19 DAY RELAX ECUADOR

Today your Relax Ecuador tour starts. Once you will arrive at Quito Airport, you will have a private transfer to your hotel.

• TransportCar.
• AccommodationsHotel Fuente de Piedra or similar.

After your breakfast, you will be picked up at your hotel to start your Quito city tour. First, you will go to the Panecillo Hill with its famous Virgin Mary statue. You will have an amazing view over the whole city. Then, you will visit the highlights of Quito’s Old Town, like the la Basilica church, the main squares, and the San Francisco church. After a typical Ecuadorian lunch, you will go to the Middle of the World Museum called Intiñan. After this, you will also visit the Pululahua crater, before you will finally go back to Quito at the end of the day.

• ActivityExploring, Sightseeing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsHotel Fuente de Piedra or similar.

Today you will have time to relax and explore Quito by yourself. For example, you can visit the Teleferico, museum or do any other attractions the capital city of Ecuador offers. It is also possible to do an optional day tour. At 11:00 PM a semi-private night bus will bring you to the Cuyabeno Reserve in the Amazon, which will take about 8 hours.

• ActivityExploring, Relaxing.
• TransportBus.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsOvernight during transportation.

The bus you took the night before will bring you to the Cuyabeno Bridge, which is the starting point of your Amazon adventure. From here, you will have a canoe trip down the Cuyabeno River to the lodge. The guide will share information about the Reserve, and important recommendations and other tips to begin the two hours navigation on the Cuyabeno River. Once you arrive to the lodge, you will be shown to your rooms and you can relax a little before enjoying a delicious dinner.

• ActivityExploring.
• TransportBus, Canoe.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
• AccommodationsCuyabeno Eco-Lodge or similar.

Early in the morning, you will go on a canoe excursion. During the brisk morning hours, you will have the best time to see the rainforest’s thriving activity. After breakfast, you will trek in the primary rainforest with the naturalist and native guides, who will explain more about the practical and medicinal uses of the plants. After lunch, you will go out with either paddling, or by motorized canoes, to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the amazon, and try to find species of monkeys and dolphins. After having a nice dinner at the lodge, you will venture in the forest to find several species of insects and, with a bit of luck, different kinds of snakes or frogs.

• ActivityExploring, Hiking, Wildlife Watching.
• TransportCanoe.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
• AccommodationsCuyabeno Eco-Lodge or similar.

An early activity will allow you to enjoy the nature with a good chance to watch some playful monkeys and colorful birds. Then, you will return to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast, you will return to the forest, and the native guide will share his wealth of knowledge, showing the medicinal and practical uses of the rainforest’s flora and fauna. After your lunch, you will navigate along the Cuyabeno River. After that, you will visit the Kichwa Birdwatching Tower. Here, above the canopy, you can appreciate breathtaking views of the surrounding rainforest and observe a variety of species. After dinner, you will venture out on a night excursion to search for caimans (alligator family) and nocturnal birds.

• ActivityBird-watching, Exploring, Hiking, Wildlife Watching.
• TransportCanoe.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
• AccommodationsCuyabeno Eco-Lodge or similar.

After breakfast, you will navigate once again along the Cuyabeno river towards the Kichwa Community where your naturalist guide will explain the culture and traditions of the native people, from the past to the present. Then, you will travel by canoe down the river back to the Cuyabeno Bridge from where you will take a bus to Papallacta. After 6 hours approximately, you will be dropped off at Papallacta, where you can enjoy the beautiful hot springs hotel.

• ActivityExploring, Relaxing.
• TransportBus, Car, Canoe.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsSpa Hotel Papallacta or similar.

Today you can enjoy the hot springs of Papallacta and the surroundings. The Papallacta hot springs are one of the highlights in this Relax Ecuador tour. Additionally, there are some great self-guided hikes you can do, and a complete spa where you can enjoy some beauty treatments or massages. This relaxing time is well deserved after the Cuyabeno jungle adventure.

• ActivityRelaxing.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHotel Fuente de Piedra or similar.

On the ninth day of your Relax Ecuador Tour, you will be picked up from your hotel to go to Condor park. Here, you will learn about the birds and you can enjoy a bird show. After that, you will go to the Otavalo market, where you can walk through the market, enjoy the people and typical Ecuadorian products that they sell. After the market, you will go to the Peguche waterfall. Here you can enjoy the forest while you are hiking to the waterfall.

• ActivityExploring, Hiking, Sightseeing, Wildlife Watching.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsHotel Fuente de Piedra or similar.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel to go to Cotopaxi National Park. You can choose which activity you would like to do in the park. You can choose between horseback riding, mountain biking or hiking. In the afternoon, you will be dropped off at a local hacienda where you can see alpacas and enjoy the beautiful mountains.

• ActivityBiking, Exploring, Hiking, Horseback Riding.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsHacienda Papagayo or similar.

In the morning, you will be picked up by your guide to drive for about 1,5 hours to go to the Quilotoa crater lagoon which is a beautiful lagoon in the middle of the mountains with an amazing hike down the crater. After a local lunch, you will be brought to Baños, a little town in between the Andes and Amazon region, where you will stay a couple of days. At night, the town is full of entertainment with pubs, restaurants and bars, all within a walking distance.

• ActivityExploring, Hiking, Sightseeing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsHotel Posada J or similar.

The atmosphere in Baños is laid back and relaxed, and this is complemented with a sub-tropical climate. Today, you will go rafting at the Pastaza River with level III / IV rapids. Later in the afternoon, you can go biking. There is a beautiful route through the most impressive waterfalls of Ecuador, called Ruta de las Cascadas. You will bike this route without a guide, but you will be provided with a good bike and a helmet.

• ActivityBiking, Exploring, Rafting, Sightseeing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast, Lunch.
• AccommodationsHotel Posada J or similar.

After breakfast, you will start to drive down to the beautiful city of Cuenca through the Andes with your guide. It is possible to make some stops in Guamote, Alausi (Nariz del Diablo train) or Ingapirca.

• ActivitySightseeing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHotel Victoria or similar.

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up for a private tour through the colonial city of Cuenca. In the afternoon, you will have some free time to explore the city by yourself.

• ActivityExploring, Sightseeing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHotel Victoria or similar.

Today, you will visit the Cajas National Park. This national park offers incredible hikes through tundra vegetation and polylepis forests which almost feels like a setting from Lord of the Rings. In the afternoon, you will have some free time to relax or do some other activities in Cuenca.

• ActivityExploring, Hiking, Relaxing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHotel Victoria or similar.

After breakfast, your Relax Ecuador tour will continue in Puerto Lopez, located at the coastal part of Ecuador. At this point, your days of relaxing on the beach will begin. Here, you can have optional surf lessons, and even Spanish lessons.

• ActivityRelaxing.
• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHosteria Mantaraya or similar.

From the dock of Puerto Lopez you will go by boat for about 1,5 hours to Isla de la Plata. During the summer months (June – August) you will have the chance to see humpback whales. Upon arrival on Isla de Plata you will do a hike to get to know the different birds on this island. After the hike, you will get a box lunch on board and can prepare yourself for optional snorkeling. Around 05:00 PM you will be back in Puerto Lopez.

• ActivityExploring, Hiking, Snorkeling, Wildlife Watching.
• TransportBoat.
• MealBreakfast, Box Lunch.
• AccommodationsHosteria Mantaraya or similar.

Today you can relax in Puerto Lopez or take an optional tour to visit Los Frailes, to go whale watching or even go diving.

• ActivityRelaxing.
• MealBreakfast.
• AccommodationsHosteria Mantaraya or similar.

Today is the last day of your Relax Ecuador tour. You will have a transfer back to Guayaquil Airport where you will catch your flight back home.

• TransportCar.
• MealBreakfast.