Volcanoes and Galapagos: Self-Launched Edition

Land at Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) and take an authorised airport taxi or the green Aeroservicios bus to the valley suburb of Tumbaco (~£4-8). Check into a guesthouse and use the afternoon to acclimatise gently at 2,500m — short stroll, early dinner, no altitude heroics. Tumbaco is cheaper and calmer than the Mariscal tourist district, and it's on the bus line into central Quito.

🚌Authorised airport taxi or Aeroservicios bus to Tumbaco

🛏Hostal/guesthouse in Tumbaco (~£20 private room, £10 dorm)

• →Airport transfer to Tumbaco (taxi ~£8 or bus ~£4)
• →Gentle acclimatisation walk in Tumbaco
• →Sort cash, local SIM (Claro/Movistar ~£8) and buy a Galapagos park fee in advance if possible

Take a public bus or shared shuttle north to Otavalo (~2.5-3 hrs, ~£3-4). En route or on arrival, visit Parque Cóndor, a bird-of-prey rescue centre above the town (entry ~£4) — bookable direct or through GetYourGuide. In the afternoon head to Peguche village, a short local bus/taxi hop away, to hear panpipe music and see weaving workshops. Lunch at a local comedor for £3-4.

🚌Public bus/shuttle Quito–Otavalo ~£3.50; local bus/taxi to Peguche ~£1.50

🛏Hostal Riviera Sucre-style guesthouse in Otavalo (~£18)

• →Parque Cóndor rescue centre entry (~£4)
• →Peguche village walk — panpipe music and artisanal workshops
• →Evening wander of Otavalo plaza de ponchos

Catch a local bus to Cotacachi then a taxi to Laguna Cuicocha crater lake (~£3 total). Walk the lower rim trail section (roughly 90 minutes of the full loop is plenty at altitude; the full circuit is 4-5 hrs and steep). Afterwards, arrange a community visit through a local guide or the Cotacachi tourism office — expect a home-cooked Andean lunch of locro de papa, fritada or quinoa for ~£5-7. Back to Otavalo for the famous Saturday market if timing works.

🚌Local buses Otavalo–Cotacachi ~£1 + shared taxi to laguna ~£2 each way

🛏Hostal in Otavalo (~£18)

• →Laguna Cuicocha crater-lake walk (~90 min, entry ~£3)
• →Indigenous community visit and home-cooked Andean lunch (~£6)
• →Otavalo market browsing

Long travel day southwest. Take a bus back toward Quito and connect to Mindo via shared shuttle or public bus through San Miguel de los Bancos (~4-5 hrs total, ~£8-10). Break the journey at the Quitsato Equator monument on the Panamericana (~£4 entry, 30 min) to stand on the line. In Mindo, do a self-guided chocolate workshop at a small bean-to-bar shop (El Quetzal or Mindo Chocolate, ~£10-12 including tastings) and grab a fresh bizcocho from a local bakery.

🚌Bus/shuttle Otavalo–Mindo via San Miguel de los Bancos ~£9, plus taxi hops ~£2

🛏Family-run lodge/hostal in Mindo (~£20)

• →Quitsato Equator monument (~£4)
• →Bean-to-bar chocolate workshop and tasting in Mindo (~£11)
• →Bakery stop for bizcochos

Walk or take a local pick-up to a hummingbird garden (Mindo has several; ~£5 entry includes feeder access and you'll have birds landing on your hand). Ride the tarabita cable car across the gorge (~£5) and walk down to the Nambillo waterfall (20-30 min) or push on to La Reina (about an hour each way). Return to Quito in the late afternoon by shared shuttle (~£6-8).

🚌Local pick-up to Mindo sites ~£3; shared shuttle Mindo–Quito ~£7

🛏Hostal/budget hotel in Quito Centro or La Mariscal (~£18)

• →Hummingbird garden (~£5)
• →Tarabita cable car (~£5)
• →Nambillo or La Reina waterfall hike (free)
• →Optional tubing or canopy zipline ~£15-20

Free walking tour of the UNESCO-listed Centro Histórico (tip ~£5-8) covers Plaza Grande, La Compañía church (entry ~£4, gold-leaf interior) and the Church of San Francisco. In the afternoon take a taxi or walk up Cerro Panecillo to the Virgen de Quito viewpoint (~£2 entry, or free if you walk). Cable car to Cruz Loma (~£8) is a great alternative for volcano views if the weather is clear.

🚌Trole/taxi around the city ~£4

🛏Hostal/budget hotel in Quito (~£18)

• →Free walking tour of Quito Old Town (tip-based)
• →La Compañía and San Francisco church entries (~£5 combined)
• →Cerro Panecillo viewpoint (~£2)
• →Optional TelefériQo cable car ~£8

Book a shared day-trip or group tour direct with a Quito agency or via GetYourGuide (~£35-45 including park entry, transport and guide) — this is genuinely worth the guided option as public transport into the park is impractical. You'll walk the Limpiopungo Lagoon circuit (~90 min, easy) at 3,800m, spot wild horses and caracara, and usually visit the José Rivas refuge at 4,800m, weather permitting. Return to Quito/Tumbaco for the night.

🚌Shared group day-trip transport (~£40 all-in)

🛏Guesthouse in Tumbaco (~£20)

• →Limpiopungo Lagoon walk (~90 min)
• →Cotopaxi volcano viewing and optional refuge hike
• →Wildlife spotting: wild horses, caracara, Andean gulls

Fly Quito to Baltra (GPS) via Guayaquil (~£250-320 return if booked 3+ months ahead; LATAM/Avianca). At Quito airport pay the $20 TCT tourist transit card, and on arrival at Baltra pay the $200 Galapagos National Park fee in cash (USD only). Bus to the ferry channel (~£4), ferry to Santa Cruz (~£2), then bus/taxi to Puerto Ayora. In the afternoon hire a taxi to the highlands for Los Gemelos craters and giant tortoises in the wild (~£25 for half day, split between travellers).

🚌Flight ~£285 return share; airport bus + ferry + bus ~£7; highlands taxi ~£12 share

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Ayora (~£25 private, £12 dorm)

• →Flight Quito–Baltra
• →Los Gemelos twin craters
• →Giant tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands
• →Evening at Puerto Ayora fish market with pelicans and sea lions

Take the 6am or 7am public inter-island speedboat from Santa Cruz to Isabela (~2-2.5 hrs, ~£25, buy the day before — bring seasickness tablets). Check in, then walk 1.5km out of town via the Tunel del Estero lava tunnel and the beaches to reach the Arnaldo Tupiza tortoise breeding centre (~£5). Afternoon: swim at Puerto Villamil beach with sea lions, or rent a bike (~£5/day).

🚌Speedboat Santa Cruz–Isabela ~£25; dinghy landing ~£1

🛏Family guesthouse in Puerto Villamil (~£22)

• →Inter-island speedboat crossing
• →Tunel del Estero lava tunnel walk
• →Arnaldo Tupiza tortoise breeding centre (~£5)
• →Beach and sea-lion swim

Walk up to the Sierra Negra crater rim (12km wide caldera) — the trail is ~16km return, 4-5 hrs, and entry plus a mandatory local guide costs ~£10-15 (arrange the evening before at the trailhead office; guides can be shared). In the afternoon snorkel at Concha y Perla (~£5 taxi/water taxi or a 45-min walk), where you'll see sea turtles, rays and marine iguanas.

🚌Taxi/water taxi to trailhead and Concha y Perla ~£6

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Villamil (~£22)

• →Sierra Negra volcano hike with local guide (~£13)
• →Volcán Chico extension if legs allow
• →Snorkelling at Concha y Perla (rent gear ~£6)

Take the morning boat trip to Tintoreras islets (~£30-35 including snorkel gear) — white-tip reef sharks rest in the channel, plus penguins, marine iguanas and sea lions. Back to Puerto Villamil for lunch, then catch the afternoon speedboat to Santa Cruz (~£25). Evening free in Puerto Ayora.

🚌Speedboat ~£25; local water taxi ~£1

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Ayora (~£22)

• →Tintoreras islet boat trip and snorkel (~£33)
• →Inter-island speedboat Isabela–Santa Cruz

Walk 5km return along the marked trail to Tortuga Bay for white sand, marine iguanas and safe swimming (free, go early). Afternoon at the Charles Darwin Research Station (~£5 donation) to see the famous giant tortoise breeding programme, then wander Puerto Ayora's main street and pier where sea lions, pelicans and frigatebirds hang out. Free and excellent.

🚌On foot and local water taxi ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Ayora (~£22)

• →Tortuga Bay walk and swim (free)
• →Charles Darwin Research Station (~£5)
• →Snorkel at Playa de los Perros or Las Grietas (free/£3 water taxi)

Book a day boat to one of the uninhabited islands — Bartolomé (penguins, Pinnacle Rock, the best views in the archipelago), Seymour Norte (blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds), Santa Fe or Plazas (~£90-130 including lunch, guide, snorkel gear and park-approved permits). Buy direct at the Puerto Ayora tour offices or via GetYourGuide two days ahead. This is the one splurge day and worth every penny.

🚌Included in day boat; ~£2 taxi to pier

🛏Guesthouse in Puerto Ayora (~£22)

• →Full-day boat excursion to Bartolomé, Seymour, Santa Fe or Plazas (~£110)
• →Two snorkelling stops plus lunch included

Early ferry and bus back to Baltra for your flight to Quito (may include a Guayaquil touchdown). Arrive Quito and take the airport transfer to Tumbaco. Evening: last ceviche or llapingachos dinner, repack and check flight home. If you have energy, an evening walk around Tumbaco's plaza is a nice wind-down.

🚌Local bus/ferry to Baltra ~£7; included in flight

🛏Guesthouse in Tumbaco (~£20)

• →Ferry/bus to Baltra airport
• →Flight Baltra–Quito
• →Optional final souvenir shopping in Quito

Breakfast, then authorised taxi or bus to Mariscal Sucre International Airport for your international flight. If your flight is late, a morning trip back into Quito Old Town for a coffee at one of the 16th-century courtyard cafés is a good way to finish.

🚌Tumbaco–Airport taxi ~£8

🛏—

• →Airport transfer (~£8)
• →Optional final Old Town wander