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Group - Classic

Albatross: Ecuador’s highlands and Galapagos

16 days from £6,362pp

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Galapagos Islands

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  • Blue footed booby
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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.

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Outline itinerary

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.

UK clients arrive home the following day.

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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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Walking tour of colonial Quito
Devil's Nose

Ride the Devil’s Nose railway
Cuenca

Walking tour of Cuenca
Cajas National Park

Explore Cajas National Park
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Tour of Guayaquil
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Take a cruise in the Galapagos
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Wildlife watching in the Galapagos

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.

ECU_Quito_CasonaDeLaRonda (1)

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Quito

Casona de la Ronda

  • This is a Satisfaction Rating based on our own customer feedback
ECU_AvenueOfTheVolcanoes_HaciendaAbraspungo (1)

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Avenue of the Volcanoes

Hacienda Abraspungo

  • This is a Satisfaction Rating based on our own customer feedback
Hosteria la Quinta

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands / Avenue of the Volcanoes

Hosteria la Quinta

  • This is a Satisfaction Rating based on our own customer feedback
LATIN TRAILS ©

Galapagos Islands / Isabela (Albemarle) / Ecuador & Galapagos Islands

Seaman Journey

  • This is a Satisfaction Rating based on our own customer feedback

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.

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Ecuadorian Amazon

4 days from £1,570pp

Itinerary Essentials

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

  • Sunrise over the Galapagos from top deck on my first morning on the boat, utterly stunning!

    MG, Leyland

  • Hotels - Quirky mix of old and modern, loved the contrast. Seaman Journey Galapagos boat was superb, cabin larger than expected. Crew and guide outstanding.

    LO, Ascot

  • I would recommend this trip to anyone who has an interest in magnificent scenery and wonderful wildlife experiences.

    CT, Antrim

  • Well organised brilliant holiday. It felt like 2 holidays in one as each week was so different from the other.

    PS, King's Lynn

  • This is my third trip with JLA after a gap of 7 years - and they continue to deliver! A great trip and I cannot wait to go back. Excellent local knowledge, sensitive to local customs and cultures; my only complaint is that it went too quickly!

    SV, Dundee

  • Enjoyed the trip to the equator while in Quito. Loved Alausi, very interesting place, people. Cuenca was lovely, very easy to get around, felt safe, staff at hotel very helpful, happy hour cocktails 2 for 1 delicious! Las Cajas national park very interesting. The Galapagos week was fantastic! Staff really professional, islands and wildlife more than I imagined, learnt to snorkel, scenery fantastic. The group were also really nice, and as a single traveller this made my holiday really special. And on the whole the weather was very sunny and warm. Enjoyed the picnics we had during our trips in the Andes, which the tour leader arranged, especially the exotic fruits which she advised us to try.

    JC, Bury

  • The trip of a lifetime. It was a great privilege to be able to visit somewhere as unique as The Galapagos.

    There are two things that we most appreciate about the tours organised by JLA, one is the restricted size of the groups and the other is the quality of the leaders.

    AF, Alderley Edge

  • A great mixture of the Andes and Galapagos - which covered all the main things I wanted to see. I was worried about sea sickness on the trip - but everything was fine and no-one on the cruise had any problems - just a fantastic visit. I advise anyone interested in wildlife to go - but make sure you do the full 7 days to get the full experience.

    CJ, Watford
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Albatross

The Galápagos Islands are a huge part of this amazing tour, but I also like the fact that you get to see lots more of what stunning Ecuador has to offer. From the colonial centres of Quito and Cuenca to the Avenue of Volcanoes and the ruins at Ingapirca.

Elizabeth Luck
Elizabeth Luck - Tour Leader

Our qualified tour leaders are Latin American specialists all of whom have travelled widely in the region. Book with Journey Latin America.

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Real Latin America Experts

  • Hannah Waterhouse
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    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.

  • Hannah Donaldson
    Hannah Donaldson - Travel Expert

    Having spent part of her childhood in Colombia and worked in Brazil and Costa Rica, Hannah's ties to Latin America run deep. Hannah is a much valued Travel Expert in our Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tours sales team.

  • Mary Anne Nelson
    Mary Anne Nelson - Travel Expert

    Born in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Mary’s insider knowledge and dry sense of humour make her a highly valued member of the Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tour sales team.

  • Sophie Barber
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Evie Oswald
    Evie Oswald - Travel Expert

    It's hard to believe that Evie has had time to cram so much in to her life so far. Having lived as a child in the Americas and Europe she found herself immediately attracted to Latin America.

  • Millie Davies
    Millie Davies - Travel Expert

    Having caught the travel bug as a child, Millie has travelled all over Latin America before making her home in Buenos Aires for 3 years.

Meet the team