Quilotoa Lagoon Full-Day Tour from Quito with Entrance Fees daily
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Quito, Ecuador
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Laguna Quilotoa, a blue-green volcanic crater lake, sits in the rugged Andean countryside south of Quito. With this tour, escape the busy streets of Quito for an all-inclusive day in the Andes, and see Quilotoa Lake from two different lookouts on the crater rim with views of Cotopaxi in the distance. En route back to Quito, spend some time craft workshops in Tigua.
- Views of Quilotoa Lagoon from the crater rim and up close
- Visits craft workshops known for colorful pictures and pottery
- Choose from several convenient meeting points in central Quito
- A small group means more attention from your guide
What's Included
- Tourist transport
- Bilingual guide (English / Spanish)
- All entrances
- Details not especified
- Tips
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
Se confirmará la hora y lugar de pick up hasta las 21h00 pm del día anterior a su tour, si no recibe esta información debe contactarse al +593983359-796, realizamos pick ups en las 3 zonas: La Carolina, Plaza Foch, Plaza Grande, si deseas ser retirado en otra zona podemos hacer con un pago adcional/The time and place of pick-up will be confirmed until 9:00 p.m. the day before your tour departes. If you do not receive this information, you must contact +593983359-796, We make pick ups in this 3 main areas: La Carolina, Plaza Foch, Plaza Grande, if you want you can add a transfer with extra fee.
Operating hours.7:00 am
Itinerary
1
Laguna Quilotoa
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Canon del Rio Toachi
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Raymond_W
Easy going, fun, friendly tour guide and people along the way. The short visit to the locals in the hill was great along the way. The lake itself is beautiful with great weather. The water was blue and scenic. Was able to even rent a kayak into the water as well as ride the donkey back up if you’re not feeling the hike back up.
Irene the tour guide was informative and helpful throughout the journey. She is enthusiastic and patient the whole way. She has good tips and advice along the trip including food places and reasonable prices.
Andres the driver was professional and very good on the road. Was able to nap most of the way there and back.
Reviews
4.9
based on 614 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Donald_I, Jun 2026
I was on the ‘Quilotoa Lagoon full day’ tour, with our amazing guide Irene, who was very knowledgable about Quito and Ecuador, past history and present. Irene was very friendly, helpful and happy to answer any of my questions. The tour included amazing views of the lagoon, and an option of trekking down to the water level, which was great, although slightly difficult due to the sandy ground. Decent walking boots are definitely required. Trekking back up though, was definitely tough, due to the sheer ascent and the altitude (donkeys are available though, to take you back up to the top, if it's too much of an ordeal). The tour was all at an unrushed pace, with plenty of opportunities for photos. We had a fantastic lunch, with really delicious food (great vegetarian options). Great communication before the trip, confirming time and pickup location. I would thoroughly recommend this tour, and | learnt and saw so much, with my amazing, friendly and smiley guide.
Anna_A, Jun 2026
Tour guide was super friendly and helpful! Would definitely recommend others to do. Wonderful views and taste of culture.
Steve_S, May 2026
This hike is phenomenal. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, the altitude is a killer - but it's worth it. We were advised against taking donkeys, so elderly folks beware. Lunch was good, not great but the environment and vibes are excellent. Our driver and tour guide were very nice too. On our way to the lake we received lots of information about Ecuador and it's volcanos, but I wish we received a little more information about the lake and it's ecology. Overall, I definitely recommend this for a more physical and exciting excursion.
Kayla_H, May 2026
Amazing experience! Carlos was a wonderful guide and very accommodating! I loved stopping at the craft shop and got to pick up a unique, locally made piece of art. The lagoon was absolutely stunning and he did a wonderful perimeter hike with us since nobody wanted to go to the bottom of the crater! Definitely the best day trip we did from Quito!
ChiehFeng_L, May 2026
Amazing day trip. Our tour guide Liz was great. Visited some small town and saw some indigenous homes. Quilotoa was pretty, love the small town vibe.
Ellis_B, May 2026
Great day trip from Quito. Small hike to the crater rim with optional challenging hike down to the lake. Guide very friendly and helpful. Location for food was decent
Sandra_L, May 2026
Just amazing. Dani the tour guide is bilingual and attention to detail every step of the way. The design of the itinerary is amazing and I had a fabulous time.
John_I, Apr 2026
If you are going to force us go to a specific restaurant to eat with the group that does not accept credit cards, then you must tell us to bring cash. If you going to ask us to give coins to the indigenous people then you must tell us to bring coins and not big dollars.
I prefer not to carry much cash. Not being able to eat with the tour group made the trip less than excellent. Please tell future clients. Thank you
Raymond_W, Apr 2026
Easy going, fun, friendly tour guide and people along the way. The short visit to the locals in the hill was great along the way. The lake itself is beautiful with great weather. The water was blue and scenic. Was able to even rent a kayak into the water as well as ride the donkey back up if you’re not feeling the hike back up.
Irene the tour guide was informative and helpful throughout the journey. She is enthusiastic and patient the whole way. She has good tips and advice along the trip including food places and reasonable prices.
Andres the driver was professional and very good on the road. Was able to nap most of the way there and back.
Seetha_V, Jan 2026
I had a fantastic experience during this tour. I was picked up on time from my hotel, the guide Josue was phenomenal. It was a rainy, cloudy and miserable day but the guide nevertheless made it a fun day for us. The hike down to the lake was fun and the view at the bottom was well worth it. He made sure that we all were safe on the hike down to the lake and back. I highly recommend this tour.
Katrina_T, Jan 2026
Quilotoa was a great landmark to visit, we did the hike down to the lake and back up.. we are fairly big hikers and found that plenty of time was needed for the walk back up as the altitude has a big effect on breathing.
Only downside as we took the trip from Quito was the three and a half hour drive there and back!
Mara_M, Oct 2025
We had a wonderful day with a variety of experiences and Alejandro was a fantastic guide! We highly recommend this trip.
Pamela_M, Oct 2025
It was a full day experience which was fun and informative. While the travel between each site was quite lengthy, there were enough breaks and the guide Diana made it interesting by sharing information about Ecuador and its local history and culture. The driver was professional and got us to our destinations on time. The group was reasonably-sized, not too large and not too small. Quilotoa was beautiful! The short stop at Senor Julian's house was informative and humbling. Overall, a wonderful trip!
Sahil_N, Aug 2025
Everything ran on schedule, well planned/organized, and as presented (if not even better) than website.
Hike itself at the lake is quite tough, especially if you are not acclimatized, but even if you don’t do that the views are amazing.
Adrian (guide) and Ivan (driver) were both fantastic.
Mettayya_F, Aug 2025
I had a wonderful experience. The hike to the crater was difficult but satisfying. I made it halfway. :) The food was authentic, very inexpensive, and delicious. Thank you.
Ginger_C, Mar 2025
We had a great day with the tour. Our guide Adrian was very knowledgeable, considerate, and well-organized. Our driver Jimmy ensured we had a smooth experience.
Olivia_S, Jan 2025
The guide was amazing and very friendly. Gave lots of information that was relevant and interesting. Quiltoa lagoon was stunning. Love the inclusion of visiting a traditional indigenous family and going to an art shop to support indigenous artists and communities.
sq44qdsk22, Jan 2025
Beautiful place and beautiful scenery during the drive. Our tour guide Joshua and the driver were great. Took lots of our pictures. Enjoyed the rim trail hike.
mdanio, Dec 2024
I did the tour with Fernando. It took us around 3h to get to Quilotoa but before getting there we stopped by a house of an Indigenous family to see the products they grow and the way they live. Once we reached Quilotoa, we spend a few mins taking pictures of the lake and then went down to the bottom of the crater. It took me over 35 mins to get to the viewing platform and almost an hour to get back up. It was quite strenuous and made harder by the loose sand you have to walk on. We then had lunch in the restaurant nearby and drove back to Quito. It took over 3.5h to get back because of an accident along the way that forced us to sit in a standstill traffic for over an hour. But aside from that it was a relaxing day.
Vjera_R, Dec 2024
Carlos was amazing in navigating this trip. He hiked with us, shared his knowledge about Ecuador and also kayaked with us down the lake. This tour is amazing and also the lunch at the end of the tour is great. Also, the transport is very comfortable
Jemma_P, Aug 2024
This was a good day, a few interesting stops and a short hike. The whole thing was organised well and not too rushed. The guide was helpful
Georsadd_G, Aug 2024
I was picked up way in advance of the pick up time. It was a really long drive but you get great views anyway. I was with a group of Spanish speakers so I commend Felipe, our guide for translating everything for me - although I feel like not everything was translated. It is a trek downhill so I suggest doing it as fast as you can so you get more time at the crater - you can do a boat ride or kayak. I bet it is more challenging returning so I decided to rent a horse (to save my energy for other tours) on the way up. Again, thanks to Felipe for organising this. I enjoyed the food in the restaurant too - amazing Ecuadorian dishes.
Jamie_H, Aug 2024
Great tour! Ernesto was a great guide, provided a lot of information. Quilotoa was beautiful and we had a really nice day!
Suzan_M, May 2024
Adrian, our guide, was so informative, patient and supportive on our hike, and overall terrific! Jimmy, our driver, was very kind and maneuvered treacherous road conditions expertly. Quilotoa was beautiful and well worth the visit.
Jenny_T, Apr 2024
Our tour leader (Adrian) speaks English very well. He explained everything about Ecuador. He is very on time when he picked me up. The hiking was very rough but he made everything so easy and we made it until the end. He is so friendly. He asked one by one why visited Ecuador and we are like knowing of each other for so long. He remember our name as well. I really enjoyed it.
Julien_F, Mar 2024
The Quilotoa crater is a beautiful location, the hike back up is quite challenging and we got a lot of rain on top of it so not an easy tour but definitely worth the trip. Our guide Irene was awesome, super friendly and energetic, spoke good english and took good care of us.
James_K, Jan 2024
The tour was great. Irene the tour guide was full of energy and provided a lot of extra information during the drive and also taught us different words. She was great. Irene provided us guidance and time to meet back for lunch, which allowed everone in the grouo to explore, which I really appreciated.
Jessica_H, Jan 2024
Quilotoa was amazing and definitely is something that you should do if you are in Ecuador. The hike back up is not as bad as everyone says it is if you are in decent shape and you stop to rest every once in a while. But they didn't leave us enough time on the tour to hike down and explore and hike all the way back up. There were too many stops at the beginning of the tour that were unnecessary.
Dan_E, Jan 2024
The lagoon is beautiful but the hike back up is very challenging.(you can pay for a ride on a mule for 10$ if needed). It is along drive to get there 3 to 3:30 but the scenery is beautiful. There are only a couple of extra stops along the way so it was a low key excursion. It worked well for us as a third trip since we had already received a lot of information previously. Our guide didn’t speak very much compared to the other tours.
La_D, Jan 2024
The Quilotoa crater is beautiful, however the morning stops could have been skipped or at least done in the afternoon so as to arrive earlier in Quilotoa, as the view there tends to be clearer in the morning (we arrived a bit after noon only). Our guide Jessica was very nice though, and the pick up & drop off at my hotel was very convenient.
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