AM: Transfer Quito (airport – hotel).
Welcome to Quito. A representative will welcome you and transfer you to your hotel. You will have free time to explore the city, relax and settle in.
Accommodation: In the 5-Star GO Quito Hotel / Premium Room
Itinerary D+ACorals-karanki
Day 1 – Welcome to Quito AM: Transfer Quito (airport – hotel). Welcome to Quito. A representative will welcome you and transfer you to your hotel. You will have free time to explore the city, relax and settle in. Accommodation: In the 5-Star GO Quito Hotel / Premium Room Day 2 – Quito Old Town […]
Day 1 - Welcome to Quito
Day 2 - Quito Old Town Tour & Middle of the World
AM: Colonial Quito.
Stroll through the busy streets and squares of the most significant historic center of the Americas: a multi-ethnic, artistic, and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
PM: The Middle of the World.
Afterward, our guide will visit the Middle of the World Complex at latitude 0*0*0. Return to the hotel for the night.
Accommodation: In the 5-Star GO Quito Hotel / Premium Room
Day 3 - Quito – Otavalo – Magdalena
Magdalena – Ibarra – Quito:
AM:
Join Magdalena locals in their morning activities, such as milking.
Next, we visit Ibarra, “La Ciudad Blanca,” Imbabura`s capital. Your guide will share its history as we admire the city’s architecture.
Our next stop is Parque Cóndor, a bird of prey rescue center. The park educates visitors about the issues that Andean condors and owls face.
PM:
Our journey continues to the Karanki-Magdalena Community, at 3,100 meters above sea level. The landscape resembles a colorful patchwork, and locals are known for their exquisite embroidery, which is available for purchasing directly from artisans.
Experience their daily life, unhurried by modern distractions. Overnight in a comfortable room with private facilities and hot water. Enjoy authentic, Andean home cooking and optional activities like horseback riding and hiking.
Meals Included: Dinner at Magdalena Home Stay
Accommodation: Magdalena Home Stay
Service and Entrance Fees Include a bilingual guide (English—Spanish), a Tour transfer, Cotacachi Lagoon, and an Andean Instruments Workshop.
Day 4 - Magdalena – Ibarra – Quito
Quito – Otavalo – Magdalena:
AM:
Driving north from Quito, we pass through various ecosystems and agricultural zones, even crossing the equator. Along the way, we taste local flavors and enjoy scenic views of volcanoes, including “El Taita” Imbabura.
At the Otavalo market, visitors can engage with locals, negotiating for woven goods, bags, hats, flutes, and other crafts.
We visit villages like Peguche, known for traditional looms and Andean instruments, and Cotacachi, famous for its leather work. Next, we explore Cuicocha Lagoon in Cotacachi Cayapas National Park. Enjoy free time for lunch with recommendations from your guide.
PM:
Our journey continues to the Karanki-Magdalena Community, at 3,100 meters above sea level. The landscape resembles a colorful patchwork, and locals are known for their exquisite embroidery, which is available for purchasing directly from artisans.
Experience their daily life, unhurried by modern distractions. Overnight in a comfortable room with private facilities and hot water. Enjoy authentic, Andean home cooking and optional activities like horseback riding and hiking.
Meals Included: Dinner at Magdalena Home Stay
Accommodation: Magdalena Home Stay
Service and Entrance Fees Include a bilingual guide (English—Spanish), a Tour transfer, Cotacachi Lagoon, and an Andean Instruments Workshop.
Day 5 - Welcome to Galapagos & San Cristobal Island
 | AM: Welcome to Galapagos. Departure from either Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra Island is a 2 1⁄2 hour flight. Upon arrival in the Galapagos, passengers are greeted at the airport by our knowledgeable guides who will accompany them on a short ten- minute bus ride to the pier where they will board the Coral I or Coral II. PM: Interpretation Center & Frigatebird Hill (San Cristobal Island). The interpretation center is full of interesting information and offers a perfect view of the formation of the Galapagos. After a hike to Cerro Tijeretas, we will have a great view of the two species of frigate birds, along with a beautiful view of the bay. |
Day 6 - San Cristobal Island
| AM: Kicker Rock – This ancient and eroded volcanic tuff lava named Leon Dormido or Kicker Rock, is formed from two rocks approximately 148 m, named for its resemblance to a sleeping lion. Cerro Brujo – From our dinghy ride, as we head to shore, we are first humbled by the immensity of the stunning cliffs of the Sorcerer’s Hill. You can enjoy simply sharing the beach with sea lions, snorkelling from shore, or taking a walk to a hidden lagoon. PM: Punta Pitt (San Cristobal Island). This is the only place on the islands where we will enjoy the chance to see all three of the booby species in the same place. The red-foots will be perched on the Cordia lutea and small trees, the Nazca ́s on the ground near the cliff edge while the blue-foots will be a little further inland. Frigatebirds will be all around and the views are breathtaking. |
Day 7 - Española Island
| AM: Punta Suarez (Española Island). Punta Suarez is a naturalist ́s paradise. The oldes extant island in the archipelago is our only opportunity to commune with the endemic wave albatross during their breeding season between April and December. With luck, we can watch their complex courtship display. PM: Gardner Bay (Española Island). One of the most stunning beaches in all of the Galapagos. The long, white, sandy beach, lapped by turquoise waters, home to a colony of Galapagos sea lions. Hood mockingbirds, endemic to this particular island. We can also snorkel here from the beach, in the shallows of the bay. |
Day 8 - Floreana Island
| AM: Cormoran or Champion (Floreana Island). Our walk takes us to a large, shallow lagoon, often inhabited by a variable number of shockingly pink greater flamingos. We arrive at a powdery white beach, a nesting area for green turtles. PM: Post Office (Floreana Island). The famous Post Office Barrel. Claimed to have been first set up in 1793 by Captain James Colnett. The system involved whalers and fur sealers would leave addressed letters in the barrel to be picked up by homeward-bound colleagues. Actually visitors often take letters and hand-deliver them to their home countries. |
Day 9 - Santa Cruz Island
| AM: Highlands Tortoise Reserve – We have our best opportunity to interact at close quarters with totally wild, Galapagos giant tortoises. A short walk among these huge, 600lb, reptiles will also offer the chance for more highland species, especially several species. of the famed finches. Charles Darwin Research Station – We visit the Station where the Galapagos giant tortoise breeding program takes places as part of our efforts to preserve the fragile Galapagos environment. PM: Punta Carrion (Santa Cruz Island). Dinghy ride at the entry of the Itabaca Channel in a lagoon with turquoise water, where we can observe sharks, blue-footed boobies, and different kinds of fish. |
Day 10 - Genovesa Island
| AM: El Barranco (Genovesa Island). Be marveled at the variety of sea life that uses the crevices of the lava cliffs for shelter. Red-billed Tropicbirds fly overhead, and a small colony of fur seals may be found near the landing site. You will be dropped off at a steep stairway that begins on rocks at the foot of a path that leads through a seabird colony full of Nazca and Red- footed Boobies. PM: Darwin Bay (Genovesa Island). From within the flooded caldera of Tower Island, we set foot onto a sandy beach to be greeted by swallow- tailed gulls often said to be the most beautiful gull in the world. In the trail we can see at nesting red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds. |
Day 11 - Rabida Island & Bartolome Island
| AM: Rabida Island. Lying at the archipelago’s heart, this dramatic island with a distinctive red-sand beach is home to sea lions, mockingbirds, finches, endemic Galapagos doves, and vermilion flycatchers. A walk takes us through a forest of palo santo and cacti to a beautiful overview of the bay. PM: Bartolome Island. Considered the most iconic landscape of the entire archipelago the view from the top of Bartolome Island, overlooking the famous Pinnacle Rock and the austere Santiago Island, Our subsequent snorkel here might put us face to face with Galapagos penguins, white- tipped reef sharks, and playful sea lions. |
Day 12 - Santa Cruz Island & Baltra Island Airport
| AM: Pit Craters (Santa Cruz Island). The Pit Craters, geologically speaking, were not directly formed by volcanic action. They were created as a result of the collapse or sinking of surface materials into cracks or manholes. It’s a great place to spot vermilion fly catchers as we walk inside an endemic Scalesia forest. Great opportunity to observe giant tortoises. Baltra Island Airport. After the visit, passengers will be transferred to the airport for their return flight to Guayaquil or Quito. |
Day 13 - Back to Quito
AM: Transfer to Quito airport.
Transfer to Quito airport, or guests can also extend their stay in Ecuador with other land tours we offer.
Accommodation: In the 5-Star Go Quito Hotel / Premium Room
