Grand Tour of Ecuador 2026-27

Departure on Iberia scheduled flights to Quito – meals on board – on arrival, transfer to the hotel – dinner at leisure - overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – full day devoted to a tour of Quito, the capital of Ecuador (the largest and best-preserved colonial historic centre in Latin America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the city’s finest churches and convents – Calle Cuenca, Plaza San Francisco, Calle Sucre, the Church of the Compañía de Jesús, Plaza Grande, the Cathedral, the Carondelet Palace, seat of the government, and the hill of El Panecillo at 3,000 m with its spectacular panorama) – typical Ecuadorian lunch in a restaurant with a cooking class  - in the afternoon, tour with a guide of modern Quito (the Museo Nacional del Ecuador, which houses the most extraordinary pre-Columbian archaeological collections, including incredible works of art in gold and jade, and La Alameda Park with its fountains, water features and Astronomical Observatory)- dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Quito by night: tour with a guide and private coach – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – in the morning, tour with a guide of Ecuador’s splendid botanical garden, a magnificent place where, among tropical trees and plants, you can watch delightful hummingbirds hovering freely - excursion to the Mitad del Mundo, 22 kilometres from the capital, near the village of San Antonio, where in 1736 the French scientist and explorer Charles-Marie de La Condamine proved through his measurements that he was standing exactly on the Equator – this is the only place on the planet where you can straddle the two hemispheres, with one foot in the Northern and the other in the Southern - visit to the monument built to mark the imaginary line that divides the planet, and to the spectacular Museo Solar Inti Ñan – return to the city - lunch in a restaurant - visit to a chocolate-making workshop with tasting – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure - tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – full-day excursion with a guide – departure north along the Pan-American Highway – visit to Otavalo with the Plaza del Poncho and its craft market - lunch in a restaurant – in the afternoon, visit to Lake Cuicocha at the foot of the Cotacachi volcano, in the Cotacachi nature reserve  – evening return to Quito – dinner at the hotel - evening at leisure - tour leader available for a stroll in the Mariscal district – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – departure for Papallacta, a spot famous for its hot springs – crossing the tropical forest, one of Ecuador’s most varied ecosystems – arrival at Punta Ahuano, a small port on the northern bank of the River Napo – 15-minute canoe transfer to the lodge in the Amazon forest, on the edge of the largest tropical forest in the world – lunch in a restaurant en route – dinner at the lodge – evening at leisure - tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – full day devoted to activities in the Amazon forest (boat excursion along the River Napo – after 20 minutes, arrival at Cosano and a 2-hour walk through the primary rainforest to admire its varied ecosystem of plants and animals, followed by a visit to the Amazon rescue centre for injured and displaced rainforest animals) – in the afternoon, visit to the Mariposario (the butterfly farm, home to over a thousand butterflies of different colours, where you can learn about the stages of metamorphosis) – lunch in a restaurant - dinner at the lodge – evening at leisure - tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – canoe transfer to Punta Ahuano - departure for Puyo – short visit to a craft workshop – continue to Baños – excursion to the waterfalls of the Devil’s Cauldron - cable-car ride across the valley – visit to the tree house - lunch in a typical restaurant – continue to Riobamba - dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure – tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – departure southwards – visit to the oldest Catholic church in Ecuador, La Balbanera, built in Baroque style from volcanic stone – in fine weather, a splendid view of the Chimborazo volcano – continue to the ruins of the Inca Fortress of Ingapirca, the most important pre-Columbian site in the country (the ruins stand on a grassy hill at an altitude of around 3,100 m) – lunch in a restaurant – evening arrival in Cuenca – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Cuenca by night: a stroll with the tour leader – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – full day devoted to a tour with a guide of the city, described as the most beautiful in the country and considered its artistic and cultural capital (the elegant colonial-style historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the charming flower market, the Archaeological Museum of Aboriginal Cultures and a visit to a workshop producing Panama hats) - lunch in a restaurant – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure - tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – departure for Guayaquil through El Cajas National Park – we reach the highest point of the route at the Tres Cruces viewpoint at 4,167 m, from where you can admire a striking panorama – we then begin the descent towards Guayaquil, passing through immense plantations of cocoa, bananas and African oil palm, and rice paddies - lunch in a restaurant – in the afternoon, guided tour of Guayaquil, a city on the banks of the River Guayas, a short distance from the Ocean (the historic centre with the Catedral Metropolitana, a stroll along the Malecón 2000, the Las Peñas district with its colourful houses and Cerro Santa Ana with its stunning panoramic view)  – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure - tour leader available – overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel – day at leisure - tour leader available – lunch at leisure - transfer to the airport – departure from Guayaquil on Iberia scheduled flights for the return to Italy – meals on board – overnight flight.

In flight – arrival in Italy.