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The Rose and Tropical flower tour offers you the very best Flora and Fauna of Ecuador. Our exclusive route shows you many major highlights in and around Quito, Cuenca---in southern Ecuador---and Guayaquil, the major port city of Ecuador.
We include visits to plantations which normally close their doors to the visitors. A highlight is visiting one of the world’s leading Rose plantations, near Quito. We visit South America’s largest Orchid plantation in Cuenca and Ecuador’s largest producer of Tropical flowers, outside of Guayaquil.
Be advised, in some areas, photography will be restricted due to the secret techniques used for culturing and growing specific flowers.
During this spectacular tour, we also visit several of the various cultural highlights which Ecuador has to offer, including The UN World Heritage Site of Quito and Cuenca and the spectacular National Park “El Cajas” on our way from Cuenca to Guayaquil. This tour is a must for every flower lover, both professional and amateur, who likes to know where the flowers you buy in your local flower shop are grown and raised.
Day 1: Arrival/Quito
We welcome you at the Airport and drive you to your Hotel in Quito
Day 2: Pakakuna Gardens
Klaus Egger, the creator and owner of the gardens will guide us. Pakakuna is a Quechua word (indigenous language of Ecuador), meaning “Our Hiding Place.” This describes perfectly the picturesque and tranquil nature of the site. Pakakuna Gardens is one of the largest gardens of South America and due to its biodiversity one of the richest as well. In
Pakakuna life can be found in every corner of this eden. There is enormous variety of butterflies and birds. You have lunch at Pakakuna before we return to Quito.
Day 3: Visit of one of the World’s leading Rose farms
We visit one of the Major Rose plantations in Ecuador located about 40 minutes drive time outside of Quito. After a short welcome by the owners, you will enjoy an extensive visit to the plantation. During the morning a short seminar will introduce you to the newest trends of Rose planting, cultivation, and harvesting. After lunch you will see the packing and preparation for shipping of roses as well as participate in an course about the latest trends in flower bouquets. In the afternoon we return to your Hotel where you stay overnight.
Day 4: Quito’s Botanical Gardens & Citytour
First we visit Quito’s Botanical Gardens. The garden includes representations of the following ecosystems: the moorlands or paramos of the high Andes, the cloud forest, the dry forest, the damps of the highlands, Inca garden, bromeliad garden, palm garden, and orchid displays. From the Botanical Gardens we go to the historical center of Quito, with its Baroque churches, squares and museums, we’ll experience the wealth of 16th and 17th century architecture. To see the layout of the Old Town and Quito as a whole, we share an amazing panorama from Legarda’s Panecillo, or Winged Virgin. On the way to the Equator Line, we visit Quito’s Orchid Garden inside the Carolina Park.
You’ve flown across the Equator, but we visit it differently--taking in both the right and wrong monuments with their museums In the afternoon, we return to your Hotel in Quito where you enjoy free time for the rest of the day. In the evening we invite you to a Gala Dinner to Quito’s Old Town.
Day 5: Exclusive visit to South America’s largest Orchid producer
You will travel to the Airport and fly to Cuenca. You’ll enjoy an immediate transfer to the largest Orchid producer in South America. Before you visit the plantation, attend an exclusive introductory talk about Orchids—how they grow, what types of Orchids you’ll see, and what is so special about orchids. During the walk through the plantation you can observe all sizes of orchids--from the smallest to the largest; some with large flowers, and others that are so small you must observe them with a jeweler’s loupe. A late lunch is shared at the Plantation. In the afternoon we return to Cuenca where you stay overnight.
Day 6: Through the Cajas National Park to Guayaquil
You enjoy breakfast at your Hotel before we start your City-tour around the colonial old town of Cuenca. Cuenca is a United Nations Heritage Site. We have our lunch in a typical Cuencan Restaurant before we start our journey up to the Cajas National Park where we reach the highest point of our journey at 4000 meters above sea level (13123ft). After the pass the road winds down through valleys until we reach the Pacific plain. After driving along beside the largest Banana plantations, we reach Guayaquil--at sea level where you stay overnight.
Day 7: Ecuador’s largest producer of Tropical Flowers
After breakfast, we leave Guayaquil. At the Tropical Flower Plantation, the owners will welcome you and help you tour you to the plantation. To visit the plantation, extensive walks are necessary. Cut flowers are transported in a special railway, because the distances are very long. The contrasts between this Plantation and the others we visit could not be greater. Returning to Guayaquil, we will take a City tour around the largest City in Ecuador. We invite you to join us on a cruise on the Guayas River. Accommodation at the Hotel Hampton Inn in Guayaquil.
Day 8: Departure
Enjoy your breakfast at your Hotel before we bring you to the Airport for your International flight.
Tour Details & Tour Rates
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Gold Traveler Experience |
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Hotel Mercure Alameda (4*) |
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Hotel El Dorado (4*) |
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Hotel Hampton Inn (4*) |
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Tour Highlights
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Speciality Flower Plantation and Bellaflor Rose Plantation - MORE than just roses! A behind the scenes by special invitation only guided by the owner
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Orchid Center Ecuagenera - Visit the largest Orchid producer in South America, Orchid Center Ecuagenera with a personal tour by the owners
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Magic Flower Plantation - At the Tropical Flower Plantation, Magic Flowers, the owners will welcome you and introduce you to this plantation. A fantastic visit to a company that believes in its people and products
Your Ecuador Package Includes
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Airport arrival & departure transportation
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Accommodation in 4 star Hotels
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Meals as noted in itinerary
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Private English speaking Tour Leader
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Activities as indicated
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All transfers as per itinerary
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Domestic flight between Quito/Cuenca
Tour Dates
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August 07 - 14, 2010 |
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August 21 - 28, 2010 |
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September 11 - 18, 2010 |
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September 25 - October 02, 2010 |
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October 09 - 16, 2010 |
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November 20 - 27, 2010 |
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December 04 - 11, 2010 |
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