Author: Kat Dougal
Best Time to Visit Ecuador: Weather & Seasons
Best time to visit Ecuador explained. When is the best time to visit Ecuador? Ecuador is a year-round travel destination thanks to its location on the equator. That said, its weather is best defined by region. Many of its Andean mountain ranges have their own micro-climates. The best time to visit Ecuador and its diverse …
A Review of Ecuador’s Best Cloud Forest Lodges
Finding Ecuador’s best cloud forest lodges Ecuador’s cloud forest is a magnet for those searching for wildlife, bird watching and the elusive spectacled bear. Ecuador is blessed with many sustainable eco-lodges nestled in the misty cloud forests. These lodges are fantastic bases for exploring the cloud forest’s flora and fauna. Each lodge often has specific …
Best Galapagos Cruises in 2025: Guide to the Top Boats
Best Galapagos Cruises in 2025: Guide to the Top Boats Want to know the best Galapagos cruises for 2025? Read our guide to itineraries, wildlife and trip length and navigate to the best boat Galapagos cruise for you. How to Choose the Best Galapagos Cruise in 2025 At first, the choice of Galapagos …
Guide to Tipping in Ecuador and Galapagos
How Much to Tip in Ecuador and Galapagos Andean Trails’ Ecuador and Galapagos tipping guide. Want to know how much to tip in Ecuador and Galapagos? This guide helps you understand why people tip when visiting and how much to leave. Do I Need to Tip in Ecuador and Galapagos? Tipping may seem alien …
Chiloé Island Tours and Things To Do
Chiloé Island Tours, Activities and things to Do There is so much to do and see on Chiloé Island that the main issue may be how to fit all those tours and activities into your travel itinerary. The island of Chiloé, in Chile’s Lake District, was once a strategic point of interest for seafarers and …
Volunteering on Horseback in Ecuador – a traveller’s review
Volunteering at a riding stable in Ecuador is a dream for me. Patti McCarthy is spending a month volunteering on a horse ranch in Ecuador, and is full of enthusiams albeit the hard work she is putting in every day. Read her blog on her volunteering holiday and maybe you’ll get inspired, too! …
Cotopaxi Lodge to Lodge Trek: a Traveller’s Review
Trekking in the foothills of Cotopaxi Return customers Patti McCarthy and her family recently travelled with Andean Trails around Ecuador and shared their experiences of trekking the Lodge to Lodge trek in Cotopaxi National Park with us. Up close to the mighty Cotopaxi Mountain weather is notoriously unsettled and unpredictable, but the volcano Cotopaxi is …
Guide to Whale Watching in Ecuador
Whale watching is on most people’s bucket list – unsurprisingly! Read on to find out all about the whale watching season in Ecuador, the best places to see whales in Ecuador and get our travel information an expert tips to help plan your trip. Ecuador Whale Watching Guide: Season and Best Places to go …
Top 5 Cities to Visit in Bolivia
Find out our top tips for the best five cities to visit while on holiday in Bolivia. In this blog we’ll tell you what each city has to offer, and what day tours and trips are possible from each of the 5 top cities in Bolivia – from La Paz to Sucre, from Santa Cruz …
Bolivia’s highest points: La Paz, Lake Titicaca and Bolivia’s mountains
How high is Lake Titicaca? How high is La Paz – and what is Bolivia highest point? One of the highest of all Andean nations, the geography of Bolivia certainly sets some impressive records for life at high altitude. Read our blog to find out just how high Bolivia’s landmarks are. La Paz …
Avoid Tourists: A Guide to Non-Touristy Things To Do in Peru
Peru has long been one of the hot spots of tourism in South America, and quite rightly so! However, most of us love an element of off the beaten track travelling, and here’s how you can get away from the crowds with our guide to non-touristy things to do on holiday in Peru. Here’s a …
Guide to the Best Amazon Rainforest Lodges in Ecuador
Ecuador’s best rainforest lodges are known for their great location in the country’s Amazon basin, their standard of comfort and the wildlife that surrounds them. When we say “best” at Andean Trails, we try to look beyond comfort and like to focus also on the community projects each eco-lodge supports, the wildlife we find …
South America: The Best Countries To Visit on Holiday
When planning your holiday to South America you may ask yourself; which are the best countries to visit in South America? South America is a continent of amazing contrasts. These range from tropical jungle to glaciers, remote high mountain villages to bustling coastal cities, mountain ranges to endless pampa. The continent is blessed with a …
Bahia Bustamante: An off the beaten path wildlife experience in Argentine Patagonia
Alan was recently in Patagonia and visited Bahia Bustamante in Argentina. Here he describes the experience of a few days in Bahia Bustamante, comfort, rooms, gastronomy, excursions and wildlife. He writes: “It was evening and the sun has just set when we arrived at Bahia Bustamante, a solitary outpost on the Patagonian coast of …
Restaurants and Eating Out: Food in Galapagos Islands
Eating out choices in the Galapagos Islands have blossomed, with many new bars, cafes and restaurants opening in recent years, as hotel-based holidays have become more popular. Top-end dining has truly yet to arrive at the Galapagos Islands due to its remote location and difficulty in importing ingredients. However, the three main islands, Santa …
The Best Eco Camps and Lodges in Patagonia
We’ve compiled a quick guide to some of the best eco camps in Patagonia, from eco-friendly domes to lodges and refugios, perfect for your Patagonian holiday. With many places filling up quickly, it’s important to get places booked up a long way in advance, especially in the busier season of November to March. At …
2019 Machu Picchu – New visitor rules
Years of popularity and increasing visitor numbers have left a toll on the world famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. For a few years now authorities have been thinking of ways to limit the damage that millions of yearly visitors are causing to the site. After a first introduction of rules in 2017 regulating …
Wildlife spotting in the Iberá wetlands, Argentina.
Black caiman, capybara, howler monkeys and rheas are just some of the species you might come across in the Iberá wetlands, the second largest wetland in the world. Covering an area of over 6,500 square miles in north-east Argentina, the wetlands are a collection of lakes, bogs, swamps and rivers and are an important …
Bolivia – its weather, seasons and best time to visit
Planning a trip to Bolivia? Make sure you have read our guide on when to go and what weather to expect from the Andes to the Amazon. Bolivia’s climate, as varied as its geography, is affected by latitude and, especially, by altitude. The best time to travel is the winter (dry season) between May and …
Bolivia – things to know before travelling on holiday
Land-locked Bolivia is a country of dramatic landscapes and fascinating native cultures and traditions. Being prepared for travel means you will enjoy the country at its best, so we have put together a list of essential and useful tips and facts to know about Bolivia, before you go. OVERVIEW Bolivia’s Altiplano (High …
