by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:55 AM ET, Mon December 4, 2023
WHY IT RATES: Travel
agents have the chance to educate themselves on Ecuador and its unique
offerings to clients.—Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.
Wholesale FIT tour operator Avanti Destinations has expanded
its offering for advisors’ independent travel clients going to Ecuador with two
new customizable vacations, three new hotels, and five new tours and
experiences.
Avanti has also partnered with Visit Ecuador to create a new
microsite for advisors. Avanti sells custom-crafted independent travel
vacations exclusively through travel advisors, not directly to consumers.
Within Ecuador, Avanti offers a total of 15 customizable
recommended vacations, 45 three-, four- and five-star hotels and resorts, and
18 tours and experiences, including the latest additions. The new four-star
boutique properties include a safari camp bordering a national park, a
colonial-era hacienda lodge built on the grounds of an Inca palace, and a
romantic luxury hotel with spa featuring thermal waters from a nearby volcano.
Wildlife, active travel, indigenous culture, gastronomy, the
Amazon and Andes
“Most people associate Ecuador primarily with the wildlife
paradise of the Galapagos Islands, which are our best-selling destination in
the country,” said Paul Barry, CEO of Avanti Destinations. “The goal of this
campaign and new microsite is to familiarize advisors with the other equally
compelling places in Ecuador: the Ecuadorian Amazon region, the beautiful
historic cities of Quito and Cuenca both dating back to Inca times, the port
city of Guayaquil, and the Avenue of the Volcanoes with its breathtaking
mountain scenery and indigenous craft markets.
“Whether clients’ interests are active travel, wildlife,
cultural, historical, or gastronomic, we offer a diversity of vacations and
experiences that make this small country worth going back to even if your
clients have already been to the Galapagos. One of our new recommended
vacations combines a four-day Galapagos cruise with stays in Quito and the
Amazon, the other can easily be added onto a Galapagos cruise. Private
transfers and private driver-guides are included in most of our packages or may
be added to facilitate travel between destinations and ensure your clients get
the most out of their vacation. Travelers may not know that the US dollar is
Ecuador’s official currency,” noted Barry.
New tours and experiences – indigenous crafts, gastronomy,
pre-Columbian treasures
The latest additions to Avanti’s 18 tours and experiences in
Ecuador are all private tours: an eight-hour tour of craft workshops –
textiles, jewelry, hats, leather goods – as well as produce markets and an
orchid farm in the settlements of Chordeleg and Gualaceo near Cuenca;
eight-hour private excursion from Quito to the village of Papallacta and the
adjacent Cayambe-Coca Reserve, famous for its hot springs, wildlife, and high
altitude grasslands; seven-hour private Quito colonial city tour and cooking
class of traditional dishes with the chef of a local 90-year old restaurant
located in a colonial-era house, followed by a chocolate tasting and
explanation of sustainable cocoa production; three-hour private chocolate and
art experience held in the private wine cellar of the art museum, Fundacion
Guayasamin, where clients will taste raw and roasted cacao beans, the finished
limited-edition single-origin Ecuadorian dark chocolate creations, and learn
about different cacao varieties, the soil they are grown in, fermentation
methods, and barrel-aging; five-hour private behind-the-scenes V.I.P. guided
visit to the pre-Columbian art museum, Casa Del Alabado, with the curator, who
will take clients to the warehouses to see treasures not normally seen by the
public.
Two new customizable independent vacations
Avanti’s recommended vacations in Ecuador run the gamut from
short stays in one destination and cruises in the Galapagos and Amazon to a
12-day “Ultimate Ecuador” itinerary. All Avanti vacations are completely
customizable to include additional nights, experiences, transfers, and other
destinations.
The two newest Ecuador FIT vacations are:
- The Other Side of Ecuador – seven days/six nights in Bucay,
Cuenca, and Guayaquil. Guayaquil is a vibrant port city and gateway to the
Galapagos; nearby Bucay is a small town near Guayaquil, in an area filled with
waterfalls, cloud forests and farms; Cuenca was the capital of Ecuador under
the Incas, the colonial capital under the Spanish, and a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Vacation includes: stay in a hacienda dedicated to sustainability, where
clients can learn how to milk cows, make their own chocolate bar, go horseback
riding or river tubing; private transfer with lunch to Cuenca traveling through
the indigenous El Tambo region, stopping at Inca ruins, including Ingapirca;
eight-hour private tour with lunch to local artisans (jewelry, textiles,
blacksmiths, woodworking, pottery) in Chordeleg, Gualeceo, and other spots;
private walking tour of Cuenca; private transfer Cuenca to Guayaquil, visiting
El Cajas National Park which encompasses cloud forests, rocky landscapes, and
grasslands – all filled with wildlife; daily breakfast; choice of
accommodations.
- Ecuador’s Natural Wonders - 12 days/11 nights in Quito, the
Amazon region, and a four-night Galapagos Islands cruise. Includes: private
six-hour Colonial Quito city tour with lunch and chocolate experience and
tasting; round-trip boat transfer from airport to accommodations in Yasuni
National Park in the Amazon region; range of tours/activities at selected
Amazon lodge, including visiting indigenous communities and learning how to use
a blow gun, spot wildlife, kayaking; gourmet three-course dinner at top Quito
restaurant; private eight-hour tour of Cotopaxi National Park with lunch
(possible to hike two hours to the Ribas refuge at 15,750 ft); four-night
Galapagos cruise (choice of vessel) or island-hopping Galapagos stay; private
airport-hotel arrival/departure transfers; daily breakfast; choice of accommodations.
For more information on independent travel in Ecuador and
other Central and South America countries, or to book custom-crafted,
multi-destination FIT travel 365 days a year throughout Europe, Asia, North
Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific, or Central and South America, log
onto the recently revamped advisor
portal or call 1-800-422-5053 to speak with an expert travel consultant.
SOURCE: Avanti
Destinations press release.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
