Otavalo, Cotacachi and Cuicocha Tour With Optional Hotel Pick-Up - "Small Group"

The trip was convenient and plentiful. One shortcoming: the restaurant was only tourists and mediocre quality.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many positive things to say about our experience with this trip. They largely center around the guides time management. First, it’s not really a 9 hour tour but 11-14, so don’t make plans for that night. The guide arrived late and had a hard time collecting all the other people in our group so we left an hour after intended. That set the whole day off by missing other events. At 1:30 PM we had to ask him to have lunch and he explained it would be after the next activity, a boat ride around the crater which we missed due to poor timing. We ate lunch at 3:30 PM and ended up skipping the last stop entirely in order to arrive back in Quito by 7 PM. The market was fine, but not sure it was worth the journey as most things are factory made and can we bought in Quito. Overall the tour was more frustrating than enjoyable.

I thought the market will not have as much sellers, as I went on a Tuesday (which is a non-peak day), but it seemed complete with not so many buyers. Perfect if you want to avoid the stress of an over-crowded area! 🙂 Cotocachi was fantastic which even had a short yet scenic hike! Thanks Heidi for being a wonderful guide!

This tour was great! We got to visit a musician and all of the instruments he made. We also was able to visit the Otavalo market where we were able to buy goods made by the indigenous people of the area. Our tour guide, Juan David, was excellent and knowledgeable. Due to the diversity of the group, Juan had to converse in Spanish and English for the entire tour. There was one woman who was very demanding of Juan's time during the tour. He was very patient in answering all of her multiple questions with a smile, even though the rest of us were getting annoyed with her. He showed a lot of class and patience. The only negative was the lunch. It was just average. We had eaten very, very good food during our trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos and this lunch was only so-so. Sad it was our last meal before we left for home. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was Italian. Other than the meal, this tour was very educational and fun.

Experienced and wonderful guide was provided. Some of the smaller stops could have been deleted so the trip wasn’t 11 hours. The recommended restaurant seemed a bit pricey and full of other bus tourists. There was confusion on hotel pickup which they need to clear up online.

What a fun trip! It was like getting 4 or more mini trips all in one. The guide was fantastic!Thank you tour operators with coordinating with our hotel for pickup.

We didn’t need the stop to see the traditional faith healer. The local who came on board the bus to sing and sell her products was annoying. Otavalo needs to improve. Vendors don’t sell unique one of a kind handmade products. All Looks factores made.

Loved our time at the Otavalo Market! Bought gifts for stocking stuffers this holiday season!

Great tour! My only complaint was that, since I wasn't actually staying at my pickup hotel, it was hard to find out what time the bus was actually coming to pick me up. I had to ask my hotel to call the night before.

The weather and sights are amazing in June. This is a full day. The street market in Otavalo was colorful and fun. Quite a contrast to the leather town of Cototaxi. The lunch spot was an authentic Ecuadoran restaurant filled with locals, delicious and a good value.