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Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve and Cocoa Farm
Badge of ExcellenceGuayaquil, Ecuador
- 7 to 8 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
You don’t need to visit the Galapagos Island to experience the rich wildlife of Ecuador. Get up close to howler monkeys, freshwater birds, and more on a tour to Churute Mangroves Ecological Reserve. After comfortable transfer from your Guayaquil hotel, enjoy a peaceful canoe ride and hike through the tropical dry forest. Later, tour the grounds of a nearby cocoa plantation and enjoy a traditional lunch prepared with local ingredients.
- Spend a day away from the hustle and bustle
- Discover diverse wildlife from mainland Ecuador
- Eat lunch at the Hacienda Cocoa
- Enjoy round-trip transportation from Guayaquil
What's Included
- Transfer in / out
- Bilingual guide
- Boat tour through the mangroves
- Drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Meeting point
- Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas Province
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Start time
08:00 AM
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Pickup details
In this map you will find a selected radius, but if you are staying in Guayaquil urban area, just let us know your hotel to arrange the pick up. The port is not a collection point, if your pick up point is the port, you must pay an additional usd 30 to the driver
What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Dress code is sporty and confortable shoes
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- A mosquito repellent its recommended
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
Traveler Photos
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Featured review
Ulrike_R
Great experience! The boat trip through the mangroves was fantastic. As well as the monkey watching. A really special day however the stay at the kakao farm was rather short. Thanks again to the tour guide who made this trip unforgettable!
Reviews
4.5
26 reviews
Ulrike_R, Aug 2023
Great experience! The boat trip through the mangroves was fantastic. As well as the monkey watching. A really special day however the stay at the kakao farm was rather short. Thanks again to the tour guide who made this trip unforgettable!
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Hi Ulrike! It was so nice to have you with us. This tour is fantastic and we are so glad you
got to enjoy it with us
Lisa_P, Aug 2023
This was a wonderful trip. It was so needed to get out of the city and travel into the real
Ecuador. The boat trip was so relaxing and the birds were beautiful. You really get an understand on how hard these crabbers work to bring in a living for their families. Then off to an easy walk in the forest ( do wear closed shoes) and searching for the howler monkey's high in the tree's. We were lucky to get pretty close to one howler. But their voices carry everywhere.
Then off to see how chocolate is grown and again, the locals who are involved. It is such a wonderful experience. Every guide was excellent and I just cannot recommend it enough. Also, the lunch was delicious. Lisa RN.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Hello Lisa!,
Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful experience with us! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your tour and that it provided you with a real taste of Ecuador's natural beauty. We're glad our guides were able to enhance your adventure.
Your kind words mean the world to us, and we can't thank you enough for your recommendation. We hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable adventure in the future.
Francis_C, Jul 2023
Jaime was great!!
We were a little unlucky because it rained for the excursion. But we still got to see many birds in the river and saw and heard the monkeys howl!!
Jaime was great at stopping along the way and pointing out interesting things about nature, history and the lands we were on. That made it extra special.
Six stars to Jaime!!!!
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Hello Francis! We are so happy to hear that you had a great time with us :) Jaime is one of our best tour guides! We hope to see you again soon!
Gerald_J, May 2023
It was nice to get out of town and see nature. Pickup on time by Jaime, and he was fantastic and professional. Its a little bumpy of a ride, but so exhilarating once you arrive. I recommend long sleeve shirt, long pants, and sturdy water sandals. Great boat ride in the Mangrove Forest. Interesting hike later in the jungle, looking for howler monkeys. Then we had a short cacoa demonstration. Last was a authentic Ecuadorian lunch at a local restaurant. Thank you Jamie.
Response from Host, May 2023
Hi Gerald! We are happy to know you had a good time, this tour is amazing! Hopefully we see you again soon :)
ajash60, Mar 2023
Simply no one turned up no one responded till the next day. My questions went unanswered. The staff in lobby tried to contact company concerned no response. So after a wasted 30 mins we went and did our own thing. Its a shame as we only had 2 days in Guayaquil. We were going to do the following day but since the company gave us a BS response.... guide went to wrong hotel.... didn't trust em enough to waste our last day. Viator just takes the money too. No help when I was sitting around between 8.30am and 9am on the day waiting for a no show.
Whitney_K, Feb 2023
I would rate this 4 stars had it not been for the significant schedule change and no partial refund as a result. I was contacted the day before indicating the cacao farm would not be able to be visited due to operational reasons and instead they would take me to a cacao museum instead. I responded that was fine, I understood but it did represent a relatively large change eg half of the trip since lunch was going to be there too and asked if a partial refund would be provided. There was no response.
The trip itself was fun! I had a great guide (Hymie or Himan sp?) who was personable and made the day so enjoyable as a solo traveler. I thought it was going to a small group tour but it ended up being private. It’s a 45 min drive or so out of the city so you get to see the local area on the way. Once arriving at the reserve, we picked up a local guide and headed on a short walk to the river to get on the boat. It’s a more traditional local small motorized wood canoe but it was steady and safe. We cruised through the mangrove forest and saw lots of birds - herons, friegets, kingfisher! No crocs this day - we had high water. After returning we hiked to a waterfall… it was under a mile but there are some challenging spots including walking across a creek with slippery rocks and scrambling up a bit on some steeper muddy areas. I was glad I had waterproof hiking boots. The waterfall is worth it! And the best part, we did spot howler monkeys on the way back!
MOSQUITO REPELLANT IS A MUST. They just followed you in swarms. I wish I had applied to directly to my legs prior to putting on pants. They bit through - I had over 100 easily. Definitely not as bad on areas with direct skin protection!
We had lunch at a local restaurant and the garlic shrimp was amazing! We headed back to Guayaquil to the cacao museum which honestly was a disappointment, I would not recommend particularly if you don’t read Spanish. The posted exhibit descriptions did not have an English option. It has only a small exhibit on the actual cacao production and while my guide did his best I really didn’t get the same kind of information as you would on the farming tour and demonstration. So for me it wasn’t an acceptable substitution.
Overall, I would recommend the tour and hope you get to experience the original itinerary. Just go prepared :)
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Hello Whitney!
Thank you for your feedback on this tour. The Cocoa Farm tour not being able to happen because of operational reasons was very last minute, and we are deeply sorry about that.
We are glad you had a great time at the Mangroves and that you got to see the howling monkeys! Definietely the best part of the tour. Also, Jaime is one of our best your guides! He was so happy to take you on this tour.
We are sorry again about the Cocoa Farm, and hopefully we see you again soon!
jerry_g, Feb 2023
Took cruise shuttle bus at 8:30 to port gate exit where we met our guide Jaime. Four others from the ship were in the van with us so a comfortable group of 6.
• Ride to the Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve was longer than expected - 2 hours - and much over very rough dirt roads. Took canoe-like boat ride through the mangroves that seemed like a very authenticate Ecuadorian experience sitting low to the water. Saw a lot of birds but no other wildlife. Lots of mosquitoes but repellent worked well and no bites.
• Then short ride to a jungle trail for a short walk where we spotted some howler monkeys.
• Then about 20 minutes ride to the Cocoa Farm. Very nice 3-course lunch followed by explanation / demonstration of the process from germination (2 varieties, high production red and high quality golden) to harvesting, drying, roasting, making into paste, liquefying and putting into forms. Got to sample the flavor of the seeds right out of the husk - slimy with taste of mango. Also tasted cocoa juice (white). Coffee, chocolate, and a few other items available for purchase at reasonable price with credit card accepted. Very nice stop.
• Then 1 hour 45 minutes ride back to port arriving just before 6.
This tour had more bus ride riding time than anticipated. The cocoa farm was excellent and made it all worthwhile. The mangrove reserve boat ride was an interesting & memorable adventure but not much wildlife when we were there other than birds.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Hi Jerry! Thank you for your review, we are so glad you enjoyed your tour with us!
The port (your pick up point) is indeed far from the city, so it takes a little longer to get to the first stop which are the Churute Mangroves. When the pick up is from the city it doesn't feel that long.
Have a great day, and hopefully we see you again soon!
Sarah_L, Nov 2022
We took this tour as two families with 5 children. The guide was so amazing with the kids and ensuring they were well cared for. We loved seeing howler monkeys and crocodiles (and the birds of course). The cocoa farm food was AMAZING! Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Hi Sarah! We are so happy to hear you had fun, this tour is indeed amazing :) and that lunch is so tasty as well! We hope to see you again soon
Penny_D, Aug 2022
Both parts of the trip were amazing. The Churute Mangrove was incredible. Our guide and driver were very knowledgeable. Lunch at the Cocoa farm was delicious. We really enjoyed getting to know about the chocolate making process. Would recommend 100%.
Response from Host, Aug 2022
Hello Penny!
Thank you very much for your comment, we are very happy to know that you had a great time, Jaime and Stalin also had a good time, taste the chocolate directly from its source is a unique experience.
We hope to see you soon!
jeanszoko, Feb 2020
There were certainly some highlights to the day but unfortunately some significant downsides. First, when we called to confirm pick/up time, we were told the guide was coming an hour earlier than scheduled (which fortunately they were able to change. Second, we had paid for a full-day tour for 6 adults and they had us down for a half-day tour - which also got changed. The guide arrived driving a car that was not big enough for six adults who would be in the car for over 2 hours(had a small folding 3rd seat). Unfortunately, nothing could be done about that. The boat ride that was scheduled thru the mangroves didn’t happen because the boat never showed up after waiting a LONG time. On the upside, we did enjoy our walk through the Churute reserve and the cacao farm tour.
From $170.00
Price varies by group size
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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