Ecuador-tour guides
 

We are four 60 somethings traveling together interested in a guide and van and for about 4-5 days within the country (not Galapagos). Any recommendations?

Can help with specific recommendations as we didn't use any guides when there. When we were staying at the SA explorers club and were considering a jungle tour and visit to the Galapagos we did trek around the tour operators in Mariscal ( there are a lot!) . Happy Gringo and Gullivers seemed to get good reviews form people we met . They would probably be able to arrange a van and guide.

Where are you planning on visiting? It may be just as easy to organise separate trips or even go by bus.

Thanks! We are looking at going the end of Nov./beginning of Dec. 2014. Only have about 8-10 days and do not plan to go to Galapagos. Separate trips would be fine.

ttt

OK I would probably split 8- 10 days into separate trips as follows

2 days Quito - take it easy on the first day as the altitude may affect some of you. The old town has lots to see plaza Independecia, Iglesia de San Francisco, El Panecillo etc. Sundays it is buzzing, lots of street entertainment etc.

2 days Otavalo - Saturdays see a massive artisan market and a fascinating animal market mostly attended by the indigenous people from the surrounding mountains. There are smaller markets on other days of the week. We really liked La Luna Hostel a few kms out of town. If you like walking there is a great hike hot far away around. Mojanda crater lakes as short drive away. Lots of other good stuff in the area, villages, waterfalls etc.

Oops! Battery is about to die - back soon!

back again.

as an alternative/addition to Otavalo, Mindo is an option. i haven't been but several other have who hopefully will jump in.

it is also possible to get into the rainforest but we decided to leave that until we got to Bolivia (cheaper and more pristine) but that is an option. lots of operators to choose from in Quito. personally, i think it would take up too much ofcayour available time.

2-3 days Cuenca - A beautiful town but probably the least ecuadorian town in the country due to the abundance of North american expats. still, some great colonial architecture, great food and climate. Parque Nacional de Cajas is close by, easily accessible and really beautiful. this is also the starting point to visit the ruins of Ingapirca. Lots of operators in town will organise trips or can easily be done by bus.

other options would be

get the train from Quito to Latacunga for Quilatoa lakes and saquisilli Thursday market.

Cotopaxi volcano and park. a very popular trip, usually involving either a hike or a 4WD up to the snow line. Secret Garden have hostals in both Quio and Cotapaxi and have some good reviews. we never made it to Cotopaxi mainly because it was swathed in cloud for all our time there.

one of the highlights of our trip was biking down Chimborazo volcano. we did the trip from Riobamba which is accessible by train from Quito. it also used to be the starting point for the 'devils nose' train ride but i seem to recall that may have changed.

finally, i managed to locate the SA Explorers discount list which has numerous tour operators, agents etc. listed may be worth emailing a few for quote. if you are thinking or arranging several trips it should be possible to get a serious discount.

Otavalo makes a nice two day excursion if you are interested in shopping, seeing indigenous Otavalo culture. The hike around Lake Cuicocha is difficult at altitude for oldies! But you can also just do part, not all of the 5 hour trek.

The agency I used for a day tour once I arrived in Otavalo was Runa Tupari, which works with community groups, their website is http://runatupari.com/index.php/en/
email [email protected]

I was originally going to use them to do a community homestay but decided against it as I was running short on time.

I joined a Spanish couple and we did both the lake hike (half day tour) and 3 community visits (separate half day tour). I am not sure if they have English language guides, as our guides were locals, but there was someone in the office who speaks English. They do have a van for tours and transport.

PS I did not go to Otavalo on Saturday, there are vendors in the plaza during the week, much less hectic!

Mindo is a cloud forest location which attracts birdwatchers and has a few outdoorsy activities.

I believe end of Nov/Dec will be in the rainy season, something to consider re the types of activities.

I enjoyed Quito, Hop On Hop Off bus is great for the first day and there are also walking tours, lots of cathedrals and museums, La Ronda and the Old Town is great, as mentioned Sunday is when streets are closed and people are out and about.

I guess it might help if I posted the link to the SA Explorers Club list

http://www.saexplorers.org/member/di...ito-and-region

Bio Hostal Mindo was where we stayed. They were willing to make breakfast for our group of 4 birdwatchers very early.

Their direct email is biohostalmindo at hotmail dot com

I see they are also on booking.com

I had a private room for $23 including breakfast, and if I recall that didn't include the 12% VAT tax and I also think that everyone is tacking on 10% service charges ( both taxes are a nasty little surprise in Ecuador after coming from Peru where tourists are exempt).

Thanks for all of this wonderful guidance and advice. I am going to digest it in the next week or so. We have revised our timing to end of October, beginning of Nov. and our new limit is 9 days. I don't know if this will effect the rainy season, but it's the best we can do. I will send you our thoughts for an itinerary shortly. We are definitely going to scale it down and this will not be our last trip to Ecuador, I am sure. It is not that hard to get there.

Best time of year to visit the Oriente/amazon region?

The Amazon/Oriente is really a year-round destination. You can expect rain every day (since you are in the rain forest, haha) but it doesn't typically last all day. Your lodge will provide ponchos and rubber boots.

Really, the Andes is alright to visit in the "wet" season as well. The benefits are that it is "slow" season for tourists so you'll often find wonderful deals and likely won't be bumping into large crowds of tourists along the way. The wind is much more mild, landscapes are greener, and waterfalls/rivers are rushing. You will likely run into afternoon showers but I would be shocked if you had 9 full days of cloud and rain. If you ask locals, the historic trends are less and less reliable in terms of predicting the weather or seasons so "wet" or "dry" don't mean as much as they used to. In the Andes, the saying is that, no matter the time of year, you can experience all four seasons...all in one day!

With 9 days solely in the Andes, you could consider exploring Quito, Cotopaxi, and Mindo for a taste of the variety Ecuador offers. This route takes you:
* Through the historic capital city where you can stroll the cobblestone streets of South America's best preserved colonial city, ride to 13,300ft by cable car overlooking the city, enjoy numerous city parks, and pop into countless museums and churches along the way
* Up to the windswept plains beneath one of the world's highest active volcanoes, where you can hike through surreal landscapes, ride horseback in llama chaps (who doesn't love llama chaps?! haha), cozy up at night in an historic hacienda, and even
* Finally, you end the week in a tropical cloud forest paradise where zip lining, chocolate tours, bird watching, river tubing, and waterfall hikes are highlights.

Since this won't be your last visit (yay!), it might be nice for you to spend a couple of nights in each place so you're not rushed. For groups we visit with, this is our most popular itinerary so feel free to snag any info you'd like from our experience :)

Other locations easily accessible from Quito are:
Otavalo
Papallacta
Quilotoa
Banos
Cuenca (by flight)
Amazon (by flight)

I hope that helps and doesn't confuse things as you narrow down your itinerary. Sounds like you're going to have a blast!! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Best,
Nicole

The best time to visit the Ecuadorian Rainforest is in the summer season which is from May until November, normally in this time there is no too much showers.

Regarding your question about the guide and tranportation try to contact with festivaltourecuador.com they can help you and also if there is a group they can offer you a discount

Thank you! Working on the details shortly and will get back.