ECUADOR QUITO EN FAMILIA Y GALÁPAGOS! 9 days / 7 nights February 23 March 2 (Arrival March 3) 2018 (Travel dates to be confirmed upon flight booking)
DAY 1: USA / QUITO (Friday) Board your flight to Quito, Ecuador. Quito is home to an array of beautiful cathedrals, elegant old mansions, interesting museums, squares and parks. The wonderful spring-like climate is dominated by mountains with several snow-capped volcanoes. Quito was also declared one of the most important world cultural heritage sites in Latin America by UNESCO. Bienvenido a Ecuador! A Forum Tour Representative will greet you at the airport upon arrival and help you transfer to your host families for dinner and overnight accommodation. DAY 2: TSACHILAS INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY (Saturday) Enjoy breakfast with your host family. Board your private motor coach to the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas home of the Tsáchila people. Visit the famous cascading rock waterfalls of the town. Enjoy a tasting of the local sweets and pan de yucca. Visit the local community of Tsáchila, learn the history and traditions of this tribe. Have lunch with the community. Return with your host family for dinner and overnight accommodation. DAY 3: MINDO (Sunday) After breakfast with your host family, board your private motor coach for a guided day trip to Mindo - one of the most megadiverse spots in Ecuador. It is a house for birdwatchers and many species of orchids and butterflies. Tube down the river to a spot to take the bus to the higher part of Mindo. Then, go on a canopy tour and enjoy an adventure with amazing views. Have lunch with your group. Have some free time to stroll around the town and maybe shop in the local market. Return with your host families for dinner and overnight accommodation. DAY 4: LOCAL SCHOOL / COOKING LESSON / DANCING LESSONS (Monday) Enjoy breakfast with your host family. After, visit a local high school with your group. Enjoy a dance class and practice Ecuador s Latin rhythm. After, partake in a cooking lesson and learn earn how to make a typical Ecuadorian dish! Enjoy the last dinner with your host family. DAY 5: QUITO - SANTA CRUZ (Tuesday) After breakfast with your host families, transfer to the airport and board your flight to the Galapagos Islands! The Galapagos Islands, located about 620 miles off the Pacific coast of South America, are now a National Park that control the preservation of the environment.
Upon arrival, meet your naturalist guide in Santa Cruz and transfer to your hotel in Puerto Ayora by bus. Have lunch with your group. En route, visit the Santa Cruz highlands where you will see giant Galapagos Tortoises roaming in their natural habitat. After, cross through ancient underground lava tunnels. Dinner and night accommodation in Puerto Ayora. DAY 6: SANTA CRUZ ISABELLA ISLAND (Wednesday) Breakfast at hotel. Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here, you will see the exhibition center s display of photos of recent volcanic eruptions, charts outlining geological formations and drawings of the evolutionary development of endemic species. Lunch with your group in a local restaurant Take the 2pm Speed boat to transfer to Isabella Island. Check into your Isabella Island hotel. This afternoon, take a stroll around Puerto Villamil with your tour director. Take a walk to Villamil beach, and explore the area with your group. Dinner and night accommodation on Isabella Island. DAY 7: ISABELLA ISLAND (Thursday) After breakfast, hike to the rim of the six mile wide crater and trek across an alien landscape of lava fields and fumaroles at the Sierra Negra volcano. This is one of the most active volcanoes in the Galapagos, with the last eruption in 2005. After, hike to Volcan Chico. Enjoy Lunch at a Giant Turtles farm! This afternoon, go on a tour of Las Tintoreras, here you may find yourself staring at Penguins or face-to-face with the most playful and delightful Galapagos native, the Sea Lion. The emerald waters of Las Tintoreras abound with marine life including the internationally renowned Galapagos Penguins and Blue-Footed Boobies. Sea Turtles are also common residents of this area. A brief walking tour across A'A' lava flows provides additional up-close encounters with Marine Iguanas, resting White Tip Sharks, and new-born Sea Lions. End your day with a snorkel adventure, Keep your eyes well opened as you might encounter some penguins! Dinner and night accommodation on Isabella Island. DAY 8: ISABELLA SANTA CRUZ QUITO (Friday) Take the 6am ferry to transfer back to Santa Cruz. Have breakfast in Puerto Ayora. En route to the airport, make a stop to visit the The Twins craters approximately 30 meters deep located on either side of the road to Baltra. Then transfer to the airport on Baltra Island for your flight back to Quito. Board your flight back to the USA. DAY 9: MORNING ARRIVAL IN THE USA (Saturday)
PRICE PER PERSON SHEET This is a privately operated tour - you will not be combined with another group! PRICE PER PERSON PAYMENT SCHEDULE 25 + participants $ 4,080 September 25, 2017 $ 500 20 to 24 participants $ 4,090 October 30, 2017 $ 1800 15 to 19 participants $ 4,100 November 30, 2017 Balance 10 to 14 participants $ 4,110 PRICE INCLUDES: Roundtrip Airfare from Richmond to Quito Internal flight from Quito to Galapagos Departure taxes and Airline fuel surcharges at $460 per person Associated transportation costs while in Ecuador 4 nights, double or triple occupancy with a host family in Quito (full board B/L/D) 3 nights in Galapagos including meals and tarjeta Ingala All cultural and aforementioned visits, activities, tours and admissions as per itinerary Service of a dynamic professional bilingual Forum Tour Manager with the group on tour PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE: Meals not indicated in the daily program Tips are at your discretion these are standard guidelines - Forum Tour Manager: 5 USD per day, per person - Bus Drivers: 3 USD per day, per person ADULT AND ROOMING SUPPLEMENTS: Twin Room Guarantee Supplement $40 pp/night - Single Room Guarantee Supplement $80 pp/ night Adult Activity Supplement $10 pp/day NOTES *Forum By Prometour has purchased the Student Protection Plan from Travel Insured International on behalf of all participants. Cancel For Any Reason is an available option that must be purchased at the time of trip deposit. *CFAR is not available to residents of NY* *Airlines have the legal right to increase fuel surcharges to flight tickets after bookings have been made. In the event of an increase in airline taxes and/or fuel surcharges, Forum reserves the right to update prices accordingly. Date of quote: May 15, 2017 Prices are valid until: First payment deadline Your Forum Tour Consultant: Jamye Sharp Forum Language Experience, Forum by Prométour and Forum are all used interchangeably. Forum Language Experience is a member company of Prométour Inc.
REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS Registering for this trip is as easy as going to https://enrollment.forumlanguageexperience.com/immersion/steward-school/ The registration process will take you about 10-15 min. During, you will be asked to: provide personal information, a valid passport number (don t worry if you do not have one yet, you will be able to continue without adding that information), and to choose a payment method and payment schedule. Make sure you have your passport with you (if you have one) and to have payment method ready at the time of registering for this trip. Per the insurance company terms and conditions, if you would like to upgrade to the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan, you must choose it at the time of registration, and the additional fee MUST be included with your first trip deposit. The total cost for this upgrade is $45.38 After registering and your payment has been received, you will receive an email with a username and password to access your personal web account. Here, you will be able to make: future payments, modify your personal information and access documents related to your trip. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have on 1.888.282.0991. You can reach us Monday through Friday from 8AM to 4:30PM PST We look forward to having you join this wonderful travel experience! Customer Care 1281 University Avenue, Suite H, San Diego, CA 92103 Tel 888-282-0991 / 619-432-0249 ext.304 - Fax 619-432-0261 www.forumbyprometour.com