According to Conde Nast Traveler, “Cloud-high in the Andes and hemmed in by the snow-capped peaks of two active volcanoes, few cities have as dramatic a setting as Quito. The Ecuadorian capital's 16th-century Centro Histórico (Old Town) is not only the largest and best-preserved colonial center in Latin America, it's also the world's very first UNESCO World Heritage city.”

The Central Andes are a land of eternal spring with giant green and snowcapped volcanoes as backdrop. The Andean countryside is a perfect place to relax before heading to the Galapagos and it just so happens they built the Quito airport in the middle of this landscape so you'll only have a short transfer to your hotel when you get in. Stay in a new business class hotel or a luxury polo club!

If you only have one full day in the mainland and want to experience the Central Andes at their most authentic, this is the experience for you. The Otavalo region is a land of eternal spring, with a thriving indigenous culture and the oldest and largest indigenous craft market in the Andes. It is also home to craft villages and historic Spanish Colonial Haciendas where we you can enjoy lunch or stay the night.

We can arrange for you to stay in the heart of the old town in authentic Spanish colonial hotels and take you on an inviting walking tour of its cobblestones. You can do this as a day tour or spend multiple nights. You can use Colonial Quito as your base to other day tours in the region including Otavalo, Papallacta and Cotopaxi.

There really is so much to see and do in Quito and the surrounding mountains and valleys of the Central Andes that for this offering we've added a full day onto our Colonial Quito package so that you can enjoy one of four excursions of your choice.

The Otavalo highlands are an inviting land of eternal spring. The region is home to a thriving indigenous culture, which you will experience directly when visiting the famed Otavalo craft market and indigenous craftspeople in the surrounding craft villages. The haciendas that once formed the backbone of Spanish colonial agrarian society have opened their doors to modern day visitors where you can take a step back into the hospitality and comfort of an earlier time.

Ecuador has some of the most in-tact cloud forests anywhere in the world. This habitat is cornucopia of flora and fauna rich in diversity, including a myriad of hummingbirds and butterflies. While there are a few lodges where you can stay, the crown jewel of them is Mashpi, a 5-star hotel literally transported piece by piece into the cloud forest.

The headwaters of the Amazon are just a 45-minute flight from Quito airport to the town of Coca on the Napo River. This is your staging area for a river trip to hospitable lodges set along jungle lagoons in and around Yasuni National Park. A myriad of spices and their sounds await you; from finger-sized pygmy marmoset monkeys to iridescent blue morpho butterflies and one of the highest counts of bird species on the planet.

Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city and an important seaport. For passengers who want to avoid going to elevation in Quito and the Andes, Guayaquil is an excellent option and it is a shorter distance to the Galapagos than Quito. Guayaquil's rich history includes pirate raids and Spanish galleons. This tour takes full advantage of the city's location on the Guayas river.

If you plan to fly through Guayaquil and seek a totally unique and authentic luxury experience in the countryside, look no farther. Hacienda Danesa has been in the Olsen family for a century and a half as a dairy and cacao farm. The 3rd generation of this environmentally minded family decided to open their welcoming doors and way of life to explorers. Activities like hiking, biking, river tubing, exploring the cacao plantation and cow milking are included. 0