Self-Launched Ecuador Encompassed

Land at Mariscal Sucre Airport and take the Aeroservicios shuttle bus to the old airport (~£6), then a taxi (~£4) to your hostel in La Mariscal or the Centro Histórico. Spend the evening acclimatising — Quito sits at 2,850m, so drink water, eat light and sleep early.

🚌Airport shuttle + taxi (~£10)

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, La Mariscal (from ~£10)

• →Airport shuttle into Quito
• →Evening wander in La Mariscal

Book a morning flight Quito–Manta on Avianca or LATAM in advance (~£40-55). Manta is Ecuador's tuna port. Do your own walking loop of the Cancebi Museum (small entry fee) and the tagua-nut carving workshops, then take a local bus or taxi to the Panama-hat town of Montecristi to see hats woven by hand. Base yourself here overnight.

🚌Domestic flight ~£50; local bus/taxi ~£5

🛏Budget hotel near Manta centre (~£15)

• →Cancebi Museum
• →Tagua workshop visit
• →Montecristi day trip

Bus south to Puerto López (~2.5-3h, ~£3). En route stop at Agua Blanca, a community-run archaeological site in Machalilla National Park: pay the community entry (~£4), do the short guided trail through dry forest, visit the small museum and soak in the sulphur mud lagoon. Lunch in the community (~£4). Continue to Puerto López and settle into a beach guesthouse.

🚌Local bus ~£3; shared pickup to Agua Blanca ~£2

🛏Beach guesthouse, Puerto López (~£12)

• →Agua Blanca community visit + mud bath
• →Machalilla dry-forest walk

Book a day boat to Isla de la Plata directly with one of the operators on the Malecón the day before (~£35-45, includes snorkelling and lunch). Look for blue-footed and Nazca boobies, frigatebirds and albatrosses, then snorkel the reef. Boats leave around 8am and return mid-afternoon.

🚌Boat included in excursion

🛏Beach guesthouse, Puerto López (~£12)

• →Isla de la Plata boat trip
• →Snorkelling around the island

Take a local bus to Los Frailes beach (free entry, ~£1.50 each way) for white sand and swimming. Alternatives: hike in Machalilla National Park (~£12 with a local guide) or, between June and September, join a humpback-whale-watching boat (~£30).

🚌Local bus ~£3 return

🛏Beach guesthouse, Puerto López (~£12)

• →Los Frailes beach
• →Machalilla National Park hike (optional)
• →Whale watching in season (optional)

Bus or shared van to Guayaquil (~3.5h, ~£6), then an evening flight to Quito (~£35-50). If you fancy it, spend a couple of hours on Guayaquil's Malecón before flying. Back in Quito, grab dinner in La Ronda or La Mariscal.

🚌Bus ~£6 + domestic flight ~£45

🛏Hostel in La Mariscal (~£10)

• →Guayaquil Malecón stop
• →Evening out in Quito

Self-launched city day: take the Teleférico cable car up Volcán Pichincha (~£7) for the high-altitude views, then walk the Centro Histórico — Plaza Grande, La Compañía church and the Basílica. Add a shared taxi to the Mitad del Mundo equator monument (~£4 entry) if you want the classic photo.

🚌Local buses + taxi ~£6

🛏Hostel in La Mariscal (~£10)

• →Teleférico cable car
• →Centro Histórico walk
• →Mitad del Mundo (optional)

Local bus Quito–Baños via Ambato (~3.5-4h, ~£5). Check into a hostel, rent a bike or walk to the Termas de la Virgen hot pools by the waterfall (~£3 entry) and get an early night ahead of an adventure day.

🚌Local bus ~£5

🛏Hostel, Baños (~£10)

• →Termas de la Virgen hot springs
• →Riverside wander

Pick from the town's budget menu: canyoning (~£20), ziplining (~£20), whitewater rafting (~£25) or mountain-bike rental for the Ruta de las Cascadas to the Pailón del Diablo waterfall (~£8 bike + ~£2 entry). All can be booked on arrival at the agencies lining Calle Ambato. Finish at Casa del Árbol swing if time allows.

🚌Bike rental / local taxis ~£8

🛏Hostel, Baños (~£10)

• →Canyoning or rafting
• →Ruta de las Cascadas bike ride
• →Pailón del Diablo waterfall
• →Casa del Árbol swing

Bus Baños–Tena (~3h, ~£5). From Tena, arrange a two-night stay in a Quichua community lodge (book ahead directly with the community tourism office or via a local agency, ~£25-35/night with meals). Afternoon nature walk with a local guide to spot birds and learn about medicinal plants.

🚌Local bus ~£5

🛏Rustic Quichua community hut, multi-share (~£30 incl. meals)

• →Bus to Tena
• →Community jungle lodge stay
• →Afternoon nature walk

A full day with your Quichua hosts — jungle trails, a river swim, maybe a visit to a cassava garden and a demonstration of blowpipe or chicha-making depending on the community. Nights are for flashlight walks and frog calls.

🚌On foot / canoe as arranged

🛏Rustic Quichua community hut, multi-share (~£30 incl. meals)

• →Guided jungle trek
• →River swim
• →Cultural demonstration with host family

Cycle to the community of Shandia with a local guide (~£10 bike hire and guide) — the community biking experience G Adventures includes. Return to Tena, then take the local bus towards Quito and get off at Papallacta (~4h, ~£6). Spend the evening in the natural mineral hot pools with volcanic views (public pools ~£4; Termas Papallacta resort ~£15).

🚌Bike hire ~£10; local bus ~£6

🛏Simple hostal or lodge, Papallacta (~£20)

• →Shandia community cycle
• →Papallacta hot springs

Arrange a shared Cotopaxi day trip from Quito or a hostel near the park (~£35-45, includes transport and a guide) — hike to the José Rivas refuge at 4,800m, and if you're fit and acclimatised, continue to the glacier edge. Stay the night at a rustic mountain lodge near the park (~£20).

🚌Shared tour transport ~£35

🛏Rustic mountain lodge near Cotopaxi (~£20)

• →Cotopaxi National Park hike to refuge
• →Limpiopungo lagoon

Bus from the Cotopaxi area to Quito, then an overnight-ish bus or day bus south to Alausí (~7-8h total, ~£12). Book the Tren Crucero's Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo) excursion for tomorrow morning at the station (~£18-25) — seat on the roof for the switchback descent.

🚌Buses ~£12

🛏Guesthouse, Alausí (~£12)

• →Long-distance bus south
• →Book Devil's Nose train

Morning Devil's Nose train ride — a spectacular zigzag descent through the Andes (~2.5h). Afternoon bus Alausí–Cuenca (~4h, ~£6). Evening orientation walk of the UNESCO-listed colonial centre, dinner at a mercado comedor (~£4).

🚌Train ~£20 + bus ~£6

🛏Hostel, Cuenca centro (~£12)

• →Devil's Nose train excursion
• →Cuenca colonial centre walk

Day trip to Cajas National Park for high-altitude lake hikes (~£30 via local operator, or ~£8 by public bus to the park entrance and hike yourself). Back in Cuenca, visit the Panama hat museum and the markets.

🚌Bus or shared tour ~£10-30

🛏Hostel, Cuenca centro (~£12)

• →Cajas National Park hike
• →Panama hat museum
• →Cuenca markets

Option one: shared day trip to Ingapirca, Ecuador's largest Inca site (~£40). Option two: stay local — Gualaceo and Chordeleg craft villages (~£10 by bus), or Cuenca's mud baths and hot springs (~£25). Book tomorrow's flight or bus to Quito tonight.

🚌Local bus/shared tour ~£10

🛏Hostel, Cuenca centro (~£12)

• →Ingapirca Inca ruins (optional)
• →Gualaceo and Chordeleg villages
• →Cuenca hot springs

Fly Cuenca–Quito (~£35-50, 1h) rather than the 8-9h bus, or take the bus (~£12) if you're on a tight budget. Afternoon free — rest, laundry, or catch anything you missed in Quito.

🚌Domestic flight ~£40

🛏Hostel in La Mariscal (~£10)

• →Flight to Quito
• →Free afternoon

Bus from Quito's Terminal Carcelén to Otavalo (~2h, ~£3). Wander the Plaza de Ponchos — one of South America's best Indigenous textile markets — and the animal market if it's Saturday. Add the Peguche waterfall walk (~£2) and a side trip to Cotacachi leather town. Return to Quito in the evening.

🚌Local buses ~£6 return

🛏Hostel in La Mariscal (~£10)

• →Otavalo Plaza de Ponchos market
• →Peguche waterfall
• →Cotacachi visit

Last breakfast, souvenir shopping at the Mercado Artesanal, then shuttle and taxi to the airport for your international flight. Add a buffer of 3 hours before departure given Quito traffic.

🚌Shuttle + taxi ~£10

🛏—

• →Mercado Artesanal shopping
• →Departure transfer