The Very Best of Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands

AN EXCLUSIVE 14 DAY FULLY ESCORTED TOUR - PRICES START FROM £4,785

No matter what you have experienced or where you have been, you will find it impossible to erase your memories of this 14 day tour. The contrasts are simply astonishing. There are Ecuador’s old colonial cities and spectacular scenery – towering volcanoes and gracious haciendas. Then another world entirely: the stunning beauty and wildlife of the Galapagos, which you tour on your private yacht.

First you visit two cities – Quito and Cuenca – both World Heritage Sites – that recall the opulence of the mighty Spanish empire that once ruled this country. But this is just your appetiser. For then you set out on your magical 4 night cruise aboard the luxurious Isabela II, exploring the remote Galápagos Islands.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Magnificent Wildlife of the Galápagos Islands including the

– Blue Footed Booby

– Frigatebird

– Galápagos Penguin

– Sea Lions

– Marine Iguana

– Giant Tortoise

• Exclusive charter of Isabela II for a 4 night cruise

• City sightseeing tours of UNESCO World Heritage sites of Quito & Cuenca

• Equatorial Monument & Latitude 0°

• Culture & indigenous tribes of Ecuador

• Tour the Andean Highlands

• Tour the Avenue of Volcanoes

PRE-BOOKABLE HOLIDAY EXCURSIONS FROM £17 PER PERSON

Cajas National Park

Splendid scenery surrounds no less than 230 lakes and dwarf forests, where you can spot many species like hummingbirds and the graybreasted mountain toucan. Lunch features delicious fresh trout from a local hacienda.

Prices from £19 per person

Ingapirca

Inca sun-worshippers built this Temple of the Sun on a promontory 10,595 feet above sea level. You ride through enchanting highlands, passing through local towns with short visits to local markets, then visit the temple and museum barracks, the "Inca Face" and carvings. It is extraordinary how the Inca fitted together the trapezoidal doorways and mighty stone walls perfectly without mortar. Lunch is at Uzhupud.

Prices from £102 per person

Guayaquil

This tour includes Centennial Plaza honouring the city’s heroes, the famous Moorish Clock Tower, Bolívar Park, where iguanas roam undisturbed, La Rotonda, commemorating the meeting of Bolivar and San Martin, South America’s great liberators and Barrio Las Peñas, one of the oldest neighbourhoods.

Prices from £17 per person

EXTEND YOUR HOLIDAY 3 NIGHTS FROM £735 PER PERSON

Finch Bay

3 nights - Eco hotel

• Return transfers.

• 3 nights accommodation at Finch Bay Eco Hotel with daily breakfast.

• Day room in Guayaquil prior to international flight back to London Heathrow.

The charming Finch Bay - named after the famous Darwin's Finches abundant in the surroundings - is just steps from the beach on a private seaside location, surrounded by mangroves. Here guests can cherish the privacy, natural surroundings and superb service offered by the Finch Bay.

Located on Santa Cruz Island at Punta Estrada, across the bay from the town of Puerto Ayora, it is situated in a quiet location, with only pedestrian and bicycle circulation - there are no cars in the neighborhood.

Finch Bay accommodates 42 guests with 21 rooms (with twin or king-size beds), each with private facilities, air conditioning and unlimited water supply, as the hotel has its own desalinization plant. This ecologically oriented hotel also boasts innovative garbage processing and recycling programs. The entire infrastructure as well as the activities are totally oriented to a concept of true ecotourism in a pristine natural environment.

Delicious healthy international and Galapagos inspired menus are prepared daily by our chef, using the freshest ingredients.

Day 1 Departure from London Heathrow

Your adventure starts at Heathrow. Here you meet your Tour Manager and companions whilst enjoying complimentary drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge before your scheduled Iberia flight to Lima, via Madrid, arriving later that same day.

Meals: Inflight

Hotel: JW Marriott

Day 2 Quito

In Spain itself you would find it hard to better the splendid colonial architecture you see this first morning in Quito. The majestic Church and Plaza of San Francisco, the gold - leaf decorated La Compania Church and the Plaza de la Independencia, once a central market and bullfighting area – all glorious.

Then you see the 'centre of the world', Latitude 0° and the Equatorial Monument. Place one foot in the Southern Hemisphere, one in the Northern – a unique photo opportunity – before lunching in one of Quito's most dramatically sited restaurants.

Afterwards, laze by the pool, or explore the old city’s parks, plazas and low adobe houses.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: JW Marriott

Day 3 Quito

Now you visit Ecuador’s lake district, where Indian tribes live as they have for centuries amongst farmlands, old haciendas and whitewashed colonial towns. At the Otavalo Indian Market you see geese, puppies, pigeons, blindingly colourful textiles and handicrafts – splendid souvenirs! Lunch at the old Hacienda Pinsaqui below Imbabura Volcano – then back to Quito.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: JW Marriott

Day 4 Quito

In the Cotopaxi National Park, named after 17,000 ft. snow-capped Cotopaxi, the world's highest active volcano, you may see llamas, wild horses, perhaps deer, or even a soaring condor. Lunch is at the hacienda Hualilagua de Jijón, one of Ecuador’s oldest, before you return to Quito.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: JW Marriott

Day 5 Quito to Cuenca

After a leisurely morning you fly to Cuenca, a city they call Ecuador's hidden jewel. It has a unique atmosphere – elaborate wrought iron balconies, plazas filled with flowers and a wealth of religious art.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Oro Verde

Day 6 Cuenca

And now for something quite different! Tour the city and visit a real Panama hat factory – did you know those hats don’t come from Panama at all? Take time to wander round this quaint city in the afternoon – or relax before dining at Villa Rosa, perhaps Cuenca’s finest.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Oro Verde

Day 7 Cuenca

Spend today as you please. A visit to the ruins at Ingapirca, once a resting place for Inca emperors, will be time well spent.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Oro Verde

Day 8 Cuenca to Guayaquil

Today you fly to Guayaquil – where you can explore at your leisure Ecuador’s major port and largest city.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Hilton

Day 9 Guayaquil to The Galápagos Islands

Who has not heard of the Galápagos archipelago? Charles Darwin’s visit here on HMS Beagle in 1835 led to 'The Origin of Species'. What will you experience? Will you swim with sea lions and dolphins … float eye to eye with penguins ... even stand beside a blue-footed booby as she feeds her young? The sight of a magnificent frigate bird inflating its enormous crimson pouch to attract a mate is unforgettable. All are possible. Your private yacht, Isabela II – a mini cruise ship specially chartered for us – awaits at anchor. After an introductory briefing you see the world famous Darwin Research Station and learn about their dedicated conservation work. See what’s being done to preserve the giant tortoise – and watch hundreds of baby tortoises in their breeding pens.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: Isabela II

Day 10 The Galápagos Islands

Today you cruise to Darwin Bay. Tower Island for an easy stroll observing thousands of bird life, mainly frigate birds, red footed and masked boobies, gulls, herons, finches and mockingbirds. Isabela anchors in Darwin Bay, a collapsed caldera (crater), before the morning viewing. After lunch take a panga ride along the island's cliffs, before you climb the 'Prince Philip Steps' and walk to the other side of the island to view colonies of masked boobies, frigatebirds and storm petrels. Here we always hope to find the well camouflaged short-eared owl.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: Isabela II

Day 11 The Galápagos Islands

If you rise early you will enjoy crossing the Equator right in front of the unique Ecuador Volcano, which rises from the water with one half completely collapsed and now resting beneath the surface. Next Isabela II cruises to secluded Tagus Cove, Isabela Island, which in past centuries was a favourite anchor for pirates and whalers. An uphill hike takes you to the back of Darwin Crater, filled with salt water. The view at the end of the trail is worth the climb. The afternoon brings us to the youngest island, Fernandina. Having no introduced mammals, Fernandina has a very unique environment with the highest density of marine iguanas, sharing their space with sea lions, sally-light foot crabs, hawks, penguins and the flightless cormorant.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: Isabela II

Day 12 The Galápagos Islands

This morning sees you at Puerto Egas, James Island where most of the landscape is tuff-stone layers and lava flows. This is a great opportunity to see land and marine birds. At low tide, marine iguanas graze upon the algae beds and there is also a colony of fur-sea lions. Next is Bartholome Island, sometimes home to Galapagos penguins. There’s a steep climb to the summit if you wish and the view from the top is worth the effort. This evening we enjoy our farewell dinner together.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: Isabela II

Day 13 The Galápagos Islands to Guayaquil

This morning you fly back to the mainland. You will have seen and been astonishingly close to perhaps the world's most extraordinary selection of wild life, an experience so uniquely memorable because it is so personal. Leaving the Galápagos, you will have a deeper feeling and appreciation for the diversity of life and the fascinating ecosystem we live in. In the evening you are free to relax at the Hilton before leaving for your flight, via Madrid.

Meals: Breakfast, Inflight

Day 14 Arrival into London, Heathrow

You arrive at London’s Heathrow airport in the late afternoon, bringing this extraordinary experience – one in a lifetime – to a close.

Meals: Inflight

Destination introduction

Contrast after contrast – that is what strikes you about this amazingly diverse country straddling the Equator that gives it its name. Splendid old Spanish colonial architecture and Inca remains vie for attention with magnificent scenery and some of the world’s most varied wildlife – especially in the astonishing Galapagos archipelago.

Did you know? Guinea pig is a favourite delicacy in Ecuador (and Peru). It tastes like a cross between rabbit and chicken