Ecuador Itinerary 14 Days: 2 Weeks in the Andes and the Galápagos

This Ecuador itinerary for 14 days is the trip we suggest most when someone writes to us with two weeks off. You get a full week on the mainland, then six nights in the Galápagos, with a hotel or lodge bed every night. There are two versions: one runs south to Cuenca, the other drops into the Amazon. We guide both, and the table below shows where they differ.

Two ways to spend 14 days in Ecuador

Both routes give the islands six nights, because that is what it takes to see Santa Cruz and Isabela and still have a day on a yacht. The difference is the first week.

Galápagos flights, the $200 park fee and the $20 Transit Control Card are paid apart on both routes. Our guide to the Galápagos trip cost breaks those down.

Route 1: the Andes, Cuenca and the Galápagos

This is our 14 day Ecuador and Galápagos tour. You travel the Avenue of the Volcanoes from north to south by road, so you never backtrack to Quito, and you fly to the islands from Guayaquil, the closer airport.

Day 1: arrive in Quito

We pick you up at Mariscal Sucre airport and drive about 45 minutes to the colonial Old Town. Quito sits at 2,850 m, and the stairs feel steeper than they look, so keep the evening easy: Plaza Grande, the Compañía church, dinner near La Ronda. Our page on Quito's elevation explains what your body will notice.

Day 2: Cotopaxi National Park

It is about two hours south to the park gate. We leave early because the cone is usually clearest between 8 and 11 am. You walk 45 minutes up to the José Rivas refuge, close to 4,800 m, then circle Limpiopungo lagoon, where wild horses graze. The night is at Hacienda La Ciénega or a similar old estate at the foot of the volcano.

Days 3 and 4: Quilotoa and a free day in Isinlivi

Quilotoa is a turquoise crater lake at 3,900 m. See it before midday, when the sun is on the water; after about 1 pm the wind on the rim gets strong. From there we drive into the valleys of the Quilotoa Loop to Isinlivi, a farming village with a lodge looking over the fields.

Day 4 is yours. Walk a section of the loop with a local guide, ride a horse to the next village, or sit with a book. We put this rest day here on purpose, because Chimborazo comes next.

Day 5: Chimborazo to Ingapirca

The road crosses the Chimborazo reserve, home to vicuñas, and climbs to the first refuge at 4,800 m. If you feel fine, the second refuge at 5,000 m is 200 m further on. The wind up there is cold, so bring gloves. You sleep in a country inn beside the ruins of Ingapirca.

Day 6: Ingapirca ruins to Cuenca

Ingapirca is the most important Inca and Cañari site in Ecuador, built around a sun temple of fitted stone. After the visit it is about two hours to Cuenca. At 2,500 m the city is milder than Quito, and an evening walk along the Tomebamba River needs only a light sweater.

Day 7: Cuenca, Cajas and the road to Guayaquil

A half day on foot takes in the cathedral, the flower market and a Panama hat workshop. In the afternoon a transfer crosses Cajas National Park, a high moorland of hundreds of lakes, and drops to the coast at Guayaquil in about four hours. You sleep near the airport. Parts of Guayaquil carry a higher travel advisory than the rest of this route, so we drive you straight to the hotel and you fly out in the morning.

Days 8 and 9: Santa Cruz

The flight from Guayaquil to Baltra takes about an hour and forty minutes. Pay the park fee on arrival, cross the Itabaca Channel and head up to the Santa Cruz highlands to see giant tortoises in the wild and walk through a lava tunnel.

Day 9 starts at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Then a 45-minute paved trail through cactus forest leads to Tortuga Bay, where marine iguanas nest on a long white beach. Go early: it is quieter before 11 am.

Days 10 and 11: Isabela

A speedboat takes about two hours to Isabela. The crossing can be rough, so take seasickness tablets before you board. We walk the flamingo lagoons behind Puerto Villamil, the tortoise breeding center and the Wall of Tears, then ride a short boat to Las Tintoreras, where white-tip reef sharks rest in a narrow channel.

If we could keep only one day of the two weeks, it might be day 11. Los Túneles is a maze of collapsed lava arches on the south coast, and you snorkel with sea turtles, rays and seahorses in clear, shallow water. From June to November the water is cool, so ask us for a wetsuit.

Day 12: Sierra Negra and back to Santa Cruz

The hike to the rim of Sierra Negra and on to Volcán Chico is about 18 km and six hours on gentle ground, beside one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world. Bring closed shoes and two liters of water. If that is too much, stay in town and swim at Concha Perla. The speedboat takes you back to Santa Cruz in the afternoon.

Day 13: yacht day to an uninhabited island

A full day by yacht to Bartolomé, Santa Fe, North Seymour or South Plaza, with lunch on board. The park limits daily visitors to each island, so we confirm yours when you book. The earlier you book, the better your choice.

Day 14: fly home from Baltra

Take a last walk along the Puerto Ayora waterfront, then we drive you across the island to Baltra for your flight to Guayaquil or Quito. Keep your international departure for that evening or the next day. Galápagos flights do get delayed, and the last morning is a bad time to find that out.

One guide from Quito to Cuenca, then a week on the islands

14 Day Ecuador and Galapagos Tour

Volcanoes, Cuenca and the Islands

• 14 days
• Medium effort

From $3,390 per person

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Route 2: the Andes, the Amazon and the Galápagos

This is our 12 day Ecuador and Galápagos tour with two extra days around Quito at the start. Those days give you time to adjust to the altitude before Cotopaxi, and they add Otavalo, which the 12 day tour leaves out. There is no Cuenca on this route, and you fly to the islands from Quito.

Days 1 to 3: Quito and Otavalo

Arrive on day 1 and keep it short. Day 2 is for the Old Town churches and the Quito cable car, which climbs Pichincha to about 3,950 m. On day 3 our Otavalo day trip takes about two hours each way. The market opens all week and is biggest on Saturday, so plan around a Saturday if your dates allow it.

Days 4 and 5: Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and Baños

Day 4 is the same Cotopaxi day as route 1, with the night at the hacienda. On day 5 a Kichwa family in Zumbahua shows you their adobe and straw house and how they farm at 3,500 m. After Quilotoa we drop about three hours to Baños, at 1,800 m, where the evenings are mild.

Day 6: Baños waterfalls to the Amazon

The morning starts on the Tree House swing, facing Tungurahua volcano. We follow the Route of the Waterfalls down the Pastaza canyon and walk the stairs to Pailón del Diablo, the most powerful waterfall in the country. You will get wet, so keep a dry layer in your bag. By afternoon the road reaches the rainforest near Puyo, and you sleep in a jungle lodge.

One night gives you a taste of the rainforest. If the Amazon is your main reason to come, ask us to swap this leg for our 3 day Yasuní tour, or read how the Amazon lodges compare.

Day 7: Misahuallí, chocolate and Papallacta

Wild capuchin monkeys roam the town square in Puerto Misahuallí, on the Napo River. A local family shows you how cacao becomes chocolate, then the road climbs back through the Andes to the Papallacta hot springs at 3,300 m. It is about an hour and a half more to Quito. Have your bags ready tonight, because you fly in the morning.

Days 8 to 14: the Galápagos

The flight from Quito to Baltra takes about two and a half hours, including the stop in Guayaquil. From here the trip matches days 8 to 14 of route 1: Santa Cruz, two nights on Isabela, Los Túneles, Sierra Negra and the yacht day.

Volcanoes, a night in the rainforest and a week on the islands

12 Day Ecuador and Galapagos Tour

Andes, Amazon and Island Hopping

• 12 days
• Medium effort

From $2,690 per person

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Which route should you pick?

Pick route 1 if you like walking, ruins and old towns. You sleep in Isinlivi and Cuenca, stand on Chimborazo and see Ingapirca. It spends more time high up, so it suits people who handle altitude well.

Pick route 2 if the rainforest matters to you or you are traveling with children. Baños is warm and low, the days have more variety, and it costs less. Our general Ecuador itinerary guide has other ways to split two weeks, including a longer stay in the Amazon.

What 14 days in Ecuador cost

These are totals per person for two travelers, starting in Quito. The tour prices are ours. The flight ranges are what foreign visitors usually pay, and they move with the season and how late you book.

International flights, tips and travel insurance go on top. For a different group size or hotel category, send us your dates and we will quote it.

Best time for a 14 day Ecuador trip

Two weeks crosses two climates, so no month is ideal for both. June to September is usually the clearest time for volcano views in the Andes, and the Galápagos are cool, grey and full of wildlife. From December to May the islands turn warm and the sea calms down, while the Andes get more afternoon rain.

We usually suggest March to May or September to November, with fewer people and better prices. July, August and December fill up first, so book three to six months ahead for those. The best time to visit Ecuador and the best time to visit the Galápagos go month by month.

Tips for 2 weeks in Ecuador

• Carry $200 in clean bills per adult for the park fee. You pay it in cash when you land.
• Buy the $20 Transit Control Card at the airport in Quito or Guayaquil before check-in. The airline asks for it.
• Pack for both ends of the trip: gloves and warm layers for 4,800 m, a swimsuit and reef-safe sunscreen for the islands.
• Bring small bills. Few places outside Quito break $50 or $100 notes.
• Leave a night free in Quito if your international flight arrives late. Cotopaxi the morning after a long flight is hard.

Short on time? Our Ecuador 10 day itinerary has two shorter routes. When you have your dates, tell us what you want to see and we will send a route with prices.

14 day Ecuador itinerary: questions we get