After a Galápagos cruise, the last thing many guests want is to plan another trip. They’ve already picked a boat, compared itineraries, and juggled flights. The extension they choose next tends to be the one that requires zero further decisions. That’s who our all-inclusive programs are built for: fixed price, fixed structure, transfers included, and someone else handling the rain.

We run three programs at Las Terrazas de Dana. All prices are per person at the lower group price and include lodging, meals, guided activities and round-trip transport from Quito. Here’s what each one covers, and where the differences actually are.

The three programs at a glance

All three ask for a fair level of fitness. Nothing technical, but there are trails, and the cloud forest is hilly. If someone in your party has limited mobility, tell us before booking rather than after.

2 days / 1 night — Mindo Cloud Forest at a Glance

The short version. You leave Quito in the morning, stop at Mitad del Mundo on the way, and reach the lodge for lunch. The afternoon and the next morning cover the essentials: the hummingbird gardens, the butterfly house, and a first walk in the forest. You’re back in Quito for the evening of day two.

We think this program has one honest flaw: it’s tight. Two days gives you the postcard Mindo, not the forest itself. It’s the right choice when your cruise ends late in the week and your international flight home leaves soon, or when you want a taste before committing to a longer Andean leg of a future trip.

3 days / 2 nights — Relaxed Exploration of Mindo’s Cloudy Realm

The one we recommend most often after a cruise. The extra day changes the character of the trip: instead of racing between attractions, you get a cooking class, the chocolate experience at Mindo Chocolate Makers (formerly El Quetzal de Mindo), and proper time at the hummingbird feeders, where sitting still for an hour is the technique, not a failure to keep moving.

This is the program that fits the post-cruise mood. You’ve spent a week on a schedule; these three days have structure but no rush. At $820 per person, it’s also the middle option in every sense.

4 days / 3 nights — Adventure, Nature and Flavors in the Andean Chocó

The full version adds the waterfalls of the Río Nambillo valley, reached after the tarabita cable car crossing, plus everything the shorter programs cover. More forest time, more food, and enough slack to repeat whatever you liked best.

Choose this one if the cruise is early in a longer Ecuador stay, if you’re a birder who wants a full day with a guide rather than half, or if you simply know that two hours from Quito you’ll get more per day than almost anywhere else in the country. A dedicated birding day with a certified guide runs $90 for a half day or $150 for a full day, and the 4-day program gives you room for one without sacrificing the rest.

What “all-inclusive” actually means here

For clarity: lodging at the lodge, all meals, the activities listed for each program, and private transport Quito–Mindo–Quito (which on its own would be $105 each way). Entries and guide fees within the program are handled by us. Drinks outside meals, and anything you add on separately, are not. Exact inclusions shift slightly by season, so check current details when you enquire.

The kitchen behind those meals is worth naming: Brito Restaurante, our fine-dining restaurant on site — Ecuadorian and international plates with locally sourced ingredients, cooked in an open kitchen by Mindo chefs. It is the same room for every dinner of your program, which is why we keep the menu moving with the garden and the valley.

Where the programs fit after a cruise

A few practical notes on sequencing, whatever you choose.

Arrival day matters. Galápagos flights land near Quito mostly in the early or mid afternoon. Programs that start with a morning departure from the city pair best with a night in Quito after your cruise ends; trying to connect a same-day cruise arrival into a same-day Mindo program means a late start and a rushed afternoon, and we’d rather you arrive hungry than arrive exhausted. Tell us your flight number when you book and we’ll build the schedule around it.

The programs absorb the bad-weather problem for you. The cloud forest gets rain almost every afternoon, more from late October to April. On an all-inclusive stay, the guide shifts the day around it: feeders and the butterfly house when it’s wet, trails and waterfalls when it’s dry. If you’re assembling the extension yourself from day trips, that scheduling labor falls on you, and it’s the main hidden cost of the DIY version.

One honest limitation: the programs are shared-price group products, so if your party has specific needs — limited mobility, dietary restrictions, a birding target list with particular species — the customized programs exist for that, and they’re priced individually rather than from the three published figures. Ask rather than assume.

And the seasonal note that matters most for birders: the dawn lek at Refugio Paz de las Aves happens year-round at around 6 AM, but drier months make the trails easier. If your cruise dates are fixed and you want to know what the forest will be like when you get there, our month-by-month pages cover the detail.

Facts checked: September 2026