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Day 1 Arrive Quito

Day 2 Sacha Lodge (L,D)

Begin your Ecuador travel adventure with a short flight over the high Andes and down to the Amazon frontier town of Puerto Francisco de Orellana (called Coca by locals). From here you travel by motorized canoe two and a half hours down the Napo River, followed by a short walk through a thick palm forest to Sacha Lodge, your home for the next few days.

Days 3-5 Sacha Lodge (3B,3L,3D)

Days at Sacha Lodge are filled with discovery. During excursions, visitors are divided into small groups (usually around 6 people per group), each with its own native guide and bilingual naturalist. Native guides carry a lifetime of knowledge about the medicinal and functional uses of rainforest plants. They proudly display the wonders of their home environment, sometimes even offering a tasty treat like the strange lemon tasting ants that coexist in the stems of certain trees.

Naturalists, educated in biology and ecology, translate for native guides and complement your Amazon tour excursions with explanations of the scientific workings of the rainforest. Sacha Lodge has something for everyone. A favorite activity includes paddling dugout canoes along black water creeks and lakes past luxuriant lianas, bromeliads, and enormous palms. Swimming and piranha fishing are also popular (the piranha here are harmless, really!). And for the adventurous there are night walks and canoe trips in search of caiman and other nocturnal creatures. Sacha Lodge also offers three very unique sites to visitors.

The first is a 130-foot observation tower that gives visitors a chance to get above the rainforest canopy for incredible views of the area. This is also a great place to observe toucans and macaws and with luck spot noisy howler monkeys or a three-toed sloth. The second site is the butterfly house where over 40 local butterfly species are bred. Visitors can see the process of breeding and raising these colorful insects and wander through the "flying room." Finally, there's the Yasuní Macaw Lick. Just a short distance from Sacha Lodge is Ecuador's most famous macaw lick, where visitors can observe dozens of the magnificently colored birds feeding on the clay's salt.

Day 6 Sacha Lodge to Hacienda Pinsaqui

Complete your Amazon tour with a flight back to Quito. Two hours north of Quito lies one of Ecuador's finest haciendas. Nestled in the Otavalo Valley in the shadow of Imbabura Volcano, the 200 year-old Hacienda Pinsaqui was a favorite haunt of the revolutionary General Simon Bolívar. The thick whitewashed walls seem to whisper stories of a by-gone era. From the hacienda, go mountain biking in the countryside, visit the white city of Ibarra and the leather shops of Cotacachi, or take horses around Cuicocha Lake. Pinsaqui, with its gardens and old textile shops, is yours to explore.

Day 7 Otavalo Market/ Quito

Day 8 Galapagos (D)

An early morning flight from Quito brings you to the Galapagos Archipelago. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transferred to your yacht - your home for the next seven nights. This afternoon we head to our first island to begin your Galapagos cruise and a week filled with mysteries of the natural world.

Days 9-14 Galapagos (B,L,D)

You will visit 8 to 10 islands during your unforgettable voyage. Each day you leave the comfort of your yacht and go ashore in a panga (the local word for dinghies, Zodiacs, etc.) to remote areas of the islands for natural history walks through the Galapagos's unique ecology. Your crew will take excellent care of you with delicious meals and attend to all of your creature comforts onboard. On the islands your naturalist guide shows you the diversity of Galapagos life and teaches you about the area's natural history. This is everyone's chance to photograph unusual marine iguanas, snorkel with playful sea lions, and just take in the unique landscape of ancient volcanic turmoil. Except for a few settlements, the entire archipelago is a national park and the beaches and meandering footpaths invite relaxation and fanciful dreams.

Day 15 Fly Quito (B)

This morning you visit one last island and say good-bye to Darwin's inspiration as you complete your Galapagos tour. You will be transfered back to the airport for your return to Quito.

Day 16 Return Home

Want an alternative yacht?

Ask us for a custom quote based on the Galapagos yacht of your choice.

Need a shorter trip?

Many boats offer a shorter cruise which spends 5 day 4 nights in the islands, which shortens your trip by 3 days.

We can charter a yacht for friends, family and colleagues at special rates. Contact us for details.

« View our popular tour extensions! »

US$ 4075
Based on the Galapagos yacht, Millennium, standard cabins. Alternative yachts and shorter cruises available. Contact us for a quote.
16 days starting and ending in Quito, Ecuador.
Tour Code: WO16
Single Supplement: US$555
applies only towards the Sacha and Otavalo segments.

Accommodations: 3 nights comfortable hotels, 4 nights rainforest lodge, twin share cabins on board yachts

Food Includes: All meals as indicated (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner); most of our hotels offer free continental breakfast.

Transportation: Local flights, taxi, motorized canoe, 12-100 passenger sailing and motor yachts.

Note: The flights Quito-Galapagos-Quito and Quito-Sacha-Quito are not included. Please add US$555 for Jun 15 - Sept 14 and Nov 1 - Apr 30; for other months add US$500 (flight cost subject to change).

Group & Staff: Average group size 16 in Galapagos; Quito representative, Certified naturalist guide while on the islands and at the lodge, indigenous guide at lodge.

Personal Budgeting: Allow US$35 for meals not included, $10 Galapagos Park tax, US$100 park entrance fee, US$45 international departure tax (drinks and tips onboard are extra).

Pre & Post Tour Accommodations: Share US$45, Single US$75

Is it for Me? An easy trip for any age. Emphasis is on wildlife and nature with lots of time for swimming and snorkeling.

Arrival / Departure Transfers: 1 person US$50 each
2 or more people US$25 /person

Prices are based on a 3% cash discount