Wedged between Peru and Colombia, mainland Ecuador is certainly more compact than its larger Andean neighbours, but no less diverse for that. For those with limited time who wish to experience a wide variety of gob-smacking landscapes and  traditional cultures, it’s a near perfect destination. And what better way to explore than by self-drive hire car.

The recently expanded and paved road network, negotiating the sun-scarred plateaux and plunging down through the shadows of near vertical, cloudforest-shrouded valleys guides you along a cross-section of this beautiful country. Twists and turns, switchbacks, tunnels, four-lane auto-routes and shady cobbled country lanes all feature in this holiday which not only introduces you to Ecuador’s main artery, the Panamerican Highway following the iconic Avenue of the Volcanoes, but also back-roads though patch-worked  rural landscapes peopled by tight-knit communities where custom and tradition still govern the leisurely-paced bucolic way of life.

With the freedom of your own hire car, discover all this as well as Ecuador’s three illustrious metropolises, each standing in stark contrast to its sisters: the capital, Quito, a mélange of evocative history and dynamic contemporary society; Cuenca, one of the continent’s best preserved and stately colonial Spanish cities and Guayaquil, a vivacious and sultry port on the tropical coast of the Pacific Ocean.

We book your car, your accommodation, and supply loads of useful information including alternative routes and optional experiences based on our own travels along these routes.