Overview & Highlights
This comfortable classic group journey takes you to Ecuador's contrasting landscapes, lifestyles and cultures. In addition, there’s a week spent cruising the wildlife theatre of the Galápagos Islands.
- Quito: guided city tour
- Avenue of the Volcanoes: Cotopaxi and Limpiopungo
- Avenue of the Volcanoes: Devil's Nose train ride
- Avenue of the Volcanoes: guided tour of Ingapirca Inca site
- Cuenca: visit to Las Cajas National Park
- Galápagos Islands: 8 day cruise with guided land excursions and optional snorkeling everyday
Sitting at the crossroads of the equator and the high Andes, this small country encompasses an extraordinary diversity of geography and climate, and this comfortable journey takes you to its contrasting landscapes, lifestyles and cultures. The trip begins in the capital, Quito, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, which sits amid a bowl of snow-capped mountains and active volcanoes; and continues 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.
Leaving the mainland behind, fly 1,000km west over the Pacific to the Galápagos archipelago. This small cluster of islands is home to a wealth of birds and beasts, many of which are ancient and endemic, and your 8 day cruise will introduce you to the highlights of one of the world's most remarkable ecosystems.
Outline itinerary
Day 1
UK clients depart arriving Quito, Ecuador, the same day
Day 1
Transfer to hotel in Quito, overnight in the capital.
Day 2
Walking tour of the city.
Day 3
Head down the Avenue of the Volcanoes to Riobamba via Cotopaxi.
Day 4
Continue south to Alausi for the Devil's Nose train ride.
Day 5
Continue by bus to Cuenca.
Days 6-7
Explore Cuenca, optional visits to Gualaceo and Chordeleg.
Day 8
Drive from the Andes to the tropical coast at Guayaquil. Stop on the way at Las Cajas National Park.
Day 9
Fly to the Galápagos Islands, embark on your motor cruiser.
Days 10-15
Land excursions from the cruise around the Galápagos Islands
Day 16
Fly to Guayaquil, connect with your extension or your international flight home.
Day 16
UK clients arrive home the following day.
What our clients say
97% of our clients rated their experience with us as Excellent or Good.
As always, JLA provides very experienced guides and this ensures the success of the trip. They are very knowledgeable and go out of their way to ensure clients get a great experience.
VH, Australia
Tailor made holiday
Our specialists have been expertly crafting award-winning tailor-made holidays to Latin America for 40 years. We would be delighted to create a truly personalised trip which perfectly matches your wishes and requirements.
Sophie Barber - Travel Consultant
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia.
Things to do
We proudly offer the widest range of activities, excursions and one-of-a-kind experiences across all our destinations, tried and tested personally by our travel experts.
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Accommodation
Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.
Holiday Extensions
If there's somewhere you particularly want to go that isn't included in this tour, we can add on an extension to take you there.
Inspired by this trip
Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.
Papagaio
Your edit for Latin American inspiration
Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.
View Extraordinary Inspiration
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Sophie Barber - Travel Consultant
Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia.
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Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Consultant
Kathryn backpacked across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru before joining us. She has a degree in Philosophy and French and is a keen netball player.
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Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Consultant
Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our Sales team.
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Ben Line - Travel Consultant
Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Manager of the Tailor-made Department.
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Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Consultant
After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.
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Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Consultant
Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.
