Guayaquil to Cuenca one-way tour with Cajas Park and a Cacao Farm visit
Overview
Inclusions
- Tour Guide/Driver (Licensed)
- Transportation
- Lunch (If option selected)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Entry/Admission - Laguna La Toreadora
- Entry/Admission - Mestizo Restaurant
What to expect
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Cacao Loma, Ecuador
Ever tasted the pulp of fresh cacao beans? We will visit a local family farm, the main product growing here is cacao (base to make chocolate), however, they have many other products such as breadfruit, coffee, passionfruit, pineapple, among many others. You will be able to experience the process of craft chocolate making and try it if you like to while our tour guide explains the history of cacao and the local customs as well.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Puente de las frutas de Tamarindo, Cuenca - Molleturo, 9GFP+RQ9, Naranjal, Ecuador
Taste the natural sweetness that is part of the cuisine and daily life of Ecuadorians. This local market booming with colors and fruits is one of the most interesting experiences in this area, with our experienced tour guide will learn and sample (If you like to) some of the local sweet and exotic fruits grown here. If you think you know the taste of bananas, mandarines, coconut, dragon fruit, passionfruit to name a few, get ready for the real flavor of these delicious fruits!
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Mestizo Restaurant, 6HRX+J5R, E582, Cuenca, Ecuador
On the way, we will stop for lunch at this very local restaurant where the specialty is trout, however, there are several options including vegetarian and vegan. Our tour guide will advise you.
You will also have the chance to enjoy the mysterious Andes mountains views from this point.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Laguna La Toreadora, Parque Nacional El Cajas, Cuenca Ecuador
We will drive upwards to the highlands through the southern Andes. Here we will visit the Cajas National Park, considered to be one of the most scenic and important protected areas in Ecuador. It's a lake system that constitutes the main source of water for Cuenca. We will take a hike (based on your fitness) to explore the moorlands ecosystem, native Polylepis forest and unique vegetation found here.
After a full-day trip, we will drop you in Cuenca at your hotel or the location of your choice.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Additional information
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Passport name, number and nationality is required at time of booking for all participants
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- A minimum of 2 people is required to operate shared tours.
- Please notice: this is one-way trip Guayaquil to Cuenca or viceversa tour
- For 1 to 5 passengers, a bilingual guide will also be the driver. For more than 5 passengers, a driver and a bilingual guide will be provided
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- Face masks required for travelers in public areas
- Face masks required for guides in public areas
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- Temperature checks for travelers upon arrival
- COVID-19 vaccination required for guides
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
Taking advantage of my trip to the airport to return to New York, I decided to buy this service which was fantastic, incredible and the best enjoy the landscape of the national park "Cajas" and also had the opportunity to know several things about the production of chocolate in a farm of the coas...
Taking advantage of my trip to the airport to return to New York, I decided to buy this service which was fantastic, incredible and the best enjoy the landscape of the national park "Cajas" and also had the opportunity to know several things about the production of chocolate in a farm of the coast .. I sincerely recommend all travelers of this adventurous trip and learn more about our beautiful Azuay - Ecuador.
The guide was outstanding and very accommodating to our interests. We chose to travel to Cuenca with a local person in order to learn about the culture and the places we drove through. For this the tour was perfect. He is bilingual as are we so the conversations were fun and informative. We we...
The guide was outstanding and very accommodating to our interests. We chose to travel to Cuenca with a local person in order to learn about the culture and the places we drove through. For this the tour was perfect. He is bilingual as are we so the conversations were fun and informative. We were able to visit a cacao farm though not the regular one because the guide convinced a nearby farmer so spend some time with us which we enjoyed immensely. Cajas Park is stunning but the top of the pass is at 11,000 feet so we did not spend time there due to the cold weather and elevation. The bus is only 8 per person its comfortable and safe and easy to take we returned by bus! but totally uninteresting.
My son and I were traveling to Cuenca from Guayaquil. This is an excellent way to learn about the history and culture of the area while sightseeing. Our guide was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to tailor the trip to our needs. We stopped at Cajas National Park to walk along the tra...
My son and I were traveling to Cuenca from Guayaquil. This is an excellent way to learn about the history and culture of the area while sightseeing. Our guide was very knowledgeable and went out of his way to tailor the trip to our needs. We stopped at Cajas National Park to walk along the trails. Luckily, it was not too cold and rainy (bring your jacket because it is chilly on a good day). The scenery is fantastic! We also went to a small Cocoa farm, talked to the farmer and stopped for lunch at a very nice, and affordable restaurant. I highly recommend this trip!We had a great trip with Javier. He explained us many things about Ecuador, people, nature and culture, he has a wide range of knowledge. It was a really enjoyable and impressive day, we felt comfortable from the beginning on. It was like a friend accompanies you. Thanks a lot and hope to see you...
We had a great trip with Javier. He explained us many things about Ecuador, people, nature and culture, he has a wide range of knowledge. It was a really enjoyable and impressive day, we felt comfortable from the beginning on. It was like a friend accompanies you. Thanks a lot and hope to see you again. Very recommendable.
This was a better way for us to go from Guayaquil to Cuenca. Our guide Javier, the founder of Cuenca Bestours, is steeped not only in historical details but also in the flora and fauna of his country. He was helpful in correcting our Spanish and when asked could explain something in English ...
This was a better way for us to go from Guayaquil to Cuenca. Our guide Javier, the founder of Cuenca Bestours, is steeped not only in historical details but also in the flora and fauna of his country. He was helpful in correcting our Spanish and when asked could explain something in English as well. Although the cocoa farm wasn't quite what we initially expected and the owner was nowhere in sight, Javier was able to explain the cocoa growing process as well as give us the opportunity to taste the coating on the cocoa beans after the pod was opened. Since we would not have time in Cuenca to visit Cajas National Park, we really appreciated the time we had in the park en route to Cuenca. We were able to hike for about an hour plus along the Inca trail that goes through the park, going from point A to point B, where Javier met us. The scenery is incredibly beautiful and mysterious and while the altitude is similar to many areas of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, the situation of Ecuador on the equator allows plants that wouldn't exist at that altitude to grow. It is often maybe always windy in the park, so dress accordingly to enjoy it fully. By coincidence, we ended up having two more tours with Cuenca Bestours, mainly because their tours seemed the most interesting, fit our budget and our time. Although it is a new tour business, Javier seems to have had many years experience working as a guide for other outfits, before striking out on his own. He, as well as our other CBT guide, both have had three years education and training in a university hospitality program, with what seems to be intensive training in the knowledge needed to help tourists learn and understand the people, history, flora and fauna of Ecuador.
We chose this tour/transit for its stops at a small cacao farm where we saw cacao trees and the initial processing in a close and personal interaction with the grower. We stopped for a delicious lunch with great views. With a final stop at the highest mountain top before arriving in Cuenca. Th...
We chose this tour/transit for its stops at a small cacao farm where we saw cacao trees and the initial processing in a close and personal interaction with the grower. We stopped for a delicious lunch with great views. With a final stop at the highest mountain top before arriving in Cuenca. The driver was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English.