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✈ 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 B+CCorals-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
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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.
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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 Community
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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.
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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.
Day 4 - Magdalena Community – Ibarra – Quito
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Join the locals in Magdalena for their morning activities, including milking cows.
Next, we head to Ibarra, famously known as “La Ciudad Blanca” and the capital of Imbabura. Your guide will delve into the city’s rich history while we admire its stunning architecture.
Our journey continues to “Parque Cóndor,” a rescue center for birds of prey. Here, you’ll learn about the significant challenges faced by Andean condors and owls.
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In the afternoon, we visit Hacienda Pinsaqui, a historic site in Imbabura Province. Savor a traditional lunch, stroll through the picturesque gardens, and interact with the horses.
Later, we drive back to Quito, ensuring your drop-off at either your hotel or the airport.
Meals Included: Breakfast at Magdalena Home Stay, Lunch at Hacienda Pinsaqui.
Day 5 - Welcome to Galapagos & Santa Cruz Island
 | AM ✈ Welcome to Galapagos. Departure from Quito 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 Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz Island). Here we can find four species of mangrove in the extensive tidal lagoon system that stretches for almost a mile inland. During our panga ride through the labyrinth we will spot many turtles, herons of several species, sharks and rays. The experience is otherworldly and seems to transport us back to the beginning of time. |
Day 6 - Isabela Island & Fernandina Island
| AM Punta Vicente Roca (Isabela Island). Spectacular site, surrounded by immense cliffs of an eroded volcano. Studded with resting seabirds like brown noddies and Nazca boobies. Superb snorkeling with unique fish species. Swim with penguins and green turtles. PM Punta Espinosa (Fernandina Island). Pristine Fernandina, the marine iguana capital. Its desolate volcanic backdrop hosts a massive concentration of these enigmatic reptiles. Surprisingly, Galapagos penguins share the same shoreline. Snorkeling offers an exciting opportunity to witness marine iguanas feeding underwater, alongside penguins, turtles, and unique flightless cormorants. |
Day 7 - Isabela Island
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Urbina Bay (Isabela Island). At the far end of a long level hike, we arrive at a strange phenomenon where large blocks of coral lie completely exposed after a dramatic geological uplift in 1954. Located at the western base of Alcedo Volcano, we hope to run into a few impressive land iguanas and some volcanoes endemic to Galapagos giant tortoises during the wet season.
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Tagus Cove (Isabela Island). Tagus Cove, a historic pirate hideout and anchorage. Visited by Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle in 1835. Hike past Darwin Lake and stunning volcanic landscape, revealing Isabela island’s dramatic northern volcanoes. Snorkel along a submerged wall with turtles, fish, penguins, and flightless cormorants. Enjoy a panga ride or kayak for added excitement!
Day 8 - Santiago Island
AM Egas Port (Santiago Island). The black volcanic sand sets this landing apart from most, it’s best known for the dramatic shoreline where we meet a host of species that chose to live between land and sea. Among these are the endemic Galapagos fur seals, which maintain a small colony at the end of our walk. PM Sullivan Bay (Santiago Island). It has an extensive features relative to young pa-hoe-hoe lava flows formed during the last quarter of the 19th century. In the middle of the lava flow, older reddish-yellow-colored tuff cones appear. Mollugo plants with their yellow-to-orange whorled leaves usually grow out of the fissures. Walking on solidified lava gives the impression of being on another planet. |
Day 9 - Santa Cruz Island & North Seymour Island
| AM Bachas Beach – Named for some wrecked World War II barges whose ribs are still visible in the sand this visitor site offers great swimming, a lovely walk along the shore, and a visit to a lagoon behind the high tide line with wading birds, marine iguanas and sometimes even flamingoes. Highlands Tortoise Reserve. In the central highlands of Santa Cruz Island, 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 species, especially several species of the famed finches. PM North Seymour Island. This flat, uplifting, island is an important spot to see both magnificent and great frigatebird males courting the females and, we will also likely see courting blue-footed boobies too. Sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, crashing surf and distant views of the Daphne Islands top off a great visit. |
Day 10 - Santa Cruz Island & Mosquera Islet
| AM Charles Darwin Research Station (Santa Cruz Island). Once home to the famous Lonesome George, the last tortoise of the Pinta race. The center is set in the Galapagos National Park Service where various interpretative buildings are available to visit. The grounds, with large stands of native vegetation are one of the better places to spot some of the seldom seen Darwinís finches. PM Mosquera Islet. This tiny, low-lying islet, converted into coral sand, is set between the north and south Seymour Islands. It’s home to a group of sea lions that come to laze on the soft white sand, it’s an excellent spot to observe shorebirds, herons, lava gulls, and boobies. Snorkeling or diving here, one can often see sharks, rays, and barracudas. |
Day 11 - South Plaza Island & Santa Fe Island
AM South Plaza Island. Sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, and land iguanas are all present at the landing site. The small island is covered with a carpet of a red succulent studded with Opuntia cacti. At the cliff edge, we spend time watching birds like frigatebirds, flocks of Galapagos shearwaters, and of particular note, flights of displaying red-billed tropic birds. PM Santa Fe Island. After a fabulous snorkel in the turquoise waters of the protected bay, we may have enjoyed time with sea lions, turtles, reef sharks and spotted eagle rays. Landing on a sandy beach, we spend time watching the abundant sea lions there with us and we begin a walk past a forest of island-endemic giant Opuntia cacti and we can watch the Santa Fe land Iguana. |
Day 12 - Lobos Island & return to Quito
AM Lobos Island. Isla Lobos is approximately 20 minutes by boat from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Once on the island, the trail is about 850 meters and there will be rocky trails and a nice & easy sand trail too. There is a small population of blue-footed boobies and great frigatebirds nests at this site. ✈ San Cristobal Airport. After the visit, passengers will be transferred to the airport for their return flight to Quito. PM Accommodation: In the 5-Star GO Quito Hotel / Premium Room. |
Day 13 - Transfer to Airport
Transfer to Quito airport
Transfer to Quito airport or guests can also extend their stay in Ecuador with other land tours we offer.
