Ecuador and the Galapagos holiday
| country: | Ecuador |
| location: | Galapagos Islands |
| departures: | 2010: 23 Jan, 13 Feb, 13 Mar, 3 Apr, 24 Jul, 31 Jul, 4 Sep, 13 Nov, 18 Dec 2011: 22 Jan, 12 Feb, 12 Mar, 16 Apr |
| price: | From £3899 - £4298 (22 days) including flights from the UK, from £3021 - £3240 excluding flights |
| more info: | Price includes: 9 nights hotel, 1 night simple hosteria, 3 nights jungle lodge, 7 nights shared cabins on the Monserrat (or similar); 13 breakfasts, 10 lunches & 11 dinners. Single room option £185 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
A trip suitable for all of average fitness. Please note that the itinerary in the Galapagos can be changed at any time by the park authorities.
Volcanoes & Local Traditions
Quito, a 2800m-high mountain eyrie, is ringed by snow-capped Andean peaks which tower another 1800m above it. After a day in the capital, we'll make for Otavalo and its bustling market, where local hand woven rugs are sold. After time walking trails around San Pablo Lake, we drive up the flanks of Cotopaxi for a walk on the world's highest active volcano (5897m).
Exploring the Rainforest
We head for the 'Oriente' region, Ecuador's tropical lowlands. Travelling by motorised canoe from the small port of Misahualli, we'll explore the surrounding forest both from the river and on foot to find exotic plants and watch for birds. Walking through rainforest we'll visit a local Indian village to witness local crafts and native skills with blow pipes!
Wildlife of the Galapagos
Continuing to the Galapagos, we spend a week in these 'enchanted' islands. The landscape is fascinating; a wild moonscape of sharp black lava splashed with bright green foliage and strange plants providing a haven for many unique birds and beasts, including giant tortoises, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. It's little wonder that Charles Darwin described the islands as a living laboratory of evolution.
Featured highlights
Explore Otavalo market and Andean villages Venture into the Amazon rainforest in canoes Experience the amazing & unique wildlife of Galapagos
Volcanoes & Local Traditions
Quito, a 2800m-high mountain eyrie, is ringed by snow-capped Andean peaks which tower another 1800m above it. After a day in the capital, we'll make for Otavalo and its bustling market, where local hand woven rugs are sold. After time walking trails around San Pablo Lake, we drive up the flanks of Cotopaxi for a walk on the world's highest active volcano (5897m).
Exploring the Rainforest
We head for the 'Oriente' region, Ecuador's tropical lowlands. Travelling by motorised canoe from the small port of Misahualli, we'll explore the surrounding forest both from the river and on foot to find exotic plants and watch for birds. Walking through rainforest we'll visit a local Indian village to witness local crafts and native skills with blow pipes!
Wildlife of the Galapagos
Continuing to the Galapagos, we spend a week in these 'enchanted' islands. The landscape is fascinating; a wild moonscape of sharp black lava splashed with bright green foliage and strange plants providing a haven for many unique birds and beasts, including giant tortoises, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. It's little wonder that Charles Darwin described the islands as a living laboratory of evolution.
Featured highlights
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly Quito. |
| Day 2: | We take a walking tour of Ecuador's lofty capital (2800m). |
| Day 3-4: | Driving via the equator, we head to Otavalo's famous market and enjoy the mountain scenery on walks. |
| Day 5-6: | After exploring the trails around San Pablo Lake, we drive up the flanks of Cotopaxi for a walk on the slopes of the world's highest active volcano (5897m). |
| Day 7-9: | Descending from the Andes, we reach the Amazon basin. We'll explore the lush forest by canoe and on foot, seeking rare birds and meeting local villagers. |
| Day 10-11: | To Riobamba, stopping to enjoy the thermal springs at Baños we later walk in the other-worldly landscape around Chimborazo Volcano. |
| Day 12: | Devil's Nose Railway. We descend towards the coast on this spectacular train ride. |
| Day 13-20: | We fly to the Galapagos and join our boat. For the next week we'll experience the diverse landscapes and prolific flora and fauna of these 'enchanted' islands. On our last day we fly to Guayaquil. |
| Day 21-22: | Overnight flight to UK. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment:
Our boat on this tour, the Montserrat, is one of only 8 boats to have achieved the Smart Voyager certification which is the highest environmental standard available in the Galapagos. We are partners with the Rainforest Alliance; working with local hotels and suppliers to promote best management practices that will help local business reduce negative impacts and potentially obtain certification in sustainable tourism. Through training, workshops and by providing tools and resources, the Rainforest Alliance encourages the tourism industry to conserve local environments and contribute in a positive way to their local communities. We support the Rainforest Alliance by agreeing that a minimum of 50% of our night-stops on this tour will be in properties working towards certification in sustainable tourism, and by actively encouraging the other properties we work with to sign up to local sustainable tourism programmes. We are also members of the Galapagos Conservation Trust and our fee gives a regular income to the organisation’s varied conservation, education and research projects. We encourage our customers to become members to support this worthwhile cause. Though we always encourage people to reduce their impact on the environment by avoiding buying bottled water, all plastic water bottles which are used on this trip are collected by the Tour Leader and given to a local sugar cane processing company where they are reused, reducing our impact on the environment and supporting local enterprise. Community: In Ecuador you will be accompanied by our local staff, which is the best way to learn about the local culture and customs, as well as generating local employment through our business. In 2009 our Ecuadorian Tour Leader Diego Torres was crowned overall winner at the prestigious “Wanderlust Paul Morrison Guide Awards”, thanks to his encyclopaedic knowledge, great empathy with his groups and his passionate concern for developing tourism in Ecuador in a sustainable and responsible way. Diego is donating his £5,000 bursary prize to the charity Proyecto DCR that gives vulnerable street kids in the capital Quito the chance to get an education. Diego comments: “It’s such a worthwhile project because it gives the children the potential to take charge of their futures. Instead of having to beg on the streets they can have a life with more dignity”. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |