Tailor-made Holiday · Ecuador
A Private Ecuador Escape: Quito & the Cloud Forest
Tailor-made, always
Every trip built from scratch around your dates, pace and preferences.
Your own specialist
One named person and a 24-hour number while you travel.
Hundreds of five-star reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot across ten years of LGBTQ+ luxury travel.
At a glance
Not every trip to Ecuador needs the Amazon or the Galápagos, and four or five unhurried days between Quito and the cloud forest make the case for stopping there.
The trip opens in Quito, the first city named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where colonial architecture, gold-leafed churches, and a historic center still very much in daily use give the first two days their own sense of depth without the pressure of a longer itinerary pulling you toward the next region.
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From Quito, a short drive climbs into the clouds, and the forest on the other side holds more recorded bird species than most countries do in total. A private lodge sits suspended in the canopy here, glass-walled and quiet, with hummingbirds working the feeders outside the window and trails leading to waterfalls that few visitors ever reach.
This is Ecuador at its most concentrated rather than its most expansive, built around staying still rather than covering ground, and there is a particular kind of freedom in a place this quiet, a canopy trail with no one else on it, a lodge where you are simply two travelers watching hummingbirds rather than anything else.
This is a private, tailor-made trip rather than a fixed-date group tour, and our LGBTQ+ travel specialists build the pacing entirely around you, down to how many of the cloud forest's trails make it onto the schedule before it is time to leave.
Day by day
This is a sample plan, not a fixed departure. Days can be added, removed or reordered, and almost every client changes something. Prices are an entry-level guide; your quote will be exact.
Day 1: Arrival in Quito
A private transfer from the airport into the city, settling you into a hotel chosen for its easy reach of the historic center.
Quito sits at roughly nine thousand feet, ringed by volcanoes on every side.
The rest of the day is left open to adjust to the altitude before the days ahead.
Day 2: Quito
A private, English-speaking guide leads you on foot through the historic center, generally considered Latin America’s best-preserved colonial old town, through Plaza Grande and the gold-leafed interior of the Compañía de Jesús church.
The afternoon is left free, whether that means a return visit to a favorite corner of the old town or a stop at Mitad del Mundo, the monument marking the equator just outside the city.
Day 3: Quito to the Cloud Forest
A private transfer climbs roughly two hours from Quito into a private cloud forest reserve of primary rainforest largely untouched by development.
Check in to a glass-walled lodge suspended in the canopy, and spend the late afternoon on an easy trail near the lodge itself, an introduction to a forest that reveals more the slower you move through it.
Day 4: The Cloud Forest
A full day inside the reserve is split between guided hikes through primary forest; a ride along the Dragonfly, a gondola strung through the canopy for a view over the treetops rarely available on foot; and time at the lodge’s hummingbird feeders, where a dozen or more species can pass through in a single hour.
A night walk after dinner reveals the forest’s nocturnal life: frogs, insects, and the occasional mammal moving under cover of dark.
Day 5: Departure
A private transfer back to Quito connects with your onward flight home, timed to allow one last unhurried morning in the cloud forest before the return to the city.
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John
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Frequently asked questions
What does Out Of Office do?
Out Of Office is a luxury LGBTQ+ travel company specialising in tailor-made holidays and extraordinary journeys around the world. We create bespoke luxury holidays, LGBTQ+ honeymoons, safaris, cruises, beach escapes, private tours and group trips, with every itinerary designed around you. Our travel specialists combine global expertise, first-hand destination knowledge and trusted local partners to create seamless, highly personalised experiences.
Is Out Of Office a gay travel agency?
Out Of Office is an LGBTQ+ owned and run luxury travel specialist, with particular expertise in gay and LGBTQ+ travel. We understand the additional considerations that can come with travelling as an LGBTQ+ person or couple, from local laws and customs to finding genuinely welcoming hotels and experiences.
We welcome every traveller, including friends, families and allies. Many of our clients are not members of the LGBTQ+ community, but choose Out Of Office for our luxury travel expertise, personalised service and discretion.
Do you create tailor-made LGBTQ+ holidays?
Yes. Every tailor-made trip with Out Of Office is designed from scratch around your interests, travel style, budget and the way you want to experience a destination. We can arrange luxury hotels, private transfers, flights, guides, excursions, cruises and special experiences as part of one personalised itinerary. The journeys shown on our website are there to inspire you rather than restrict you; only clearly identified group departures operate as fixed itineraries.
How do you choose LGBTQ+ friendly hotels and destinations?
We combine first-hand destination knowledge with trusted local expertise to recommend luxury hotels, resorts and experiences where LGBTQ+ travellers can feel informed and welcome. We also consider the laws, customs and attitudes of each destination, because LGBTQ+ rights and experiences differ around the world. Our team regularly visit many of the properties we work with and where a destination requires greater awareness, we give you clear and considered advice so that you can make an informed decision about where and how you travel.
We plant trees for every booking
For every booking made with Out Of Office we commit to planting trees in your name to help reduce the impact of travel on future generations. You'll even get a link to see where your trees are planted in the world via our partner Ecologi.
We donate to Rainbow Railroad with every booking
Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQ+ people escape state-sponsored violence and persecution. A donation goes with every trip we sell, funded by us and never added to your price.
Start Planning Your Trip
Tell us where you would love to go, when you are thinking of travelling and what kind of trip you have in mind. One of our LGBTQ+ travel specialists will create a tailor-made itinerary designed around your destination, style and preferences.
One named specialist, first enquiry to homecoming. No call centre, and nothing is charged until you decide to book.