Whale Watching Tour, Ecuador

Transfer to airport, flight to Manta. Arrive in Manta and drive to Puerto Lopez. Free afternoon.

Day trip to Isla de la Plata. Return in the afternoon to the Hosteria

La Isla de la Plata lies 37km off the coast, around 1.5 hours by boat.

It has colonies of three sorts of boobies, blue-footed, red-footed and masked, and you will see numerous other seabirds, such as pelicans, terns and frigate birds. There are sea lions on the island and you are likely to see dolphins, rays and whales (from June to September).

Take plenty of water and sun protection with you as it can be very hot and dry on the island.

On most tours you will spend 2-4 hours walking on the island.

Visit beach Los Frailes and/or Cerro Blanco. Overnight in hosteria.

Los Frailes is a series of gorgeous beaches and cliffs that you walk to along a 4km track, through dry tropical forest. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the park, just 10km north of Puerto López.

You travel there by taxi-bike, a novel and interesting journey to Los Frailes in itself.

We transfer you to the airport to catch your flight (1400 approx) to Quito or Guayaquil.

Machalilla

Few backpackers spend much time in Manta, but generally prefer to head south to the coastal area of Machalilla. Passing through Portoviejo and Jipijapa the vegetation is unique, a dry tropical forest with bizarre shaped kapok trees.

Puerto López

Puerto López is a small fishing town of around 10,000 people. It has a very ramshackle appearance at first sight, but it’s quite charming and grows on you.

If you go down to the beach early you will see an amazing range of Pacific fish, of all shapes and sizes, including hammerhead sharks. Then buy your freshly cooked fish from the beach markets!

Agua Blanca

At Agua Blanca, the ancient capital city of Salangóme, there is a good archaeological museum.

There is also a guided trail around the reasonably well preserved and extensive site, where you can see a complex of terraces and platforms with adobe and stone walls.

San Sebastian

Approximately 10km beyond Agua Blanca, further inland, after hiking through the dry forest you reach the humid tropical forest of San Sebastián. This is great for seeing orchids, birds and monkeys.

You will need at least a couple of days to appreciate this part of the park. Talk to the guards at Agua Blanca, they can arrange accommodation and horses. Take all supplies with you.

San Salango

The port of Salango, 10km to the south of Puerto López has an excellent small museum with information on the intrepid sailors of prehispanic times. It contains artefacts from many of the different cultures that have inhabited coastal Ecuador from the Valdivia to the present day.

There is a decent restaurant here, Delfín Magico and you can walk along the beaches.

The Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is a regular visitor to the Ecuadorian coast. The waters off the province of Manabí, now protected by the national Park of Machalilla, are breeding grounds for this magnificent whale.

There are frequent sightings from June to September.

Ecuador is the second smallest South American country, and one of the most varied.

It comprises three main geographical areas: the coast, highlands and Amazon plus is home to the Galapagos Islands.

Because of its relatively compact size, it makes a great holiday destination as you can move from highlight to highlight fairly easily and rapidly.

Landscapes vary from the drier south to the more humid north.

The Highlands, or sierra, encompass two Andean Cordilleras (the Central and Western), which run north to south through the country. Ecuador’s largest volcano is Chimborazo (6,310m) whose summit, because of its proximity to the equator, is the closest point on earth to the sun. Several of Ecuador’s volcanoes are still active, and it’s a great area for trekking.

Descending the steep, east-facing slopes of the eastern Cordillera, one passes through a transition zone comprising dense cloud forest and humid high jungle, before entering the Amazon lowlands.

This mainly primary rainforest covers a third of the country, accounts for 5% of the population and stretches across Ecuador, from its Colombian to its Peruvian borders.

The Galapagos Islands are simply unique. Lying 600 miles off the mainland, the archipelago comprises the summits of gigantic equatorial volcanoes.

The flora and fauna of the Galapagos, long separated from their continental cousins, have evolved differently. Charles Darwin used his observations there to develop his theory of Evolution.

Ecuador lies between latitudes 4º south and 2º north. Overall, climate varies according to time of year, altitude and region.

The Sierra 

In the Ecuadorian highlands, there is little temperature variation by season as temperature depends largely on altitude.

In Quito, shade temperatures range from 6 to 10ºC in the morning and from 19 to 23ºC in the afternoon, with cool nights. In the lower basins between mountains, it gets significantly warmer.

Rainfall depends on whether an area lies closer to the eastern or western Andes. To the west, June-Sept is the dry period and Oct-May the wet (with often a short, dry spell in Dec or Jan).

The best period to visit Quito and trek and climb volcanoes such as Cotopaxi is the west Andean dry season of June-Sept and Dec/Jan. This is also Ecuador’s high season. During the Oct-May wet season, most rainfall is in the afternoons.

To the east, Oct to Feb are dry and Mar-Sept are wet. Overall, the southern highlands are drier than the northern highlands.

The Coast

On the Pacific coast, rainfall becomes less from north to south. The coast can be enjoyed year-round, although from June-Sept mornings are often grey with the garua mists.

Jan-May is the hottest and rainiest time of year.

The Amazon

In Ecuador’s Amazonian region, rain can fall at any time, but Dec-March is usually the driest season and Mar-Sept is usually the wettest period.

The Galapagos Islands

Galapagos can be visited at any time of year.

The warm season is Jan-Jun, bringing calm, warm waters (around 70°F) and sunny days (72-9°F or 22-32°C), February and March being the hottest and sunniest months with blue skies and sunshine.

The islands receive slightly more rainfall during these months, occasional heavy bursts in the afternoon. Great for snorkelling and you can spend a lot of time in the water without wetsuits, with great, clear waters.

The dry ‘garua’ season is Jun-Dec an it’s a great time for marine life. August and September are the coolest when you may need a jacket in the evenings and the sea can be choppy and temperature drops around 15-24ºC on average.

There can be mist on the islands in the mornings (garua) which usually burns off by midday leaving overcast skies or a sunny afternoon.

Sea temperatures may drop to 60°F- 72°F (15-22°C) during this time and snorkellers will want a wet suit for prolonged periods in the sea.

Andean Trails has 25 years of experience of putting together the best South America holidays.

We pay a fee to the CAA for every licensable passenger we book since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking.

We also offer ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority) protected holidays to give our customers peace of mind when booking and travelling.

When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package from Andean Trails Ltd you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 6275.

You can read more about ATOL, who is covered and what protections you have if not ATOL-covered, on our ATOL page.

What is ATOL?

The CAA’s ATOL scheme offers protection to your money and your holiday if you book with us. Not everybody is covered (see ‘Who is covered?’ for more), as you must purchase an ‘air package holiday’ with Andean Trails to be protected.

And  ‘air package holiday’ is defined as including a flight and some ground services (hotel, transfer, trek etc). This is also known as an ‘ATOL-protected holiday’.

Who is covered?

To be covered by ATOL, you must book a flight and some ground services with us and be from the UK. If you are from the UK and only book ground services and no flights, you are not covered by ATOL (see below for more on how non-ATOL clients are covered).

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Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.

For land only holidays not involving any air travel, in accordance with “The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992”, all UK passengers booking with Andean Trails Ltd. are fully protected for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all money paid to us, arising from cancellation or curtailment of travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Andean Trails.

I’m not ATOL covered, what protection do I have?

If you are not ATOL covered, any payments you make to us go to a Trust account.

We can only access this money once your tour has been completed, meaning that if anything happens to Andean Trails Limited while you are on holiday, then your money is secure and you can either complete the trip or be able to make it home.

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You also should have cancellation protection written into your insurance (which we recommend you have at the time of booking) in case you need to cancel.