11 days £1,559 - excellent value with many meals included.
Holiday Itinerary
Day 1: Quito is a city of two halves - a quaint and well-conserved colonial core of cobbled plazas and alleys lined with white-washed mansions and churches, and a dynamic modern zone where you will spend 3 nights at the small and traditional Hotel Rábida.
Day 2: Full day in the countryside around Quito, sage green and rolling, speckled with adobe villages and dominated by towering snow-capped volcanoes. Visit the famous market at Otavalo and lunch at a colonial hacienda. Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 3: Day at leisure to explore the city and maybe visit the Equatorial monument. Breakfast included.
Day 4: Descend almost 2000m from the lofty capital through ever-changing vegetation to the lush and fertile Mindo cloudforest reserve, awash with orchids, mosses, ferns and legions of tropical birds. Stay at a cosy wooden lodge from which you can explore nature trails and join guided bird-watching walks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 5: Return by road to Quito (2 ½ hrs). Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 6: Drive through rich countryside down the stately Avenue of the Volcanoes, with awe-inspiring views of Cotopaxi volcano. Overnight in Riobamba at the Hotel Abraspungo. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 7: The most thrilling highlight of the trip - an eye-watering train ride up and down the switchbacks of the Devil’s Nose - an almost vertical cliff - to Alausi, continuing by bus to the port of Guayaquil and your hotel the Hampton Inn. Breakfast included.
Days 8-10: Fly to the Galápagos Islands (90 mins) and travel to the top-quality Hotel Finch Bay, located on a stunning beach on Santa Cruz Island. This is a lovely peaceful place to stay, surrounded by mangroves; your verandah has a hammock to laze in and there is a large pool. The island is populated with a wide diversity of the famous Galápagos wildlife, including sealions, marine and land iguanas, and virtually all the bird species that inhabit the islands. You can kayak, snorkel, hike in the mountains or visit the Charles Darwin Research station on Santa Cruz; or make excursions to spot the unique wildlife on neighbouring islands. Breakfast and lunch or dinner included.
Day 11: return to Guayaquil for one further night. Breakfast included
Day 12: Transfer to airport for the flight home. Breakfast included |