Galapagos & Amazon Advisors

  Our guide Alejandro was so lovely and friendly. He led a really informative tour about all the volcanoes of Ecuador, as well as Cotopaxi. Was also generally very friendly and... read more helpful, he even switched bikes with me. Cotopaxi itself was stunningly beautiful and the hike up the steep slopes was challenging with the altitude but well worth it for the views. The bike ride was an excellent way to end it in the National park and the included meal at the restaurant was delicious too. Would 100% recommend taking this tour, great value for money.

  You can enjoy great views both from foot and upper of the mountain. A experienced guide is always caring.

  Fabulous and patient guide! I was a slow hiker acclimating to the altitude. Dario had great information on the park, wildlife, birds and plants. He stopped along scenic areas for... read more pictures and knew all the food spots on the way to and from the park.

  We really enjoyed the whole tour (Cotopaxi and Quilotoa)
We had a great service at the agency to book the tour and on the tour the guide was very... read more attentive, always being very clear in the explanations, telling a little about the history of the equator and always asking how we were feeling in relation to altitude.
It was an incredible experience!

  Getting at the base camp or refuge of the Cotopaxi volcano at almost 16000 feets wow and
Is for me at 62 years old... read more a very good accomplishment.
The tour guide Alejandro is so nice and very professional. He encouraged everyone all along the climbing. I would recommend this tour guide for this Cotopaxi trek honestly demanding but yet not so hard. And the diner all include was my best meal in Ecuador.
Thank you so much for that incredible experience.

  The Quito day tour was fabulous. It was my first day in Ecuador and I learned so much. Alejandro was very kind and full of knowledge. He went above and... read more beyond. I recommend this tour for everyone!

  I had two fantastic experiences with CarpeDM, the Cuyabeno Amazon trip and the Cotopaxi hike. Paul and Angie were very helpful and both spoke perfect English while also allowing me... read more to practice my terrible Spanish. If you’re going to the Amazon, you must stay at Tucan lodge! It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. My guide, Carlos, was absolutely incredible! He was able to spot animals I would have never seen and perfectly imitate their calls which allowed us to see: a family of otters, many species of monkeys, and rare birds, all because he drew them in with his calls. Also, the lodge itself is great with nice, modern facilities and hot showers! The Cotopaxi hike was also a blast. The guide allowed us to go around your own pace as the altitude was very difficult for us. He helped me get lots of great photos too! I highly recommend CarpeDM for anyone looking to get the most out of their trip to Ecuador! …

  Great experience with good English speaking guide - Stui was a great tour guide. I did 3 tours (free walking tour, Otavalo and Quilotoa Lake) with him during my stay in Quito. His English is really good and... read more he has lots of knowledge about Ecuadorian culture, traditions, landscape, food, animals, flora and fauna and and and. This together with his humour and good vibes made the Tours great experiences!

  This was the best thing ever!!! If you plan to go to the Amazon jungle simply choose @toucanlodge with Carpedm. The place is beautiful. Super clean lodge, amazing staff and... read more the best guide. He was able to spot so many snakes (anacondas too), monkeys. He found frogs, birds, pink dolphins and so much more. I will recommend this trip 100%. Can't wait to return to Toucan Lodge in Cuyabeno Amazon the next time I'm in Ecuador. Thank you for everything!! And thank you CarpeDM for helping me plan this so easily. …

  The equator tour was fab, great place where we stopped for lunch.
Really knowledgeable guide, very good English.
Safe and reliable transport.

  The guide was great and interesting. Always was aware to the group and health situation with the heights and so kind. Also great food experience in the way back with... read more authentic Ecuadorian delicious food.

  I was picked up exactly on time and our tour guide, Alejandro was wonderful. He told us interesting anecdotes during the whole trip. If it hadn’t been for his company... read more and encouraged on the trail, I never would have made it.

  Stefy was very friendly, polite, and helpful. She was very knowledgeable and explained everything very well and answered any questions we had. She was an excellent guide and I would... read more definitely go on one of her tours again.

  John Pierre was a really great guide. The market was nice, but I’d recommend trying to spend more time at Cuicocha. We ran out of time to see Peguche waterfall,... read more which would have been nice.

  We arrived the night before in Ecuador and this tour was perfect to make a first connection with the city. Our guide Fernando is passionate with his city, his stories... read more are really interesting and the tour was full of anecdotes. History, food and culture, a perfect mix ! Bravo

  The guided tour throughout Quito with Fernando was AWESOME !!! Very lively, fun and interesting. We got to taste chocolate, local fruits and local alcoholic beverages 🙂 It was my... read more first day in Quito and it will remain a very good memory thanks to Fernando! Cheers

  A fantastic day. The trip was well organised, the food was tasty and Alejandro was full of information and energy to make sure we had the best time we could.

  Excellent service throughout. Dorian made all of the arrangements for a driver/guide to take us up to Otavalo and Cusin. Very efficient and helpful. Jean-Pierre, the driver, was excellent. So... read more much more than a driver. He spoke excellent English and really helped in every way. He was so kind with my elderly mother and a pleasure to be with. Thank you.

  Great time with Alex our guide for the Cotopaxi Day Tour from the Secret Garden Quito.
He used the travel time to tell us the legends about the volcanos... read more and Quito. Really interesting.
The hike to the base of the glacier was nice.
At 2pm we went for a great lunch at the Rondador Cotopaxi Hostel. We booked a room there in order to avoid going back to Quito and continue to the south.
The hostel is great and helpfull !

  The tour started early in the morning with us getting picked up from the hostel in a nice and comfortable truck. On the way to Cotopaxi, our guide Lincoln told... read more us about the history of Ecuador, Quito, and the Cotopaxi region (in great English!).

We stopped for a good and plentiful breakfast in view of Cotopaxi, before driving up the volcano to the parking lot. The hike up to the refuge hut at 4864m was taxing but beautiful, and Lincoln told us more about local wildlife. From the parking lot, we made our way down the volcano on bikes, with helmets, knee/elbow pads, and gloves provided. Lunch at at the same restaurant was just as tasty, before returning to Quito.

Overall, this was a breathtaking (literally) tour with a friendly and patient guide. There were plenty of great photo opportunities, and biosecurity measures were followed. While not cheap, this tour was excellent value for the price and we highly recommend Lincoln.

  The day trip was amazing and with a lot of activities. The guide Alejandro was amazing and told us very insightful stories about Quito, volcanoes and Cotopaxi.
Definitely recommend it... read more as a day trip from Quito

  A fun experience! We were driven to a couple hundred meters below base camp and then hiked up to the glacier at the top of Cotopaxi and then to the... read more base camp (takes longer than you’d think). Then we hiked back down to the car and then we’re dropped off a a few hundred meters lower elevation to bike down to the lake (I forget the name). The experience was great, the only knock I’d give it was that $50 seems overpriced for the experience. Of course, I’m not sure how much gas costs but I went on a tour in Baños that did way more driving than we did on this tour AND a bunch more activities along the way and that only cost $30.

  I did the free walking tour with Fernando that meets at the Secret Garden Hotel. This was seriously the best free walking tour I’ve ever been on! Fernando took us... read more all around old town, even getting us past the barriers that were up due to a protest. He brought us to all the best places to sample the specialties of Quito, and even showed us a few salsa moves. I learned so much about the history and culture of Quito and Ecuador! …

  I am 67 and was affraid on not being able to climb till the refugee. The guide Alejandro was great, helping me by lending me his sticks and also... read more lent me his poncho, which was really useful next to the Refugio, when it started to snow. The guide was also great in explaing what and when to eat in order to diminish the effects of the height, and his advice really worked as I endended not having any headache or similar and restablishing my breath very quickly. I did not make the bicicle part and was able to stay very confortable inside the bus while it followed the biker caravan. I had a worderful day. I really recommened Carpe DM and the guide Alejandro.

  Amazing Cotopaxi Adventure - Really amazing day! Thanks a lot to Alejandro for a day full of knowledge, history, laughter, adventure, good food and lamas.. muchas gracias!

  Marcelo was out tour guide and he was fantastic!! He was so knowledgeable of Quito and its history, it was a chilled out day and nothonh was too much trouble... read more for him. We experienced so much and tried so many things in what was a beautiful day!!

  Dario was extremely knowledgeable, kind and excited to show us Ecuador. He knew so much about about the biology of the cloud Forrest and the different biological zones on the... read more way. From bird and plant species to the Inca’s, Dario knew it all. The activities on the trip were all well and good but our great guide made the trip an excellent experience. Buy that man a 4Runner! …

  What a magical day - What a fantastic day. It was a tough climb but even I made it at the age of 70. There was a lot of snow but Stui gave us excellent... read more advice on how to stay safe. The weather was not kind to us but as we were about to descend the sun came out and Cotapaxi showed her self and on the way down she belched a large plume of smoke just to show us that she is alive and kicking.
Stui was a fantastic guide and answered all our questions about the day and so much more, giving us all so much good advise too. Thank you Stui x

  We had the good fortune to have Stui as our guide today. Stui not only made the trip enjoyable with his extensive knowledge of the area, and it’s customs, he... read more went above and beyond to be ever present as we hiked up to the base camp on Cotopaxi. As we are an older couple it took us a bit more time at such a high altitude, Stui, encouraged us all the way and exhibited an immense amount of patience.
He also was able to customize the trip a bit, to fit our needs.
I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wishing to be up close to the active volcano.

  Alejandro was a great tour guide, so knowledgeable and patient with everyone who was struggling with the altitude! Also a very skilled photographer!! a great day up Cotopaxi was had!... read more Thanks Alejandro!