Highlights

 

• Language course - 60 hours of private Spanish language lessons (one to one – one student – one professional Ecuadorian Spanish teacher): 20 hours in the Andes Metropolis of Quito, 20 hours in a jungle lodge, 20 hours in the coastal city of Manta

• Dancing course - 20 hours of salsa lessons with a private dancing teacher: 10 hours salsa lessons in Quito and 10 hours salsa lessons in Manta

 

Add-on activities

 

• 3x half-day jungle excursions with a Spanish-speaking nature guide; facultative activities (and others)

• Guided city tour through the colonial center of Quito (UNESCO World Heritage Site) including: Independence Square, Cathedral (16th century), La Compañía de Jesus Baroque church, San Francisco church (16th century), Panecillo Hill, Guayasamin Museum and La Ronda

• Stroll across the famous gaudy Market of the Otavalo Indians in Otavalo, including stopovers in Calderón, Guayllabamba, Guachala, Mira and Cotacachi

• Excursion to Mitad del Mundo (“Center of the Earth”) incl. visit to the Solar Museum

• Ride on the spectacular Andes Railway from Riobamba to Alausi (incl. the “Devil’s Nose”), still today the steepest train track in the world

• Ride up Mt. Cotopaxi until 4,500 m a. s. l., the world’s highest active volcano; hike to the Rivas refuge at almost 5,000 m and Lake Limpiopungo

 

 

Day 1 (Sunday): Arrival in Ecuador
You are here! Arrival by plane at Ecuador’s bustling capital city. Your Spanish-speaking tour guide takes you from the airport to your hostel in the modern part of Quito. After that you may explore the surroundings on your own and stroll through the streets full of South American vitality. (-/-/-)

 

Day 2 - 6 (Mon – Fri): Spanish & Salsa Lessons in Quito
You have 4 hours of Spanish lessons per day. In these one-to-one lessons you will make astonishingly fast progress. Your teacher may attend your very special individual needs and get an exact picture of your previous language skills. In the afternoons, you have time to explore your surroundings and practically apply what you have learned in the mornings. In the evenings you have two hours of salsa lessons. No matter whether you are absolute beginner or advanced, your private teacher will always find the right rhythms for you! Overnight in hostel. (B/-/-)

 

Day 7 (Sat): Quito – Optional Tours
Today is free time, an opportunity to explore unique Quito – the magical city at the heart of the Andes mountains – on your own. Let’s meander through the old city, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, take a ride to Mitad del Mundo and discover in the Intiñan Museum how the forces of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres operate, visit Mt. Pululahua – an inhabited volcanic crater – or mingle with the natives in the buzz of Otavalo’s largest market. Overnight in hostel (B/-/-)

 

Day 8 (Sun): Quito - Coca
Also today is free time to get to know Quito and its surroundings better. In the evening, Spanish-speaking driver takes us in a private vehicle to the bus terminal, where around 10:00 p.m. you take the night bus from Quito to Coca. (B/-/-)

 

Day 9 (Mon): Amazon Basin near Coca
Upon arrival at Coca in the morning, your local Spanish-speaking tour guide meets us. By canoe you continue to the jungle, where you will spend the following nights. Upon arrival at the lodge, you enjoy your next 4 hours of Spanish lessons. The remainder of the day is free time to relax and recover from your bus ride, surrounded by the tranquilizing sounds of the jungle. Overnight in the lodge (-/L/D)

 

Days 10 – 12 (Tue – Thu): Spanish Lessons & Jungle Excursions
During these days you further improve your Spanish skills, while discovering, together with your natural guide, the exciting and fascinating world of the Amazon jungle in the afternoons. He explains different plants to us, among them also several medicinal plants. You visit a small local community and practice piranha fishing. On your excursions through the rainforest, with some luck you may spot a toucan or see monkeys racing through the trees. Overnight in your lodge (in lodge: B/L/D)

 

Day 13 (Fri): Coca & Return to Quito
After your last 4 hours of Spanish lessons in the jungle, you return to Coca by canoe: From there, you take the public bus back to Quito (without a guide). Upon arrival at the bus terminal in the capital your Spanish-speaking driver takes us back to the hostel in Quito which you already know. (B/-/-)

 

Day 14 (Sat): Quito – Manta
After breakfast you leave Quito again. Your Spanish-speaking driver takes us back to the bus terminal. By public bus (without a guide) you undertake an adventurous trip across the Andes to Manta, at the gorgeous coast of the Pacific Ocean. From the bus terminal in Manta you take a taxi (not incl.) to get to your hostel. (B/-/-)

 

Day 15 (Sun): Manta
Today is a day of relaxation: You may, for example, just lie on the sandy Playa Murcielago beach, saunter along the seafront promenade or enjoy one of the delicious exotic cocktails of the nearby bars. Overnight in your simple clean hostel. (B/-/-)

 

Days 16 – 20 (Mon – Fri): Language Lessons in Manta at the Pacific Coast
Let’s go for the third round! You further improve your Spanish and quickly learn to read, write, speak and understand! According to your level of command, your teacher specifically stimulates and trains pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary with a wide range of didactic materials and methods. In the evening then you will once again hit the dance floor. You have 2 hours of salsa lessons per day and learn quite a few new salsa dance steps. You spend the nights in your hostel. (B/-/-)

 

Day 21 (Sat): Manta - Guayaquil
After breakfast, a Spanish-speaking driver takes us back to the bus terminal in Manta, in order to ride to the coastal metropolis of Guayaquil by public bus (without a guide). Upon arrival, you are taken to your hotel. You may use the rest of the day to get to know the city on your own, strolling alongside Malecon 2000, the new sea front walk, or paying a visit to Iguana Park and the picturesque neighborhood of Cerro Santa Ana. Overnight in hotel (B/-/-)

 

Day 22: Departure
The time has come to say good-bye to Ecuador. Your Spanish-speaking driver takes us to the airport and you fly home with many new impressions and experiences. End of services (B/-/-)

 

 

Services included

 

• English-speaking contact in our Quito office

• Airport & bus terminal transfers with Spanish-speaking taxi driver

• 15 x 4h private Spanish lessons with professional Ecuadorian Spanish teachers in Quito, Manta and Coca

• Didactic material, registration fees

• 10 x 2 private Salsa lessons with professional dancing teachers in Quito and Manta

• All rides in public buses

 

Accommodation:

 

• Hostel program: in simple hostels typical for the country in Quito Manta and Guayaquil, as well as 4 overnights in jungle lodge
• Family program: Accommodation with an Ecuadorian family in Quito & Manta, incl. full board on days 2-7 & 15-20, as well as 4 overnights in jungle lodge
• 3x half-day jungle excursions with Spanish-speaking natural guide
• Meals as stated in tour description

 

Not Included

 

• Tips & personal expenses

• Domestic & international airport and exit taxes (approx. 45 USD)

• Optional & facultative activities.

• Meals not listed and all drinks

• Transfers to Spanish lessons and salsa school

• Taxi transfer between bus terminal and hostel in Manta (Day 14)

 

 

Please note

• Participants must have a valid international health insurance.
• We reserve the right to change the tour program due to force majeure, weather or organizational reasons.