Local Tour Operator in Ecuador & Galapagos

  Fabian was our driver/guide and provided an excellent day excursion to the Lagoon. He picked us up on time at our hotel and provide a great narrative of the... read more country as we drove three hours from Quito. Upon arrival to Lagoon we were able to hike to lagoon. Hike down too, 35 minutes and hike back up took 55minutes. After hiking we were treated to a wonderful Ecuadorian lunch and then returned back to Quito. Once again Fabian was very informative about his country. Highly recommend this day trip from Quito and hope that you get Fabian as your guide, you wont be disappointed. All COVID safety protocols were in place, mask were worn when appropriate, hand sanitizer was readily available.

  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

  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!

  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.

  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.

  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.

  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.

  Great way to see Quito and the middle of the earth in one day. Oscar was a wonderful guide. So much so that we booked him for another tour... read more the next day. We were able to see everything on the itinerary plus he made a few extra stops to show more of the beauty surrounding Quito.

  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!

  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.

  Our tour was amazing!! This is probably the most comprehensive tour of Quito that you will find. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. Would highly recommend!!

  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.

  Interesting! - Our guide Christian, was early and met us inside the hotel lobby. As we drove around the city, he shared his knowledge of Quito and answered all our questions. ... read more /> At the cable car ride up the Pichincha Volcano mountain side, he explained the geography and plant life change as we ascended. While hiking up the remaining 100 or so yards he kept checking on us to make sure we were all OK due to the high altitude.
Our next stop was the middle of the Earth venue, the Equator. It was a fun and informative visit.
Christian was very informative and personable guide.

  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!!

  Our family of six included kids aged 9-19. Alex and Dante managed to find a full day of activities to appealed to everyone. Much of Quito remains closed, but we... read more did not notice as we had plenty to do. The guides were very knowledgeable, friendly and spoke English well. Highly recommend this trip for seeing the Quito highlights. …

  Our guide was very knowledgeable and lead us through the day with an excellent mix of history and fun. And the chocolate tasting at the end was a wonderful surprise!

  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 had a 17 day private tour arranged through Latin Adevtnures and can highly recommend. Dante was very helpful in coordinating things before and reassured us greatly with his... read more relaxed approach when the strikes temporarily put the trip up in the air. Our team, Diego (guide) and Celfides (driver), took great care of us and showed a real passion and joy for making the trip a great success. We toured all over the country and the detailed itinerary made the most of the trip with well chosen hotels and extras we ll. Ecuador is a stunning country that is still so under the radar, no Galapagos required to enjoy!

  We have been to 30 countries and this was our best tour ever. The guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer every question we had. ... read more He taught us so much about this wonderful country. We plan to book two more tours with this company while we are here

  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. …

  I do not think you can squeeze more into a day.... Old town, a gondola ride up to almost 4k meters; the Equator and center of the world experiments. Great... read more fun and sites