Once you‘ve partied your newly-sunburn butts for New Year at the fabulous Casa del Merman in Montañita, join us for an 8-night/9-day tour to visit Ecuador’s two crown jewels: the Galapagos Islands and Quito. 

At 2pm, our private transportation will pick up the group from Casa del Merman in Montañita, and transfer you to your hotel in Guayaquil, where our team will help you check-in. Enjoy the rest of the evening to enjoy the city at leisure. Overnight in Guayaquil.

Breakfast at hotel and check-out, private transfer to airport for your flight to Galapagos.

Arrival at Baltra Island’s airport. Reception and assistance to purchase ticket for the Airport-Itabaca Channel route. Bus transfer time about 10 minutes. Transfer by ferry to the island of Santa Cruz (10 minutes of travel), where you will explore the area and its incredible underground lava tunnels – some are more than 0.6 miles long! Wander along the volcanic tubes and keep an eye out for the (mainly) nocturnal barn owls that sometimes roost here. 

Check-in at Hotel La Isla in Santa Cruz Island. Overnight in Puerto Ayora.

After breakfast in the hotel, you will go to Tortuga Bay Beach one of the most famous beaches in the Galagapos Islands. To get to the beach you must take the road located two block from the Malecon, along Baltra Avenue, to reach the paved path that leads to this paradisiacal beach.  The access to this path is 2.5 kilometers long. It is a walk where you can contemplate the flora and fauna of the surroundings, all accompanied by a Naturist Tour Guide. 

After lunch (not included) we will visit the highlands of Santa Cruz and see the Galápagos giant tortoise in its natural surroundings at the Charles Darwin Station.

Overnight in Puerto Ayora.

After breakfast at the hotel, we will visit  Garrapatero Beach. This beach has a length of around 1,500 meters and is located 15 minutes from the hotel. Besides having beautiful crystal-clear water, there is also a lagoon where flamingos, finches and other migratory birds perch. Here there is the possibility of kayaking.

Overnight in Puerto Ayora.

After breakfast you will visit Playa de los Alemanes, which is a small beach where you can see marine iguanas. Later we will visit Las Grietas, which is a volcanic rock formation that provides you an amazing opportunity to snorkel (equipment rental $10-15 per person).

Overnight in Puerto Ayora.

Breakfast at hotel and transfer out to Baltra’s airport. Flight black to the mainland. 

Our team will welcome you at Quito’s International Airport (UIO) and transfer you to the hotel in private transportation. The beautiful and strategically located 5-star Swissotel by Accor near Downtown awaits with complimentary high speed wifi, in-room coffee and tea, a plush duvet, Egyptian cotton linens, and electric curtains. Overnight in Quito.

Buffet breakfast at Cafe Quito is open at 6:30, enjoy it at leisure. Weather permitting, at 9am we’ll start today’s adventures with a ride of the Teleferiqo gondola lift, which runs from the edge of the city centre up the Pichincha Volcano. It’s one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, rising from 10,226 to 12,943 ft. The ascent takes about 20 mins. and is rewarded with the most amazing cloud-high views of Quito and the surrounding mountains, volcanoes and sky-capped peaks.

Afterwards, onto your private city tour of Quito’s Old Town, the largest, least-altered and best preserved historic center in the Americas. The Basilica of the National Vow: know as “La Basilica”, is the most important work of neo-Gothic Ecuadorian architecture and is one of the most representative of the Americas. It is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the New World. Whenever you’re ready for a light lunch, our team will walk with you to Cafeteria San Agustin, the oldest restaurant in Quito, where their famous ”sanduche de pernil” (pork leg sandwich) is the main feature. 

In the afternoon you will visit The Church of the Society of Jesus: known as “La Compañía”, is a Jesuit church best-known because of its large central nave, which is profusely decorated with gold leaf, gilded plaster and wood carvings. This is one of the most significant works of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. It is Quito’s most ornate church and (according to many) the country's most beautiful. La Plaza de la Independencia (or “Plaza Grande”) is the principal square of Quito where the Presidential Palace, City Hall and Cathedral are located. Church and Monastery of St. Francis: commonly known as “San Francisco“, is a 16th-century Roman Catholic complex. It fronts onto its namesake Plaza de San Francisco. The imposing structure has the distinction of being the largest architectural ensemble among the historical structures of colonial Latin America. The style evolved over almost 150 years of construction through earthquakes and changes in artistic fashion.

We will finish the city tour around 5pm at Virgin of El Panecillo: A 45-meter-tall stone monument of a madonna which was assembled on a high pedestal on the top of Panecillo hill. Locals claim that she is the only one in the world with wings like an angel. This hill and the virgin can be seen from anywhere in Quito’s Historic Center. 

Overnight in Quito.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel. At 9am we’ll take a 30-minute drive North of Quito for the following visits: Pululahua Crater (weather permitting): is one of only two volcanic craters inhabited in the world, and the only one that is farmed. The land here is extremely fertile because it is volcanic soil. The caldera of this extinct volcano is approximately 3 miles wide, one of the largest volcanic craters in the planet. 

Temple of the Sun Museum: Its structure resembles a castle, and is the home of a temple that reveres the Sun like Ecuadorian pre- Columbian indigenous did, and at the same time it’s a museum and art repository for the famous Ecuadorian artist that constructed and owns this complex. 

Middle of the World City: The grounds of this “city” contain the Monument to the Equator, which highlights the exact location of the Equator (from which the country takes its name) and commemorates the 18th century Franco-Spanish Geodesic Mission which fixed its approximate location. The complex includes museums, interactive exhibits, shops, and a restaurant where we will have lunch (included). After eating, enjoy the complex at leisure. 

Lastly, visit to Intiñan Museum: this onsite museum located right on top or the Equator Line features interactive exhibits on how the Incas determined the middle of the Earth, plus interesting science experiments such as balancing an egg on a nail and the affects of the Coriolis force on earth.  

At 5pm, we’ll head back to the hotel. Overnight in Quito.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and check-out. At the agreed time, you’ll be picked up from the hotel by our team and transferred to the airport for your flight back home or to your next destination. -End of our services-