Top Ecuador Budget Wildlife Viewing Tours & Packages 2025/2026

Highlights

• Get your blood pumping as you scale Sierra Negra Volcano during an epic hike, then cool off with a swim in the perfect waters of Isla Isabela’s beaches.
• Many come to Isla Santa Cruz just for the giant tortoises. Get up close and personal with these enormous animals as they drag themselves through the sand.
• Learn about the unique habits of the marine iguana. This dinosaur-like little creature has an iridescent sheen and is only found on the Galapagos Islands.
• Birdwatching at the Galapagos is quite an experience. Watch the aerobatic routines of blue-footed boobies and the death defying stunts of the frigate birds as they whizz through the air.
• This trip combines plenty of must-try activities and islands with generous mounts of free time, so you can explore the Galapagos at your own pace.

Highlights

• Encounter the nearly extinct giant Galapagos tortoises, as well as blue-footed boobies, pelicans and frigate birds, land and marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals and maybe even dolphins and whales!
• Go snorkelling on multiple days throughout different islands, looking out for sea turtles and the harmless Galapagos shark.
• Get your blood pumping as you scale the Sierra Negra Volcano – one of the Galapagos’ most active volcanoes and the world's second-largest crater!
• Learn how to make the famed encebollado – a local fish soup considered one of the best in the world! Your expert chef will take you through a fun cooking class, then you’ll tuck into the hearty dish for lunch.
• Enjoy a land-based Galapagos trip, using locally owned hotels on the islands instead of staying on a boat, which means you’ll have more opportunities to interact with the locals.

Highlights

• Learn about the unique habits of the marine iguana with your expert naturalist guide. This dinosaur-like creature has an iridescent sheen and is only found on the Galapagos Islands.
• Snorkel the incredible waters of Leon Dormido (Kicker Rock) – an eroded volcanic cone where sea turtles, rays and colourful fish call home.
• See the giant tortoises that freely roam the islands. Many visitors come to Isla Santa Cruz just to see these enormous creatures in their natural habitat!
• Watch the aerobatic routines of blue-footed boobies and the death-defying stunts of the frigate birds as they whizz through the air. Calling all avid birdwatchers!
• Start and end your trip in the Galapagos (as opposed to mainland Ecuador) – this means it’s easy to stay longer if you fall in love with the archipelago.

Highlights

• Choose the classic Inca Trail, the quieter Quarry Trail or the scenic train route to reach Machu Picchu. It will be unforgettable, no matter how you get there.
• Take a boat tour around the floating islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca and spend the night with a local family in a traditional island community.
• Spend two nights deep in the Amazon Jungle, trekking with local flora and fauna experts through the ‘Lungs of the World’.
• Huge giant tortoises, colourful marine iguanas and the puppies of the sea (AKA sea lions) – come face-to-face with these creatures and more on the Galapagos Islands.
• Stay in locally-owned hotels in the Galapagos with daily island-hopping adventures by speedboat. The perfect way to see the best of the archipelago while supporting home-grown businesses.

Highlights

• Spend four nights aboard the Solaris with a knowledgeable naturalist guide
• Experience incredible wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities with near-tame animals
• Enjoy a high chance of spotting waved albatrosses, blue- and red-footed boobies, giant tortoises, sea lions and marine iguanas

Highlights

• Snorkel in Tijeretas and keep an eye out for eagle rays, Galapagos sea turtles, sea lions and plenty of colourful fish.
• Scale a volcano on Isla Isabela, a 17-kilometre hike that rewards you with epic views across the island plus the possibility of sighting the rare, red-feathered vermilion flycatcher.
• Head to the highlands of Isla Santa Cruz to see giant tortoises munching grass, walking slowly and chilling in their natural habitat.
• You have the option to tailor your experience with unforgettable optional excursions like nature hikes, boat trips and scuba diving.
• Learn about Galapagos’ natural and exploratory history with a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and learn about conservation efforts to preserve their ecosystems.

Highlights

• Spend four nights aboard the Solaris with a knowledgeable naturalist guide
• Experience incredible wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities with near-tame animals
• Enjoy a high chance of spotting waved albatrosses, blue- and red-footed boobies, giant tortoises, sea lions and marine iguanas

Highlights

• Swimming beside sea lions is an incredible and surreal experience, and there are few better places to do so than Isla Lobos: home of the world's second largest sea lion colony.
• You'll get to know the locals by staying in small hotels on the Galapagos islands, as well as exploring the islands and coves by boat.
• Be surrounded by birds like blue-footed boobies and frigates, who land so close, and often have not even the slightest interest you're there!
• Incredible photo opportunities await around every corner – not least of Kicker Rock, the marvellous twin volcanic peaks seen sitting in the ocean from the top of Cerro Tijeratas.
• With spare time in Quito and Isla Santa Cruz, you can spend quality time with the family – perhaps with further hiking or visiting the colourful local markets.