clear days you can admire the mountain from afar. After a short stop at the Mariscal Sucre information point, where you will receive some explanation about the region and the volcano, we continue to 4500 m altitude. From here we go to the refuge which is 365 meters higher. It is a very steep walk that takes us at least an hour due to the high altitude. Then we descend to the Limpiopungo Lake which lies at the foot of the volcano. This lake is fed by a volcanic glacier; you often see wild horses grazing and Andean foxes hunting. Then we return to the hotel by car.
Difficulty: light-moderate.
What to bring: sun and rain protection, water, sports footwear, camera and warm clothes.
Duration: 6 hours
Includes: English speaking guide, transport and lunch box
Hacienda San Agustin – standard room double with breakfast, lunch and dinner
DAY 13
Descent of Quilotoa crater lake and visit to Tigua
The guide will pick you up at the hotel and take you to the Quilotoa crater lake. Along the way, you will make a stop in the village of Tigua, which is known for its colorful paintings that are made on both wood and sheep skins. Once in Quilotoa we first visit the viewpoint where you get a breathtaking view over this azure blue lake. We then make a steep descent to the shores of the lake; here you can either walk further or rent a kayak to go out on the lake and take pictures. Then we start the tough climb back to the rim of the crater, until we reach the car and drive back to the hotel.
Difficulty: easy.
What to bring: sun and rain protection, warm fleece, water and camera.
Duration: 5 hours
Includes: English speaking guide, transport and lunch box
Transfer from Cotopaxi to Riobamba in private car (SP language driver)
The driver will pick you up at the hotel and take you to the hotel in Riobamba. This drive through the mountains takes about 2 hours.
Hacienda Abraspungo – junior suite double with breakfast
This beautiful hotel is housed in an ancient hacienda. The hotel has thirty-eight comfortable rooms, all named after a mountain in Ecuador and decorated with great attention to the colonial style. All rooms have direct access to the beautiful gardens. In the restaurant, the chefs surprise you with culinary excellence of Ecuadorian cuisine. From the hotel you can participate in various activities, such as horseback riding, hiking, etc. You are here in a quiet suburb of Riobamba, about five minutes drive from downtown.
For more info see haciendaabraspungo.com
DAY 14
Chimborazo National Park Hiking – private excursion
Today we visit Ecuador’s highest mountain (6268 m) and also the closest point on earth to the sun. In the morning we leave for Chimborazo where we first make a short stop in Colta to visit the Balbanera Church. This is the oldest church in Ecuador. Then we drive into the National Park where we stop at the first refuge at 4800 meters. We make a short walk to the Condor Lake at 5100 meters and then we descend back to 5000 meters for a hot cup of coffee at the second refuge. Both during the hike and during the car ride we can admire beautiful landscapes and local fauna such as vicuñas. We then return to the car and drive further until San Juan, where we get a delicious lunch at a Belgian-Ecuadorian family. From here we leave back to the hotel.
Difficulty: Average.
Bring with you: protection from the sun and rain, gloves, hat, water bottle, camera, good walking shoes.
Duration: 7 hours
Includes: English speaking guide, transportation h/t, lunch, snack and water
Hacienda Abraspungo – junior suite double with breakfast
DAY 15
Transfer from Riobamba to Cuenca in private car with visit to Ingapirca (English speaking guide/driver)
From Riobamba you will drive in a private car to Cuenca. On the way you will visit the most famous Inca ruins from Ecuador.
Duration: 6.5 hours (4.5 hours driving and 2 hours visit Ingapirca)
Excluding the entrance to the ruins to be paid on the spot: 6 USD.
Cruz del Vado – superior room double with breakfast
Hotel Cruz del Vado is located on the banks of the Tomebamaba River, near the historic center of Cuenca. The hotel is housed in a restored mansion that retains its original pink marble facades. This small luxury hotel has twenty-six modern rooms, all soundproofed and with a private bathroom with bath. You can dine in the restaurant and afterwards drink a coffee or cocktail in the roof top bar that offers a view over the entire city.
For more info see hotelcruzdelvado.com
DAY 16
City Tour Cuenca (Half Day) – Private Excursion
With an English speaking guide we visit the most beautiful places in the city. We walk through the San Sebastian district and visit the most beautiful squares, streets and small churches. We make a stop at the Museum of Modern Art and then continue to a workshop where the famous Panama hats are made. We visit the panorama point of Turi where we have a beautiful view over the city and then return to the hotel. The guide is happy to adapt the visit to your interests and preferences.
Duration: +/- 4 hours
Includes: English speaking guide and transport
Exclusive: entrance to museums.
Cruz del Vado – superior room double with breakfast
DAY 17
Visit to Cajas National Park – private excursion
The Cajas National Park has about 200 lakes and lies between 3200 and 4600 meters above sea level. We leave Cuenca in the morning and first visit the lower areas of the National Park, called Llaviucu, which are at about 3200 meters above sea level. We hike here for about an hour and a half before moving on to the higher ground. There, one of the most beautiful and largest lakes in the park, called La Toreadora, rises. On the shores of this lake grows the Polylepis or paper tree. We hike here for about two hours and a half and then head back towards civilization for lunch in a restaurant that offers typical dishes of the region.
Difficulty: light – moderate.
Bring with you: protection from the sun and rain, camera, water, warm clothes and sturdy walking shoes.
Duration: +/- 7 hours
Includes: English speaking guide, transportation and meals
Cruz del Vado – superior room double with breakfast
DAY 18
Transfer from Cuenca to Milagro in private car (SP language driver)
On this scenic drive, you’ll ride with a local SP-language driver from Cuenca to Milagro. The road descends gradually from the Andes Mountains to the coastal plain.
Duration: +/- 3 hours.
Hacienda La Danesa – Garden Cottage double room with breakfast (low season)
Hacienda La Danesa used to be a large cattle ranch. Now it combines this activity with operating a luxury resort with top-level service. You can eat fresh cheese (made from milk from the farm), attend chocolate workshops (with cocoa from the hacienda) or roll up your sleeves to help milk the cows. The hacienda is an hour and a half’s drive from Guayaquil on the way to the Andes Mountains making it pleasantly warm. The property has six guest rooms, all with air conditioning, bathroom, hairdryer, dressing gown and slippers. You can book in-room massages. There is also the possibility of biking, hiking, tubing in the river, etc. You can go horseback riding, visit the nearby nature reserves, take cooking classes etc. La Danesa is a good place to actively relax.
For more info see www.haciendaladanesa.com
DAY 19
Hacienda La Danesa – Garden Cottage double room with breakfast (low season)
DAY 20
Transfer from Milagro to Guayaquil in private car (English speaking guide/driver)
An English-speaking driver will take you in a private car from the hotel in Milagro to the airport in Guayaquil.
Duration: approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes
Wyndham Hotel – junior suite double with breakfast buffet
This modern 5-star hotel is located on the river embankment, El Malecon. This beautifully remodeled area of Guayaquil is well located for the airport and most of the city’s attractions. It has 179 rooms and has all the amenities a luxury hotel should have. The Premium rooms and Junior suites have a view of the river. Breakfast buffet, wifi and access to swimming pool and fitness are included.
For more info see en.wyndhamguayaquil.com
DAY 21
Transfer from hotel to Guayaquil airport in private vehicle
You will be transferred from the hotel to the airport (approximately 15 minutes drive).
Return flight from Guayaquil
Comments
* All transfers are done with private car and Spanish-speaking driver unless otherwise stated
* Mentioned trips and excursions are examples from a wider range. Check out our website for more options.
* This travel proposal is based on 2-person standard rooms, unless stated otherwise. Surcharges for single rooms or deluxe rooms are on request.
* This travel proposal is without obligation, depending on the travel period and subject to availability.
* In the final travel program, certain fixed days of activities must be taken into account, such as ineemse markets, departure dates of cruises and flights, etc. We do everything possible to optimally integrate the mentioned activities into the program.
I am Tom from Belgium and I have been living in Ecuador for more than 10 years. I got my guiding diploma here. Traveling and discovering new places is my passion. Together with the travel agency Descubre-Ecuador, we offer tailor-made tours in Galapagos and on the Ecuadorian mainland.