Dozens of active volcanoes, lush Amazon Jungle, UNESCO World Heritage-listed cities, the incomparable Galápagos Islands, and some of the best beaches in South America come together to form this small but amazingly diverse country, a destination quite unlike anywhere else. Ecuador dazzles, from its incredible food and charming people to its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife, and I can absolutely guarantee[...]
As one of the world's foremost destinations for wildlife and marinelife, the Galápagos is a classic bucket-list topper, a place people dream of going their whole lives— but somewhere that often feels too distant or too expensive to actually visit. As for mainland Ecuador, it's often overlooked in favour of seemingly more exciting neighbouring countries like Peru and Colombia, which is exactly what I did during my[...]
For all of South America, but particularly for an incredibly compact country like Ecuador, there is no better way to travel around than by bus— the scenery is beautiful, buses operate to every possible destination multiple times a day, and tickets are amazingly inexpensive. But how does travelling by public bus compare to a hop-on/hop-off service like Ecuador Hop, and which is actually the best way to explore Ecua[...]
The Galápagos Islands are widely regarded as one of Latin America’s top scuba diving destinations, but I still wasn’t prepared for the incredible diversity of marine life I would discover there. Diving through enormous schools of hammerhead sharks and flocks of eagle rays made me fall in love with scuba all over again— it had been a long 4 year hiatus since my last dives in the Great Barrier Reef and around T[...]
Ecuador's undisputed adventure capital and gateway to the nearby Amazon Jungle, Baños de Agua Santa (or simply Baños) is one of the country's most spectacular destinations, a lush riverside town whose love for high adrenaline is every bit as alluring as its pumping waterfalls, boiling hot springs, and striking mountain scenery. There's an insane amount to do here and, best of all, the activities are extremely budg[...]
Situated in the misty foothills of Volcán Tungurahua, the jungle air thick with a palpable, infectious energy as countless cascadas drum out a beat amongst the trees, Baños is THE place to go for outdoor activities in Ecuador. Amazingly, its high adrenaline offerings are every bit as spectacular as the setting. Perfectly blending Baños' lush water-rich scenery with an adventurous DIY excursion through the moun[...]
Snow-capped and burnt-red Cotopaxi is one of Ecuador's most striking natural icons, but also one of the world’s highest active volcanoes, rising nearly 5,900m above sea level and erupting more than 50 times in the last 300 years. It is an absolute highlight to see this volcano up close, and at just 2hrs from Quito, it's also incredibly easy to include a visit to Cotopaxi National Park in any itinerary. For[...]
Once considered to be among the world's most dangerous cities, recent years have seen Ecuador's volcano-circled, high-altitude capital gain popularity as a tourist destination, most notably for its rich Andean culture and impeccably preserved historical centre. In fact, Quito was the first ever city to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its colourful streets and dramatic neo-Gothic churches more than deserving o[...]
Inspiration for a young Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, the Galápagos Islands are home to the greatest number of unique land and marine species in the entire world, all descended from animals on the mainland and adapted over time to thrive on these volcanic islands off the coast of Ecuador. For snorkellers, scuba divers, twitchers, and general wildlife enthusiasts, there is truly no better place to[...]
For so many wildlife lovers and avid scuba divers, Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands are a top bucket-list destination. Months of planning go in to crafting the perfect island-hopping travel itinerary, but it’s always challenging to know just what to expect, and therefore what to bring, when visiting exotic, far-flung places like the Galápagos. I recently spent a week exploring this beautiful part of the world a[...]
The Galápagos are widely regarded as one of the best places in the entire world to spot animals in their natural habitat, as well as being home to amazingly dramatic landscapes, pristine beaches, and scuba diving to rival all other scuba diving— and Santa Cruz is absolutely no exception to this. As the most populous and developed of the Galápagos Islands, Santa Cruz is the centrepiece of just about any t[...]
Said to be the most visited island in the Galápagos, Isla Bartolomé is a barren and small but intensely striking island located just north of Santa Cruz. It's not possible to stay on the island overnight and all visitors must be accompanied by a guide, but even a day tour out to Bartolomé is a guaranteed highlight of your time in the Galápagos, offering colourful volcanic vistas, world-class snorkelling at Pinna[...]
Formed by 6 different shield volcanos about a million years ago, Isla Isabela is both the youngest and largest of the Galápagos Islands, home to a wide diversity of land and marine species, as well as an incredibly varied landscape from wetlands and beaches to highlands and volcanos. But, despite its size, Isabela is not very populous, and it's this quiet, undeveloped feeling that makes the island so[...]
Among Isla Isabela's many spectacular snorkelling spots, Las Tintoreras at the south end of the island is a real standout. Named for the White Tip Sharks who live here by the thousands, Las Tintoreras offers particularly interesting snorkelling through narrow channels in the lava, with hundreds of sharks swimming below, even more marine iguanas crowded onto the rocks above, and plenty of Galápagos Penguins, sea lio[...]
Isla Isabela in the Galápagos is jam-packed with wonderful scenery and interesting things to do, from awesome snorkelling and hiking tours to sightseeing excursions out to neighbouring islands. Between all these worthwhile and very pricey activities, though, it's definitely worth saving half a day to explore the diverse area around Puerto Villamil on your own, giving yourself a break from the guides (and from the s[...]