13 Day Family Adventure

Welcome to Quito, the capital of Ecuador! Arrive at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), where your private driver will meet you to transfer you to your accommodation in the city center, a one-hour trip. After checking in at your hotel and relaxing for a while, your English-speaking guide will pick you up from your hotel and take you on a walking city tour. The colonial center of Quito was already named world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 1978 and is home to many beautiful, historic buildings and squares. You will visit the Plaza Grande and the beautiful churches La Compañía and La Basílica, and walk down the oldest street of Quito—La Ronda.

Overnight: Quito
Hotel: Hotel Plaza Grande
Meals: -/-/-

Today, your private driver will pick you up from your hotel to take you to the airport. A 30-minute flight will bring you from Quito to Coca, passing the Eastern Andes mountain range. After landing, you will be transferred to the port, where you will embark onto a comfortable covered motor boat. The canoe ride takes approx. 2 hours; box lunch and coffee are provided in route.
Along the way, birds like herons, kingfisher and many more can already be spotted. After arriving at Napo Wildlife Center’s (NWC) entry dock, you continue with a majestic and peaceful 2-hour paddle canoe ride, surrounded by trees. You have the chance to spot some monkeys as well as large birds like toucans, parrots or macaws. In the late afternoon, you will finally arrive to the Lodge with an overwhelming view of Añangu Lagoon. Before dinner, you will receive a welcome drink and a short briefing from the manager of the Lodge.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Meals: B/L/D

You will get up early and go on your first excursion for today: the parrot clay lick, located approx. 1 hour from the Lodge. A total of 11 species of parrots, parakeets and macaws can be seen.
Afterward, you will hike along a forest trail to visit the Kichwa Community of Añangu where you will share time and daily activities with a local family.
Return to the creek and hike through a “Terra Firme” forest for about 30 minutes until you arrive to the second parrot clay lick where you can again find many different species of parrots.
You will share your lunch at Napo Cultural Center with people of the Kichwa community.
In the afternoon, you paddle back to Napo Wildlife Center. Enjoy some free time before a delicious dinner awaits you.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Meals: B/L/D

After an early breakfast, you leave the Lodge to experience an amazing view of the rainforest from a 36 m high Canopy Tower – a great way to see the life above the ground! The tower is located about 30 minutes from the Lodge, deep within the Terra Firme Forest. As you ascend the 12-floor tower, you pass through different levels of the forest.
Flocks of colorful tanagers pass right through the trees; blue-and-yellow macaws fly past, and in nearby trees spider monkeys search for fruits. The life of the forest canopy opens up before you!
Lunch is served at the Lodge. In the afternoon, you will hike another Terra Firme forest trail to discover more of the flora and fauna. You have the possibility to find lizards, colorful manakins, or the unique and endemic golden mantle tamarin monkey.
After the hike, explore the lake and creeks by dugout canoe with great possibilities of running into a giant otter family on the way.

Overnight: Yasuni National Park
Accommodation: Napo Wildlife Center
Meals: B/L/D

Early departure and one last excursion canoeing back to the Napo river. Along the way, the creek may reveal new possibilities of sighting giant otters, saki monkeys or other rare birds. Transfer to the motorized canoe in order to return to Coca. In Coca, you will take the flight back to Quito. A shuttle bus service from Wyndham hotel wil await you at your arrival in UIO.
Around 2:00 PM, your private guide will pick you up from your hotel to visit the equatorial monument, La Mitad del Mundo, located just 26 km (16 miles) north of Ecuador’s capital city, Quito where French scientists determined the position of the central line many years ago. Ecuador is the place to come to stand on the Equator line, nowhere else on the planet is it easier to visit the Equator line or strike a pose with one foot in each hemisphere. Even Ecuador’s name was born of its location at latitude zero. You will visit the museum exhibits including a planetarium, ethnographic museum, art exhibits, a small-scale model of Quito city, an old train station, a beer museum, cocoa & chocolate exhibits, and a small chapel, for an unforgettable experience today.

Overnight: Quito
Accommodation: Wyndham Quito Airport
Meals: B/LB/-

A coordinated shuttle bus service will take you to the Quito airport for your flight to Galapagos. Welcome to the beautiful Santa Cruz Island! After arriving at Baltra Airport, your guide will be waiting for you to take you to Santa Cruz Island.

You will be amazed to see giant tortoises in the wild (in their natural habitat) with our first stop at a local farm in the highlands where there are dozens of giant tortoises, and you can wander around at will and enjoy a delicious lunch, to then continue to the port in Puerto Ayora to check into the hotel.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Charles Darwin Station, where scientists from all over the world meet and work together on environmental projects such as water analysis, animal protection, effects of tourism on nature, etc., and the most famous place to see Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos where the animals are raised before being released into nature. The actual name of the tortoise area here is the “Fausto Llerena” Breeding Center, named after the Galapagos National Park ranger who cared for Lonesome George. This is the best place in the Galapagos to view numerous different species and see how their tortoiseshell shapes have evolved differently to match the terrain and vegetation of the islands they are native to.

Overnight: Puerto Ayora
Suggested Hotel: Ikala Galapagos
Meals: B/L/-

After a very early breakfast, today you will enjoy an amazing day trip to an uninhabited island.

Depending on the weather, scheduling, and permissions granted by the National Park, you’ll visit one of the following islands: Santa Fé, South Plazas, Bartolomé, or North Seymour where you will follow trails to discover their richness, while in the afternoon you will have the opportunity to explore the waters around.

Santa Fé and South Plazas are home to endemic land iguanas, while Bartolomé is known for its beautiful lava flows. On North Seymour, look for frigate birds and blue-footed boobies. Each island is unique, offering spectacular scenery and opportunities to see rare wildlife.

Lunch is included onboard, as well as walking and a snorkeling activity to maximize your experience.

In the evening, return to Puerto Ayora to enjoy some free time.

Overnight: Puerto Ayora
Suggested Hotel: Ikala Galapagos
Meals: B/L/-

Arrive at Pinzon, the first snorkel stop of the tour. Penguin Bay is the name of the snorkel area with clear blue waters and much marine life. This site gives you a great chance to see many sea lions, turtles, reef sharks, rays, fish and sometimes even the Penguins the bay is named for. As the tour is run by fisherman there is a short fishing time, and any fish caught are served as fresh sashimi. Another 30-minute ride will bring you to La Fe, a beautiful white sand beach where you can disembark and swim from the beach or just relax in the sun. Lunch is served on board, This is also the last snorkel site of the day where you can see sea lions, turtles, reef fish, rays, and reef sharks. The tour finishes back in Puerto Ayora.

Overnight: Puerto Ayora
Suggested Hotel: Ikala Galapagos
Meals: B/L/-

This morning, you will take the public speedboat from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal (approx. 2-2,5 hours). After arriving and checking in to your hotel, you will first visit the Interpretation Center with your guide where you will learn everything about the history and future of the Galapagos. Afterward, you will take a short walk to Tijeretas Hill where frigate birds are nesting, and from where you have a spectacular view over the island. In the afternoon you return to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno where you will spend another night.

Overnight: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
Suggested Hotel: Galapagos Sunset Hotel
Meals: B/L/-

An exciting day awaits you, after an early breakfast, on the agenda is a day trip to Kicker Rock, which is one of the most emblematic places in the Galapagos.
A comfortable speed boat navigates along the coast of San Cristobal until we arrive to Kicker Rock, it is composed of compacted volcanic ash, not rock, towers up almost 500ft / 150m from the ocean floor, splitting into two above surface structures, but they’re connected below the surface, with a channel running between them. It is home to many birds, you will be able spot Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies, frigate-birds and tropicbirds, and is the underwater world will make this day extra memorable as it is a real “hot spot” for underwater wildlife!
Since Kicker Rock is a snorkeling site, get ready for a wet landing! You’ll be getting directly into the water to experience everything that Kicker Rock has to offer. After lunch on the boat, head to a beautiful, pristine beach, where you can relax and defrost in the sunshine before heading back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in the afternoon

Overnight: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
Suggested Hotel: Galapagos Sunset Hotel
Meals: B/L/-

In the morning after breakfast, you will be taken to the airport of San Cristobal where you will take your return flight to mainland Ecuador. Upon arrival to Quito airport, your private driver will be waiting for you to take you to your hotel.

Overnight: Quito
Hotel: Hotel Plaza Grande
Meals: B/-/-

In the morning, your private guide will meet you at the hotel and you will head to Otavalo. The city is the home of the well-known indigenous market where artisans come to sell colorful textiles and other traditional goods. Snack on fruits and other snacks while you browse the stalls for paintings, carvings, hand painted bowls, and much more.

Enjoy some street food (try the salted mango or fritada con mote—fried pork with cooked corn, then continue to the nearby town of Cotacachi for some free time and more shopping (the town is famous for its leather products).

In the afternoon, stroll along the shores of the volcanic crater lake of Cuicocha. Your guide will tell you about the high altitude flora and fauna and the history of the lake. You can even take a boat ride around the two islands.

In the evening, return to Quito, where you will spend the night.

Overnight: Quito
Accommodation: Hotel Plaza Grande
Meals: B/-/-

Your private driver will pick you up from your hotel at the designated time to drive you to Quito airport for your international departure back home.

Meals: B/-/-