Overview & Highlights
Top quality comprehensive holiday with the highlights of Ecuador and a cruise around the Galápagos Islands. Includes Quito, Otavalo market and the Avenue of Volcanoes, the gracious colonial city of Cuenca and a small first class small motor vessel.
An opportunity to combine a luxurious cruise in the Galápagos Islands with exploration of the Andean landscapes of their host country, Ecuador.
Travel to Quito: Ecuador’s capital surrounded by snow-capped mountains and active volcanoes. Explore Quito and go south along the Avenue of the Volcanoes via the Inca ruins of Ingapirca to the beautiful colonial city of Cuenca and the upland wilderness of Las Cajas National Park.
Fly from the port of Guayaquil to the Galápagos Islands for a 5-day cruise. It was on a similar trip 200 years ago that Darwin returned to the archipelago to write the seminal book ‘On the Origin of Species’. Step into his shoes and explore the diversity of land and marine life which inhabit these enchanting islands. A holiday in the Galápagos is a totally unique experience, inevitably rewarding, richly educational, blissfully tranquil, and photogenic.
You’ll sail on a first class, compact motor cruiser offering an intimate and informal atmosphere favoured by those who prefer the laid-back approach of smaller craft. You will have ample opportunity to make new friends among people with shared interests. In addition to landings on the islands you will have the opportunity to snorkel or swim with sea-lions.
- Walking tour of colonial Quito
- Visit Otavalo market
- Cuicocha volcanic lake walk
- Visit Cotopaxi National Park
- See traditional Andean markets
- Visit Ingapirca Inca ruins
- Explore Cajas National Park
- 4 night cruise in the Galapagos Islands
Outline itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Quito and transfer to hotel.
Day 2
Guided walking tour of colonial Quito.
Day 3
By road to Otavalo in the Andean highlands, visit Otavalo market overnight in hacienda.
Day 4
Guided excursions to Lake Cuicocha
Day 5
By road along the Avenue of the Volcanoes; visit Cotopaxi National Park, overnight at a hacienda.
Day 6
Visit local artisan markets, overnight in Riobamba.
Day 7
Continue via Ingapirca ruins to Cuenca.
Day 8
At leisure in colonial Cuenca, Ecuador’s second city.
Day 9
By road down to the tropical coast of Guayaquil via a stop at Las Cajas National Park.
Day 10
Fly to the Galápagos Islands
Days 11-13
Land excursions from the cruise around the Galápagos Islands.
Day 14
Fly to the mainland, connect with international flight home.
Things to do
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Accommodation
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