Local Tour Operator in Ecuador & Galapagos

  We are glad we rounded out a visit to Quito by including this day trip. The views are breathtaking. The people are friendly and gentle. The experience is a good... read more contrast to the large city of Quito. Our guide was Diego and he was extremely knowledgeable about the geography, plant and animal life, economy, agriculture, language, lifestyle, culture, religion, etc of the region and the various communities we visited. He made good recommendations for meals and purchases. Since we were on a private tour, Diego was very accommodating about our specific interests. We relaxed and let him do all the driving and arranging. Quilotoa is amazing and definitely worth seeing and walking around. It makes amazing pictures. Note of caution: don’t underestimate the effects of altitude. Even if you hike frequently you’ll be out of breath in short time. We chose not to go all the way down. On week days there may not be Mules available to help you get back out. A walk along the top of the crater is just as nice.

  We had a great time on this tour. Everything was relaxed and fun. Hard to believe how much we fit into one day. I would absolutely recommend this tour

  We had an incredible day at Cotopaxi National Park with our guide Oscar. During the drive, he explained the geography of Quito, Cotopaxi and the surrounding areas to us, and... read more also helped answer any questions we had about Ecuadorian life and the country's history. The climb to the respite itself was a little tough given the altitude and steep ascent, however totally doable. Oscar let us take our time, enjoying the view and taking pictures along the way. We also enjoyed a beautiful walk around the lagoon and a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. Would definitely recommend this tour for anyone wanting to leave the hustle and bustle of the city for some time in nature.

  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.

  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 fabulous day on a private tour of Quito and the surrounding area, coordinated by Alex Manzaba. Alex was terrific with adjusting the schedule to fit best... read more with the ever-changing weather in Quito. He flexed to get in as much as possible with the pending rain, and made great suggestions that were “off the beaten path.” He accommodated all of our requests (for example, we didn’t want a long lunch, we wanted to see the city) and was knowledgeable and passionate about his home town. It was an absolutely perfect day in Quito!

  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!

  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.

  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!!

  Edwardo was very accommodating to us. He wanted to make sure we did everything we wanted to do. The zip line, humming bird sanctuary, and gondola ride were wonderful. I... read more would recommend this day trip to anyone. We are in our late 60’s and helped us with everything we needed.

  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.

  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

  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!!

  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.

  We enjoyed the whole experience. Oscar was a great guide and made learning about Cotopaxi fun. The hike up was difficult, but possible if you take it slow. It felt... read more great to make it to the top. Make sure you dress warm— almost the same as if you were going skiing— gloves, hat, and layers. Rain coat is advised.

  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.

  Carolina was an excellent tour guide! We had the best time! She was able to share every question we had and more. We went all over the city with her... read more help

  Alex and Dante were fantastic tour guides!! We learned the history of the city in a fun way! Alex was so knowledgeable and the tour was personalized making it an... read more amazing experience.

  Fantastic!! We signed up at midnight and they had a shuttle car ready to go the next day on Easter morning! Very good English and educated tourist. We had Carlos... read more and he was amazing! It was our timeframe and choice of what to do.. we asked if we try some chocolate and not only did they take us, they setup a quick presentation for chocolate sampling.. keep in mind, this was a special request and they made it happen. If you do not know Ecuador or you are only here for a very short time.. this tour is the most efficient and cost saving way to see a lot!! Highly recommend!

  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!

  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!