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Travelers' reviews about Ecuador

4.9
8 reviews
Connie
5
Ecuador
Couple
It was a fun day in Quito touring the equator and some churches. Great guide. Then off to the cloud forest - what a stunning resort! The best housekeeping EVER! Loved the hikes, but especially the river hike. That was very different from anything we’d ever done before. We didn’t see as much wildlife as we hoped, but still loved the place. I wish we could have laid over somewhere other than Quito before heading to the Galapagos, but we relaxed, and got ready for part two of our adventure. The Galapagos were amazing! Animals everywhere! The high point was the snorkel trip to Kicker Rock. We swam with turtles, sea lions, rays, sharks and a million fish. It was phenomenal. The next day we had a land tour to see the giant tortoises, but that guide wasn’t good. He should stick to Spanish-speaking groups. Loved the country. Loved the experience. Loved the way the trip was planned.
The best parts:
Loved the pacing. We were busy all the time, but not exhausted. Loved the ******** and *************Hotel. We spent just the right amount of time in each place.
The worst parts:
Didn’t like the Hotel *************, and our nature guide in the Galapagos probably knew the information, but his English was terrible. We left him early on the second day because we couldn’t communicate with him.
Evaneos
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I<3Ecuador
5
Ecuador
Family
We really enjoyed Ecuador and hope to return! For me, hiking to the Cotopaxi refuge was the highlight and inspired me to return and hike to the summit. I would highly recommend Termas de Papallacta as our favorite hotel of the trip - the hot springs were incredible! We also really enjoyed driving through the Andes, meeting an indigenous tribe in the rain forest, and multiple other hiking excursions. I loved the nature in general within Ecuador, but of course the people - in particular our guide Fausto - were what truly made the trip a wonderful adventure!
The best parts:
Our guide, Fausto , was absolutely fabulous! He really made our trip a great success and exceeded all of our expectations. He provided very personalized service and obviously loved his job! Additionally, Emelie, who arranged our itinerary and booked the elements of our trip was thoroughly professional and kind throughout the planning process and was wonderful to work with. I would highly recommend both of them!
The worst parts:
The most tiresome bit was all of the driving, but of course that could not be avoided given all of the places we wanted to see during our week in Ecuador.
Evaneos
Dear I<3Ecuador, Thank you for your feedback! We are more than happy that you enjoyed your trip to Ecuador and we are looking forward to see you again soon! Yours sincerely, Your Evaneos Team!
Galapagos404
5
Ecuador
Couple
The destination was beautiful & breathtaking. Our tour guides were knowledgeable, nice and very attentive. Even though we spent a short time in The Galápagos, our experience included everything I requested. The snorkeling was amazing, we saw lots & lots of exotic fish, a few sea lions, sting ray and other wonderful coral dwelling sea life. The giant tortoises were beautiful and a sight to behold. I have so many wonderful memories and experiences from this trip that I will never forget. Thank you Sofia!
The best parts:
1. The boat ride on second day to Bartolomé Island to snorkel. 2. The boat “*********” was beautiful! It was luxurious, the crew was friendly, professional and attentive. The cook/food was amazing. The captain was awesome. There were 5 couples /pairs on the boat and that was the perfect amount. The boat, the boat ride, the food on the boat by far were one of the best and most enjoyable parts of our trip. 3. The snorkeling was awesome & giant tortoises on the ranch were amazing, those were the two things we most wanted to experience during our visit. 4. The tour guides provided (Ricardo, Fabricio & Jose)were all so wonderful, we felt very safe with them. Each of them were very nice, extremely knowledgeable of the Islands and history. They made this experience very fun and memorable. We felt that we were being very well taken care of by our tour guides. The transfers to buses, boats & taxi’s was seamless. All we had to do was show up pay the fare...everything was pre-arranged, it was great! 5. I enjoyed my flight experience with ********r, I want to fly with them again on my next visit to The Galápagos.
The worst parts:
The only part I did not like was bathroom in our hotel room(it was not modern/updated, it felt old/moist & you could t flush toilet paper—not sure if that is all of Galápagos, the room was modest and otherwise comfortable with the exception of the bathroom).... BUT Our trip was amazing and a perfect otherwise. I should have requested a 4-5 star accommodation rather than 3-star. However, Sofia put together an amazing package with everything I asked for, we were over-the-moon pleased with everything else. The experience was wonderful. I would ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY book through Sofia again on my next Galápagos trip.
Evaneos
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Treetomato
5
Ecuador
Couple
We enjoyed Ecuador immensely. We particularly liked the smaller towns: Banos, Puyo, Cotacatchi, Papallacta, and Asalusi. The nature tours, the crafts workshops, the farms and products were some of the high points. Most of all we liked our interactions with the Ecuadorans: friendliness, smiles, courtesy,
The best parts:
Danny G was an outstanding driver and guide. He sized us up immediately figuring out our limits (walking, altitude, food, etc.) and tailored the trip into a perfect fit. He was knowledgeable in everything Ecuadorian and a skilled driver who always kept our safety in mind. Emelie L did a perfect job of making sure there was always someone at the hotel, airport, boat, bus, or driver waiting for us when we arrived or departed. Her reservations, rides, and meals were always as promised.The Galapagos guides were great.
The worst parts:
The Galapagos speed boat rides were hard on our group. The three hour pounding to Santa Isabela wore out our mostly 60+ group. An airplane or a larger boat would have made for a happier trip.
Coast to Cuenca
4
Ecuador
Family
Our stay in Mandala was definitely the highlight of our trip. We really enjoyed spending time at the beach and the room accommodations were amazing. The Mandala staff spoke English and were very helpful. The breakfast and coffee were very good--we all loved the fresh fruit, variety of juice and friendly staff. My sons also enjoyed the music/game room located in the office building. This is a great place for families to vacation!
The best parts:
We loved the room and location near the beach at the Mandala hotel where we stayed. We were also able to walk down the beach to visit a marine animal rescue facility. There were also local restaurants where we could find affordable meals for lunch and dinner. The accommodations at Casa Kokopelli were also fabulous. Maria was amazing and I would highly recommend this place to any future travelers. The best connection we made would be at the Otorongo Apartments. It was close to the river, we went on a tour of Cuenca, Ecuador, and we were close to food and shopping.
The worst parts:
I was under the impression that we would have an English-speaking tour guide when I booked the trip. This trip was for me and my family to become familiar with Ecuador on our way to move to Cuenca for a year. I am the only one who speaks Spanish, which made traveling and ordering very difficult for my husband. We also only had transportation between hotels and on two guided tours, which was unexpected. The tour at Agua Blanca was done entirely in Spanish. Thank goodness there were placards in the museum that included an English translation of each exhibit. Casa Kokopelli was difficult to find. We drove around for about an hour before finding it upon arrival. The local taxi driver could not find it and we had to be picked up by our hostess, Maria. The transport from Kokopelli also could not find it and was nearly an hour late to pick us up. The city tour in Cuenca began over an hour late because the company had forgotten/misplaced our tour. We had an English-speaking guide and comfortable transport, but we were left in El Centro. This meant all five of us walked a mile back to our hotel less than 24 hours after arriving at altitude. Most of us were sick that afternoon.
Evaneos
Hello Jody, Thank you for taking your time to leave feedback regarding your trip to Ecuador. Evaneos strives in providing exceptional services for our travelers and all feedback is taken seriously. I am happy to hear that your accomadations were good and I see that your local agent has already reached out to regarding the transfers issue. Best regards, Philip
Sorry no photos
5
Ecuador
Couple
Ecuador is a lovely country very diverse with so much to see we plan another visit . The highlights were the trips were the birds in the Cloud Forests and our time spent in the Amazon. We also enjoyed lots of local food. The Albemarle was the best hotel we stayed and as I have stated above our guides Fausto Gomez and Katherine Celleri were excellent.
The best parts:
We had a wonderful trip to Ecuador. We had an excellent guide / driver Fausto Gomez who understood our interests and ensured that we maximised our time in Ecuador . We also found the naturalist guides who joined us very knowledgeable . With the exception of the La Fontana all the hotels were comfortable and the staff were very helpful. The two hotels we stayed in on in the Galapagos were very good and the Albemarle was particularly good and well run. Our guide Katherine Celleri on the 1st day on Galapagos was very helpful and knowledgeable it was a pleasure being with her.
The worst parts:
We were a little disappointed with our trip to the Galapagos as we felt we did not see as much of the unique flora and forna as we had hoped for example the trip on our second day on Santa Cruz we felt was a waste of time we spend 5 hours going to and from Bartolome and saw very little . Also some of the discussion we had in the planning of our trip was not reflected in the programme. Perhaps having a check list as well as the outline of the programme might have been helpful.
Roxane and Richard
5
Ecuador
Couple
Please see the note above.
The best parts:
The two of us loved everything about the trip birdng in Ecuador with Gustavo. Because we only had 5 days to bird in Ecuador, we loved being in a different lodge every day to cover as many different habitats and as much territory as possible. We loved Gustavo's professionalism, birdng expertise, patience, helpfulness with our spotting scope, and pace. We enjoyed the Ecuadoran culture, history, people, and indigenous food, as well as the beautiful birds and rainforest.
The worst parts:
Everything was fine with the trip.
Jan
5
Ecuador
Friends
After visiting several countries in South America I have to say that Ecuador is a great country to visit, it has everything (nature, lakes, vulcanos, national parks, colonial cities, tropical forest, beaches & islands, good local food) and good infrastructure & nice friendly people. To name a few highlights - Cuicocha lake, Cotopaxi vulcan, Cuilotoa lake, Cuenca, Cajas NP, Isla de la Plata, etc.
The best parts:
The whole trip was perfectly organised, itinerary, reservation of 10 different hotels along the route, reliable and comfortable car, national guide / driver Fausto & local guides in different locations. Thank you for such a diligent & professional job.
The worst parts:
Our Guide had to go abroad in the middle of the trip and was replaced by a driver who was not so knowledgeable as our original guide. To be precise we were allocated by the agency a different guide for the second half of the trip (however not a native from Ecuador), which we declined as we wanted a person form Ecuador to accompany us but the native driver, who replaced the guide for the second part of the trip was not so experienced.