Local Tour Operator in Ecuador & Galapagos

  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!

  We had an amazing day on our day trip to Mindo from Quito. Oscar was our tour guide and he was the best. Our original trip included zip lining and... read more a Tarzan swing but we had just done zip lining and a large swing in Banos the day before so wanted some different activities. He had no problem changing our schedule last minute. We visited a beautiful butterfly farm, hiked along waterfalls, went tubing in a river (which was very cold but very fun), and had the best coffee and chocolate. Mindo was one of our favorite places we visited in Ecuador. We highly recommend this day tour and ask for Oscar if you can!

  We had a great day trip from Quito to Cotopaxi with our guide Daniel. He picked us up from our hotel on time at 8am and drove expertly to Cotopaxi... read more taking a scenery road which allowed us to appreciate the geography of the inter-valley region. The drive took about 1.5 hours. His approach takes you around the volcanoes from all angles. Daniel was truly passionate about Ecuador and very knowledgeable about wildlife and vegetation of the region. He stopped plenty of times for awesome picture opportunities. We hiked from the parking lot (15K ft) to the refuge (16K ft) doing the zig-zag approach and experienced no issues with altitude sickness whatsoever (he stopped by a kiosko where we could buy coca candy and leaves if needed before entering the park). The weather was awful as we ascended, with small hail and dust from the strong winds, but he was patient and set the pace perfectly for us to successfully reach the refuge. We grabbed hot chocolate up in the refuge (2.5 per cup, bring change) and warmed up before going back down. On our way back to Quito, we stopped by an authentic local restaurant around 3pm where we had a soup, a pork dish, and an ice cream. Back to the hotel by 5pm promptly. This is a great experience for a Quito escapade which you should consider if you're looking to do something based off the city.

  Daniel was our tour guide going to Baños. He is an amazing tour guide. He was a conscientious driver and very knowledgeable of the areas we visited and drove... read more through. Since some of the mountains were visible during our travel to Baños, he would stop in good places so we could snap some photos. Daniel was well acquainted with the surrounding areas and knew short cuts when traffic was heavy. There was a landslide that delayed us for some time. Rather than sit while trying to get to Pailon del Diablo, he took us to a place to eat an early lunch. Then, with one lane open in the road, we went to the waterfall and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a highlight of our whole trip. The return was an even longer delay and Daniel drove us to an overlook that was very nice. Daniel gave us an amazing day. We highly recommend this day trip with him. …

  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.

  My favorite part of this tour was getting to see the llamas. The entire experience was great - from the views during the drive to the hike back up for... read more a great lunch. Our guide and our driver were great.

I would certainly recommend this tour and would do it again. Thanks to Adrian.

  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.

  A beautiful view of Ecuador and the Glaciers and red earth on the top is surreal. The guide is very knowledgeable, chill and friendly as well.
You really appreciate... read more the impact of the volcano

  We had a blast! Rodrigo was on time, and early. Our itinerary changed in mid tour and he made it even better than what we anticipated. Super

  We had a wonderful day touring Quito. Our guide Oscar was great and he was so wonderful to answer all of our questions and adjust the trip to our... read more needs. We loved everything that we did and we highly recommend this as a way to see the city. We highly recommend Oscar as a guide.

  Cotopaxi was closed due to unusual activity from the volcano, so we went to Quilotoa instead. Oscar was a great guide - knowledgeable and friendly, and stopped several times along... read more the way for us to get coffee, use the washroom, and learn about the indigenous peoples and how they live in the highlands. Our van was comfortable and had AC which was welcome! The visit to Quilotoa was great as well and ended with lunch at a local restaurant (get the locro de papa soup!). Would definitely recommend this tour! :)

  This was a great way to experience Quito, Ecuador. Our tour guide was Ximena. Having a tour guide who is both a local and knowledgeable was great! She allowed our... read more trip and time to be flexible to our wants and needs. We skipped the chocolate tour (because we did something like on our own) and spent longer time elsewhere. We traveled with our son (14) and when we got hungry during lunch we mentioned “empanadas” and she took us to a popular local empanadas place! Delicious. Our favorite part was both the Teleferico (gondolas) and the Intenen Museum. Amazing day!!!

  Amazing day with our guide Diego, very knowledgeable and very pleasant, the sights we went to were brilliant, highly recommended

  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!

  A really good and nice tour. The tourguide Diego was really nice, give us such good informations and looked so good after us. Thanks a lot

  Would like to express my gratitude for your help in accommodating us in last minute request for a full day tour of Quito. Despite all the inconvenience that the protests... read more caused the city, Ximena did a phenomenal job, very knowledgeable, kind, patient and was quick to make necessary adjustments to avoid road blockages. Sure was a full, exciting and enjoyable day.

  We loved everything about this tour. This was a great way to see many highlights in the city in one day. We have been to Quito several times before and... read more been to all of the sites visited but it was a great way to learn new and interesting tidbits about the city that we didn't know. We have 5 kids from ages 18 to 6 and they all loved it too. Diego was a fantastic and friendly guide.

  Excellent, excellent, excellent! I had a free day during a business trip to Quito, and Latin Adventures was able to accommodate me and a colleague on a last-minute day tour... read more of Quito and it's environs. Our guide, Diego, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and speaks outstanding English. Honestly, it felt more like driving around the city with a friend, rather than an impersonal tour. Diego was also great about customizing our day based on our schedule and what attractions were open. I particularly enjoyed the mix of natural sites, cultural and historical sites, and the chocolate. Oh man, the chocolate... Latin Adventures management was super-helpful and responsive via text. 100% recommend and the great tour established a quick baseline to let me see that Ecuador has so much more to offer than I was able to fit into one day, and convinced me to bring my family here on a getaway in the very near future.

  We had a fantastic time with our guide Diego! His English was perfect and he was super friendly. He gave us detailed info at each stop and we... read more were never bored. Taking the cable car to the top of Teleferico was great but walking up the mountain/volcano to the swing was one of the things I just had to do! The pictures were worth the climb! We had a wonderful lunch (Diego recommended an authentic Ecuadorian restaurant in town) , went to a private chocolate tasting, and visited the Middle of the World where we participated in really fun gravity experiments. If I went back to Quito, I actually would do this tour again.

  Diego was a marvelous guide. Due to COVID, not many tourists are about and you'll often find you're the only ones booked on a tour on most days. ... read more In my case I was solo but wanted to visit Quilotoa, but unfortunately the tour will only run with a minimum of two people. Thankfully Diego's company worked with me and we reached a compromise where the tour would still go with just me and I wouldn't have to pay the full price for two.

Diego picked me up at my hotel early in the morning and off we went. First stop was with an indigenous family who seemed quite happy to show me around their traditional houses. Fascinating to see how they live with their animals, literally inside the same room in some cases. Very friendly encounter.

Then it was off to the main highlight of the day, a visit to the spectacular Quilotoa Lake deep inside a volcano center. It's possible to hike down to the lake itself and kayak for a bit but given the extremely high altitude and thin oxygen, it would be quite difficult physically to hike back out unless you're used to the altitude (I saw even native Ecuadorians experiencing severe nausea and dizziness, so this is not something to be taken lightly). Mules can be rented for $10 for the ride back up, which probably would be a more wise choice if you do want to hike down.

As a great alternative, instead of using up your time going down to the crater floor and back up, Diego can take you on a short hike around the crater rim to the left, which offers more spectacular views and gets you completely away from the crowds of people near the major viewing overlook point next to the parking lot. In just a few minutes you've got this incredible view all to yourself, and as an added bonus Diego is an excellent photographer and will happily shoot all the pictures you could ever dream of, with much better results than trying to do the same thing awkwardly with a selfie stick.

Lunch is at one of the restaurants near the crater, then it's time for the long drive back to Quito.

Loved this tour for the amazing mountain scenery, glimpses of indigenous life, and Diego's excellent customer service.

And just when I thought things couldn't get better, I asked Diego if it would be OK to make an impromptu stop on the way back to my hotel that wasn't on the tour. He didn't hesitate to grant my request and did quite a bit of driving down confusing narrow one way streets to make it happen.

Thank you again for a very excellent day!

  We booked the evening before because we had just arrived and the weather was looking iffy. We weren’t sure someone would actually pick us up but Diego arrived... read more right on time despite Sunday road closures all around us. He was very knowledgeable and ready to answer all our questions. We covered all the highly recommended sights and had a short chocolate tasting too. The threatened rain held off until our last 15 mins. Perfecto!