3 Weeks in Ecuador & the Galapagos

You’ll most likely start your trip in Quito. Take some days to explore the city by taking part in a free walking tour. You could also do a chocolate tasting or a shopping tour on the market, where they sell fruit that I had never heard of before (tree tomatoes??).

Mindo is a wonderful village in the cloud forest. Here, you can observe many bird species, go hiking to uncountable waterfalls and take the cable car above the forest. I participated in a night hike through the woods, where we saw snakes, frogs, spiders and some small mammals.

Another top recommendation is to stay 2 nights/3 days in the amazing Secret Garden Cotopaxi hostel. The place does not have any WIFI nor phone signal, so it is the best Chance to wind down and enjoy the seven (!) surrounding volcanoes. They offer daily trips like hikes with various levels (the hardest one includes a rock climbing part), horseback riding through the national park and mountaineering on the Cotopaxi volcano.

This is where the Quilotoa Loop, a 3-/4-day hike up to the Quilotoa lake on top of a huge volcano, starts. Although challenging, I would definitely recommend doing it, as the views are spectacular and nowhere else to be seen.

This is the final destination of the hike and the view was so rewarding! If you decide to stay here for an extra day, you could hike around the lake (around 10 km) or go kayaking on it.

Take your time in Baños after the Quilotoa Loop to relax. I recommend booking a massage in the city. If you are up to it, you could also do some waterfall climbing, kayaking, hiking or rafting here.

Tena is a city very close to the Amazon rainforest. Unfortunately, I only stayed one night, but still did a one-day hike through the primal forest with a local guide. He explained the forest and its indigenous people, the animals we saw (sloths, interesting fish and monkeys) and also the flora of the place. If you stay here longer, you could do multiple day hikes with rafting.

Cuenca is a city that is definitely worth visiting, even though I only stayed here for one full day. You can roam the old town with the Unesco world heritage cathedral, do some shopping on the market and recharge in one of the countless restaurants and cafés.

I was recommended by locals to avoid this city as much as possible, as it is said to be a dangerous city. So I did. I came here by nightbus which I would recommend you avoid as well. I only came here as my flight to Santa Cruz departed from Guayaquil.

A must-see beach! Come here as early as possible - I arrived here at 6:30 a.m. after a short hike and had the entire morning here to myself. You can also bring snorkeling gear and see some reef sharks here.

You should definitely book a tour to Kicker Rock. I saw enormous schools of Galapagos and hammerhead sharks, turtles, rays and colorful fish. For me, the best part was to steer the boat alongside a whale family and 300 dolphins on our way back.

This is another snorkeling daytrip I did. Floreana is famous for swimming with baby sea lions. They are very cute and playful, so it was definitely worthwhile.

You should definitely book a tour to Kicker Rock. I saw enormous schools of Galapagos and hammerhead sharks, turtles, rays and colorful fish. For me, the best part was to steer the boat alongside a whale family and 300 dolphins on our way back.

Another top recommendation is to stay 2 nights/3 days in the amazing Secret Garden Cotopaxi hostel. The place does not have any WIFI nor phone signal, so it is the best Chance to wind down and enjoy the seven (!) surrounding volcanoes. They offer daily trips like hikes with various levels (the hardest one includes a rock climbing part), horseback riding through the national park and mountaineering on the Cotopaxi volcano.