Ecuador Active and outdoor Trips

Excellent trip arranged by Explore! Fast moving, early starts exploring Quito and the Galapagos. We weren’t able to go to Otavalo but alternative activities were offered in the Quito area. We learned about the history of Ecuador and the wildlife and habitats of the Galapagos. Our guide Diego was outstanding and all connections were seamless. We felt safe at all times. We did so much in 14 days my head is still spinning. Food is local and plentiful. Would thoroughly recommend a trip with Explore!. Walked miles, snorkelled, swam, dined out, played quizzes, laughed, made new friends and saw countless birds, tortoises, fish, sea lions and iguanas.

Another good trip with Explore. There were only eight of us in the group, so some free space on the minibus. Our driver Wilson was very good and guide Dario was very positive about his country. Highlights were the hot springs, climbing (slowly) to 5,000m, Cuenca old town, waterfalls and boat rides in the Amazon, plus various local craft visits. I didn’t experience any power cuts, and every hotel had somewhere to fill a water bottle, as did the minibus.

This tour was a fabulous introduction to this beautiful country with friendly people show casing their lifestyle. The landscape is very dramatic and changes quite quickly. I had never trekked at these altitudes and found the gradual introduction very helpful. Can't quite believe I made it to over 5000m on Chimborazo. The carefully chosen indigenous communities we visited showed the variety of cultures and lifestyles but essential showed people have the same problems the world over it's all about how they choose to deal with those issues. In the main the accomodation was good but I would have preferred to stay another night in Quito rather than return to our first hotel the San Jose, which was a little isolated. I wasn't very keen on the hotel in Rio Bamba + rocky toilet not great- and feel sure more appropriate accomodation could be found closer to Chimborazo. All the Guides were excellent - all the ladies showed a wicked sense of humour. Special shout out to Jason at le Jardin Aleman - his knowledge and field craft were remarkable. Dario and his trusty driver Wilson played such a key role in make Ng this such a memorable trip. Their passion for their country shines through and this together withe their kindness, humour and patience made them the dream team. We also fell lucky with the mix of our fellow explorers as we all seemed to have a similar focus (we weren't a shopping focused group It was a fairly full itinerary but aprming coffee break would have been appreciated and if it was possible to extend by a few days to include a vodysl dot it would be perfect.

A well organised and varied tour. There was plenty of opportunity to mix with local people and get a taste of their lifestyle. Wildlife was abundant and especially in Galapagos was surprisingly visible.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves wildlife and the outdoors. Definitely off the beaten track, living within the local community gives a chance to understand a little of their history & culture. Wildlife viewing was exceptional.

Fantastic trip to 2 places the highlights were Machu Picchu and Galapagos. Seeing the wildlife and Galapagos was amazing. The only thing that let us down was the airline companies because of delayed luggage we had to go to the airport to get our luggage which was a negative point and some of our tall group had to go twice because their luggage was delayed twice. To be honest, we didn’t get much help from the guy either we had to go to the airport ourselves. Other than that, it was an excellent trip and I would highly recommend.