Cuenca to Guayaquil one-way tour with Cajas Park and a Cacao Farm visit

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. From Cuenca, we will drive through the famous Andes mountains to Toreadora refuge, located in Cajas National Park. This park is one of the most important protected areas in the south of Ecuador and the main supplier of water of Cuenca. You will marvel at the beautiful scenery found in this area. We will have the opportunity to do a hike (optional) to explore the Polylepis Forest and Moorland ecosystems with its lakes. Then we will cross the continental divide and continue our drive to the lowlands making stops to enjoy the beautiful scenery if weather permitting.

   1.5 hAdmission included

2. On the way, we will stop for lunch at this very local restaurant where the specialty is trout, however, there are several options including vegetarian and vegan. Our tour guide will advise you. You will also have the chance to enjoy the mysterious Andes mountains views from this point.

   1 h

3. Taste the natural sweetness that is part of the cuisine and daily life of Ecuadorians. This local market booming with colors and fruits is one of the most interesting experiences in this area, with our experienced tour guide will learn and sample (If you like to) some of the local sweet and exotic fruits grown here. If you think you know the taste of bananas, mandarines, coconut, dragon fruit, passionfruit to name a few, get ready for the real flavor of these delicious fruits!

   15 min

4. Ever tasted the pulp of fresh cacao beans? We will visit a local family farm, the main product growing here is cacao (base to make chocolate), however, they have many other products such as breadfruit, coffee, passionfruit, pineapple, among many others. You will be able to experience the process of craft chocolate making and try it if you like to while our tour guide explains the history of cacao and the local customs as well. After a full-day trip, we will drop you in Guayaquil at your hotel, airport or the location of your choice.

   30 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 56 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5A wonderful one way tour

  We had a 4 day tour from Quito to Cuenca with Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, Baños and Chimborazo with a great guide Luis. We spent a day at Cuenca by ourselves. We were fortunate to have Luis again to continue with a one way day tour from Cuenca to Guayaquil with Cajas Park and a Cacao Farm visit. The tour was equally wonderful. We hiked the famous Laguna La Toreadora, visited a fruit market, a Cacao farm, and had late lunch at a seafood restaurant at the coastal region. Luis pointed out many signs of change in ecosystems along the way from the Andes to the coastal. It was fun and educational.

  Xiao_LAugust 2026via Viator

• 5The only way to travel through Ecuador

  Having guided transportation is a game changer, and we were so lucky this time around to have Luis be our driver and our guide! The ride was super comfortable and Luis made everything convenient and easy - guiding us through Cajas National Park, to an amazing, small cacao family operation, and finally a superb lunch. Will certainly use this company again and request his services again when we return to Ecuador. Highly recommend!

  brandongB1405IHJuly 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Amazing trip, very...

  Amazing trip, very pleasant drive through bio diverse zones, beautiful vistas, opportunities to learn about local culture and customs; Wilson is a wonderful guide, very pleasant and eager to share his knowledge.

  Roxana_SMay 2026via Viator

• 3Fun way to travel between the cities, but seems disorganised

  So it was overall a fun way to travel from Cuenca to Guayaquil, and do some sightseeing along the way. I will preface this by saying that I did this solo, so the cost of $190 was just for me and actively choose not to do the cacao farm, so I admit that my activities were consciously limited. My first guide, Xavier, was fantastic, incredibly knowledgable, and interesting. The drive up into the National Park was incredible, Xavier's knowledge of the fauna and flora was great and it was absolutely stunning. My issue really was that we then had to drive back down the way we came for 20 minutes to go have lunch, rather than continuing in the same direction. Lunch was fine, but the portion side was quite small. We were then waiting around for another 30 minutes, for a new driver to come, the drivers switched, and then we drove the other 20 minutes back into the National Park to where we started off from. It was basically just an hour and a half of wasted time, which could have been solved if there was one driver, who took you to a restaurant which was en route, rather than doubling back on yourself. Also my second driver spoke so loudly he was effectively shouting in my ear which made the journey somewhat unpleaseant. Overall, it's a cool thing to do, Cajas is beautiful and it's a fun way to travel between the two cities, but is it worth $190? I'm not sure.

  williammI9088HNFebruary 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Comfortable ride with Ecuadorean experience

  Wilson was a great guide for our trip. He pointed out lots of interesting information. The coffee farm visit was really fun with a delicious lunch and the short hike at cajas was beautiful. We really liked Wilson’s commentary about nature. Highly recommend.

  NinaC1376December 2025via Tripadvisor

• 5Great tour!

  Wilson was a great guide. Very accommodating to both of us. Safe driver. I highly recommend this tour if you are traveling between Guayaquil and Cuenca.

  MattJones72August 2025via Tripadvisor

Know before you go

How it compares in Cuenca

• Its from-price is 13% below the median of the 123 experiences we list in Cuenca.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 10 of 123.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cuenca

Cuenca is a high Andean city in southern Ecuador, a UNESCO-listed colonial centre with a blue-domed cathedral, flower markets and four rivers.

Cuenca sits at about 2,500 metres in a basin of the southern Andes, and its historic centre is listed by UNESCO. The Tomebamba River runs beside the old quarter, with colonial houses overlooking its banks. The New Cathedral, with its three blue domes, faces Parque Calderón, and the nearby flower market sells roses and orchids. Spanish settlers founded the city in 1557 close to the Inca city of Tomebamba.

Top-ranked sights in Cuenca: Mirador de Turi.

See all 123 experiences in Cuenca