Mindo Private Tour, Full Day from Quito

This was an amazing tour of all the highlights of the Cloud Forest in a single day. We were picked up in a modern well maintained van with A/C and room for 8 (6 guests plus guide and driver) as well as USB charging ports. Our guide Jhonatan was not only very knowledgable about Ecuador and the Cloud Forest but was fantastic with languages, and was able to notice and explain the difference between English, Spanish and Chichua (the indigenous language). All of the stops were worthwhile. Warning: there are spoilers ahead! We got some backstory on the local patterns of settlement while visiting the Pululuahua volcano. Feeding hummingbirds was a highlight, as was the tour of the coffee farm and coffee tasting at the same site. We saw many butterflys at the garden and began to notice subtle differences between for example the outer patterns of the owl and morpho butterflys. Not all types were as interested in being fed by hand. We also had fun climbing on the bamboo structures. Jhonatan gave us multiple options for the waterfall hike, and we picked one (Nambillo) that worked for the whole family and got some great pictures. We chose not to go swimming, but there are changing rooms and a bathroom at the bottom of the trail. The cable car ride to the start of the hike was fun and on the way back gave us a new perspective on the stream. The highlight of the trip was the excellent chocolate tour at Mindo Maya. We not only got an overview of the process of chocolate making starting from varieties of plants, but got to taste the fruit and beans at every step of the way. We also got to try raw cocoa powder that we ground our self, both plain and with coffee (mocha), pure hot cocoa, regular hot cocoa and a brownie with some fruit. The we had a tasting with sixteen different kinds of chocolate with an anazing tea made from cocoa fruit as a pallet cleanser. We also did the cocoa facial which led to some additional fun photos. Truly an outstanding experience.

Lovely day spent around Mindo. Jhonatan was a great guide, he customized the tour to suit us, and was good fun and very knowledgeable about the places we visited.

Ruben was an excellent guide who had a lot of knowledge to share about various topics and contributed greatly with his flexibility to make it an unforgettable day. We could decide for ourselves where we wanted to go and how much time we wanted to spend there, but the best and easiest option was to trust his recommendations. Our personal highlight was feeding the hummingbirds, but also the viewpoint over Pululahua, the waterfall, and the way there by cable car, the butterfly farm with a small subsequent birdwatching session, the chocolate tour with tasting, and the lunch at a restaurant on Ruben's recommendation were simply a 10/10. Even during the car rides, he was very responsible and always made us feel safe traveling from point A to point B. On the way to Mindo, he bought a piece of local cheese for us to try from the car window, which we enjoyed very much. It was an absolutely fantastic day, highly recommendable.

Our guide Jhonatan was excellent, very knowledgeable. He shared a lot of information and facts about country history, local customs. Everything was on time and good pace. Car was comfortable and very clean. Jhonatan's English is excellent. The whole tour was perfect. I will definitely recommend him. Thank you.

Since this was a private tour, the guide was willing to tailor the experience to things we really wanted to do. Our guide, Johnathan, was like a walking encyclopedia of the area--he provided so much interesting information about the area and local customs. Jaime was our driver and we felt very safe in his hands. We loved seeing the hummingbirds and butterflies!

This was the best day tour! Everything went so smoothly. I can’t pick a highlight has everything was so good and engaging: butterfly centre, chocolate tastings, coffee and birdwatching and the amazing food and fruits. Overall the guide and driver made the experience- Jhonathan was so knowledgeable, lovely person and Jimmy is so sweet. We learned a lot and want to come back to Quito soon.

We had the best guide ever...Jhonaton. Jhonaton and his driver, James aka James Bond 007 were a great team!! Jhonaton was truly the best....very knowledgeable, friendly and perhaps most importantly, FUN. When I come back to Ecuador I will search him out for another tour. I can't say enough good things about this tour.

Our guide, Jeannin, was incredible. She spoke perfect English, drove quite well, and constantly checked in on us. Our hotel was by the Quito Airport, which isn't listed on their pick-up locations, but Jeannin picked us up there anyway. She was early and accommodating when we were running a bit behind. My grandmother was having digestive issues and she helped us get medicine at the local pharmacy. She was friendly, knew lots, and we had an incredible day with her. Entrance to Volcano viewing ($5 per person), hummingbird watching ($5 per person), butterfly garden ($8.50 per person), chocolate tasting ($10 per person and includes a lot of chocolate and chocolate related products), and lunch in Mindo (we went to Sisakuna) not included. It was 45 minutes to volcano from Quito airport, 2 hours to Mindo (butterflies, birds, town in cloud forest), and about 2 hours back. We left at 7:30 and got back at 5:00. Would recommend to anyone, felt totally safe and supported.

Our tour of historic Quito was so wonderful - we booked a second day with Jon! He took us up to Mindo with a few stops along the way. We enjoyed butterflies and hummingbirds, a fabulous lunch and great time learning how to make chocolate! [Yum]. Once again, rave reviews for Jon and Bacan Ecuador Tours!

We absolutely loved this private tour with Jhonatan and Jaime. They were so knowledgeable about Ecuadorian history, biodiversity, and indigenous practices. We learned so much, tried many new fruits, and appreciated the ease in which our trip was personalized to our preferences. Would highly recommend!