Complimentary nights in Mindo Cloud Forest with your Galápagos cruise

By David Brito, Galapagos Dana Tours · Mindo, Ecuador · Updated 5 October 2026

Every Galápagos cruise booked with Galapagos Dana Tours includes a stay at our own lodge, Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa, in Mindo Cloud Forest, two hours west of Quito. Not a discount voucher: the nights, the meals and the private transfers from and to Quito, on every departure we sell, with more included as the cruise fare rises. This page explains the three tiers, what each one includes, how the offer attaches to your booking, and what two or three days in the cloud forest look like after a week at sea.

The three tiers

The tier depends on the cruise fare per person you pay, whatever the class of yacht, and a reduced last-minute fare qualifies in the same way as a full one. The exact thresholds are in the questions at the end of this page. In the cruise finder every departure shows its tier, and the Mindo All-Inclusive page lists only the departures marked ★.

How it attaches to your booking

The offer is part of the cruise booking, not an afterthought. When you reserve a departure with us, the Mindo stay is written into the confirmation with its tier, the number of nights, the transfer dates and what is included, so there is nothing vague about it. Two things worth knowing:

1. It exists at booking time. If you booked your cruise elsewhere, we cannot attach the Mindo stay to it. If you are still comparing yachts, ask us to price your shortlist; the Mindo side often settles the comparison.
2. The dates are flexible. The stay can go before or after the cruise, and the lodge checks its availability for every booking, so you are never promised a room that does not exist.

Before or after the cruise?

Both work, and most guests choose after: a week of early landings and night sails, then two or three days where nothing is scheduled and the loudest sound is a hummingbird. The case for before is altitude and energy: Quito sits at 2,850 metres, Mindo at 1,300, and spending the first nights in the forest means boarding the yacht rested and acclimatised, with your main luggage left in Quito. Serious birders prefer after, because the dawn at Refugio Paz de las Aves asks for a 5:30 start and no yacht to catch. Our Quito and Mindo before the cruise page makes the case for first; our combining Galápagos and Mindo page lays out the 10-, 12- and 14-day shapes either way.

What a stay looks like

Two or three nights is the usual length, and this is the shape most guests follow:

Day 1. Private transfer from Quito, about two hours over the western cordillera and down into the cloud forest, arriving for lunch. In the afternoon, the hummingbird gardens, where a dozen species crowd the feeders at once, or the butterfly garden if the afternoon rain arrives on schedule. Dinner at Brito Restaurante, our fine-dining kitchen at the lodge: Ecuadorian and international plates on local ingredients, cooked in an open kitchen by chefs from Mindo.

Day 2. The waterfalls of the Nambillo valley, reached by the tarabita, a cable car that crosses 500 metres above the forest, with trails to seven falls from twenty minutes to two hours. Chocolate in the afternoon at a bean-to-bar maker in town, then the pool and the spa.

Day 3. Birding at first light, with a certified guide on the Plus and All-Inclusive tiers: the Andean cock-of-the-rock lek at dawn and the antpittas that come to be fed by hand at Refugio Paz de las Aves. A slow breakfast, and the transfer to Quito for your flight.

Add a day and you can do the zipline over the canopy, a full birding day at higher altitude, or nothing at all, which after a cruise is a legitimate plan.

The practical notes

• Flights. Galápagos flights land in Quito in the early or mid afternoon, so the transfer to Mindo can be the same day. For an international departure, leave Mindo in the morning and allow four hours before the flight; the road has no fast alternative.
• Weather. The cloud forest is wetter from late October to April, with rain most afternoons; the lodge schedules the day around it, feeders and the butterfly garden when it rains, trails when it clears.
• Fitness. The activities are gentle, but the forest is hilly. Tell us about any mobility limits when you book and the programme adapts.
• Extra nights. You can add nights and days to any tier at the lodge’s rates; ask us when you book the cruise.

Why we do it

We run both halves: the cruise agency in the islands and the lodge in the cloud forest, in the same family, which is why the stay can be included rather than sold. Guests who add Mindo end the trip rested instead of wrung out, see a second Ecuador that costs nothing extra, and fly home from Quito either way. The honest advice is still to choose the cruise on itinerary, yacht and dates first, and let Mindo be the part that makes the trip whole.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Mindo stay really free with a Galápagos cruise?

Yes. Every cruise booked with Galapagos Dana Tours includes nights at Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa, all meals and private transfers between Quito and Mindo. Higher fares add the activities, and the highest add a private guide and private transport.

Which cruises include Mindo Plus or Mindo All-Inclusive?

Departures with a fare of US$3,500 or more per person include Mindo Plus, which adds tickets for the activities. Departures with a fare of US$5,000 or more per person are marked ★ and include Mindo All-Inclusive, with a private guide throughout, private transport to every activity, laundry and the spa. Last-minute fares count in the same way.

How many nights in Mindo are included?

Usually two or three, more on request. The number is confirmed in writing with the cruise booking, along with the transfer dates.

Can I take the Mindo nights before the cruise?

Yes. Before works well for acclimatisation and for leaving luggage in Quito; after works well as decompression and for early-morning birding. Tell us your preference when you book.

What if I already booked my cruise with another agency?

The stay is part of our cruise booking, so it cannot be added afterwards to a cruise bought elsewhere. We are happy to quote the lodge’s rates for a paid stay instead.

Related reading

The three trip shapes are in combining Galápagos and Mindo; the argument for the cloud forest first is in Quito and Mindo before your cruise; and the honeymoon version is in the Galápagos honeymoon guide.

Sources

• Cruises with Mindo All-Inclusive, Galapagos Dana Tours
• Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa
• Brito Restaurante, Mindo

Last verified: October 2026

After the islands, the cloud forest: Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa, Mindo Cloud Forest, included with every cruise we book.