Ecuador & Galapagos holiday
| country: | Ecuador, Galapagos Islands |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to your requirements as necessary. Group departures - 2008: 28 Apr, 23 Jun, 20 Jul, 20 Oct, 25 Oct, 9 Nov, 2009: 18 May, 22 Jun, 15 Oct |
| price: | From £3675 - £4395 (18 days) including flights from UK, depending on standard of boat and departure date. This trip can also be booked without flights. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Amazon Jungle – Galapagos Islands – Andean Cloudforest – Diverse Habitats - Fearless Wildlife – Charming Lodges - tailored to Suit you.
Combine three unforgettable wildlife experiences in one holiday. Explore the Amazon Jungle by boat and on foot. Relax amidst the rich birdlife of the Andean cloudforest.Sail around the Galapagos Islands to see an amazing diversity of animals. Enjoy learning about your surroundings with your expert guides.
Price includes: International flights from LON/MAN; Domestic flights as per itinerary; 8 Day First Class Galapagos cruise; First class hotels (twin or double); guides; private transfers; All activities mentioned; and meals (b,l,d) as per itinerary.
Combine three unforgettable wildlife experiences in one holiday. Explore the Amazon Jungle by boat and on foot. Relax amidst the rich birdlife of the Andean cloudforest.Sail around the Galapagos Islands to see an amazing diversity of animals. Enjoy learning about your surroundings with your expert guides.
Price includes: International flights from LON/MAN; Domestic flights as per itinerary; 8 Day First Class Galapagos cruise; First class hotels (twin or double); guides; private transfers; All activities mentioned; and meals (b,l,d) as per itinerary.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly to Ecuador: Fly to Quito today. Relax in your central first class hotel this evening. (b) |
| Day 2: | Quito, Explore colonial Quito: Relaxed morning walking tour of the colonial city centre in the company of your local guide. (b) |
| Day 3: | Amazon, Rainforest lodge: Fly into the Amazon basin. Meet your guide for the trip down the river to your remote lodge. (b,d) |
| Day 4: | Amazon, Explore by canoe: Explore the lagoon in a small handmade canoe. Float down river in the company of your expert guide who helps you to spot an amazing variety of wildlife. (b,l,d) |
| Day 5: | Amazon, Parrot ‘salt-lick’: Set off early to get to the nearby parrot salt-lick. After sunset, paddle across the lake in dugout canoes to search for the endangered black caiman. (b,l,d) |
| Day 6: | Amazon, Culture and wildlife: Today you meet a family in the local community. Spend the afternoon viewing wildlife from the top of their canopy viewing platform. (b,l,d) |
| Day 7: | Cloudforest, Travel to the highlands: Travel along the river to catch your flight back to Quito then drive up to the cloudforest. Stay in a private cabin alongside the clear waters of a river. (b,l,d) |
| Day 8: | Cloudforest, Waterfall walk: Walk through the reserve to a waterfall with your guide. See toucans, parrots and quetzal, learn about the medicinal plants. Swim and relax, return to the lodge for dinner. (b,l,d) |
| Day 9: | Cloudforest/Quito, Explore on foot: Walk through the forest to the nearby cordillera where you take a small cable car high across a river canyon. Return to Quito this evening and relax in your first class hotel. (b,l) |
| Day 10: | Galapagos, North Seymour wildlife: Fly to the Galapagos. Board your yacht for an 8-day live-aboard cruise. Walk close to the fearless wildlife this afternoon. (b,l,d) |
| Day 11: | Galapagos, Santa Cruz wildlife: Walk up to a collapsed volcanic crater to see giant tortoises in the wild. This afternoon, visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. (b,l,d) |
| Day 12: | Galapagos, Seabirds and sea lions: See a spectacular blow-hole and a broad spectrum of birdlife, including the blue-footed boobies and albatross. This afternoon swim with playful sea lions. (b,l,d) |
| Day 13: | Galapagos, Devil’s Crown snorkel: Snorkel in the Devil’s Crown volcanic crater through beautiful coral formations and teeming marine life. (b,l,d) |
| Day 14: | Galapagos, Iguanas and penguins:Walk around marine iguanas warming on the rocks to find the colony of Galapagos penguins. (b,l,d) |
| Day 15: | Galapagos, Walk amongst wildlife: Visit one of the world’s most active volcanoes to walk amongst the flightless cormorants, sea lions and marine iguanas. (b,l,d) |
| Day 16: | Galapagos, Pinnacle Rock views: See Galapagos fur seal basking in pools along the shoreline. (b,l,d) |
| Day 17: | Galapagos Travel, Turtle Bay: Observe the delicate marine life in the sheltered Turtle Cove. Fly home or continue your journey with one of our suggested extensions. (b) |
| Day 18: | Home |
Tailormade holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
We have carefully designed this holiday to represent the full diversity of Ecuador. The lodge we work with in the Amazon is the only one in Ecuador to be both owned and run by the local community. You meet members of the local community in their village during your stay. Host families are rotated in order that every member of the local community benefits from the tourism to the lodge.
In the cloudforest the lodge is completely hand built with local materials. Much of the food is grown organically on site & the lodge generally operates on strict sustainable principles.
We recommend our favourite first class yachts in the Galapagos. Because the boats are owned and operated by families from the Islands, they provide economic benefit to islanders. We only use naturalist guides trained and licensed by the Galapagos Natural Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
The route taken by our boats takes in some of the more outlying islands. Seeing more islands further from the centre gives you the best possible chance to see a wide variety of species. We pay for you to become a benefactor of the Galapagos Conservation Trust (www.gct.org) for a full year. We also administer a carbon offset scheme to compensate for the impact of your flights.
In the cloudforest the lodge is completely hand built with local materials. Much of the food is grown organically on site & the lodge generally operates on strict sustainable principles.
We recommend our favourite first class yachts in the Galapagos. Because the boats are owned and operated by families from the Islands, they provide economic benefit to islanders. We only use naturalist guides trained and licensed by the Galapagos Natural Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station.
The route taken by our boats takes in some of the more outlying islands. Seeing more islands further from the centre gives you the best possible chance to see a wide variety of species. We pay for you to become a benefactor of the Galapagos Conservation Trust (www.gct.org) for a full year. We also administer a carbon offset scheme to compensate for the impact of your flights.