Local Tour Operator in Ecuador & Galapagos

  Dante and Alex let our family of 12 on a wonderful “4 hour” tour of Quito city! We could not have asked for more. They were both knowledgeable of... read more the sites and history of Quito and had much patience answering questions from all of us. The churches were beautiful, the Chocolate tasting was wonderful, and the lunch they recommended was perfect. We all agree that this tour receives 5 stars. Thank you, Dante and Alex.

  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.

  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 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.

  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. …

  The tour is great for seeing most of the must-sees in Quito. Our guide Oscar provided a lot of information on Quito. In Mitad del Mundo we had a local... read more guide in the museum which was awesome. She was really great and listening to her was so good. Very funny as well. Taking the Teleferico up the hill to see Quito was also a highlight, even if the clouds kept coming in. The mountain is cloudy most of the day, but they keep coming and going, so if you are lucky you will catch some really nice views of Quito. I can also recommend the Café on the top, have a coffee and enjoy the views.
Later the day we visited the historic part of Quito including then interiors of three churches. Stunning. If you want to get a good overview of the most important parts of the city and area, this is the tour to take.

  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.

  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.

  Adrian and Carlos were the perfect guides, they knew shortcuts and stopped on the journey to show us different plants and foods and most importantly volcanoes. We saw 12 at... read more once from one view point. The lagoon was incredible and beautiful, the hike was tough back to the top, with the altitude and my asthma I didn’t know if I could do it but both guides helped me all the way down and up and I had an amazing sense of achievement at the end. An incredible trip all round and I’d recommend with these guides all day,

  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

  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!

  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. …

  My husband and I had a fantastic time touring Mindo with our guide Óscar and our driver Bolívar. Our main objective was to spend a day in the cloud forest... read more hiking to waterfalls and ziplining, but our trip was so much more than that. Óscar taught us about the hummingbirds, orchids and butterflies and how the flora changes through the different altitudes. After a super fun and exhausting day, we had a delicious meal at El Chef in Mindo and finished with a coffee from Mindo Forest Coffee and Tea. (note to anyone traveling with Óscar, you should totally trust his restaurant recommendations. He knows his stuff!) Óscar and Bolívar really went above and beyond to get us back to our hotel safely during a very busy night in Quito’s old town with lots of closed roads due to a show happening in front of our hotel. ¡Gracias a Óscar y Bolívar!

  Our guide, Daniel, from Latin America Adventures, was wonderful! He took us to the most important sites in Quito. He was very knowledgeable and patient as we... read more asked many questions! Overall, a perfect first day to get to know Quito. Highly recommend!

  I had the best experience with my guide Rodrigo! I got picked up at my hotel and safely dropped back at time. The guide was very professional and patient. 10/10... read more is my score!!

  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 loved our guide for our full day Quito tour! Renan was great! Very personable and great at describing the history and the culture of every place that we visited.... read more We had a mixed tour including both English and Portuguese tourist, and he did a fabulous job of alternating the two languages and including everyone- a skill that some our prior tour guides have not managed to perfect!
We particularly liked the Mitad del Mundo; the exhibit demonstrating the Coriolis effect was amazing and so much fun! The exhibits were interactive and engaging as well as presenting information about the different regions of Ecuador.
This is billed as a Full Day Tour and indeed it was! We were picked up at our hotel early and delivered back there in time for a late dinner; a very full but enjoyable day!

  Due to COVID lockdown in Quito the itinerary for the day had to be drastically changed on the spot, however Diego and Dante were able to use their years of... read more connections in the city to make the best day/experience possible for us. We truly had a great time, especially when we thought we were expecting to only see the city from the rooftop of our hotel during our short time in Quito! (Oh, and they even took us to a testing site so we could easily get our COVID test for our flight home the next day and picked up a friend stuck at another hotel to do the same!)

  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!!

  We take this tour to experience the view of the lake, as well with the road trip from Quito. doing couple of stops on an artesian store, where you see... read more craft from local artesian.
Our guide was great his name DIEGO , highly recommend!!! If you want to do this trip get ready to sweat a lot taking the walk down to the lake. also the return it's even more difficult then your descent.But it's worth it !!!!
Thanks for the great day

  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!