ANN RUPPENSTEIN
With its dramatic mountains and volcanoes, stunning landscapes, and lush rainforests and jungles, travel planner Gina Winston likened arriving in Ecuador to stepping into another world.
“Ecuador has so much more to offer than I ever imagined,” the travel advisor behind The Bucket List Diary Travel told Travel Courier. “The mainland of Ecuador is truly worth exploring, offering an amazing mix of landscapes, cultures and adventures, all packed into a surprisingly compact area. It remains wonderfully authentic, with many locals speaking little-to-no English, allowing travellers to fully immerse themselves in the everyday life, traditions and warmth of the Ecuadorian people.”
After joining a group of travel advisors on an adventure-filled FAM trip on Contiki’s Ecuador in a Week itinerary during TTC Tour Week earlier this month, Winston feels that the destination will be a good fit for clients looking for outdoor adventure.
“It’s like a lesser-known version of Peru, offering incredible hiking, zip-lining, canyoning and more, but with fewer tourists, making for an even more authentic and immersive experience,” she added. “This isn’t a destination for lounging on the beach — it’s a place to dive into nature, explore breathtaking landscapes and truly experience the outdoors.”
“Ecuador has so much more to offer than I ever imagined. The mainland of Ecuador is truly worth exploring, offering an amazing mix of landscapes, cultures and adventures, all packed into a surprisingly compact area. It remains wonderfully authentic, with many locals speaking little-to-no English, allowing travellers to fully immerse themselves in the everyday life, traditions and warmth of the Ecuadorian people.”
–Gina Winston, The Bucket List Diary Travel
With a decade of experience leading Contiki trips in Ecuador, trip manager Esteban Garces said travellers often compare the country to another destination known for its similar scenery, wildlife and adventure activities.
“The geography that we have here, once they finish the tour they say, ‘hey, this is exactly like Costa Rica, but way cheaper,’” he noted. “After they do this tour I know for sure they know there’s something more to Ecuador than just the Galápagos Islands.”
Highlights of the Ecuador in a Week itinerary include white water rafting, staying in the Amazon in Tena, getting up close and personal with wildlife, experiencing thrills like canyoneering in Baños, learning how to salsa dance, and spending time with an indigenous community, which is the Make Travel Matter moment by TTC Tour Brands on the trip. These are travel experiences across the company’s trips that are selected for their positive social or environmental impact on communities.
“I loved that there were so many learning opportunities and a lot of focus on cultural immersion as well. I learned more about the Make Travel Matter experiences that TTC incorporates into all of their tours, which I’m a huge fan of,” noted Megan Duncan of Travel Gurus. “I think it’s super important to do as much as we can to make travel more sustainable and responsible, and to give back to the local communities we’re visiting and learn from them in return.”
The trip also provides opportunities to take incredible photos like swinging in front of Tungurahua volcano at La Casa Del Árbol, the site of the original swing in Baños, which is featured on the cover of this edition.
While going to the Galápagos is on many people’s bucket lists, Duncan believes that so is staying in the Amazon, especially for nature lovers. In fact, staying in the Amazon rainforest was one of the things she was looking forward to the most.
“While the Galápagos is great for wildlife viewing and unique landscapes, I think the mainland offers a more varied experience because you can do so many different things — active adventures like zip-lining, canyoneering and white water rafting, as well as shopping, enjoying a wide variety of local bars and restaurants, and cultural immersion experiences like our visit to the village community in the Amazon where we got to learn about their way of life and enjoy a meal with the community,” she shared. “The kind of client who would enjoy this trip, or a similar trip to Ecuador, would be active, open-minded to different customs and cultures, and a nature-lover.”
Similarly, Emma Bordes of Marlin Travel said Ecuador makes for a great alternative to Costa Rica — for clients looking for something a little different.
“Mainland Ecuador often gets eclipsed by the Galápagos, but like any country, there’s so much that’s worth exploring beyond the islands. It’s like going to France and only visiting Paris,” Bordes said. “As a destination, Ecuador is small, but mighty. From the Amazon and active volcanoes, to UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the aforementioned Galápagos, there’s so much to see and explore.”
Meanwhile, one thing that stood out for Winston about Contiki was how much was packed and offered within the itinerary.
“The trip was fast-paced and filled with exciting activities every single day, all of which clearly required a lot of thoughtful planning,” she shared. “I really see the value in a Contiki tour, it felt like I got so much out of the experience and definitely got my money’s worth.”
Over the course of the week, the FAM group learned that Contiki trips have a dedicated “day song” to get the group pumped up every morning for what’s to come. With the FAM group picking Pepas by Farruko ahead of the trip and trip manager Garces selecting the song Latinos by Proyecto Uno, our Contiki group actually had two daily anthems.
“Then when you hear that song again when the trip is over, it takes you back to the memories you made,” Duncan shared. “I loved that our group ended up with two day songs.”
