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 https://book.avantidestinations.com or call 1-800-422-5053 to speak with an expert travel consultant.
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