Ecuador: the easiest first trip to South America

Ecuador is small, and that is precisely why it works as a first trip.

South America usually means long distances. Ecuador does not: in fifteen days you cross the Andes, stand under Cotopaxi, walk a market town that has traded for centuries, and then spend a full week in the Galápagos — and you barely move on the map to do it.

In short

• Fifteen days: Quito → Quilotoa → Cotopaxi → Otavalo → the Galápagos
• Seven full days in the islands, staying on land rather than in a cabin
• Two internal flights, both to and from the Galápagos; everything else is overland
• The Andean days are high — Quito is above 2,800 metres — and the islands are at sea level
• A maximum of 12 travellers, land-only, no trekking or camping

This is the real decision in the Galápagos, and we come down firmly on one side of it.

Our route is land-based. You sleep on the islands, in hotels, and go out to the wildlife each day by boat. That means no cabin, no sailing at night, and — the part travellers notice most — no seasickness, which is the single most common complaint about Galápagos cruises.

It also means you see the inhabited islands properly: Isabela's volcanic landscapes, the lava tunnels, the beaches, and daily life in the towns. A cruise reaches a couple of remote landing sites that we do not, and if ticking off the maximum number of islands is your goal, that is a genuine advantage of the other format.

We have set the comparison out in full in Galápagos: cruise or land-based. Neither is wrong; they suit different people.

The first five days are the part travellers underestimate, and several tell us afterwards it was their favourite.

Quito. One of the best-preserved colonial centres in the Americas, and a city that sits in a valley with volcanoes at either end.

Quilotoa. A crater lake of an improbable turquoise, reached across high páramo grassland.

Cotopaxi. A night at the foot of one of the world's highest active volcanoes, and a near-perfect cone when the cloud lifts.

Otavalo. An indigenous market town with a craft tradition that long predates tourism, and a lagoon nearby.

This section is high — Quito is above 2,800 metres and the páramo higher — so the itinerary starts gently and gives you time to adjust before anything demanding.

Seven full days, which is more than most operators give the islands, and enough that the wildlife stops feeling like a highlight reel.

You go out by boat to snorkel with marine life in clear water, meet the giant tortoises, walk volcanic islets, cross Isabela's lava fields, swim in lava tunnels and spend time on wild beaches. The trip finishes with a 180° marine voyage and a farewell dinner before the flight back to Quito.

What it asks of you: getting in and out of small boats, some walking on uneven volcanic rock, and sun. The swimming and snorkelling are optional, and there is always something to do on land instead — but if you cannot swim at all, say so early, because a good part of the wildlife is in the water.

The animals do not run away. That is the thing nobody quite believes until they arrive.

It suits you if this is your first trip to South America, if you want the Galápagos without a cabin, or if you would rather one country properly than three in a fortnight.

It suits you less well if altitude is a medical problem — the Andean days are high, and while the islands are at sea level, the first third of the trip is not. Where to go in Latin America if altitude is a problem covers the alternatives, Costa Rica chief among them.

If you are choosing between countries, our guide to which Latin American country to visit first compares Ecuador against Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico on exactly these grounds.

The trip is land-only, so you book the international flights that suit you, and runs on guaranteed departures — it goes ahead regardless of how many others have booked.