Private Journeys

Self-drive Ecuador: The Avenue of the Volcanoes

11 days from £2,750pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Ecuador & Galapagos Islands

  • Claire Milner ©

Overview & Highlights

With the freedom of your own self drive hire car, explore the varied Andean landscapes of Ecuador along the Avenue of the Volcanoes and a variety of great cities in under two weeks.

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.

Read More
  • Walking tour of colonial Quito
  • Cotopaxi and Las Cajas National Parks
  • 9 days Self-Drive around Ecuador

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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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What our clients say

  • We cannot pick out one most memorable part of our trip as every day provided us with a new and exciting experience. We saw and experienced things we had only…

    TC, Hayle
  • 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,…

    JC, Bury
  • I could not fault the restaurants recommended by Sally, our tour leader. The Central Market in Santiago, Restaurant Bota Salvavidas in Valparaiso, Broccolinos in Punta Arenas, La Tablita in El…

    RP, Buckinghamshire
  • Another very interesting and well organised Journey Latin America trip.

    HM, Nuneaton
  • JLA already has a good reputation and we were certainly impressed by the management of this tour.

    AF, Altrincham
  • For me, it was the Atacama desert. It is the driest desert in the world, and we had thunder storms!! But it left snow on the volcanos and fluffy clouds…

    MB, Chelmsford
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Our Expert's Opinion

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Alex Walker Travel Expert

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.

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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.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Carrie
    Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert

    A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.

  • Kathryn
    Kathryn Rhodes - Travel Expert

    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.

  • Maggie in LATAM
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    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 Head of Sales.

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

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