7-Nights Ecuador & The M/V Galapagos Legend Cruise from $6,285

Day 1: Arrive in Quito

Transfer: Quito Airportto Quito - New Town

Hotel: GO Quito Hotel (4 Star Rating)

A sustainable hotel with spectacular views of Quito, and a design inspired by the natural beauty and cultural richness of the Andes, GO Quito Hotel is one of the premier accommodations in the new town of Quito. GO Quito Hotel provides a peaceful atmosphere for both work and play, with gourmet dining, refreshing drinks, and a range of leisure activities available. With everything you need in one place, the hotel caters to your travel needs. With an on-site swimming pool, ground-floor gardens, and a rooftop restaurant, plenty to enjoy on-site when you're not out exploring the city and countryside.

Ecuador is history, fascinating indigenous cultures, slow winding rivers and lush tropical forests, spectacular snow capped volcanoes and some of the most exciting wildlife on earth. Today's private-guided tour of the Middle of the Earth begins just 30 minutes north of Quito. Your guide will first take you on a brief journey to visit the Pululahua volcanic crater for a peek into the crater floor where patchwork fields gleam far below. Later you will visit the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, a group of buildings designed to explain the significance of the Ecuadorian equator, as well as the Intiñan Museum, located directly on the Equator. Here you will have the chance to plant your feet in two hemispheres at the same time, try to balance an egg on the head of a nail, and see the unique water dynamics that occur! Back in Quito and after lunch, you will visit the city's impressive colonial center. Quito was the first city to be named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations (alongside Krakow, Poland in 1978), and touring the historic core highlights why it is so widely lauded. First on the agenda is a walk through the Main Plaza, the Plaza de la Independencia, where you will see the Government Palace, the Cathedral, and some of the most important churches built around the XVI and XVII centuries, including the San Francisco Monastery, a building begun only five days after the founding of the city. Winding down, you'll enjoy a chocolate tasting experience in the old town at Yumbos; a small artisanal chocolate factory that uses fine Ecuadorian cocoa. During the visit, you will be able to learn the secrets behind making fine chocolate, and soon after, you will be returned to your hotel.

Leaving Quito after an early breakfast at your hotel, your guide will drive you to the Pahuma Orchid Reserve to take a short walk to a nearby waterfall and orchid display. Pahuma Orchid Reserve helps to protect this spectacularly biodiverse region of Ecuador, and the unique micro-climate you'll explore is the perfect home to dozens of species of birds, a seemingly endless array of orchids, not to mention a wide variety of amphibians and mammals. After touring Pahuma, you will continue on to Mindo to admire and enjoy an interactive butterfly garden where, surrounded by hundreds of colorful butterflies, you will be able to observe the four stages of a butterfly’s life. While you are in the garden, you will be able to feed one or more of the 25 different species of butterflies. You'll then break for a local lunch, and shortly after, carry on to visit a chocolate factory, the ultimate destination for cocoa and culinary enthusiasts alike. Here you will see and taste every step of the chocolate making process, sampling delicious chocolates made from the highest quality, world famous Ecuadorian cocoa. After visiting the chocolate factory, your guide will return you back to your hotel in Quito.

Transfer: Quito - New Town to Quito Airport