Licensed Ecuadorian operator · Cuenca · since 2013
The Galápagos, the Andes and Machu Picchu — run by the people who live here.
We are not an agency that resells South America. We are the Ecuadorian operator that runs it — licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, and answerable to you directly when a flight moves or a volcano closes a road.
- 13 yearsoperating from Cuenca
- 15programmes, day by day
- 4.9 ★ 71 Google reviews of our parent company, AQT Ecuador
Ecuador Ministry of Tourism registry 0190389316001.001.4000386 — Dual Travel Agency (tour operator + travel agency), status Ratificado
Page reviewed 24 August 2026
Before the itinerary
The two questions that stop most Ecuador trips
Every operator will sell you an itinerary. Almost none of them will tell you straight whether the country is safe or what paperwork you actually need. We deal with Ecuadorian immigration and consular documentation every working day — so we answer both properly, with dates on them.
Is Ecuador safe to travel to?
The honest version: which provinces the problems are actually in, what the US and UK advisories say today, why Galápagos is a different case entirely, and the eight rules our own guides follow.
Read the safety briefing → With official sourcesWhat do I need to enter Ecuador?
Passport validity, the 90-day rule, the customs form required since 2025, and the separate Galápagos transit card and park fee — with what each one costs and where it is paid.
Read the entry requirements →Where we operate
Four worlds, and they fit in one trip
Ecuador is the smallest country in the Andes and that is its whole advantage: Amazon rainforest, 4,000-metre volcanoes, the Pacific and the Galápagos all sit inside a country the size of Colorado. Add Peru — two hours away by air — and the two things most people fly to South America for fit into a single trip.
Galápagos Islands
Island hopping across the three inhabited islands. 900 km offshore, 97 % national park.
Explore →
The Amazon
Community-owned lodges on the Napo: clay licks, canopy towers, giant otters.
Explore →
The Andes
Quito, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Cuenca — the Avenue of the Volcanoes.
Explore →
Peru
Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, the Nazca desert and the Salkantay pass.
Explore →Our programmes
The trips people actually book
Real itineraries we run, with the day-by-day published in full and the mandatory Galápagos fees shown separately rather than buried. Every one of them gets rebuilt around your dates.
4-Day Napo Wildlife Center Ecolodge
The most awarded lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon, owned and run by the Kichwa community of Añangu, sitting on a blackwate…
From US$1,635 pp
4-Day Sani Lodge
Sani sits on Challuacocha, a blackwater oxbow lake reached by motorboat, a walk through flooded forest and a paddle acro…
From US$979 pp
4-Day Napo Cultural Center
The most affordable of the three Añangu lodges and the one built around culture rather than only wildlife. It sits on th…
From US$859 pp
5-Day Galápagos: Santa Cruz & Isabela
The shortest island-hopping trip that still reaches two inhabited islands without spending itself in transit. You sleep …
From US$1,225 pp
8-Day Galápagos: San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz & Isabela
The full land-based archipelago. Eight days is where island hopping stops being a compromise: you get all three inhabite…
From US$2,085 pp 5-Day Machu Picchu & Sacred Valley
The shortest itinerary that does Machu Picchu properly instead of sprinting at it. Cusco sits at 3,400 m, so the first d…
From US$1,279 ppWhy book direct
You are already paying an operator like us. This just removes the layers.
Most Ecuador trips sold in North America or Europe are operated on the ground by a local company. The agency you booked with adds its margin and passes your questions down a chain. Booking the operator directly means one team, one timezone for decisions and no message ever gets relayed twice.
- A licensed, named company. Registry 0190389316001.001.4000386, verifiable in Ecuador’s public tourism register.
- Guides certified by the state. Every Galápagos excursion is led by a National Park–licensed naturalist; that is a legal requirement and we do not cut it.
- Child protection is not a slogan. Our founder holds Ecuador’s MINTUR ESNNA certification and UN/IOM training in human trafficking prevention.
- Someone answers at 2 a.m. Ecuador time. Because that is where we live.
The person responsible
Roberto Cabrera
Founder & Operations Director. Licenciado in Tourism Management from Universidad del Azuay, and the legal representative of AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA. since 2013. He signs off every itinerary that leaves this office.
- Licenciado en Gestión y Desarrollo Turístico — Universidad del Azuay, 2012
- Human Trafficking from a Human Rights Approach (24 h) — International Organization for Migration (IOM/UN) & Ecuador’s Ministry of the Interior, 2012
- Prevention of ESNNA in Tourism Travel — Ecuador Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR), Zone 6, 2013
- Instructor — Tourism Operations & Safety — Municipal Police / Guardia Ciudadana de Cuenca, 2013
Straight answers
Questions we get every week
Is Ecuador safe to visit right now?
For a normal tourist itinerary — Quito, the Andes, the Amazon lodges and Galápagos — yes, with ordinary precautions. Ecuador’s security problems are concentrated in specific coastal provinces and city neighbourhoods that no well-run itinerary goes near. Galápagos is a separate province 900 km offshore and has never been affected. We publish a full, dated breakdown rather than a one-line reassurance.
Do I need a visa to visit Ecuador?
Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and all EU countries do not need a visa for tourist stays of up to 90 days per year. You do need a passport valid for at least six months, proof of onward travel, and — since 2025 — the online customs declaration form. Galápagos adds its own transit card and park fee.
What does the Galápagos actually cost on top of the tour price?
Two mandatory charges no operator can include for you: the Galápagos National Park entrance fee of US$200 per adult (US$100 per child under 12), paid in cash on arrival, and the INGALA transit control card at US$20, bought before your flight. Budget US$220 per adult on top of any quoted price.
Are you a local company or a reseller?
We are the ground operator. Zielo Adventures is the inbound brand of AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA., registered with Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism under registry 0190389316001.001.4000386 and operating from Cuenca since 2013. When you book with an agency in Europe or North America for an Ecuador trip, a company like ours is usually the one running it.
How far in advance should I book?
For Galápagos in high season (mid-June to early September, and mid-December to mid-January) book four to six months out — the good boats and the island flights sell out first. Mainland Ecuador can usually be arranged with six to eight weeks’ notice.
Tell us what you want out of Ecuador.
No template itineraries sent back within seconds. A real planner reads what you wrote and replies within one business day, in English, from Cuenca.
Start planningOr message us on WhatsApp — Mon–Fri 9:00–13:00 / 15:00–19:00 · Sat 9:00–13:00 (ECT, UTC−5)