Colonial streets to volcano trails and waterfalls
When to go
Year-Round
Trip length
9 days / 8 nights
Typical investmentPrice
from $3,200 pp
Ecuador’s majestic Andes set the stage for this 8-night family adventure filled with volcanoes, waterfalls, and cultural wonder. Stroll Quito’s colonial streets, stand on the Equator, and cook alongside a local chef in a hands-on culinary class. Then head to the highlands of Cotopaxi, where llamas roam beneath snowcapped peaks, and onward to Baños, Ecuador’s adventure capital, for zip-lining thrills and hot springs. Designed for active families seeking connection, culture, and excitement, this journey blends comfort and curiosity in one unforgettable loop through the Andes.
Along the way
Visit Pailón del Diablo, one of Ecuador's most dramatic waterfalls
Hike Cotopaxi's páramo trails with snowcapped volcano views
Zip line across canyons and soak in thermal hot springs in Baños
Straddle the Equator and explore ancient traditions at Mitad del Mundo
Your route
Colonial history in the shadow of the andes
Meet your private driver at Quito's airport and settle into your 4-star boutique hotel in the heart of the historic center. Kids explore the gardens while parents relax with a local canelazo, soaking in the city's old-world charm.
Walk on foot through Quito's UNESCO-listed Old Town, from Independence Plaza to La Compañía's golden interior. In the afternoon, visit Mitad del Mundo, where the family can straddle both hemispheres at the Equator line.
Enjoy a leisurely morning exploring nearby parks or museums. In the afternoon, take part in your private Andean cooking class, crafting empanadas and llapingachos with a local chef. Kids will love shaping the dough and tasting their creations.
Volcanic vistas meet wide skies
Travel to a historic 4-star hacienda set near the slopes of Cotopaxi Volcano. Spend the afternoon spotting llamas, playing on the grounds, or warming up by the fire.
Set out on a hike along Cotopaxi's lower trails, where volcanic vistas and wild páramo landscapes stretch in every direction. Return to the hacienda to share stories over hot chocolate and a cozy Andean dinner.
Rushing mountain waterfalls
Drive south to Baños, a lush town at the gateway to the Amazon. Check into your adventure spa hotel, perched above the valley. In the afternoon, visit the dramatic Pailón del Diablo waterfall, its roaring plunge thrilling for all.
Fly through canyons on a zip-lining adventure, crossing waterfalls and forested cliffs. Then spend a relaxing afternoon at nearby hot springs, letting steam and sunshine wrap up your adventure-filled day.
A full free day to enjoy Baños as you wish. Options include cycling along the valley, visiting additional waterfalls, soaking again in the hot springs, or simply resting with views across the landscape. This day allows the journey to breathe before departure.
After breakfast, your private driver takes you back to Quito's airport, hearts full of mountain trails, family laughs, and highland discoveries.
Let's discover your next adventure
Our top picks
Casa Gangotena occupies a restored mansion facing Plaza San Francisco in Quito’s historic center. Its 31 rooms, rooftop terrace, garden, and Ecuadorian restaurant place guests directly inside the architecture and daily life of the old city.
Illa Experience Hotel contains only 10 rooms in Quito’s quiet San Marcos neighborhood. Colonial, Republican, and contemporary design layers are joined by daily artisan experiences, a private spa, and an ambitious restaurant.
Hotel Cruz del Vado places 26 rooms inside a restored heritage house above the Tomebamba River in Cuenca’s oldest neighborhood. A pink-marble façade, rooftop restaurant, city views, and Ecuadorian art connect the hotel closely with the UNESCO-listed center.
Built into a cliffside 400 meters above Baños on the flank of the active Tungurahua volcano, with thermal-water pools and rooms positioned for direct volcano views, a setting no other Baños property matches. The hillside setting sits above the town itself, so a short taxi or shuttle ride is needed to reach central Baños's restaurants and public thermal baths, and the style leans adventure-rustic rather than formal five-star polish.
Housed on a restored 300-year-old former Jesuit hacienda estate, blending colonial architecture, carved stone, wood, stained glass, and wrought iron, across four hectares of gardens. It sits a short taxi ride outside the town center, and the decor favors traditional colonial style over contemporary minimalist luxury.
A restored 1925 mansion run personally by hosts Mario and Blanca, one block from the Sucre National Theater in Quito's UNESCO World Heritage Centro Histórico, with a rooftop terrace looking out over Old Town. It's a very small, 6-room property with no restaurant, spa, or elevator, street-facing rooms can pick up traffic noise into the evening, and Quito's high altitude, about 2,850 meters, is worth planning around.
A restored 1905 mansion, once the family home of Doña Carlota Echeverría de Moreno, reopened in 2017 as one of the first LEED-certified heritage-building hotels in Ecuador and also B Corp certified, with on-site solar power, water recycling, and a rooftop garden supplying its kitchen. There's no full-service spa despite the hotel's wellness-adjacent design, only 12 rooms means it books out quickly, ground-floor rooms can run smaller and noisier than upper-floor ones, and the historic-center location trades Quito's modern nightlife, concentrated in La Mariscal, for immersion in the old town.
Keep exploring
Let’s start planning
Tell us a little about your plans. We’ll be in touch to talk through this trip with you.
