Galapagos Cruise and Ecuadorian Rainforest

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow
On arrival into Quito, you’ll meet for welcome drinks at your hotel, the beautifully refurbished Casa Gangotena set in a mansion in the historic centre of Quito where you’ll stay for 3 nights.

Day 2 Quito
On this morning’s walking tour of the old town, you’ll see the Presidential Palace, standing in the Plaza Independencia, and visit the impressive Cathedral, the Compania de Jesus and the Monastery of San Francisco. After a lunch of regional cuisine, you’ll head into the hills around the city to the Equator Monument, at latitude 0°, where you can straddle the northern and southern hemispheres.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 3 Quito
This morning you’ll travel through the rolling green Andean valleys and peaks north of Quito to the market town of Otavalo, which has been a crossroads of trade since before Inca times. You will have time to explore this authentic mountain town, where indigenous people gather in colourful traditional dress; different styles and colours representing a different ethnic group. Otavalo market is an ideal place to bargain for weavings and expertly made crafts, with designs and methods that have been passed down through the centuries. You will return to the capital passing Lago San Pablo and large rose plantations from where the beautiful roses are exported. You’ll stop for lunch of fresh local cuisine in an historic hacienda.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 4 Quito to Mashpi Rainforest Reserve
Passing mountain pastures and broad valleys dotted with farms and villages, you’ll head into the Andes to an untouched cloud forest where you’ll stay for 2 nights. Deep in the jungle, the new Mashpi Lodge combines a remarkable rainforest experience with contemporary luxury for one of the world’s most unique lodges. You can view the diverse tropical wildlife through huge windows, and embark on a choice of nature walks and activities, accompanied by a naturalist guide.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 5 Mashpi Rainforest Reserve
Explore the delights of the private Mashpi Wildlife Reserve further, which is home to hundreds of tropical bird species, thousands of species of orchid and other exotic flora, as well as monkeys and other mammals.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 6 Mashpi Rainforest Reserve to Quito
Wake to a final morning in the rainforest; the dawn chorus as the sun rises above the jungle is simply enchanting. Later in the morning you’ll return to Quito for 1 night at the Casa Gangotena and an evening at leisure in your sumptuous hotel.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 7 Quito to Galápagos Islands
This morning you’ll transfer to the airport to meet your Cruise Representative and fly to the Galápagos Islands, where you’ll board the M/V Isabela II for a 4 night cruise around the central islands. In the afternoon, you’ll visit the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island to see the giant tortoise pens within an impressive giant prickly-pear cactus forest. Later on, stroll the main street of Puerto Ayora before returning to the yacht.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 8 Galápagos – Sante Fe and South Plaza Islands
On a walk around Sante Fe Island, you’ll see many sea lion harems, Galápagos hawks – often perched atop salt bushes – giant prickly-pear cactus and land iguana, which are unique to this island. You’ll also be able to snorkel and swim from the beach. At South Plaza Island, you’ll see how the turquoise waters contrast with the white sand and black lava of the shoreline. Further up the shore, a carpet of scarlet succulents serves as groundcover for a grove of prickly-pear cactus. Yellow-grey land iguanas sit beneath, waiting patiently for pears to drop. Watch out for frigates, swallow-tailed gulls and shearwaters gliding in the thermals.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 9 Galápagos – North Seymour and Santa Cruz Islands
On this morning’s trail, you’ll walk through a landscape of cacti, fragrant palo santo trees and salt bushes to explore colonies of blue footed boobies, frigate birds and swallowtail gulls. After lunch on board, you’ll head to Santa Cruz Island. After WWII, US military barges were abandoned here and the locals referred to the site as barges beach; which morphed to Las Bachas. Today, it is an important nesting area for the east Pacific green sea turtle. Lagoons just inland are the feeding grounds of various wading birds.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 10 Galápagos – Bartolomé Island and Sullivan Bay
A wooden walkway leads to the summit of Bartolomé Island, where you’re rewarded with fabulous views. There’s also time for penguin spotting around Pinnacle Rock on an amphibious craft called a panga. The panga also takes you to Sullivan Bay on the island of Santiago, where you’ll land on a white coral beach and walk over lava that flowed less than 100 years ago. This is the perfect place to see and feel the volcanic origins of Galápagos.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 11 Galápagos to Guayaquil
This morning you’ll fly to the port city of Guayaquil on the Ecuador mainland for 1 night at Oro Verde hotel, unless you wish to take the 4 night cruise extension and stay on the ship to see the southern islands of the archipelago.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 12 Depart Guayaquil
We’ve arranged a day room at the hotel, located close to Guayaquil’s pleasant waterfront so that you have somewhere to relax before your afternoon flight, via Madrid.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 13 Arrive London Heathrow
You’ll arrive back this afternoon, ready to relive your adventures with friends and family.

Tour includes:

A Journeys of Distinction Tour Manager until day 7 depending on minimum numbers
Local guides, with an insider’s knowledge, who give a true insight into the culture, history and lifestyle
Return scheduled flights and all internal flights including all UK taxes
11 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 7 dinners
4 night cruise on the Isabela II motor yacht with all guided shore excursions included
Services of experienced crew on the Isabela II including expert naturalist guides
Travel by air-conditioned vehicle
Luggage service throughout
All local taxes including Galapagos National Park tax and Migration Card fee

On a Journey of Distinction, you are not merely a bystander. They believe that the wonders, customs and cultures you experience will live on in the core of your being. They even go so far as to say that one of their holidays will change your life forever.

Their combination of Tour Managers and Local Guides is what makes Journey of Distinction so distinctive. When you’re embarking on a voyage of discovery, it’s reassuring to know that a seasoned traveller is with you every step of the way; planning, organising, checking details and offering their advice and support. Their groups all depart from the UK, and no one joins us along the way, so you have the reassuring constancy of always knowing your travelling companions.

Our Opinion
“Limited to just 25 travellers per departure, every Journeys of Distinction escorted tour has an intimate, personal feel that makes for a more enjoyable experience.”