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Quilotoa and Volcanoes Avenue Day Trip from Quito with Entrances

Quito, Ecuador

Quilotoa Lagoon Private Day Trip from Quito

From $65.00

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

10 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Journey to the beautiful Quilotoa volcano, driving through stunning mountain scenery and stopping to visit local Andean communities, during this day trip from Quito. Travel along the spectacular ‘Avenue of Volcanoes’ passing beneath its towering peaks, eventually stopping at a village of an indigenous community, to explore a local home and learn about their daily life. Finish your day with a trip to the lagoon inside Quilotoa volcano. This day trip includes a guide, entrance fees, round-trip hotel transport, and lunch.

Take a day trip to Quilotoa Lagoon from Quito
Drive along the Avenue of Volcanoes, passing beneath its towering peaks
Interact with an indigenous community and learn about their way of life
Explore the surreal environment of Quilotoa Lagoon and enjoy a mule-riding adventure
Menu lunch and round-trip hotel transfers included

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Menu lunch (only in private service)
Tigua Painter´s Community
Entrance ticket
Guided activities

Mule ride ($10.00USD, subject to change)
Kayak rental ($3.00USD, subject to change)
Meals
Tips

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Hotel picks up / drops off outside of the city have an extra charge.

What To Expect

Laguna Quilotoa

4 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Mira Andes Ecuador (Pass By)

Tigua

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Not wheelchair accessible
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Karenna_M

What a beautiful trip! We really enjoyed our guide, Javier. He was helpful and informative, but also gave us space. He arranged to have the mules take us back up the trail. The lunch spot was delicious and very cool. He also kept us safe and drove well when it started to hail in the mountains and flood on the highway back to Quito. I would highly recommend both the trip and the guide!

Reviews

5.0

87 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 87 reviews

Such fun, a must do

David_E, Jan 2024

Seeing Lake Quilotoa, and visiting the indigenous people. The guide Adrien made everything so much more fun

Amazing day trip from Quito!

Rebecca_D, Jan 2024

A great day trip from Quito - picked up and dropped off from the hotel, and transport to Quilotoa was comfortable. Irene was an amazing guide, very friendly, informative and energetic! Quilotoa was beautiful, and we had plenty of time to explore the surrounding area. Lunch was very reasonably priced and it was nice to try the Ecuadorean dish Locro de papa.

Wonderful guide and adventure

Karenna_M, Jan 2024

Want adventure? Ride with best 🤘

Carlos_C, Nov 2023

Ballo and Diego showed us a real adventure! We had a great time despite how challenging the altitude can be on sea-level people like us. Diego was knew the lay of the land like the palm of his hand and Ballo (our driver) did great in getting us out of a pickle when we got stuck in the sand. I wouldn't change anything, our experience was perfect and we're still telling the story. Gracias Diego y Ballo!

Quilotoa is a must!

Sabrina_M, Aug 2023

I enjoyed the daytrip to Quilotoa a lot! The weather was perfect, the landscape stunning and it was among my favorite days in Ecuador.

An awesome day trip.

kmark_g, Aug 2023

The views, the hike down and boat ride on the lake were awesome. Daniel took the time to give info on the area, he even waited for me as I slowly did the hike up.

Best tour of Quilotoa with the best tour guide Xavier!!!

Toni_J, Jun 2023

So this excursion was the highlight of my trip to Ecuador. Xavier was the best tour guide ever. He supported me in my quest to speak Spanish. He is an excellent conversationalist. I also learned so much about Ecuador throughout the day. Xavier was keen to my needs during the trip; reminding us to hydrate and re-apply sunscreen. Also, when I tried to make the hike out of the volcano he reminded me that I can do hard things and that I was strong and brave for taking on such a challenge; he kept me motivated and assured that I made the most of the trip. His kindness and thoughtfulness left an indelible mark on my trip. In short the trip was a 3.5hour drive via private car to Quilotoa, hiked down the volcano 4/10 in intensity if you work out 5-6 times a week, boat across the lake $5 extra, hike back up the volcano 10/10 in intensity even if you work out 5-6 times a week, lunch (included in the price), 3 hour ride home. EXCELLENT TOUR!!! 10/10!!!! A must do if in Ecuador!

A great day in the mountains of Ecuador

Judith_B, Jun 2023

The whole day was fabulous. The crater lake is wonderful. I also enjoyed the indigenous farm visit too. Carlos was a. Excellent guide.

The tour guide Diego and his driver(sorry I can't remember his name)were great.Had a great day out with them

Chris_C, May 2023

The day was really damp and foggy to start off with but when we got to the lagoon it cleared. The views from the rim are spectacular and down at the lake aswell.

Totally recommend this tour !

HYUNJUNG_L, Apr 2023

My guide was Irene and she was a totally kind and fun person. Alttough, I traveled alone as an asian but I never felt lonely and she took me a lot of pictures. It was a lit bit hard to walk the downhill but it was worth to try because the view was so beautiful. Only thing that bothered me was that I had to take a taxi to go to the meeting point because I am the person who lives in Quito, not a traveller. Anyway, it's just my situation and everything was perfect.

We had a fabulous trip....

Camille_B, Mar 2023

We had a fabulous trip. Everything about it went smoothly. We had 2 families joining up for the trip and we were going to different locations after the trip. Our guide communicated and organize with the driver who would be taking one family to another location and the plans went well. Our guide, Fabian, was very knowledgeable and lead us through the educational as well as active day with the walk down and up the volcano lagoon. We learned about the history of Quito, volcanoes, and indigenous families living in Andes around Quitoloa

excellent guide....

Jeff_S, Mar 2023

excellent guide. beautiful scenery. walk down to water was nice....tough walk back up, but worth it!

Worth it.

Caer_P, Feb 2023

Incredible experience and not worth missing, and Kahy was a excellent guide sharing great information along the way.

A full day adventure.

Paul_L, Feb 2023

The tour guide and bus driver were very professional. The guide pointed out the different volcanoes and sites along the way. It was a long bus ride with breaks along the way. The one thing that could be done better would be to notify us of the pickup time the day before the tour, not the morning of the tour.

So glad we booked this

Jason_M, Feb 2023

Our guide picked us up on time. We had the best time getting to know him and learning all about the area known as avenue of the volcanos. Everything about this experience from the beautiful drive to the indigenous village and ofcourse the star of the show Quilatoa Laguna was amazing. We weren’t sure about taking a tour outside Quito but we are so glad we did. I can’t say enough about the entire day. The weather was even perfect although it rained a little on our way back. Ecuador can have all 4 seasons in one day we were told. Had a great lunch included also. Our guide even negotiated with the mule provider when they charged a different price than originally quoted. We said our goodbyes and got a wonderful recommendation for dinner. Can’t say enough good things about our guide and the whole day!

Yes !

Kiley_F, Nov 2022

Definitely an amazing sight to see! The guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Had a great time with my friend !

Great tour guide, venues don’t justify the price or drive time

john_H, Oct 2022

Our guide Oscar was very good - the distance from Quito - 7 hour round trip driving is a bit much for the value. The trip to the indigenous home was very good and the creator volcano is a must see however there is little to do other than hike down and walk (or take the mule ride up)

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Dear Customer, Thanks for your comment! This tour takes between 9-10 hours from/to Quito. It all depends on the traveler´s likes. Some passengers love hiking you can take a long walk in the Quilotoa loop, or just inside the crater take a 1-hour kayak in the lagoon. Quilotoa area offers many options for adventurous travelers such as horseback rides, trekking, short walks in the area, local indigenous towns, local indigenous markets, etc. You booked a shared small-group tour. When you book a private tour you can tailor-make your trip under a request. All the best,

Must see

Genevieve_G, Aug 2022

We had a wonderful day trip, Oscar Salazar was an excellent tour guide and was very knowledgeable of the terrain and the culture. This was a beautiful hike and well worth the climb.

Great tour!

cherylbaldwin2015, Jun 2022

Excellent tour. Really enjoyed it. Great guides!! Beautiful location. Relaxing and peaceful. I enjoyed walking around the little town and lunch after. On the way there, we went to an indigenous market and house. Great day.

My favorite trip in Ecuador, a must do

MARIAM_M, Mar 2022

Picked up at the hotel as promised. We had 2 stops on the way which were wonderful, visiting an indigenous home, going inside and talking to the residents, incredible; and also a stop at a shop where the artist sells paintings on sheep skin. This was also the artist's workshop. We spend 3 hours at the Crater Lake. Our guide Diego was wonderful, professional, knowledgeable, explained the local culture in details, frequently checked on us because we were at high altitude. Many thanks to Diego and Pedro our driver!. This was an 11 hour day as they said in the trip description. The Thursday Indegenous market is not apparel on going, so be sure to check with the vendor if you really want to visit the market. The Kay's are tandem only and sit in.