Quito homestay with classes

Ecuador | 14 days / 13 nights

DAY 1: USA | QUITO

¡Bienvenidos a Ecuador! A Forum Tour Representative will greet you at the airport and help you transfer to your host families.

After breakfast at home, meet your group at school, located just 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from your host family.
On your first day, attend a welcome orientation, meet your teachers and learn how your classes will work.
Attend Spanish classes from 8am – 12pm.
Return to your host family for lunch.
In the afternoon, participate in a variety of cultural activities such as: a guided city tour, salsa dance lessons or a visit to a local high school.
Return to your host family for dinner and night accommodation.

After breakfast, board your private bus to Otavalo. Practice your Spanish with local vendors at the Mercado de Ponchos, a traditional outdoor craft market filled with colorful tapestries, beautiful hand-knit sweaters, wood carvings, silver jewelry, panama hats, and more.
Stop for lunch at Cotacachi, a charming artisan town dedicated to the production of fine leather goods.
End the day with a visit to Cuicocha and admire the amazing crater lake.
Return to your host family for dinner and night accommodation.

After breakfast at home, meet your group for a day trip to Mindo, one of the most biologically diverse spots in Ecuador. Here, the eco-regions of the Tropical Andes and the Chocoanlowlands meet.
Visit a private 650-hectare cloud forest reserve, home to a multitude of epiphytes (air plants), including bromeliads, orchids, moss and ferns, as well as different species of brilliantly-colored hummingbirds
Continue to a butterfly farm where you’ll be immersed in an exhibition of 25 varieties of the vibrant, delicate creatures.
After lunch in the area, learn hands-on how to make chocolate from cocoa beans at a local chocolate factory.
Return to your host family for dinner and night accommodation.

After breakfast at home, attend Spanish classes (8am – 12pm).
Return to your host family for lunch.
In the afternoon, participate in a variety of cultural activities such as: an Ecuadorian cooking class, a soccer match or a visit to a local music school.
Dinner and night accommodation with your host family (on your last night, enjoy a farewell dinner with your group at a local restaurant).

After breakfast, say a fond “hasta luego” to your host family and transfer to the airport for your return flight home.