Legal
Terms & conditions
In effect from 24 August 2026
The short version. You are contracting with AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA., a travel agency registered with Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism. A booking is confirmed when we receive your deposit. Galápagos National Park fees are never included in any price we quote. Travel insurance is required. Where your written booking confirmation differs from this page, the confirmation prevails.
1. Who you are contracting with
All services are provided by AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA., RUC 0190389316001, a company incorporated in Ecuador on 15 February 2013 and registered with the Ministry of Tourism under registry number 0190389316001.001.4000386, classified as Dual Travel Agency (tour operator + travel agency). Registered office: Río Upano 3-87 y Ayapungo, Cuenca, Ecuador. Legal representative: Edwin Roberto Cabrera Arias. The company trades internationally as Zielo Adventures.
In Ecuador and the Galápagos we operate as the ground operator. In Peru we contract established local operators on your behalf and remain your point of accountability.
2. Quotations and reservations
- Quotations are valid for the period stated on them and are subject to availability at the moment of confirmation.
- A reservation is confirmed only when we have received your deposit and issued a written booking confirmation.
- You are responsible for checking that every name on the confirmation matches the passports exactly. Name changes on issued air tickets and Galápagos permits are frequently impossible and always chargeable.
- All prices are in United States dollars, per person in double occupancy unless stated otherwise.
3. What prices include, and what they never include
Each itinerary lists its own inclusions. The following are never included in any price we quote:
- The Galápagos National Park entrance fee — US$200 per foreign adult, US$100 per child under 12, collected from you in cash on arrival in the islands. No operator is permitted to include it.
- The Galápagos transit control card (TCT/INGALA) — US$20 per person, registered online before your flight.
- International flights, unless expressly stated.
- Travel insurance, visas, passport fees, vaccinations.
- Meals, drinks, tips and personal expenses not listed in the itinerary.
We state this separately on every Galápagos quotation rather than burying it. Full breakdown of the fees →
4. Payment
| Stage | Standard |
|---|---|
| Deposit to confirm | 30 % of the total |
| Galápagos cruises and peak-season services | Up to 50 %, set by the vessel or hotel |
| Final balance | 60 days before the start of services |
| Bookings made within 60 days of travel | Payable in full at confirmation |
Bank transfer charges are borne by the sender. Card payments may carry the processor’s fee, which is stated before you pay. Services are not released until payment has cleared.
5. Cancellation by you
Cancellations must reach us in writing. The date we receive the written notice governs.
| Notice before start of services | Charge |
|---|---|
| More than 60 days | Deposit is retained |
| 60 to 31 days | 50 % of the total |
| 30 days or fewer | 100 % of the total |
| No-show or interruption once started | 100 %, with no refund for unused services |
Vessel operators and airlines apply their own conditions, which frequently reach 100 % well before the periods above and override this schedule. Those conditions are stated in your booking confirmation, and they are the reason travel insurance is not optional.
6. Changes and cancellation by us
We may amend an itinerary where safety, weather, volcanic or seismic activity, National Park route allocations, strikes, road closures, airline schedule changes or other circumstances beyond our reasonable control require it. Where we make a significant change we will offer you an alternative of comparable standard or a refund of amounts paid for the affected services.
We do not accept liability for consequential losses such as missed connections on tickets we did not issue.
7. Travel documents and entry requirements
You are responsible for holding a valid passport, any visa required for your nationality, and any permit or form required for entry. We provide written, dated guidance and a personalised pre-departure pack, but we cannot be liable for denied boarding or denied entry arising from documentation that is missing, expired or incorrect.
Note in particular:
- Ecuador requires a passport valid for at least six months beyond arrival.
- Since 29 July 2025 Ecuador requires an online customs registration form (FRA) with a QR code.
- The Galápagos require a transit control card registered before your flight and permit a stay of up to 60 days.
Our full entry-requirements guide →
8. Insurance
Travel insurance including medical cover, medical evacuation and repatriation is required for all travel booked with us, and is listed among the conditions for foreign tourists visiting the Galápagos. We may ask for your policy number. Medical infrastructure in the islands and the Amazon is limited; evacuation is expensive and is not our cost.
9. Health, fitness and altitude
Quito lies at 2,850 m, Cusco at 3,400 m and parts of our itineraries reach 4,864 m. You must tell us at the time of booking about any cardiac, respiratory or mobility condition, pregnancy, dietary requirement or susceptibility to motion sickness, so the itinerary can be built around it. Guides may exclude a participant from an activity where they reasonably judge it unsafe.
10. Conduct, and our child-protection obligations
Guides and vessel captains have final authority on safety. We reserve the right to end a participant’s trip, without refund, for conduct that endangers others, breaches National Park regulations, or breaches our child-protection commitments.
AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA. holds Ecuador’s MINTUR certification on the prevention of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in tourism (ESNNA). We report suspected offences to the Ecuadorian authorities. This is not negotiable and applies to clients, suppliers and staff alike.
11. Galápagos National Park rules
Visitors must remain with a licensed naturalist at regulated sites, keep two metres from wildlife, take nothing from the islands, and comply with the biosecurity inspection. Breaches can result in fines levied on the visitor and on the operator, and we will pass on any fine incurred through a participant’s conduct.
12. Liability
We select suppliers with reasonable care and skill. We are not liable for acts or omissions of independent third parties such as airlines, vessel operators and hotels beyond our reasonable control, nor for events of force majeure. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under Ecuadorian law.
13. Complaints
Raise any problem with your guide or with our office while you are still on the trip, so we can attempt to resolve it. Complaints made only after the trip substantially reduce what we can do. Write to info@zieloadventures.com within 30 days of the end of services.
14. Personal data
We handle your data as set out in our privacy policy, and share with suppliers only what a booking requires.
15. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ecuador, and the courts of Cuenca, Azuay, have jurisdiction. Where your written booking confirmation differs from this page, the booking confirmation prevails.
AEQUATORIAN TOURING CÍA. LTDA. · RUC 0190389316001 · Ministry of Tourism registry 0190389316001.001.4000386 · Río Upano 3-87 y Ayapungo, Cuenca, Ecuador · info@zieloadventures.com