Bare Essentials

»   DURATION:	2 weeks
»   PRICE:	From: £2,000 pp
»   KEYWORDS:	breathtaking scenery, haciendas, colonial Quito, markets & mountains

Our Bare Essentials itinerary is our version of the budget trip. At Imagine Latin America we always keep an eye on price, but our bare essentials series shows a range where this is the sole focus. We try and keep the costs down and the price for such trips comes in more or less around the £2,000 per person mark.

On this type of itinerary or similar you don't miss out on anything, you stay at down to earth hotels and lodges and arguably see a little more of day to day life in Ecuador.

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ITINERARY

Day 1: Fly to Quito via Madrid with Iberia. Transfer to your small homely hotel, La Rabida.

Day 2: Day in Quito to explore the city, after a morning city tour. Overnight La Rabida.

Day 3: Transfer north to Otavalo for the market. Overnight at Las Palmeras for 2 nights.

Day 4: Day to explore Otavalo area.

Day 5: Wander in Otavalo. Back to Quito for the night.

Day 6: Full day's private trip by four-wheel-drive vehicle through Cotopaxi National Park, Visit a high-altitude lagoon where you may see wild horses and lots of birdlife. Lunch at a historic hacienda on the way home. Breakfast and lunch included.

Day 7: Fly to Cuenca (1 hr),  3 nights in a small hotel with breakfast.

Day 8: Guided tour of the markets, churches, museums and craft shops.

Day 9: Day at leisure. Optional excursion to the lagoon-dotted high grasslands of the lovely if a little stark, Las Cajas National Park.

Day 10: Transfer by road to Guayaquil on the coast. Bed and breakfast here.

Day 11: Day at leisure in Guayaquil. Walk on the promenade, visit museums etc.

Days 12-13: Travel to the little fishing village of San Lorenzo on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, relatively undiscovered by tourism.  2 nights (b & b) based at a lovely hotel on a beach. From June to October you can spot hump-backed whales. Some excursions are available from the hotel including forest walks and a full-day on the 'mini-Galápagos' island, Isla de la Plata.

Day 14: Return to Guayaquil for your last night.

Day 15: Transfer to airport.

Day 16: Return back to the UK.

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PRICES
From £2,000 / £2,600 pp sharing (low / high season).  Includes international flights from the UK, all accommodation, transfers and meals & activities as per itinerary