Otavalo Marketplace with Optional Lunch

Quito, Ecuador

Take a drive through Ecuador's breathtaking scenery, stopping along the way to take photos and soak up the truly amazing and diverse landscapes! Head for Otavalo Market and experience the local way of shopping as you barter for handicrafts and many other items!

Departing from Quito on the Pan-American North Highway, you'll make a brief stop in Calderon, a town where the famous 'masapan' dolls are made. If time allows, you'll make a second stop at the highway's mirador to admire and take pictures of the beautiful landscape and snow capped mountains of the zone.

Crossing the equatorial line at Guachala (used to be the middle of the world monument), you'll head up to Otavalo and make a stop at Mira Lago to take pictures of the beautiful San Pablo lake. The tour then continues to Otavalo where the Otavalenos (natives) set up a market in which a bartering manner of shopping is occurs. The market hosts a variety of different handcrafted items.

Continuing the trip, you'll go to Cotacachi, famous for its leather articles. Browse the shops or upgrade to the optional lunch package to enjoy the local flavors at the well known La Marquesa restaurant. Afterwards, you'll go to Peguche, a small village known for its waterfalls and wind instruments fabrics.

USD $54.99

Review by: Ward L	January 2012
This tour was quite disappointing compared to our other Viator experiences._br/_ Firstly, our scheduled 8 hour tour took over 10 hours and we almost missed an evening engagement with the rest of our travel group. Too much time allowed at shopping sites - the Otavalo Market (1.5 hours to visit too many similar stalls selling not so artisan goods and 1.75 hours checking out a street with leather stores as well as allowing time for lunch - which was quite good albeit in a tourist oriented restaurant). The food section of the market was very traditional, interesting and tasty!_br/_ Washroom breaks on the bus ride were well spaced and appreciated._br/_ Our tour group consisted of 20 passengers and Roberto, our guide, had half English and half Spanish speaking clients. I do understand a bit of Spanish and understand enough that when there is a 3 minutes explanation about a site or bit of history in Spanish and the English version takes but 30 seconds - the Anglophone version was missing some interesting points. In some cases he would not offer an English version unless asked - a specific example being his explanation of typical foods of a region in Spanish and only when asked did the English version come forward. _br/_ As noted previously, my wife and I have enjoyed 2 previous Viator tours - I would not recommend this tour as a one day venture to 'experience' Equadorian culture outside of Quito._br/_ The central market in Quito has all the same items and could be accessed more readily PLUS there were many stores that specialize had much higher quality and variety of clothing and handicraft goods including items from many South American countries.

Review by: CAROLLE H	December 2011
This was a well orgainized trip with frequent stops and enough time for shopping at several places. a great way to see the country side as well as Otavalo.

Review by: Suzanne N	July 2011
While the drive was pleasant your photograph of the market was totally misleading. We expected to go to a fresh produce market and instead we were taken to a craft market for tourists. We didn't want lunch so we were left to look after ourselves for three hours in a town with very little to look at._br/_ Our guide was poor and gave little information of value for the day and his time keeping was poor. In summary the day was a complete waste of time..leaving the hotel at 8.20am and not getting back until 7.10pm

Review by: Sophia T	May 2011
totally enjoyed this trip. Roberto was an excellent guide - very informative. We were given plenty of time to enjoy shopping in Otavalo. I would definately recommend this trip to anyone.

Review by: Joshua C	May 2011
"Horrible Service! Almost an Hour Late Picking Up! BEWARE!!"

Review by: Joy O	February 2011
Very good. Lots to see en route also. Market great fun, wish we had more time there instead of Cotaccachi leather area. Perhaps Peguche water falls could be a trip addition?

Review by: Norman R	January 2011
Salome was our guide and she was excellent. There were several interesting stops along the way which enhanced our visit to Otavalo. More time in Otavalo would be a good idea. We had 1.5 hours - maybe should be 2. We wondered why there was no stop when we crossed the equator. all in all a good trip and recommended.

Review by: Sophia T	January 2011
This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Ecuador! The pick up was right on time, the bus was clean and well maintained. We got to stop off at a few spots along the way and see the beautiful mountains which were breathtaking!! The trip to Otavalo included a woman from Otavalo who sang for us and explained her native costume to us. We had plenty of time to shop around at the market and purchased a lot of really nice items.

Review by: Trena R	October 2010
It was OK. If you only want to go to experience the market, there is a similar market containing items from all of the areas around Quito including Otavalo in Quito at La Mariscal. I would skip Otavalo and just go there. There is a nice scenic stop on the way and a little stop at town that specializes in leather. I would have preferred to spend more time enjoying the Andes along the way and then spend time in the Otavalo village itself and end it with a stop at the market instead of what it was, a chance to get tourist to shop

Review by: Luis L	October 2010
Despite the fantastic places to the itinerary, this was a very disappointing experience due to the poor conception and logistics of the tour. We were put in a very large bus with over 120 people (this is just unacceptable considering the location, logistics and number of places to visit). We lost several hours just hotel pick ups. With so many people, there were a group of guests who were constantly and significantly late (up to 40 minutes in each stop), translating into at least a quarter of the time just waiting in the bus for others. The guide was rather unfriendly and stressed, helpful only when pressed. This is a pity because he was obviously knowledgeable and experienced. The first two stops in Quito (particularly Calderon) are only mildly interesting and they take away critical time from the true interesting stops in Otavalo. We barely had about an hour in the most important and most interesting stop (the Otavalo market) out of an exhausting, frustrating and poorly organized 12 hour marathon. This is rarely outrageous. If I had known this, I would not have taken this tour at all and would have paid a bit more for a private arrangement. Bottom line: This was a stressful and sadly disappointing 12-hour tourist shopping tour in appalling conditions that provides a ridiculous amount of time for the truly interesting and supposedly primary objective of the tour (The Otavalo indigenous market).

Review by: Phylis B C, United States of America	July 2010
Could have stayed all day!

Review by: Phylis B. C	July 2010
Could have stayed all day!

Review by: Ernel F, United States of America	June 2010
Very knowledgeable guide. Thank you Roberto.

Review by: dorothy d, United States of America	June 2010
excellent tour. knowlegable & personable tour guide. Roberto was the greatest!

Review by: Ernel Arcangel F	June 2010
Very knowledgeable guide. Thank you Roberto.

Review by: Dorothy D	June 2010
excellent tour. knowlegable & personable tour guide. Roberto was the greatest!

Review by: Gerald D, United States of America	April 2010
This tour was amazing. The guide was very knowledgeable and quite helpful. It is rather long 10 hours, but worth it. It is not necessary to take the optional lunch as there is more than enough time to do it on your own.

Review by: Laura P, United States of America	April 2010
The trip was really good! There were lots of stops along the way to give you a full view of different aspects of Ecuadorian life. The only thing I wish is that we had more time in the actual market. The trip was based on Otavalo but we didn't get to explore it enough.

Review by: Daniel M, United States of America	December 2009
We had a great time on the tour. This is the second time we used Viator and both tours have been great. Our guide, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and a great ambassador for her country, Ecuador.

Review by: Mary T, United States of America	December 2009
Great tour. Enjoyed the extra stops for dough figures and leather. Tour guide very knowledgable and interesting.

Review by: Jeremy W, United States of America	September 2009
Lots of fun. Search out for the best items and bargain hard!!!

Review by: Anonymous, China	August 2009
Just OK.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2009
Not so much the market but the sightseeing on the way to the market was beautiful. The "inside" market in downtown Quito on George Washington Street had better prices and very similar merchandise.

Review by: Israel B, Israel	March 2008
Nice, authentic, and colorful items made this whole experience fun.

Review by: Rafael K, Israel	March 2008
Nice, shopping, unique.

Review by: William W, United States of America	September 2007
Since the main destination of the tour was Otavalo, I would have preferred more time there. I would have skipped the first stop at a store in a town along the way so that there would have been more time in Otavalo.

Review by: Sharon P, United Kingdom	May 2007
I was very happy with the staff; the tour leader was great and spoke fluent English and Spanish, and he was very informative. The driver was very careful and considerate on the roads, and the vehicle was quite modern and comfortable. The market and other places we went to were great, and lunch was fine, too. However, the tour could have been slightly more "eco friendly". The tour leader showed us how a certain species of plant can be used as a needle and thread by pulling off the "needle" from the plant and later disposing of it. If this is repeated every week, that's a lot of plants being damaged needlessly. Also he showed us an insect that the Ecuadorians use for dye. He squashed an insect in front of us as an example. I for one feel these examples could have been explained verbally.