i was looking at the one month tour of equador on this websidte. we are in are late sixties but in good shape. how much is the total package?

Hi,

We don't offer tours on BucketListly Blog. :) We are only suggesting for itinerary for independent travelers in a more Do-It-Yourself kinda way. If you are looking for tours, you can try Gadventures.com or TourRadar.com. :)

this is great very helpful! I was thinking if there is a way to go from cuenca to huraz peru?

Hey Ananya, not directly no. You will have to divide the trip into at least 2 days to get there. You can take the bus to Piura in Peru, and the catch an overnight bus from there to Trujillo and from Trujillo, another overnight bus to Huaraz.

I highly recommend Huaraz as it is one of the best places in Peru for hiking. It will be worth it! I hope you find this helpful!

Thanks so much for your reply!

How about flying from gayaquil to Lima and the bus to huaraz (6 hours each way? ) instead of on a bus for 2 days?

Hi Ananya,

Yes, that will do as well if you can find an affordable flight. It will be more or less 8 hours each way though as the roads are mountainous. I'd recommend Cruz del Sur buses for comfort. It's pricier than most buses but it pays when you are riding for that long.

I hope these helps! :)

Super post thank you very much! I am currently in Peru and I wish to go to Ecuador! I am in contact with an agency (gulliver expeditions) quito I do not know if you know? I would like to know if it is worth it to book excursions by agency or to go there directly by bus for example? I think that to go to Cotopaxi for example is better to book with an agency?

Thank you for your response and see you soon

Hi Ursula,

I do not know about the gulliver expeditions but it does look promising! If you are short on time, I would recommend going with the agency as they will be able to manage everything for you but if you have time and looking for an adventure, it couldn't hurt to try and do it independently :) It does require a few changes of buses depending on where you left from Ecuador and where you want to arrive in Peru. It took me a day and a half to go from Vilcabamba to Trujillo with a few buses an overnight bus so it's not impossible but not the most convenient. :)

Good luck with the trip though and I hope this is useful! :)

Hi Pete, great blog - i am planning a trip to South America next year and your website is very useful!

One question on your Ecuador itinerary - when going from Quito and stopping off at Cotapaxi, and then going on to Latacugna after that... where did you leave your backpack? I'm guessing that the bus drops you off on the main road and you get a pickup truck to the park entrance to do the trek... Is there somewhere there to leave your large backpack so you aren't trekking Cotapaxi with it?

Hi Alex,

Thank you for the comments! Yes, the bus will drop you off at the main road and there will be locals/guides with a truck waiting to take you up there for a fee. You can leave your backpack in the truck if you don't have any valuables in it, and just carry your daypack with all your valuables and go hike. The driver/guide will be hiking with you so you can stash your backpack somewhere in the car's trunk, no problem.

I hope this helps! :)

What a great experience it looks you did in Ecuador, this country has everything a real traveler looks for. It has amazing peaks, nice beaches, unique amazon rainforest, and the stunning galapagos islands.

People can spend over a month in Ecuador and not finishing the adventure at all.

I can reccomend you to plan your trip in Ecuador with a tour operator named Gulliver Expeditions in Quito, they are very proffessional and help you with everything you need.


Best regards from Germany

Thank you for the comments and suggestion Urusula. Yes, Ecuador is definitely full of surprise. :)

Hi Pete,

Another question for you on the Galapagos islands… me and my wife intend to just turn up there and either book a cruise, or do it ourselves on land. I’m more tempted to book a cruise, because I’ve heard that you will see more places that way than if you try and go yourself on land.

We are thinking 6 days / 5 nights in total for the Galapagos (as we have so much in our itinerary that we can’t really spend more than that here) – can you give more detail on the types of cruises offered? We would probably need one for 3 or 4 days and then the rest stay in hostels on the islands…. Do you think that’s enough time?

Alex.

Hi, Alex

Sorry for the late reply! Good idea on just turning up there and book. Much cheaper. Yes, the cruise is the way to go if you want to see the more remote parts of the islands. There are 3 days, 6 days and 10 days. If you only have 6 days, i'm afraid your only options are the 3 days one that might limit the possible route you can take. If you can have a few more days to spare, you can go with the 6 days one (the one I personally did myself) and that give you more places to visit, more remote, and more time to enjoy the cruise. If you have 7 - 9 days, that would be perfect.