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.

  This was a really great experience, in one hand you will discover all the wonders of Quito in an unique way, in the other hand, having someone like Angel... read more guiding and enriching the experience with traditions, knowledge. You can read about the places as much as you can, but there are stories that are going to be unravel by someone like Angel, a true local, so proud of his legacy.. it makes you feel the land in a different way. Thanks a lot this was an awesome memory.

  Had a great experience going to Quilotoa crater. Our tour guide Juan Pablo was exceptional; he gave great recommendations, made sure everyone was comfortable, gave us interesting history of... read more Quito on our ride, and was very personable. Our lunch and ice cream spot he recommended was great!

  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.

  Our guide Diego was very informative and helpful. Due to the pandemic, we were the only ones on our tour. We felt very safe with all the COVID... read more precautions. It was a full day; a walking tour of historic Quito, the Middle of the World, and Puluahu. We felt like we had a great introduction to the city and history of Quito.

  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! …

  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.

  Many enjoyable and interesting stops with very informative guide and expert safe driver. The walking tour of the old town provided great historic context and the cable car and centre... read more of the earth stops were great fun. If you only have a day to tour Quito, this is tour a great way to see a lot.

  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!

  This was an excellent day tour! I learned so much about Ecuador’s history and was fortunate enough to explore most of Quito! The museum was one of the most interesting... read more and fun tours I’ve experienced!

  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!

  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! :)

  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!

  Punctual pickup. All places on the itinerary were covered. All questions answered in good English. Safe driver. As a solo traveller it was well worth the money

  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.

  Diego was an excellent guide. The entire day was fantastic! Diego even came to rescue me with chocolate and tea as I was struggling back up the volcanic... read more crater. Beautiful in every way and highly recommend!

  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.

  I had poked around Quito's old town on my own for a couple of days but wanted to learn more and to visit El Panecillo. The Mitad del Mundo was... read more not something high on my list of must-sees, but I figured why not. It ended up being a fantastic day. Raul was an excellent guide: friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and professional. It was just the two of us in town, and we had a really nice morning seeing the sights. We then met up with a couple for the Mitad del Mundo portion of the tour in the afternoon. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The drive there was interesting, and the equator complex was fun -- and kitschy only in the best possible way. My heart went out to the owners of all the shops and restaurants, since tourists were fairly thin on the ground. I decided to go on a tour to Cotopaxi with this same tour company, and Diego showed me and the other guest a great time there. Quito and Ecuador are amazing places to visit.

  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.