Yes, the Galapagos are extraordinary—we’ll get there. But travelers who make a beeline straight to the islands and skip the mainland are leaving some of the most interesting real estate on the planet unseen. Ecuador is the size of Arizona, yet it packs in more topographic drama, climate variation, and indigenous cultures than countries ten times its size.

After decades of globe-trotting, NextTribe founder Jeannie Ralston has landed on exactly two countries she calls favorites. Ecuador is one of them. Her reasoning: nowhere else does one small map-sliver deliver so many completely different worlds—each one more absorbing than the last.

The Andes—where an eternal spring climate keeps things blessedly mild, and indigenous women still dress in the same vibrant textiles their grandmothers’ grandmothers wore, not as a performance for tourists but as a living expression of who they are. The Amazon—where leaf-cutter ants cross the trail in front of you like they own it, blue morpho butterflies flash past in impossible iridescent blue, and toucans perch in the trees above like opinionated neighbors who have no intention of leaving. All of this from the comfort of a beautiful lodge. And Quito, the capital, which once held the second-most-important spot in the Inca Empire and still holds the title of best-preserved Spanish colonial historic center in all of Latin America.

And then, yes—the Galapagos. Add the extension and spend four days island-hopping aboard our own private 115-foot yacht with our own naturalist, in a place where the animals are genuinely not bothered that you’re oohing and ahhing over them. 

BONUS: Our 2027 mainland trip is one day longer than last year, giving you an extra day at the magnificent Hacienda Cusin. Same price. And our Galapagos yacht extension is $1,200 less this year—but every bit as spectacular. You’re welcome. 

Add On: Explore the Galapagos on a Private Yacht

May 1-4. Once our mainland adventure wraps, we board a flight to the Galapagos—four days on our own private 115-foot yacht with a dedicated naturalist who knows every bird, reptile, and sea lion by reputation. We’ll come face to face with giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, and marine iguanas; snorkel alongside sea lions who would very much like to play with you; hike to lagoons and volcanic calderas; and soak in a jacuzzi at the end of each extraordinary day. Yes, the jacuzzi is real.

Note: This is an add-on experience. You can add it when you book or you may add it later. There are only three singles on the private yacht—each is a large suite with a king-sized bed. If you are traveling with a good friend or family member, you can request the suite and share the king bed, paying a double price per person. 

Please note that this is a sample itinerary. Accommodations and activities may change but we will always replace them with something of equal or better value.

1. Nature. In the Amazon rainforest, sloths make their slow-motion case for a simpler life, howler monkeys announce their presence at decibels you will not soon forget, and an improbable variety of birds and reptiles go about their business all around you. (Yes, that ripple under the lily pad could be an anaconda. Yes, you’re fine.)

2. Indigenous Cultures. In Otavalo, we’ll spend time with the Otavalo people, who dress in traditional clothes not for our benefit but because that’s simply who they are—proud, elegant, and rooted in centuries of living. In the Amazon, an indigenous community will share their deep knowledge of the jungle’s plants and herbs, which makes every pharmacy you’ve ever visited feel slightly embarrassing. 

3. Hacienda Cusin. This place has lived rent-free in Jeannie Ralston’s imagination ever since her first stay. Sixteenth-century Spanish Colonial architecture surrounded by lush English gardens, with a fire lit in your room each evening. It’s the kind of hotel that slows you down and stirs the soul. 

4. Hands-on Experiences. We’ll cook Ecuadorian cuisine, embroider alongside Otavalo artisans, make chocolate straight from cacao, shoot arrows, and release endangered turtles into the wild. And because “hands-on” shouldn’t stop there, we’ll also ride horses through the Andes and paddle dugout canoes through rainforest lagoons.

5. The Galapagos Option. After nine days on the mainland, you’ll board our private yacht and settle in for four days in a place so ecologically intact it still makes Darwin’s jaw drop. Consider it the perfect exclamation point on an already remarkable trip.

Galapagos is only available to those who book our mainland Ecuador adventure.

The day after our mainland adventure wraps, we board a flight to the Galapagos—four days on our own private 115-foot yacht with a dedicated naturalist who knows every bird, reptile, and sea lion by reputation. We’ll come face to face with giant tortoises, blue-footed boobies, and marine iguanas; snorkel alongside sea lions who would very much like to play with you; hike to lagoons and volcanic calderas; and soak in a jacuzzi at the end of each extraordinary day. Yes, the jacuzzi is real.

Note: This is an add-on experience. You can add it when you book or you may add it later. There are only three singles on the private yacht—each is a large suite with a king-sized bed. If you are traveling with a good friend or family member, you can request the suite and share the king bed, paying a double price per person. 

From Jeannie Ralston:

You’ve landed in Quito: 9,186 feet above sea level, built on the bones of an Inca city in the 16th century, and home to the best-preserved historic center in all of Latin America. It’s a lot to absorb, which is precisely why today asks nothing of you.

A professional English-speaking driver will meet you at the airport and whisk you to the hotel. Late arrival? No problem at all—today is purely for touching down, catching your breath, and reminding yourself that yes, you really did this.

After breakfast, we head into Quito’s Historic Downtown—a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, as noted, the most intact colonial center in Latin America. (It bears repeating.) 

We’ll wander through streets flanked by churches, museums, and government buildings that have been standing since the Spanish colonial era. The neighborhood pulses with everyday life weaving in and around centuries of history—it’s the kind of place that makes you feel like you’ve accidentally time-traveled, in the best possible way. 

Tonight brings our official welcome dinner—the moment the whole group finally gathers, the stories start, and the trip truly begins.

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

The Amazon doesn’t ease you in gently. An early morning transfer brings you to the airport, where a La Selva Lodge team member takes over as your guide. From Quito, you’ll board a motorized canoe for a two-hour ride down the Napo River—a main tributary of the Amazon—as the landscape gradually shifts and the sheer force of these waters starts to register. 

A short hike and a paddle in dugout canoes bring you to the lodge itself. The adventure, as it turns out, starts before you even unpack.

At the lodge, you’ll meet your private guide and figure out together how early you’re willing to get up. (Spoiler: earlier than you think.)

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

The Amazon operates on its own logic, and we follow its lead. Each day shifts according to weather, river conditions, and where the wildlife decides to be—which means no two days look alike, and that’s entirely the point.

Days here start at sunrise, or earlier—the cool morning hours are when the rainforest is most awake and the wildlife is least shy. 

Depending on the day, you might be paddling a dugout canoe, hiking through the forest, crossing the river by motorized canoe, taking a swim in the river, or setting out after dark on a night hike or canoe ride to see what comes alive when the sun goes down.

One unmissable feature: the observation deck built into a 124-foot kapok tree, which puts you eye-level with the canopy and whatever remarkable things are happening up there.  

La Selva also has a full spa and during the midday rest hours it’s the perfect place to recover from all this wonder-watching. 

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

During our rainforest stay, we’ll visit an indigenous community for a genuine exchange—not a cultural performance, but a real look at how people live and what the jungle provides. Expect to learn about medicinal plants and herbs, try your hand at traditional games, and discover that you are, in fact, not too terrible at shooting a blowpipe.

We’ll also have a good chance of witnessing a parrot clay lick—one of the Amazon’s more surreal spectacles, where hundreds of parrots descend on exposed riverbank clay to absorb minerals. It is exactly as chaotic and magnificent as it sounds. 

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Time to trade the rainforest for a different kind of splendor. We speed back up the Napo River to Coca, then fly to Quito, arriving around noon. From there, our guide escorts you north toward Otavalo—a farming valley of rich soil surrounded by dormant volcanoes named Imbabura, Cotacatchi and Mojanda. 

Our home for the next few nights is Hacienda Cusin, a 17th-century Spanish Colonial property tucked inside lush English gardens. Someone lights a fire in your room each evening. If you find yourself calculating what it would cost to stay forever, you are not alone

Included: Breakfast, dinner

Horses have been ridden around this hacienda for centuries, and today it’s your turn. We head into the hills on horseback, with views of shimmering lakes and a commanding volcano unfolding around every bend. The scenery does most of the work; you just have to stay in the saddle. 

In the afternoon, Otavalo women come to the hotel to teach us the embroidery techniques that have been passed through generations. You will leave with a handmade piece and a new appreciation for the fact that patience is genuinely a skill. 

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Mercado de los Ponchos is one of the most celebrated indigenous craft markets in South America, and it earns every bit of that reputation. Handwoven ponchos, embroidered tablecloths, and jewelry in colors you didn’t know existed pile high in every direction. Budget extra time. And extra luggage weight. 

In this part of Ecuador, each village claims its own craft. We’ll visit Cotacachi—the leather goods capital of the region—where the workmanship is the real deal and the prices will delight you. 

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Leaving Hacienda Cusin is genuinely hard. We do it anyway, consoled by two excellent stops on the way back to Quito. 

First stop: one of Ecuador’s finest rose plantations, where we’ll tour the greenhouses and learn exactly why Ecuadorian roses have conquered the global flower market. (Short answer: the equatorial sun is doing extraordinary things up here at altitude.)

Lunch is served in an 1800s colonial mansion on the plantation grounds, every room arranged with rose bouquets in sizes and colors that border on theatrical. 

Then, because you can: Mitad del Mundo, the monument marking the actual equator, where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere and feel briefly, pleasantly absurd about the entire planet. 

We end the mainland journey with a farewell dinner back in Quito. Those continuing to the Galapagos will get a good night’s sleep before boarding for the islands. For those heading home tonight—we understand, but we won’t pretend it’s not a little sad. 

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

We fly to Baltra, where a guide meets us and transfers us to our private yacht, the aptly named Natural Paradise. Lunch is served on board, which sounds extremely civilized given where you are about to spend the next four days. 

After lunch, we visit the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora, where giant tortoises are raised from hatchlings no bigger than your hand into four-foot adults who look like they’ve seen things. The young ones stay until age four, when they’re deemed ready for the wild. You will want to stay longer than four years.

Included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, we head out for a hike to El Barranco—also known as Prince Philip's Steps—a steep, rewarding climb to a cliff-face with sweeping views of the sea and the wildlife going about their completely unbothered lives below. 

After lunch, we’ll land on a white-sand coral beach and walk through mangroves where swallow-tailed and Nazca boobies go about their business. Farther along, tidal pools full of sea lions doing exactly what they feel like. We suit up and join them for a snorkeling session in water so clear you’ll wonder if you’re imagining it.

We’ll start the day with an excursion to Espumilla Beach, the unofficial headquarters of the Sally Lightfoot crab and the Galapagos marine iguana, both photogenic beyond reason. Offshore, sharks, moray eels, and octopi share the water peacefully. We also visit Buccaneer Cove, a protected bay where 17th-century pirates once came to resupply and regroup. Today it’s colonized by seabirds along dramatic red-sand cliffs, which is a much better use of the place. 

In the afternoon, we snorkel at Egas Port—territory of the Galapagos Hawk and the Lava Lizard, who moves like it has somewhere to be. Sea lions sprawl on every available rock, and if the mood strikes them, they may decide you’re worth investigating underwater. 

The last morning in the Galapagos calls for a proper send-off. We head to Las Bachas, a serene swimming beach on Santa Cruz's north shore. Look for the remnants of a WWII-era floating pier—one of the few American vestiges on the islands—alongside flamingos, Sally Lightfoot crabs, hermit crabs, black-necked stilts, and whimbrels. Sea turtles sometimes nest on the beach, which feels like a completely appropriate farewell from the archipelago.

After this last stop, we transfer to Baltra airport for the flight back to the mainland. In Quito, you can either catch a late flight home or stay one more night and depart in the morning. (Extra hotel night not included—but honestly, at this point, why rush?)

After booking the trip, you will recieve a travel guide with more detailed logistics and information.

It's tempting to book flights right away to get the best deal. We advise you wait until the trip has filled and is confirmed to book your flights. If you want to do it sooner, make sure you have good cancellation terms or trip protection insurance.

Arrival: Quito (UIO) Thursday, April 22nd.

Depart: Quito (UIO) Depart after 8:00pm on any time on Friday, April 30th.

Most flights back to the States leave late at night (around 11 pm or later). Those who are not booking the Galapagos extension, can book a departure flight for late night on April 30th , If you go to Galapagos, you will arrive back at Quito (UIO) after the Galapagos and have a lot of time at the airport before your international flight leaves. You may want to talk to other travelers with similar departure times to share a room at the Courtyard at the airport so that you can relax and get refreshed before your international flight

Passport: Please make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months beyond the end of the trip.

Visa: US citizens do not need a visa to travel in Ecuador.

Ecuador uses US dollars as their currency, which makes it easy for us.

If you have any questions, you can contact our travel manager, Marcy, at travel@nexttribe.com

Inclusions

• 9 Nights Lodging

• 8 Dinners

• 8 Lunches

• 9 Breakfasts

• Ground Transportation

• All activities in the itinerary excluding optional add-on

• Airport Transfers - for ADD ON only - one-way TO airport to catch flight to the Galapagos

Exclusions

• Roundtrip Airfare

• Passport & Visa Fees

• Airport transfers for arrival/departure

• Alcohol not mentioned in itinerary

• Travel Insurance (required for international trips. Scroll down for details)

• Gratuities to local guides, drivers, maids and hotel staff

• Hear From our Community

• What to Expect When You Travel with NextTribe

For more information, please contact our travel manager at travel@nexttribe.com