Local Tour Operator in Ecuador & Galapagos

  We loved the trip. Diego was our guide and he provided a lot of insight on local culture and customs. There were four of us on the trip.... read more My wife and I are both 70 and our son and his wife are in their mid-30s. The four of us were the only group on the trip, which made us much more comfortable about COVID issues. We were in a 14 person van so there was plenty of room. Latin Adventures did a great job of picking hotels. In Quito we stayed at the Hotel Vista del Angel. Great hotel with views of the City. Great rooms, great food and a very accommodating staff.

Day 1 we traveled to Cotopaxi. The trip took us from 9,000 feet in Quito to 15,000 feet at Cotopaxi. I took altitude sickness medication, my wife did not. Neither of us had altitude sickness. Along the way we stopped inside the park and did short walks to see some lagoons and see how we did at altitude. Diego explained the terraced farming and how it was used by the Incas. The parking lot at Cotopaxi is at 15,500 feet. The trail up to the refuge has a vertical gain of 1,000 feet. It's a hard hike. I only made it about 1/3 of the way. Our son and his wife made it easily to the refuge. It's worth going to Cotopaxi even if all you do is hike the area around the parking area. The views are spectacular.

Day 2 we went to Quilotoa. There is a lot of time on the bus between locations. But Diego did a good job educating us about the areas we were traveling through. Quilotoa is a stunning place. The hike down to the Laguna is not difficult. If you're in your 70s take the mule back to the top. We stayed at a locally owned hotel which is also a farm. Great rooms, very nice people and good food. It was nice to experience locally owned hotels.

Day 3 we substituted a trip to the rainforest because Devil's Nose is closed. Latin Adventures arranged the day trip which was a long 11 day. But we saw a beautiful waterfall, learned a lot about the native plans and their medicinal value. The transition from the Andes to the rainforest was well worth the trip. We stayed in a nice hotel in Banos. The lodging and food were OK.

At all the locations we stayed the food was carefully prepared with purified water.
The lunches we ate at local restaurants also were very careful with the water. No one wanted diarrhea and Latin Adventures did a good job of ensuring there weren't any problems.

Day 4 we hiked to some amazing water falls, took cable cars across river canyons and did some hiking. Some of the hiking at the waterfalls was somewhat hard. But even at age 70 it was not too difficult.

If you have 4 or 5 days in Quito I'd highly recommend the trip. I've attached some of our pictures. After the trip we went back to Quito and then onto Guayaquil to go to the Galapagos. Latin Adventures arranged our PCR tests (which we needed to get on the Lindblad Expeditions boat) and they also arranged our airport transfers. Latin Adventures was good to work with.

  For my first day in Ecuador, I booked the day tour to Otavalo and Cuicocha Lagoon. As Ecuador was the first country in South America that I visited, I was... read more a little apprehensive as to what to expect. However, my guide Daniel did an amazing job and completely put me at ease. Despite the weather not being great and tiredness on my part from traveling the day before, Daniel managed to keep my interest and remained fully engaged for the entire day. He did an awesome job giving me an introduction to Ecuador, and specifically Otavalo and Cuicocha Lagoon. I spent over two weeks in Ecuador with various guides on different tours and Daniel was by far the best. He was passionate, extremely knowledgeable, and made the day very enjoyable. He is a credit to the company and when I return to Ecuador, he will be the guide that I will request. …

  Thanks for a great experience! As a solo traveler, I felt much safer traveling around the city in the comfort of the van with a small friendly group. Our group... read more leader organized our stops to adapt to the weather and maximize our experience. He was quite knowledgeable, and open to questions. I highly recommend this experience :-)

  Everything was so perfect and excellent donde the moment that they pick is until the moment they drop us no complaints thanks to the guy who was with us... read more in everything

  My husband and I had a delightful experience touring Quito with Ángel on 5.24.22. Ángel is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of his country and was a wealth of information... read more about the history and culture of this gorgeous place. We had the privilege of touring Quito on an important historic day, el día de la batalla de Pichincha, which lent an powerful lens with which to view the history of Quito and Ecuador. Additionally, I was also very happy to be able to practice Spanish with Ángel as he was such a kind and gentle teacher. Those of you who speak multiple languages know it can be a vulnerable experience speaking a language in which you are not an expert and it is a privilege to be able to practice in a safe space. All in all it was a perfect day. ¡Gracias a Ángel!

  Diego was our guide and Dante our driver for today's tour. WHAT A BARGAIN!! Dante conveyed us safely from place to place, while Diego gave the play-by-play. ... read more A fantastic day; Diego was so knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about teaching us the history, culture, and everything Quito. He is a biologist, a geologist, a meteorologist, and a cultural and historical expert of the region. It seemed like he is a one man Ambassador for both Quito and Ecuador. A thoroughly delightful day here in the Metad del Mundo.

  Rodrigo was an amazing tour guide for our group. We were able to do everything we wanted to do and he was very trustworthy and knowledgeable. He even gave us... read more great recommendations for the nightlife to explore later. Rodrigo was able to convey the history and culture of Quito perfectly to us.

  We spent an awesome day with Alex as our guide. We were the only ones on our tour (3 adults, a 20 something and 18 year old) and were blessed... read more to have wonderful weather to see Quito and the surrounding sites. Alex was knowledgeable, friendly, and was easy to communicate with. He went out of his way to add some extra touches including getting permission for us to take a few pics in a cathedral, taking us the top of a beautiful hotel for more great pics, adding a stop for frozen treats, and a chocolate tasting. He was also willing and helpful in taking pictures of us throughout the day to commemorate the stops. Our driver was also friendly and made us feel safe throughout the day with his good driving. I highly recommend this tour! …

  After our tours were cancelled by another company we ended up jumping on a last minute city tour of Quito with Latin Adventures. I am so glad our other tours... read more were canceled because we loved our experience with Latin Adventures. It was amazing. My sister and I learned so much from our guide Oscar. He was very knowledgeable about the city and history. Oscar really went above and beyond and even helped us set up two other tours during our stay which were equally amazing. We had a different guide on the last day, Jose, who spent extra time stopping to let us take in the sites. I highly recommend them.

  We had a private vehicle with an awesome knowledgeable guide, Oscar. We enjoyed all the sites that were included in this tour. We highly recommend this trip for... read more anyone anyone. Request Oscar fir a memorable trip.

  This was a great tour to fully see Quito in 1 day. My guide Raul was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. I visited during COVID and all safety and health precautions... read more were followed, I felt very safe and had an amazing time!

  Booked this private tour prior to arriving. They were exceedingly helpful in tailoring the sites to our desires. The car picked us up at our hotel on time. We changed... read more things as we went along to avoid some bad weather. Everything was perfect. Also want to specifically thank our guide, Pablo Sebastien. He was great and we would strongly recommend that you ask for him as your guide - knowledgeable, friendly and full of great ideas.

  Diego was great! He was very knowledgeable and flexible. He gave us lots of options about how the day would flow. Great way to spend a first full day in... read more Quito! Highly recommend. 10 out of 10!

  I hired Daniel Maldonand for this tour and he provided an excellent experience. He was friendly, nice and tailored the day to my interests. (Bonus for me... read more is he speaks excellent English). His knowledge of his country is outstanding and he patiently explained everything to me. It was a great day and I left feeling like I had a new friend. Furthermore, after I moved on to Banos, he consistently helped me with recommendations for restaurants, clubs and even another tours while i was there. His amazing service greatly increased the quality of my overall trip to Ecuador. Please don't hesitate to book anything with him. I've traveled quite a bit and have never received this level of outstanding service. Thank you so much! AMAZING!

  I came to Quito to work remotely for a month. I absolutely didn't know what to expect from Ecuador in general. I got this tour last week, just because I... read more wanted to do something different on the weekend, and it blew my mind! The tour was private for me because Latin Adventures couldn't gather more people for the day. For that, I paid just a bit extra, and worth it all. I started contacting them via Whatsapp as soon as I purchased the ticket, and they responded very quickly. During the whole week before the trip, they gave me clothing advice and arranged the pick up in the Airbnb ap that I'm renting. My guide was Diego, and I couldn't be happier. He was terrific, had all the exciting information and cool facts, sometimes personal stories that were even more interesting.
We stopped a few times on the way to the Lagoon, went to the bathroom, bought trip supplies, and visited a small store (@sinchi_toaquiza) and Maria and Julian's indigenous house. The later ones were the highlights for me. I loved to get intimate contact with real people from the place, and this was it. They spoke Quichua, that was special. I bought with them a beautiful scarf made of sheep fur. About this topic, for the ones who like shopping, bring cash cause there are many beautiful goods.
Once at the top of the Lagoon, I couldn't describe the magnitude of the beauty in words. It's majestic. Diego knew the best paths to hike down and helped me with good pictures. It was a bit crowded, and that made me a bit uncomfortable, especially during the pandemic when I was trying to avoid gatherings, but the majority of the people were wearing masks, which was good enough. At the bottom, I rented a kayak for 20min. Hiking up, I "hired" a mule to bring me back because I was concerned that my physical abilities wouldn't be good enough. The altitude played a tool. But in the end, I regretted because I could have all the breaks I wanted.
On our way back, I had lots of conversations with Diego, about our lives, the details of the parts that I liked, and even philosophized about how small we are in the big world. I'd recommend Latin adventures for everyone who asks me Ecuador. It was an unforgettable experience!

  This tour was a lot of fun. The views of the mountains were GORGEOUS! The hummingbird garden was insane. We must have seen dozens of them. My favorite part was... read more the cable car that gave us the most breathtaking view of the cloud forest. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

  I highly recommend the Mindo Forrest tour with Isra. The scenery is spectacular and Isra is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and friendly. Booking was seamless and it was... read more easy to communicate with Isra ahead of the tour.

  Diego was great! He was very knowledgeable and flexible. He gave us lots of options about how the day would flow. Great way to spend a first full day in... read more Quito! Highly recommend. 10 out of 10!

  We did the Mindo Day Tour including Chocolate Tasting, Hummingbirds, and Cloud Forest Hike tour. Everything was better than expected. Dante at the front office helped resolve an issue with... read more the reservation made thru Viator. Miriam our tour guide and the driver were excellent. The Hummingbird visit was AMAZING, and a great surprise meeting an American that leases part of the property to grow coffee beans, which he lets you sample and also sells bags. We added the Ziplines to our tour and it was a blast. I’ve done several before, but the long, tall run was the fastest one I’ve ever done. They also let my teenage kids do the butterfly & Superman poses. Miriam also suggested the Caskaffesu restaurant in Mindo. The food had a little of everything, and the dishes were a culinary delight. The prices were spot on for the quality and quantity of food we received. …

  Our tour guide, Oscar, was pleasant and knowledgeable. An excellent way to spend a day in Quito. Even with the inconveniences lingering from the pandemic, this tour was well worth... read more the cost.

  My thanks to Latin Adventures who made the experience very smooth. We had to postpone the tour date and find a laboratory to test for covid on the same day... read more of the tour. They were helpful and attended us promptly in both situations.
Oscar guide was wonderful. Knowing a lot of Quito and Ecuador, gave us very interesting historical information. He took us to the Pululahua volcano, which was off the itinerary, until the Intiñan museum opened. Very cordial, hospitable, calm and helpful. He was interested in knowing what we wanted to eat and know, in order to make our experience in Quito as pleasant as possible. I strongly recommend the tour.