Self-Launched Ecuador: Amazon Rainforest & Andean Highlands

Land at Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport (UIO) and make your own way in — an official taxi or Uber to the historic centre is about $25-30 USD (£20-24), or the Aeropuerto–Río Coca bus plus Trolebus is far cheaper at under £2 if you want the budget route. Check into a hostel or guesthouse in the Centro Histórico or the livelier La Mariscal area. Spend the late afternoon acclimatising (Quito sits at 2,850m) with a slow wander around Plaza Grande and the Basílica del Voto Nacional. Grab dinner at a local set-menu (almuerzo) spot — £5-8 — and plan tomorrow's walking route.

🚌Airport transfer by taxi/Uber (~£22) or public bus + Trolebus (<£2)

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Quito Centro Histórico / La Mariscal (~£12-18/night dorm or private budget room)

• →Plaza Grande and Centro Histórico evening wander
• →Basílica del Voto Nacional (exterior/optional climb)
• →Altitude acclimatisation

Self-launch the G Adventures Day 2 content with bookable equivalents. Morning: join a small-group or self-guided walking tour of the UNESCO old town covering San Francisco Church and Convent, the Plaza de la Independencia and the Presidential Palace exterior — free guided walking tours (tip-based, ~£5) run daily, or use a GetYourGuide city tour (~£18-25). Midday: book a masapán craft workshop. The Antiguo Círculo Militar building hosts artisan collectives; alternatively book a masapán painting session via a local Quito craft studio or Airbnb Experiences (~£20-30), directly supporting the same artisan community model. Afternoon/evening: head to the Intiñan Solar Museum on the Equator line at Mitad del Mundo. A standard entry ticket plus guided experiments is ~£5-8; the after-hours 'private' version isn't sold publicly, but the daytime experience covers the same interactive equator experiments. Return to Quito by bus or taxi.

🚌Local buses/taxis around Quito; Mitad del Mundo bus ~£0.50 each way

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Quito (~£12-18/night)

• →UNESCO old town walking tour (San Francisco Church, Plaza Grande)
• →Masapán painting workshop with a local artisan collective
• →Intiñan Solar Museum equator-line experiments

Book a morning domestic flight Quito → Coca (Francisco de Orellana) with LATAM/Avianca/TAME-likes, roughly £70-110 one way depending on how early you book. From Coca, most Amazon lodges (e.g. La Selva, Napo Wildlife Center, Sani Lodge) run their own shared motorised-canoe transfers on the Napo River — confirm your lodge includes this or pay a shared-transfer fee of about £30-50. Glide downstream as the vegetation thickens into the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, then transfer to a canoe down the creek to your lodge (Lake Garzacocha area for La Selva). Afternoon guided rainforest walk with a lodge naturalist to see ancient mahogany trees and hear the jungle shift to night. Full board is usually included at jungle lodges.

🚌Domestic flight Quito–Coca (~£90) + shared lodge canoe transfer (~£40)

🛏Budget-to-mid Amazon jungle lodge, shared cabin (~£60-110/night full board; cheaper if booking the lodge's own package direct)

• →Domestic flight to Coca
• →Shared motorised-canoe transfer up the Napo River
• →Afternoon canopy rainforest walk with lodge naturalist
• →Night sounds / optional night walk

Rise before dawn with your lodge guide and take a short boat/canoe ride to a parrot clay lick, where hundreds of parrots and parakeets gather to feed on mineral-rich soil — one of the Amazon's great spectacles. Continue to an indigenous Kichwa community to learn about local crafts, chicha preparation and rainforest life (most lodges include this as a community visit; some ask a small contribution of £5-10). Afternoon: canopy tower or lake paddle to spot monkeys, hoatzin, river dolphins and caiman. All activities are run by the lodge as part of its guided programme, which is the self-launched equivalent of the operator's private naturalist excursions.

🚌Lodge canoes and guided walks (included in lodge programme)

🛏Amazon jungle lodge, shared cabin (~£60-110/night full board)

• →Dawn parrot clay-lick excursion
• →Indigenous Kichwa community visit
• →Canopy observation tower or lake canoe wildlife spotting
• →Optional night caiman-spotting boat

Final early-morning rainforest walk or a relaxed lake-side breakfast, then canoe and boat back to Coca for your return flight to Quito (book the afternoon flight, ~£70-110). From Quito, take the public bus from Terminal Carcelén to Otavalo — about 2 hours, roughly £2-3 — arriving early evening. Check into an Otavalo hostel or family guesthouse (£10-16/night). Wander the Plaza de Ponchos after dark and eat at a local eatery (almuerzo ~£4-6). This replaces the operator's overnight at a historic hacienda with a flexible budget base in Otavalo town.

🚌Lodge canoe to Coca + domestic flight Coca–Quito (~£90) + public bus Quito–Otavalo (~£2.50)

🛏Hostel or family guesthouse in Otavalo (~£10-16/night)

• →Final Amazon rainforest walk
• →Return flight Coca–Quito
• →Public bus to Otavalo
• →Evening Plaza de Ponchos wander

Hit the Otavalo indigenous market early (busiest and most authentic on Saturdays, but craft stalls run daily) for textiles, ponchos and food. Then take a shared taxi or local bus (~£1-2) to Zuleta to visit the Zuleta embroidery and weaving cooperatives — the same community associations the operator partners with. Book a small embroidery/weaving workshop directly with the Zuleta co-op or via a local community-tourism office; expect £10-25 per person for a hands-on session and to support the artisans directly. Return to Otavalo or continue to a nearby Andean hacienda or hostal for the night. Optional short hike to the Condor Park or Peguche waterfall (£2-4 entry).

🚌Local bus or shared taxi Otavalo–Zuleta (~£1-2 each way)

🛏Otavalo hostel, guesthouse, or budget Andean hacienda (~£14-30/night)

• →Otavalo indigenous market
• →Zuleta embroidery/weaving workshop with local association
• →Optional Peguche waterfall or Condor Park visit

Morning at leisure for a last Andean market breakfast, then bus from Otavalo back to Quito Terminal Carcelén (~2 hrs, £2-3) and onward to the airport by taxi/Trolebus. The operator requires a departure after 18:00 on Day 7; if you book a flight before that, note you'll be tight on time coming from Otavalo, so either book a later flight or shift to a Quito hostel the night before. Airport day-use or a cheap day room near UIO is £15-25 if you want to freshen up before a long-haul flight.

🚌Bus Otavalo–Quito (~£2.50) + Quito city/airport taxi (~£22)

🛏None (departure day) — optional Quito day room (~£18)

• →Last Otavalo market morning
• →Bus back to Quito
• →Departure from UIO