Top Guayaquil Day Trips & Excursions

Coastal Ecuador often gets overlooked in favor of the Andes or Galapagos. With this full-day tour from Guayaquil, see firsthand what makes this region so special. During a morning stop at a tropical plantation, learn about how artisan chocolate is made from bean to bar. Continue to Puerto del Morro for a boat ride in the Pacific in search of bottlenose dolphins and a variety of migratory seabirds.

Escape the city and spend the day at rural Hacienda La Danesa, a 145-year-old dairy and cacao farm, on a full-day tour from Guayaquil. Traveling by train, you’ll stop first at Yaguachi, home to a local crafts market, before tasting, making, and learning about chocolate at Hacienda La Danesa. Lunch, refreshments,m and train tickets are included.

Spend a day exploring the picturesque dairy and cacao farm called Hacienda La Danesa on horseback. Learn about its 145-year history from your local guide and enjoy some time engaging with the Olsen family--three generations of farmers who call this peaceful plot of land home. Learn to make chocolate, navigate mountain trails on horseback, enjoy a lunch of Ecuadorian cuisine, and sample Ecuadorian Chardonnay during a delicious meal on site.

Take a break from the city and head to Alausí for a train ride along the Devil’s Nose.  This full-day excursion begins with private pick up from your Guayaquil hotel.  Your train ticket is pre-arranged by your private guide, so there’s no need for you to fuss over money or stand in long lines.  Then, enjoy an immersive cultural experience with the Puruhuas people in Sibambe before returning to Guayaquil.

Combine culture with nature on a private full-day city and cocoa farm tour from Guayaquil. Designed for travelers passing through Guayaquil, this excursion takes you to a rural cocoa farm where you’ll tour the plantation and make chocolate from scratch. Then, you’ll embark on a sightseeing tour of Guayaquil city, home to attractions such as Las Penas neighborhood, Malecon 2000, and Parque Historico. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included.

Take a break from the Guayaquil’s hustle and bustle on a 9-hour private tour to Ecological Reserve Manglares Churute.  The action packed day begins with private transport from your hotel, followed by a canoe ride and easy mountain hike. Along the way, see the famous flora and fauna of Ecuador.  Your private guide then takes you for an included Ecuadorian lunch before visiting (and taste testing at) a cacao farm.

Transform your transfer from Guayaquil to Cuenca into an adventure with a stop over at Cajas National Park.  After pickup from your Guayaquil hotel, you’ll visit a small farm for an immersive learning experience about Ecuadorian agriculture. Next, is a leisurely guided hike through the Cajas National Park around the stunning lakes.  After an included lunch, your driver delivers you to your Cuenca hotel.

The lush countryside outside of Guayaquil on the Ecuadorean coast packs big natural and cultural appeal. On this day tour, trade the bustle of the big city for the tranquility of the Churute Ecological Reserve. Spot tropical and migratory birds on a cruise through the estuary and keep your ears open for howler monkeys on Pancho Diablo Hill. In the afternoon, you’ll have time to sample artisan chocolate along the Cacao Route—the heart of Ecuador’s chocolate industry.

Make the most of the journey from Guayaquil to Cuenca, Ecuador. This full-day one-way trip includes a stop at a cacao farm to see how the main ingredient in chocolate is grown and processed. In Cajas National Park, enjoy a short hike through the high altitude paramo moorland which is an important and scenic watershed.

Hacienda La Danesa, a century-old working dairy, cacao, and teak farm, sits an hour outside of Guayaquil. With this tour, escape the busy city for a day on this family-owned hacienda with a selection of activities tailored to visitors. Tour a cocoa plantation, sample hacienda-made artisan goods, and tuck into a farm-to-table lunch. The afternoon leaves time for river tubing, a guided bike ride, or an optional Guayaquil city tour.

Spend a day exploring the Isle of Silver which is also known as a mini Galapagos. Short hiking trails provide opportunities to see marine birds including blue-footed boobies, red-footed boobies, pelicans, frigate birds, and albatrosses. Snorkel around the island to enjoy coral reefs and marine life including colorful reef fish, sea turtles, manta rays, dolphins, and even sea lions. Whales may also be spotted from June to September.

Spend a 12-hour day at the Barceló Colón Miramar, with drinks, meals, and transportation included from Guayaquil. Enjoy tours of the local Chocolatera and Salt Pool.

This full-day tour of some of the most beautiful and popular coastal areas of Ecuador includes Salinas, the San Lorenzo boardwalk, white sand beaches around the Ruta del Sol and Ballenita Beach, salt mines, a sea lion refuge, a nautical and pirate museum, and an included seafood lunch.

At Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island), you don’t have to fly all the way to the Galapagos to enjoy Ecuador’s diverse birdlife. This day trip from Guayaquil takes you from Puerto Morro through the mangrove forests of the coast to an island where numerous species of migratory birds make their home. Spot frigates, albatross, pink herons, cormorants, and boobies in their natural environments.

Visit a family-owned cacao farm on a 4-hour tour from Guayaquil, and see how Ecuadorian chocolate goes from freshly-harvested fruit to the finished product. Learn about planting and harvesting, help toast, husk, and grind the cacao seeds, and eat a farm lunch made with organic ingredients grown onsite. This 4-hour cacao farm tour includes pickup and drop-off at your hotel in Guayaquil, all activities, and lunch.

Salinas, with its condos and white sands reminiscent of Miami Beach, sits on Ecuador’s Pacific coast directly west of Guayaquil. With this full-day tour, escape the busy streets of Ecuador’s biggest port city for a day hiking along the coast and relaxing on the beach. Stop to soak in the views from La Chocolatera, the westernmost point on the Ecuadorean mainland.

We start at 8:30 am where we will do two different activities in a single day visiting a protected reserve that houses 54 species of mammals in which we highlight the Howler Monkey, 221 species of birds, 8 amphibians and 12 varieties of reptiles. We will walk through an extensive vegetation surrounded by trees representative of the dry forest. We will continue our journey in a cocoa farm. We will learn the production process in the machines and equipment that have been designed and built in the same facilities by the master chocolatiers. First you start with toasting, which together with the fermentation process is crucial for the aromas and flavors of chocolate to develop. This activity is defined as "natural planting chocolate". It is very important to emphasize that chocolate is made in the same plantation, giving an unparalleled importance to the origin of the product that is elaborated with in the farm.

Trade crowded streets of Guayaquil for a day of adventure experiencing Ecuador’s wildlife and popular Varadero beach.  Private transportation takes you and your guide to Puerto el Morro, with a stop at San Jacinto. The comprehensive - but leisurely paced - day tour also takes you on a boat tour, before you get to unwind on Varadero beach. Then, relax as comfortable transport returns you to the city.

Join one of Ecuador's most popular beach clubs for the day on this all-inclusive escape from Guayaquil, Ecuador. The sun, sand, and surf of Villamil Beach are yours and all resort facilities, lunch, and open bar are also included for full Pacific Coast relaxation.

If you want a day of non-stop adventure, this is the tour for you.  Private pickup from Guayaquil takes you to Riobamba, where you’ll hop on the Ice Train with your guide and discover some of Ecuador’s best natural wonders and meet the famous Baltazar Ushca.  You’ll also visit La Maya, where you’ll learn from the descendants of the Puruha people. After an included meal, head back to Guayaquil.

Escape the concrete jungle for a couple of hours inside the Botanical Garden of Guayaquil. Avoid the confusion and crowds that come with public transit and relax in private round trip transportation from your hotel. With a pre-purchased ticket, there’s no need for you to wait in line at the entrance. In just two hours, you’ll experience over 300 plant species and animals ranging from squirrel monkeys to red piranhas.

Visit one of the most important sites of this huge ecological reserve, watch the increible amount of exotical birds that inhabit the site and learn the types of planting of cocoa, a bit of history of the estate, will walk through the plantations and elaborate homemade chocolate while enjoy a traditional lunch.

We start the tour from the hotel or airport and depart for the seminar park characterized by beautiful iguanas that walk relaxed near their visitors. Then we will visit the Malecon 2000, an emblematic place of the city, from there we will take a boat that will take us along the Guayas River to Santay Island, a place very popular for its flora and fauna. After that we will visit "La Perla" and  Santa Ana hill. At the end we will visit the Craft market of Guayaquil. Other important place to visit is The General Cementery, the eye-catching white architectonic group formed by magnificent mausoluems.

Swap city life for a day at the beach with this full-day private tour to Salinas Beach from Guayaquil, including lunch and hotel pick-up.  After a scenic drive along the coast, stop to admire the views at the Punta Carnero, Ancon and Anconcit beaches and keep a lookout for pink flamingos and other wildlife. Finally, make the most of your free time to explore independently, take a fishing cruise or enjoy swimming and sunbathing on the white sand beaches.