Galapagos & Amazon Advisors

  One day tour to Cotopaxi - We took the one day tour to Cotopaxi with CarpeDM. Our guide Alejandro was fantastic: full of energy and information. He loves telling about Ecuador, the volcanoes and landscapes. A... read more wonderful source of knowledge, good humor and friendliness! The tour itself was excellent. We were picked up in Machachi and after a tea stop we arrived in the park, where Alejandro checked us in. We drove through the park, where we were explained all about the fauna and flora, and we spotted deer, wild horses and foxes. The driver then took us up to the parking of Cotopaxi. From here we hiked up through the snow to the basecamp. After hot chocolate, we continued to the glacier viewpoint. After a smooth ascent and descend we got on the mountainbikes for a fun downhill! We ended the tour with excellent lunch. This tour is worth every dollar! Highly recommended!

  What a day with our guide Estuardo! From the moment we began our trip, he was telling about the city of Quito, so interesting! He gave us the chance at... read more a local market to taste lots of fruits, with our stomachs full we visited a local family where ginneapigs lived in the house. At Quilotoa lake we had plenty of time to take pictures and he waited for the people who were a bit slower at climbing back up! After a last stop at a canyon we ended our trip with very good feelings! …

  John Pierre was a really great guide. The market was nice, but I’d recommend trying to spend more time at Cuicocha. We ran out of time to see Peguche waterfall,... read more which would have been nice.

  A challenging but great hike with great guide! We really enjoyed the tour despite rain and snow at the top.

  We had the good fortune to have Stui as our guide today. Stui not only made the trip enjoyable with his extensive knowledge of the area, and it’s customs, he... read more went above and beyond to be ever present as we hiked up to the base camp on Cotopaxi. As we are an older couple it took us a bit more time at such a high altitude, Stui, encouraged us all the way and exhibited an immense amount of patience.
He also was able to customize the trip a bit, to fit our needs.
I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wishing to be up close to the active volcano.

  Couldn’t recommend any more!! We had Stui as our guide, he was really friendly and made the whole experience really fun. Learnt lots about Ecuadorian culture and had a great... read more time meeting people and doing such cool activities

  What a magical day - What a fantastic day. It was a tough climb but even I made it at the age of 70. There was a lot of snow but Stui gave us excellent... read more advice on how to stay safe. The weather was not kind to us but as we were about to descend the sun came out and Cotapaxi showed her self and on the way down she belched a large plume of smoke just to show us that she is alive and kicking.
Stui was a fantastic guide and answered all our questions about the day and so much more, giving us all so much good advise too. Thank you Stui x

  Carpedm ensured that we had a wonderful day in Cotopaxi. A delightful combination of receiving information about the volcano, hiking and mountain biking. Our guide ensured everyone was comfortable hiking... read more up at their own pace whilst ensuring everyone's health and safety. Enjoying the impressive views during the hike, the spectacular landscape during the biking down and a wonderful lunch in the afternoon made the Cotopaxi hiking and biking volcano tour day with Carpedm a memorable day. Highly recommend! An extra shoutout to the kind and helpful people of Carpedm for not only organising multiple amazing trips for us, but for also helping us with our delayed luggage, we don't know what we would have done without them. Best travel agency in town! …

  What an incredible tour and so close to Quito. My tour with Stefany could not be better. She catered to all my needs and was so knowledgeable about many things... read more from history of Quito to what you will see at Mindo. Our day finished with a delicious lunch of traditional food. Mindo is about nature but also lots of activities you can do.

  Amazing day in Otavalo - A day to remember with our great and fun guide Nathalie. She is local speaking quicha with french ancestors! A perfect guide to show us the jewel that is Otovalo... read more market! The drive went quickly with several stops on the way and a delicious local lunch on our way back. One of the highlight of our trip in Quito. A MUST do. Saturday is the best day. Carpe Dm was very profesional and easy to deal with. We booked as a private tour which was great as we were able to practise our spanish with Nathalie. Thank you !!

  We had a really good time at Cotopaxi it was good organiced and our guide Alejandro was good informed and had a lot to talk to us.
All in... read more all i would definitely recommend that tour.

  The Cotopaxi tour was amazing!!!
Alejandro our guide gave us information of the volcanoes of all of them actually !
The weather was bad in spite of it he... read more encouraged us to be able to get to the refuge !!!!

If you get to Ecuador you must do this tour !!!! Thanks Carpedm

  We had an amazing and unique day. The national park is very beautiful, we saw wild horses and different types of birds as well as many plants.
We were impressed... read more by the beauty of the volcano and the lagoon we went to and had fun riding the bikes! 😀
Our guide was super sweet and attentive, he made everyone feel safe and took care of people who had problems with the altitude.
All in all a tour I would definitely recommend.

  Amazing experience, the guide is funny and helpful. he provided lots of information about the volcanos

  Walking tour with Fernando, perfect! Nice, funny and informative! Also good food spots shown, and nice plazas, chu

  I did the Cotopaxi Tour, it was one of the best experienced I ever had. Alejandro our guide was super friendly and knowledgeable regarding the volcano. He was also very... read more kind making sure that everyone was ok and spending time with each one of us. Overall I will recommend going with them to any tours that is available. Thank you Alejandro for making a great memory that I will soon not forget.

  Everything was perfect today. Good conditions, really good and friendly tourguide (Stui) and perfect experience with the vulcane. The hiking part was perfect for to get used to the clima... read more and the bike part was so fun. Thanks for this nice day.

  Alejandro was very enthusiastic and explained a lot. We stopped at many landscape highlights on the way on the way to Quilotoa. Always sufficient time to have a nice experience.

  Educational and Fun Tour - Alejandro was a fantastic guide. He was knowledgeable far beyond just Quito, and he kept beggars at bay so we always felt safe. The city tour was the perfect mix... read more of culture and architecture as well. Highly recommend to those traveling through Quito!

  Alejandro was a great guide for Cotopaxi! Right from pickup he had lots of facts and jokes to deliver on the drive over to Cotopaxi. On the hike up he... read more was very caring, checking on everyone and we all made it to base camp! 10/10

  First we were picked up at our hotel and shuttled to Cotopaxi. During the ride, our guide (Alejandro) gave us detailed and informative information about Ecuador and what to prepare... read more for, prior to reaching Cotopaxi. He was really funny, knowledgeable, and charming.

Make sure to prepare for the elevation (e.g. bring lots of water and if needed and applicable, altitude medication). Also, prepare for the weather and hike with the proper and warm waterproof clothing, good hiking boots, gloves, socks, warm head protection, backpack, maybe a poncho (it hailed part of the way when we were there), walking stick if you need them, etc.

When we reached the entrance, we stopped to for a bio break. There is also a small cafe and some small shops to get any last moment warm clothing.

Past the entrance, the ride is bumpy. Once parked, we started the hike. Hike was around 1.5-2 hours.

After the hike, the group went for a bike ride down part of the road and the bus followed behind in case you want to get back on.

On our way back after the bike ride, the group was taken to a nice small farm with lamas and cute setting for a delicious meal. As a final touch, we got to feed the lamas with carrots.

The tour ended with us being shuttled back to our hotels.

Overall a fun day trip and experience.

  Mountain biking down an active volcano in a thunderstorm! - Alejandro was a great guide, providing lots of information of volcanoes in Ecuador as well as the natural habitat and animals in Cotopaxi National Park. He gave us tips for... read more dealing with the altitude and allowed us to stop for provisions on the way. The hike was short but can be quite difficult at that elevation. Take it slowly and dress for the weather. We had 20 degrees Celsius and blue skies when we started and hail and thunderstorms as we finished the biking!
Cotopaxi had some recent volcanic activity so the park will decide on the day how safe it is and what elevation you are allowed to go to. We made it to the refuge just short of the glacier.

  We did the one day trip to Cotopaxi with Alejandro and I can only recommend! The views were stunning and he was an amazing guide explaining everything and constantly checking... read more we were all feeling ok with the high. A must do from my point of view in Ecuador.

  Great experience and Must-do in Quito - An extraordinary day and certainly a "must-do" when you are in Quito.
Walking up was a great experience - the views to the Cotopaxi as well down are fantastic as... read more we had very good weather.
The tour was very well organised and structured by CarpeDM starting with the punctual pick up at the pick-up point, clear announcement of the plan for the day, clear instructions on safety and behaviour rules related to the altitude and lunch at a clean and well maintained restaurant. Everything very well managed by Alejandro, who is also very knowledgeable on the volcanos of Ecuador and the Quito area.
Alejandro was also taking very well care about all group members.
The optional bike-ride down to the Laguna was also nice. We liked it too - however more experienced mountain bikers might have got higher expectations to the quality of the bikes and the challenge to the ride. But for us it was fine as it was just 7 km going down.

  Alejandro is the best guide you could find in Quito.

Share amazing historical fact of Quito on the road to Cotopaxi.

Amazing experience and would do it again... read more 100% !!!

  The sight is very beautiful and we enjoyed the boating in Quilotoa. Our tour guide Stefy is very helpful and friendly. Walking down and up the mountain can be tiring.... read more Horse riding recommended.

  I arrived in Quito for the walking tour around the central district. Fernando was my tour guide, and he was absolutely perfect. I had an amazing time, learned so much... read more about Quito, Ecuador, South American traditions, culture, and customs. I seriously cannot recommend this tour enough. Please do yourself a favor and go if you have a chance. Thank you once again Fernando for an unforgettable afternoon! I hope to see you again soon!

  Fantastic - Our guide Alejandro was fantastic.He was able to share his immense knowledge of volcanoes. His enthusiasm was captivating,enabling him to share a lot of details. He was friendly and professional... read more took care of his guests. Cotopaxi volcano was stunning well worth the effort.

  Our guide Alejandro was so lovely and friendly. He led a really informative tour about all the volcanoes of Ecuador, as well as Cotopaxi. Was also generally very friendly and... read more helpful, he even switched bikes with me. Cotopaxi itself was stunningly beautiful and the hike up the steep slopes was challenging with the altitude but well worth it for the views. The bike ride was an excellent way to end it in the National park and the included meal at the restaurant was delicious too. Would 100% recommend taking this tour, great value for money.

  We had a very nice day on route to and at Quilotoa! We travelled with a fun group and Renan was a very knowledgeable, fun and helpful guide!