Best time to visit Galapagos Islands

You are welcome to visit Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands any time of the year, with the option to do the same activities all year round.

Ecuador does not have marked seasons and weather normally is very comfortable all year long.

Sun is available 10-12 hours, depending the month of the year. Clear skies are available, mostly, during summer time or dry season, however, rainy season has some great clear days as well, with some showers in the afternoon.

Weather in the Galapagos Islands: 
The most famous place in Ecuador will have different nature events, depending the time of the year you choose to go.

Hot Season-This season is warm and wet and goes from December to May; being March the month with the warmest weather.
Tropical showers last short periods of time, ocean is calmed in general, due to the absence of the southeast trade winds.
Since there are many sources of food available for the animals, this is ideal for their mating season for some of the species that are land-based, such as finches, mockingbirds, lizards, land iguanas, giant tortoises.




Air temperature ranges from 25ºC (77Fº) to 29ºC (84ºF), depending the month.
Humidity has a fluctuation from 65% to 80%
Water temperature has an average surface temperature from 23ºC (74ºF) to 25ºC (78ºF). The years where "El Niño" current passes by, the temperature can reach 29ºC (84ºF).
Rainfall ranges from 38mm to 87mm

Dry Season-This season is windy and dry and goes from June to November; being September the driest and coldest month of the year.
During this season, the islands get their subtropical look and becomes a little dry, windy and barren. There is very few rain, however, there is an early mist, called "garúa" which gives islands a subtropical look. This drizzle usually burns off by mid morning.
The ocean is moderately strong, choppy watres, surge and some waves should be expected. This all happens, due to the presences of the southeast trade winds.
The great amount of plankton available on this season is ideal for land-based species that depend on the ocean's production. Due to this, they have their mating season.
Air temperature ranges from 25ºC (77Fº) to 23ºC (74ºF), depending the month.
Humidity has a fluctuation from 35% to 60%
Water temperature has an average surface temperature from 23ºC (74ºF) to 21ºC (70ºF). The years where "La Niña" current passes by, the temperature can reach 16ºC (61ºF).
Rainfall ranges from 35mm to 10mm

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Activities for Pululahua Crater Ecuador

Ecuador has hidden treasures and Pululahua Crater is one of them!

Imagine to be inside of a volcano crater and have no contact with the outside world, yet, you are just minutes away from the closest town.

Pululahua was a volcano that erupted and as a result, it left a magical valley in its crater. 
After many years, this crater has become home of many people that have taken advantage of the rich soil the eruption left. However, now is a  place where just  a few families live,  and where you will fall in love immediately.

Pululahua has been declared a geobotanical reserve and as such, this place remains untouched.

This magical place is located one hour outside of Quito and you can either do a day visit or stay overnight in one of the hostels that are found here. For more adventurous travellers, there is also the option for camping.

The weather is great!
The valley is surrounded by mountains and this makes a very special weather with warm and sunny days with cooler afternoons and nights.

This green valley will take your breath away as you descend through the narrow road that leads you to the great flat land.

The nature surrounding this area is magical! There are many bird species to spot and also different varieties of orchids.

It is a great environment to relax, do some hiking, horseback riding, biking or just sitting around with a great book and enjoy the sound of the wind and animals around.

This place is ideal to visit  with children, leave them free in the countryside to explore.

HOW TO GET THERE 

The best way is to hire a private transportation that will take you straight to the crater,  you can stay at one of the hostels and hire activities such us horseback riding, biking  or hiking. There are different trails through the forest that range from easy to moderate.
Lunch can be taken at the hostels and then you can return to Quito in the afternoon.

If you wish to stay longer, you can overnight there and enjoy this wonderful place a little more.
On your return to Quito, you can do a short stop at the Equator Monument and/or Intiñan museum for a very special experience of being on the two hemispheres at once.

ACTIVITIES
This valley offers wonderful adventure activities, which do not require any experience.  

There are options to go through the forest or just through flat land to enjoy of this wonderful place.
Horseback riding - Can be hired from one to four hours to explore the area with a local guide.
Hiking- There are several trails from easy to moderate that can be done for one or more hours.
Biking -The flat land offers a good option for a easy to moderate biking experience. Bikes can be hired at the hostels or you can take your own.
Swimming - There is a small place with thermal springs.

Need advise on this trip?
Please leave me a comment or message and I can help you!

Taking our kids to the Amazon, tips and more

The Amazon of Ecuador is a great idea for traveling with children.

We have planned our small holiday to visit the Amazon with our little ones and it went perfectly well!

The decision we took was to do a slow travel, and plan our own activities. So we found
a hotel in Tena city, which was small property, including breakfast, with a swimming pool and comfortable room.

There are many options to travel in the Amazon, you can find all inclusive hotels that will take care of everything and you just follow the tour guide.  Or you can find other options that will include only accommodation and breakfast, so you can choose what to do, where to eat and plan your journey.

We decided to travel around the area, visiting the butterfly house at Punta Ahuano, visiting the local zoo and finally, taking some time to visit the riverside with the locals.

It went well to do this trip like this, as we had some time to rest and spend time at the hotel, with the swimming pool. Our little ones had the time to nap, after a long day, eating small meals with room service or at the restaurant.

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Here below, you will find some tips for planning a great trip to the Amazon with small children, in local hotels, with only breakfast included:

PICK YOUR HOTEL OPTION: 

Pick a hotel that will include breakfast and that will have an open restaurant for dinners. Sometimes kids are very tired after the long day, and taking them out for dinner could only make them grumpy and dinner will be just as stressful for parents.

RENT A CAR OR HIRE A PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION IN QUITO: 

There are many places to rent a car. Please rent a big 4x4 so it can be easy to access dirt roads.

The road to Tena city is in very good conditions and traffic is not heavy, however, be careful when it rains, because you may find some land slides that will close the road for a few hours.
In case this is more difficult, you can always hire a private driver with a comfortable SUV or Van who will take you to Tena. Once there, you can use the same transportation whilst your stay or take taxis (pick up trucks) who will be taking you to the local sites.

BRING YOUR OWN RUBBER BOOTS: 
Before you go, make sure you take appropriate rubber boots for your children. All inclusive hotels provide boots, however, it may hurt your child's feet, so it is better to bring their own rubber boots. In case you don't have them, don't worry! Tena has a local market that sells them for very low price.

RAIN COATS ARE NEEDED:
The Amazon is a place where weather is unpredictable, actually, it is predictable: It will rain at any time or moment, so bring always a rain coat and additional clothing.

ACTIVITIES IF RAINING: 
Do not worry about rain! 
It will go away after a few hours, and we suggest to take the tour to the butterfly house when this happens. It is a good option to learn about their reproduction cycle and playing with the flying butterflies. 

Here you can spend up to one hour. For this trip, you will need to go to Ahuano river shore, park your car and then pay the river motor canoe to cross the river. 
Once there, hire a taxi pick up to take you to the butterfly greenhouse and ask him to wait for you, otherwise you may needs to walk to the river shore, which is quite close but sometimes children get a little fussy and then the walk may not be such a good idea...specially if it rains...

VISITING THE LOCAL ZOO: 
This is a nice family trip. The zoo is outside Tena city. Here you can find endemic and native species, you will learn about their habitat and how they live. The highlight on this zoo are the monkeys, birds and the anacondas!

BATHING AT THE RIVER: 
There are many places around Tena and Misahualli where locals go to the river for a nice refreshing time. You can find the options once there and the information  can be given by the hotel's staff.

Here you have the chance to bath and children will enjoy of the sand and rocks! They can play for hours!!

RESTAURANTS: Tena city has several local restaurants where they offer menu lunch or "a la carte" dishes. Their specialty is sweet water fish called tilapia. You can find it cooked in different ways such as fried, steamed or the most typical will be wrapped in local leaves and grilled. Outside of Tena there is Misahualli town which is more touristic and there you can find also some restaurant options for your meals.

HOTELS: Tena city has a good hotel offer with different price range. I would suggest to take the middle to superior options for a better Amazon experience. 

Here below are the hotel options I suggest for a self planning trip:

Terraluna: Located 5 minutes from the center of Tena city, but far from any noise. It is a nice property with swimming pool and good service. You have the option to have a standard room or a suite. Restaurant is available for all meals, but request the service in advance.
El Abuelo: Located a few blocks away from the center of the town, it is a tourist class hotel, that offer breakfast only. Clean and cozy. Not many green areas for children.
Hamadryade Lodge: This lodge is a luxury option, outside of Tena city with top class service, restaurant and great views of the Amazon. They offer half day and full day tours with additional cost.

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