We’re a family of animal lovers. Dogs, cats, chickens, horses, guinea pigs, it doesn’t matter – we love them all.

We also love to travel, whether that’s a staycation in our beautiful hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, or spending time in sun-drenched Cancun or Playa del Carmen, or somewhere else around the world.

Today, we’re taking a deep dive into an awesome service that combines the best parts of travel and pets.

TrustedHousesitters helps pet lovers travel the world, by connecting pet sitters and owners to exchange home and pet care for a place to stay.

For animal lovers like us, not only is that trade a lot of fun, it’s also fantastic way to save money on accommodation and slash travel costs!

Your Guide to Pet Sitting Abroad with TrustedHousesitters

If you’re a traveler looking for a place to stay, TrustedHousesitters lets you exchange free lodging for taking care of someone’s pets while they’re away.

If you have a pet, and you’re wondering what do do with your pet when you go on vacation, then you can list an ad for a free housesitter to take care of your pet while you’re away.

How TrustedHousesitters Works

There’s an annual membership fee of $119 USD for housesitters, and a fee of $189 USD annual fee for a combined owner and sitter membership.

For that fee, you’ll get unlimited sits for homeowners as well as for sitters.

See TrustedHousesitters memberships here.

Security and Verification

Users on either side can freely browse the registered members on the other side, choosing the sitter or the home that appeals to them.

Owners and sitters can communicate directly, and check out reviews and ratings about the home owner or the sitter that they are planning to contact.

Are there identity or criminal background checks?

There are two levels of sitter verification (both free) that are displayed on their profile.

Basic verification consists of checking the sitter’s email address and phone number, and reference checks.

Standard verification consists of Basic verification, plus document checks and identity verification.

Is there insurance?

Some sitters also have their own criminal background checks completed, and sitters should note if they have it in their profile, and provide them on request.

All members get insurance included with their membership. The insurance offers property damage, theft, and public liability protection up to $1 million USD, and is underwritten by global insurer GUARDHOG.

The TrustedHousesitters app

The Trusted Housesitters app makes it easy to use the system on the go. Plus, there are app-only features like extra search filters, alerts and favourites.

Get the Trusted Housesitters app (it’s free) on Google Play or on the App Store

How TrustedHousesitters can help house sitters

Trusted Housesitters is a large, worldwide network. If you join as a sitter, you can see listings for pet and house sites around the world. In fact, with members in over 130 countries, TrustedHousesitters is the world’s largest house and pet sitting platform.

House sitters can choose the geographical region, whether you’re into housesitting in Canada, Europe, or around the world, the duration of the sit, the type of housing that you want to care of, as well as the size and the species of the pets that come with the home.

How TrustedHousesitters can help home and pet owners

Many people decide not to take a vacation because they have no one to take care of their home, plants and pets while they are away.

As homeowners, this is something we struggle with as well.

We do get a wonderful cat sitter to visit our kitty once a day when we’re gone, but sometimes she’s busy.

We can always take our cat to a cat hotel, but they book up quickly over holidays, cost a lot, and I’m sure our cat would much rather stay in his own home. On top of that, our sitter only visits for half an hour a day, while an in-home sitter would be there much longer since they’re living in the home.

What kind of pet sitting jobs can I find?

We’ve been planning a trip to London for a while, and one of the things that’s stopped us is the cost of accommodation around London. It can be incredibly expensive.

So, I browsed through the app to see what kind of housesitter gigs were available in Greater London. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a lot, since I imaging housesitting in London would be a bit competetive.

I was surprised to find 100 house sits in Greater London – way more than I expected!

Some of the places had the absolute cutest pups to take care of. Seriously, look at those adorable faces!

If you love to travel, save money and stay locally, housesitting can be a great option. If you love pets as well, there’s even more options out there for you. Conversely, if you love to travel and have a pet but hate them being alone or in a boarding facility, Trusted Housesitters may be the perfect option for you.

Are you an animal lover, too? Have you tried pet sitting to save on costs while you travel? Let us know!

On this trip we rode a train, spelunked in a massive cave system, fed giraffes, played on water slides, explored nature, climbed a mountain, swam in giant pools, ate at some delicious restaurants and ran wild in a former elementary school.

It was a great experience, and since it was just my son Cole and I representing the family on this trip, we spent some amazing time together getting a chance to further strengthen our already great relationship. Read on to see our top picks for family fun!

Kid Friendly Things To Do in Colorado Springs: Day 1

So what kids activities did we enjoy in Colorado Springs? Well, the first day we rode a cog train up North America’s most visited mountain, Pikes Peak. We then wandered through the beautiful Garden of the Gods. Next, we descended to the depths in the Cave of the Winds and we ate s’mores as well as went on a MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs. And that was only a small portion of our time.

Before we even hit Colorado Springs, we had the opportunity to visit the area around Cañon City. At just over an hour from Colorado Springs and to the west of Canon City itself, is home to some of the best whitewater rafting in the state. Not only did we get our feet wet while white water rafting down the Arkansas River, we also checked out the newly opened Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience. We even had the chance to spend a night in the newly built Royal Gorge Cabins. If you’re curious, you can check out our Cañon City Colorado family experience here.

That said, overnighting in Cañon City was only one small part of our family Colorado tour.

The second day we had breakfast and a pint in the re-purposed sprawling Ivywild School, fed giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and finally relaxed in class and comfort at the sprawling Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

Sound like fun? It was, and now here’s the lowdown on all the fun things to do with the family in Colorado Springs.

Ride a cog train up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs

The entrance to Pike’s Peak is just 15 minutes west of Colorado Springs in quirky and charming Manitou Springs. Hosting nine natural mineral springs and a collection of spiritualists, visiting Manitou Springs itself can be a great way to get the kids drinking water while you do the Springsabouts Walking Tour and sample the varieties of water the springs offer (and yes, each spring does taste different).

The entrance to Pike’s Peak highway is also found in Manitou Springs and though you can drive yourself up to the summit of Pike’s Peak (it’s about 19 miles of crazy switchbacks), or climb the 13 mile long Barr Trail (only for the fit and bold), we chose to go up via the old Pikes Peak Cog Railway train that runs year round (weather permitting).

Once we picked up our tickets and determined our departure time, we got in line and jumped into one of the three open aired coaches our train provided for that run. Luckily for us, the windows close because, as we got closer to the peak, our very hot day suddenly became much, much cooler.

On the way up the 14,115 foot summit of America’s most famous mountain, we saw waterfalls and rock formations, old miner cabins and a post office. We also saw deer and about 2/3rds of the way up we saw a bunch of yellow- bellied marmots known locally as whistle pigs. These huge woodchuck shaped ground squirrel relatives were fun to watch and the kids loved spotting them. Some days you can also spot bighorn sheep and even black bears.

Tip! Remember a jacket, even in summer! What started as a very warm summer day at the bottom became downright cold by the time we reached the top

Once you get to the summit of Pikes Peak, which takes just over an hour each way, you can stretch your legs and walk around the top before the Pikes Peak cog railway returns you to the bottom. The entire trip lasts three hours and 10 minutes, so it makes a great morning or afternoon getaway.

Up on Pikes Peak, you’ll find washrooms (there are none on the train so make sure you go before you leave) as well as a snack bar featuring some unique donuts (they had to be specially crafted to rise at a high elevation) and also a gift shop. Other than that, the view in all directions is simply beautiful so make sure you have a camera with you.

Note! Departure times, seating assignments and return times for the Pikes Peak cog train from the summit are all preset in advance, so make sure you pay attention to the times otherwise you could be left at the summit.

Descend to the depths in the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs

While we were in Manitou Springs, we also checked out the infamous Cave of the Winds. These caves were discovered over a century ago by a couple of young brothers and then later explored in depth by a slew of early adventurists.

Over the years, as new tunnels have been discovered, the Cave of the Winds has been opened up to the public and is now a major tourist destination. The huge complex features multiple cave trips, two adrenaline inducing aerial lines (the Bat-A-Pult and aptly named Terror-Dactyl free fall) as well as the Wind Walker climbing course that sits directly over a 600 foot drop. It also has a large concession area, a picnic area, a giant slide and a mining station for kids.

We did the 45 minute long Discovery Tour and that was perfect for the kids.  We walked up and down pathways and also stairs and ladders as we explored everything that a million year old cave system features. We saw tons of stalagmites, stalactites, amazing waterfall like flowstones, fossilized shells and other speleothems (cave decorations).

At one point, our guides shut off all the lights and, well, you haven’t experienced darkness until you’ve stood in the middle of a cave a hundred feet below ground. It really made me want to take the special Lantern Tour where the group travels only with handheld lanterns like the early spelunkers and explorers did while telling ghost stories and delving into the caves past.

For the truly adventurist, there’s also the well reviewed Cave 101 tour where you strap on your helmets, grab your flashlight and climb and crawl your way through undeveloped caves and smaller passageways. Claustrophobics need not apply for that tour.

Wander the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

If gods roamed gardens, you might find them in this oversize 480 acre garden of giant colored sandstone formations. The Garden of the Gods was donated to the city of Colorado Springs in the early 1900s from the head of the Burlington Railroad, Charles Elliott Perkins, after he passed away.

Set forth with strict provisions, the Garden of the Gods nature park is set to remain free for all visitors and free from all structures not prevalent to maintaining the park for all time. As such, you won’t find much in the park except the world class Visitor & Nature Center and the Café at the Garden. It’s simple, but still one of the many fun family things to do in Colorado Springs that’s worth a visit.

You can walk around the park, take a Segway tour or, go on an open aired Jeep excursion that drives around the park just like we did. A guide will tell you all about the history of the park and the formations you’re seeing. No matter how you see the Garden of the Gods you’ll be rewarded with amazing views of the main 300 foot sandstone formation as well as all the different colors of the smaller formations.

Inside the sprawling Visitor & Nature Center is a museum featuring local flora and fauna as well as the cool multi screen Geo-Trekker theater experience explaining how all the red sandstone rocks were formed and how they became part of the amazing scenery. (Shows start every 20 minutes.)

Eat s’mores, enjoy waterslides and go on a MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs

What’s the best way to end a long day seeing all the sights and sounds of Colorado Springs? Well, if you’re a kid, or a kid at heart, not much beats water slides and s’mores.

The newly opened Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs has that and a lot more and the kids loved ending their day there. The rooms were a huge hit as well with many theme rooms and, every kids fave, bunk beds!

On the fun side, not only were there indoor water slides for the whole family, but there is an indoor ropes course, indoor mini golf and of course, MagiQuest! All it takes is a special wand and your kids will be running around the huge Great Wolf Lodge waving their magic wands at everything they see as they go on their very own magic quest.

Not only that, there are ice cream parlours, candy stores, restaurants, pizza joints, and, luckily for parents, a bar you can sit in, as your kids run around burning off whatever remaining energy they have. The kids might have their own favorite memories of Great Wolf Lodge, but mine will be sharing a few delicious locally produced beers with my fellow parents.

To be honest, sitting by the campfire roasting s’mores was definitely a highlight for everyone and we all vowed we would be back to Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs again in the future.

And so finished our fist day of fun things to do with the family in Colorado Springs. Want to see more things to do in Colorado outside of Denver? Check out our post of fun things to do in Canon City Colorado as well.

Fun things to do with kids in Colorado Springs: Day 2

We had so much fun on our first day in Colorado Springs that the entire group was excited to see what was in store the second day. Luckily for us, it was a little slower than the first day but we all welcomed the relaxed pace and had a good opportunity to enjoy even more things to do with the kids in Colorado Springs.

Eat, drink and be merry at the Ivywild School in Colorado Springs

Ever had that dream where you’re walking through your old school but it’s not quite as you remember it? Even better, ever dream that your old school has turned into a happening place filled with delicious eateries, micro brewers, art spaces and a movie theater in the gym?

Well, the former students of Ivywild sure must when they walk through the revamped Ivywild School in Colorado City. This actual decommissioned school built back in 1916 was on the verge of being torn down in 2009 before an enterprising group of individuals decided that yeah, they could work with it.

So a dream became reality and the Ivywild School has been converted into a trendy boutique of shops, eateries and micro pubs with the expansive Bristol Pub headlining the site.

The interesting part? They left the majority of the old school in place. Nowhere is that more evident than when walking in and looking at the principals office or seeing the old style urinals and the crazy kids artwork in the boys washroom.

Even walking down the halls makes you feel like you should have a hall pass for skipping class, and the fact that you can order dozens of tasty micro brews in old classrooms just highlights the surreal feeling you get while walking through Ivywild School.

Kids will love that there’s no teaching at Ivywild School in Colorado City and it will definitely fuel a few daydreams of what their own classroom might look like if they put in a restaurant or a few vats of cider in the broom closet. It also doesn’t hurt that the food you can get at Ivywild School is much, much better than anything I ever got in my school canteen.

The hard fact is that the Ivywild’s Old School Bakery had some of the tastiest cinnamon buns I’ve had in some time. Even better, all the eateries in Ivywild School also practice the food to table approach with gardens planted throughout the old schoolyard and close ties with local farmers. It doesn’t get much fresher than that.

Feed giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs

What has four legs, a blue tongue the length of a small child and has to be standing 10 feet below you to look you squarely in the eye? No, it’s not a giant lizard, it’s a giraffe and they’re just one of the many highlights we found while walking around the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

The coolest part about having these gentle giants at eye level is you can feed them lettuce right from your hands. It’s still a little unnerving to see those huge giraffe tongues come out but the look of happiness they have as they grab their lunch from you is undeniable. Who knew lettuce could taste so good?

As well as hand feeding giraffes from the largest giraffe herd in the Americas, at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo you can take a chairlift called the Sky Ride that will have you soaring above it all. Not only do you get some amusing bird’s eye views of the many animals below but you get some amazing views over Cheyenne Mountain and a good portion of the valley around Colorado Springs.

Love animals? The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has over 750 animals and 170 species from all over the the world. We thought we walked just about everywhere while we there but, as we left, we realized we still hadn’t seen everything.

From lions, tigers and snow leopards in the African and Asian exhibits to learning about and interacting with chickens and goats in My Big Backyard, there are tons of things for kids of all ages.

They also have some great wildlife encounter shows that get you up close to the animals and we both enjoyed the elephant exhibit and the hippo section. Their monkey and primate section were also quite extensive, especially the gorillas and orangutans.

Since the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is also the only mountain zoo in America, they also have an extensive collection of local wildlife like mountain lions, grizzly bears, moose, river otters, lynx and porcupines. Even though all these animals exist back home, it’s still nice to see them in an authentic mountain setting.

One of the kids favorite areas at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was their walk-through aviary in their Australia section, where you can have budgies and parakeets eating right from the palm of your hand. As you leave this area, you walk through the wallaby walkabout which has small wallabies hopping about freely everywhere around you. We had to usher the kids out of this area otherwise they would have spent all day following the little kangaroos around.

Ever dreamed of being a zookeeper? Who hasn’t? Well, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has an area called The Loft where you get to go behind the scenes and see what it takes to make it all happen. From training and weighing, to feeding and cleaning, The Loft is designed from the ground up especially for kids (and would be kids). It’s not only a great space for hands on training and learning, it also preps them for all the responsibilities that comes with taking care of animals themselves.

Relax in comfort at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs

Ever watch a summer movie of teens hanging on the beach, then playing a little beach volleyball before heading to one of a half dozen different swimming pools, tennis courts or basketball courts while the parents are off enjoying a round of golf or maybe spending the day being pampered at the spa? Well, the Cheyenne Mountain Resort is that place.

It turns out that this huge sprawling mountainside resort with their own private lake is the dream resort of my childhood. Before arcades, wave pools and fancy electronics were a thing, the Cheyenne Mountain Resort would have been my epitome of resort high life.

With their own private 35 acre lake complete with a sandy beach, volleyball courts, canoes, kayaks and SUP rentals, they have the outdoor enthusiast covered.

They also have an aquatics center complete with four outdoor swimming pools, including a huge 50 m Olympic sized pool with water slide, a splash pad and a kiddie pool as well as an adult only pool and spa. They also have another heated pool in the main complex.

If you’re a tennis fan, they do tennis with 17 covered and uncovered tennis courts including two outdoor clay courts. For the fitness buff, there’s an expansive 9000 sq. foot fitness center complete with yoga, spin and cross training group classes.

One of the coolest features of Cheyenne Mountain Resort is that the resort has its own championship grade golf course surrounding it that makes this mountain sided, lake adjacent course not only one of the most beautiful in Colorado but also one of the best. With over 300 days of sunshine in Colorado Springs, and separated by the Rocky Mountains from snow loving Denver, you can enjoy golf 365 days of the year here. For the kiddos, they even open the course at night with a mini putt glow golf course.

Not only were the grounds beautiful at Cheyenne Mountain Resort, the food was tasty as well. From their award winning Sunday brunches at Mountain View Restaurant, to tasty bites and local brews from Elevations Lounge, I always left the table satisfied.

Staying at Cheyenne Mountain Resort was a treat not only for adult me but also for 12 year old me who never got to go to a cool camp in summer. To say that I was a little jealous of my son Cole getting to stay here probably speaks more about the place than all those sentences I just wrote. It’s a lovely place and you and your kids will definitely enjoy it.

Some final words about Colorado Springs

Well, that about wraps up our time in Colorado Springs. We saw and experienced some amazing things and my son and I both had a great time checking out everything the area had to offer.

If it’s your first time heading to Colorado Springs in Colorado, USA, know that it borders the Rocky Mountains. It’s a gorgeous hilly area with beautiful vistas and stunning plateaus’s around every corner.

There are so many great things to do in Colorado Springs with kids that you might just need to come back more than once. That’s okay, I’m sure you’ll discover even more to do the second time. For even more ideas, make sure you check out my previous post on fun things to do in Canon City Colorado as well.

How to get to Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs is about 70 miles due south of Denver down highway I-25 S. It’s just over an hour by car from the Denver International Airport (DEN) or you can fly directly into Colorado Springs (COS) from 15 cities across the USA.

What are you favorite family things to do in Colorado Springs? Let us know; we’d love to hear!

Many thanks to Colorado Tourism, who hosted us. We definitely had a great time in Colorado. You guys were the best!

My son Cole and I recently had the opportunity to check out some activities around Cañon City, in the heart of wild Colorado, and to be perfectly honest, we both had an amazing time.

Quick facts about Cañon City, Colorado

First off, let’s talk about the town’s name. It seems a few years back they added a tilde over the Ñ so the town is actually pronounced Canyon City as opposed to Canon City. Didn’t realize that? Well, neither did I until we talked to some locals on the plane ride down there and they couldn’t figure out where Canon City was either.

If you’re looking at a map, Cañon City is around 2 hours due south of Denver, Colorado and an hour southwest of Colorado Springs down long gorgeous highways. The city has been around since the mid 1800’s and has quite a nice historic downtown.

Since it has the warmest year round temperatures in the state, thanks in part to its high elevation (5,300 feet or 1,600 m) and the mountains to the West that protect it, Cañon City is also known as the “Climate Capital of Colorado”.

When we were there at the beginning of summer, temperatures were already starting to soar in the high 80’s (that’s low 30’s in Celsius), however, luckily for the residents and visitors alike, there’s always a breeze in the valley and there isn’t much humidity so it’s a very dry heat.

Family Things to Do in Cañon City Colorado

For anyone who hasn’t been to the area, Cañon City is famous for two things. The first is its many long-standing penitentiaries (there are 13 in the area) and the second is amazing whitewater rafting, climbing and exploring just west of the city.

This means that Cañon City is a fantastic place to take in outdoor pursuits for the whole family, from white water rafting to checking out dinosaurs at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience.

Royal Gorge Cabins: Where to stay and eat near Cañon City

We were fortunate to be able to raft the amazing white waters of the Arkansas River with the region’s biggest whitewater company, Echo Canyon River Expeditions. Not only that but we also had the opportunity to stay onsite in their brand new Royal Gorge Cabins. They have both one and two bedroom bungalows with lofts, so Cole got his own king sized bed, while I got mine. Needless to say we both had a great night’s sleep.

I can go on and on about the amazing views at the Royal Gorge Cabins, the understated luxury, the comfortable beds, good showers, nice kitchens and the beautiful outdoor living areas, but I think a few pictures might be better suited for this.

To put it simply, if I was doing a review on the new Royal Gorge Cabins at Echo Canyon it would rate five stars. Both the buildings themselves, as well as the people, were first class. I especially loved the extended outdoor area with its two way glass fireplace. It would make the perfect place to sit around with friends after a long day spent rafting on the river.

For those that truly love the outdoors,  Royal Gorge Cabins even has some gorgeous glamping tents for rent for those if you’d like to have a few s’mores around the campfire, but still want to sleep in a comfortable bed at night.

Not only that, we had some delicious fare across the street over at Echo Canyon’s 8 Mile Bar & Grill. Their fresh fried waffle chips were worth the trip in themselves, and everyone raved about their fried pickles. We ended up eating there for both lunch and dinner and both times we left satisfied.

For those that like their beer cold after a day on the water, 8 Mile Bar & Grill also has 16 draft beer options. Throw in a king sized firepit, some beach volleyball courts and lawn games to occupy the little ones and what more could anyone ask for?

Echo Canyon River Expeditions white water rafting near Cañon City, Colorado

For anyone coming to white water raft the Arkansas River, there are several whitewater companies to choose from just to the west of Cañon City.

If your goal is to spend your day or half day on the river like we did, Echo Canyon River Expeditions is the biggest and highest rated over at TripAdvisor. All the guides, boats, buses and equipment were top notch.

On top of that, we had the pleasure of meeting Andy, the owner of the company, who was both extremely friendly and highly knowledgeable on the river and the area in general. What’s more, even with up to 50 boats running a day during high season, he still manages to get out and guide a few times a week so he’s always in touch with every aspect of the company.

Due to the Arkansas River still being high from the late Spring thaw, and because we wanted to do a Colorado family rafting trip versus the more adventure filled one, we ended up going the Upper Arkansas River run. After being fitted for lifejackets, wetsuits and helmets, we all waited for the bus to take us to our location.

30 minutes or so later, and after the guides set up all the rafts for us, we jumped into the boats and set off. Along with Mack, our guide and seven other boats, we hit some class three and class four rapids and everyone on our boat had a great experience. Not only were the rapids fun, we even saw a black bear running along the river beside us!

We enjoyed white water rafting so much in Cañon City that Cole and I both want to go back and raft the famous Royal Gorge canyon section of the Arkansas River. After numerous tales from the owner and some of the experienced guides, the class 4 and 5 rapids sound like an exhilarating ride filled with breathtaking scenery.

There are also some gorgeous views from the Royal Gorge Bridge, which is one of the highest suspension bridges in the world, and some good zip lining in the area, which we didn’t get to try, so yes Colorado, we will be back!

Dinosaurs in Cañon City, Colorado

After our morning on the water and another quick tasty snack at Echo Canyon’s 8 Mile Bar & Grill, we headed next door to the newly opened Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience. If you or your kids love dinosaurs then this place shouldn’t be missed. Not only does it have some great indoor exhibits with plenty of information, including castings of some locally found fossils, but it also has a collection of full sized animatronic dinosaurs just outside to get a feel for just how big dinosaurs were back in the day.

As well as the guided exhibits, the kids really loved the three story rope course outside. Ever adventurous, I decided to liberate the child within me and walked the heights as well. I think I enjoyed it more than a few of the kids but that’s another story. I will say the wind can really gust near Cañon City so that coupled with the heights made the climb that much more exciting.

The cool part about Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience is that they have a miniature rope course designed for three to five olds and a dinosaur dig area where kids can unearth their own dinosaur fossils. Rope courses are becoming popular the world over, but this was the first time I saw one aimed perfectly for the toddlers complete with safety gear especially designed for them.

Besides for the indoor and outdoor exhibits, there’s also a small canteen and a very generously sized dinosaur shop at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience with more dinosaur merchandise than I think I’ve ever seen in one location. We walked away with tshirts, mugs, gems and dinosaur candy. All perfect to bring back to my daughter Jordan who was at home.

We also had the pleasure of meeting the family that built the Cañon City Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience. Not only were they super friendly and knowledgeable, their love for all things dinosaur related was quickly evident. I’m curious to see what they add next to their ever growing Dinosaur Experience.

Colorado Springs and area attractions

Overnighting in Cañon City was only one small part of our Colorado tour, so stay tuned for my forthcoming review on Colorado Springs and the many things you can do in that great little city.

These include riding a cog train up Pike’s Peak, checking out the beautiful Garden of the Gods, visiting the giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, eating s’mores and going on a MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge (find helpful Great Wolf Lodge tips here!), descending to the depths in the Cave of the Winds, having breakfast and a pint in the Ivywild School and relaxing in comfort at the sprawling Cheyenne Mountain Resort.

Many thanks to Colorado Tourism, who hosted us. 

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The problem with renting someones home or vacation rental is that you never know exactly what you’re going to get. This is especially true if you’re staying long term. You can put up with things for a weekend but if you’re staying someplace for a week or longer, the place needs to be exactly what you’re expecting.

That means we’re always excited to check out an alternative to the standard peer-to-peer vacation rental sites. So, when Vacasa reached out to us to check out their website, we were curious to try it. While we had only heard of Vacasa in passing, we quickly realized Vacasa is a fairly big company, with 1,600 employees and a headquarters fully accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

Vacasa Reviews

What I found interesting about them is that unlike most other peer-to-peer vacation rental companies, Vacasa manages all of their  6,000 properties properties themselves in multiple countries and nearly every state in the USA. Plus, they’re their own property managers, housekeepers, photographers, reservation agents, and support. What that means to vacation renters like us is that the level of communication, the quality of the stay and the cleanliness of the property should be at a consistently good level.

To start, we wanted to check out how well the Vacasa website is in helping us plan a vacation rental along the Portland and Oregon Coast. That means asking a lot of questions for this Vacasa vacation rentals review, like how easy it it to find a rental? Do they have plenty of listings to choose from? Are the listings good quality and a good fit for us? Is the website easy to use? Does the website feel safe and secure?

Vacasa Portland

First up, we checked out rentals in Portland in September. There were plenty to choose from, all with bright, attractive photos. For us, lots of good quality photos are absolutely essential when we choose a place to rent. We like to see exactly what we’re renting.

The first thing I noticed is that Vacasa has a Calendar availability view that lets you compare availability for all of the listings in your search.

I probably can’t overstate how fantastic this is, especially since I know that a few of the other booking sites we generally use don’t let you compare availability for different properties at the same time.

With no jumping back and forth between ads, this saves me so much time! One quick look and I can tell what places are free for the dates I need and what their nightly rates are. It’s especially nice during very busy periods when I need to book more than one rental someplace due to lack of availability.

I pretty quickly fell in love with a Northwest Portland townhouse, with two bedrooms, building amenities that includes a game room and a fitness center, and an location close to restaurants and breweries. At $160 a night, with that kind of great location, it’s a pretty good deal.

Vacasa Oregon Coast

Next up, we wanted to check out the inventory along the Oregon Coast. During our search of Portland we found plenty of great vacation rentals, but we wanted to make sure that wasn’t a fluke based on the location in a big city. Turns out that definitely wasn’t the case. We found a whopping 880 rentals along the Oregon Coast.

Once we narrowed it down a bit, we decided to take the Vacasa map search for a spin. It worked like a charm, as we zoomed in and out to find a vacation rental near Canon Beach. The beach, if you haven’t seen it, is absolutely stunning. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve visited, so staying localy was essential.

It didn’t take me long to zoom in to this beauty – Haystack Views Vacation Rental right on Canon Beach. It overlooks Haystack Rock from nearly every vantage point, has a hot tub and fireplace, and can sleep up to 12 in its four bedrooms plus loft. I think that our Oregon vacation is just calling for a few friends to join in!

To book, just select your dates, and enter your name, email and phone number in the contact form. A rental agreement will pop up, and they you can pay by credit card.

What we liked

The Vacasa website (try it for yourself here!) was fast, easy to use, and I was really impressed by the quality of the places for rent. There are some beautiful vacation rentals on this website!

I especially loved the calendar availability comparison, which let me compare availability for all the properties in my search in one location. Such a time saver!

For all reservations, you can cancel within the first 24 hours of booking the reservation with a full refund.

What we didn’t like

I would love to see more reviews on some of the vacation rentals. However, most of the rentals had plenty (the house we are interested in on Canon Beach had 121 reviews!).

I’d also love to see a Vacasa app, but I’m guessing that’s probably in the works.

Want to learn more about Vacasa?

Visit the Vacasa website now to see some listings for yourself, or see them on Facebook.

Have you tried Vacasa? What did you think of your experience?

The truth is, the Amazon jungle is a giant ecosystem running through 9 countries in South America, and, though Brazil accounts for the largest share of it, it’s not the only way to experience the Amazon rainforest. Like more and more people are doing, we chose to see it while visiting Ecuador.

Honestly, the Amazon isn’t the first thing I think of when someone says Ecuador. My first thought of Ecuador is of the famed Galapagos Islands and that’s a shame, because Ecuador is a wonderful, accessible way to visit the mighty Amazon rain forest.

During our Amazon jungle tour in Ecuador, we saw almost everything we’d dreamed of in the Amazon, including monkeys, bids, piranha, plus plenty of exotic insects and creepy crawlies galore.

We visited the Amazon as a family of four, with our two kids, ages eight and eleven, so we wanted to stay somewhere comfortable for the kids (and honestly, comfortable for us as well).

We wanted to be able to do all the activities we dreamed of and still have a clean shower at the end of the day. We also wanted good food and a comfortable bed, so we chose to stay three nights/four days at the highly rated La Selva Lodge (see reviews on TripAdvisor here). La Selva included transportation, all activities, and gourmet meals, but did not include airfare from Ecuador’s capital city, Quito (though that can be arranged).

Click here to see La Selva Lodge prices and availability.

First, I’ll tell you all about our Ecuador Amazon Tour. Spoiler – it includes blow darts, monkeys, jungle hikes, and even piranhas! If you’re interested in checking out the food and our room, scroll down or click here to skip directly to our review of La Selva Lodge Ecuador.

Our Ecuador Amazon Tour

Our four night Amazon tour at La Selva Lodge definitely kept us busy from the very beginning, when we arrived at the lodge in a dugout canoe (you can read our journey into the Amazon here) via tranquil Heron Lake (it’s also known as Garzacocha Lake).

La Selva Lodge is located deep in the jungle, about an hour plane ride from Quito to the small town of Coca (also called Puerto Francisco de Orellana), followed by an almost two hour journey on a motorized canoe, a 10 minute walk through the rain forest, and then a half hour paddle in a dugout canoe down a small creek and then across Heron Lake to the Lodge.

La Selva itself is located deep in the Amazon basin, on a tranquil lake that’s connected to the Amazon River system. The Lodge is a stone’s throw from Yasuni National Park, which is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. At La Selva Amazon Eco Lodge, they take care of all the excursions with in-house guides so there’s no need to book another company for activities.

During our  stay, we hiked through the surrounding rainforest, fished for piranha, spotted birds from a 100 foot treetop canopy tower, took a night paddle and even took a night hike through the awakening jungle. When we were done, we relaxed in our fully equipped cabana. We saw more wildlife than I thought possible, including monkeys, birds, black caimans, butterflies, amphibians, insects, and tarantulas.

Tip! We visited independently, but you can also visit La Selva Ecolodge as part of an all inclusive La Selva Lodge tour with G Adventures. The G Adventures tour includes flights from Quito and other transportation, as well as the standard La Selva package of accommodation, activities and gourmet meals. See prices and availability on G Adventures.

All of our jungle activities were guided by both an English speaking guide (the incredibly knowledgeable Daniel) and a local native guide (patient and helpful Medardo, who grew up a stone’s throw away from the Lodge in a local tribe). As a family with two kids, we wanted to make sure that we were in good hands in the jungle. Both Daniel and Medardo were attentive, knowledgeable, careful, and a lot of fun.

With two kids in tow, fishing for piranha was high on our must do list.

Our native guide Medardo prepared traditional bamboo fishing poles, and loaded us up with raw meat as bait, and we set out in a dugout canoe.

It was definitely unnerving to see how the raw meat bait disappeared from our hooks within a matter of seconds!

In the end, we ended up reeling in several piranha, most of them less than six inches long, but a few larger than our heads (eek!). Our guide, Daniel, even caught a catfish.

One of our day trips took us to a local Amazon tribes village (the Pilchi village). We spent most of the afternoon there, learning about their way of life, eating food prepared by the local women, and learning about how they use local plants and animals. Stay tuned, as we’ll be writing an entire new article about our time at the local Amazon tribe!

While the whole trip was memorable, our son Cole especially loved the chance to try his hand at using an authentic blow dart gun. Traditionally, the men of the Pilchi tribe used the poison tipped blow dart, to take down wildlife to eat. Our darts, of course, weren’t poisonous but we did enjoy testing out our aim regardless.

Medardo, our local guide, was taught how to use the blow dart by his father who was one of the last of his tribe to use the blow dart as an everyday hunting tool. They had very strict rules on who could use a blow dart and when, so it was a special treat that we had an official expert with us on our trip.

Another one of the highlights of staying at La Selva was climbing to the top of their own 10 story observation tower, deep in the heart of the jungle.

On our first attempt to climb the tower, we were surprised by a booming thunderstorm during our walk. Luckily, Daniel and Medardo had thought to equip us in comfy rubber boots and rain ponchos. They even had boots and ponchos to fit the kids, though if your little one is younger than Jordan (age eight), you may want to bring a raincoat for them. The smallest poncho was pretty big on her.

We chose not to climb the tower that morning because of possible high winds and lightning, and instead went back later in the day when the storm had eased however it highlighted the fact that when you’re in the rainforest, sometimes it’s going to rain.

Despite its location deep in the jungle, the observation walk was only about 10 minutes away from the lodge. When we made it back when the weather cleared, we were greeted with this view from the top of the observation tower. It felt like we could see all the way back to Quito!

During all of our hikes and activities, it was only the four of us and our two guides. This is the standard at La Selva Lodge, with one or two guides per group of four or five people.

That ratio meant that we got a personalized introduction to the rain forest, which was perfect as our English speaking naturalist guide Daniel was patient with the kids’ questions and quick to change our schedule if the weather or an opportunity presented itself.

For the most part, we walked on raised platforms and paths through the jungle, although some of the trails were on dirt. All of the trails were well marked, though I was glad to have guides along to guide us home!

Parrot Clay Lick

One of the most unique experiences we had at La Selva was visiting the exposed clay riverbank where brightly colored parrots gather to eat clay every day. The parrot clay lick is inside Yasuni National Park along the fast and large Napo River. The clay apparently neutralizes toxins in many of the nuts and foods the birds eat and the three species of parrot common to the area gather in large groups in the mornings to digest the clay.

From La Selva, visiting the clay lick is a 10 minute motorized canoe ride as well as the 15 minute paddle up the lake and down the creek to get to La Selva’s Rio Napo dock.

We did have to wait about 15 minutes before the birds appeared, but we saw well over 30 parrots. The majority of the parrots we saw were green Mealy Amazon Parrots, but the Blue-headed Parrot and Yellow-crowned Amazon Parrot also visit the salt lick and they could be seen in the surrounding trees.

If you’re really lucky, you’ll see hundreds of parrots at one time.

We spent a lot of time in the water on our Amazon tour in Ecuador. La Selva’s lake Heron is connected to the mighty Napo River by a small creek and many tributaries. We paddled along on the water, watching monkeys scurry overhead, birds flying through the trees, and even saw large black caiman crocodiles lounging along the shore.

In addition to scheduled and guided excursions like jungle hikes, piranha fishing and visiting the local indigenous community, the lodge offers many independent activities. If you’re so inclined, you can take one of the canoes or kayaks out on the lake, grab a massage, or even enjoy a yoga class on the water.

Charles was the only one brave enough (or is it crazy enough? I’m not sure) to do this, but you can even swim off the dock at La Selva. You’ll be swimming with caimans, electric eels and piranhas, so use caution!

We all had a fantastic time during our family yoga class. Daphne, our yoga instructor, gives personalized or group classes in the Gazebo overlooking the lake. Our class was aimed to entertain the kids, but you can also get classes customized to your needs.

Wildlife in the Ecuadorian Amazon

La Selva Lodge is perched beside Yasuni National Park, which is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, and home to millions of species of plants, birds, insects and mammals.

We were lucky enough to see several monkey species in the park, including black capuchin monkeys, white-fronted capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, and howler monkeys.

Yasuni is home to at least 596 bird species. We didn’t quite see all 596 species, but we did see so many that I lost track. Our favorite place to bird watch was up in the lodge’s observation platform above the restaurant and lounge. From there, we could look over the lake and into trees in the surrounding jungle.

The lodge had some quality binoculars and equipment for bird watching, which made it fun and easy. The trees were honestly teeming with birds like toucans, parrots and the comical hoatzin (which locals call the stinky turkey).

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This is truly the wild, so experiencing and seeing animals is really up to nature. La Selva was fantastic about getting us out to see local wildlife, and took us on canoe rides, and nature walks, including a night walk through the jungle. Our english speaking naturalist, Daniel, was very informative on each species we saw and Medardo, our native guide, knew exactly how to close we could get without scaring it away or being in danger.

During our night walk, we saw a tailless scorpion, two tarantulas (one in a tree, and another in a ground burrow), and plenty of frogs and other invertebrates.

If creepy crawlies aren’t your thing, we also saw a tiny (and adorable) little opossum, plenty of birds, and a troupe of Capuchin monkeys that night. The monkeys were a bit feisty, throwing stuff at us from above, including bean pods they’d just eaten. They would eat the sweet white fluff around the beans, and then throw down the bean and pod.

Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park is also home to countless plant species. Everywhere we looked, the jungle was covered in lush green, and a profusion of flowers, ferns, and orchids.

At home in Canada, we only see the bird of paradise flower in high-end, expensive florists. Here in the jungle in Ecuador, they grew wild almost everywhere.

During our visit to the local Pilchi tribe’s village, the village women showed us crops they grew for food, as well as local jungle plants shamans use for medicine.

A Review of La Selva Lodge

Just being in the Amazon itself is a bit of a trial, as it can get oppressively humid and hot, and plenty of activity can quickly lead to heatstroke. We had our children with us, so we wanted to stay someplace where we could be comfortable, with a cool place to rest, as well as decent food. La Selva delivered that in spades, and more.

From the start, when the La Selva team met us in the Quito airport with boarding passes already printed out, helped check our luggage, and handed us a gift for each of the kids, we knew we were in good hands.

The La Selva Lodge is a big place, with private bungalows dotting spacious, landscaped grounds, surrounded by jungle on all sides.

From our cabin, it was a two minute walk to the secluded spa with its outdoor Jacuzzi, and a short 30 second hop to the main building with a large restaurant, viewing area, lounge and dock.

We had a family suite, with a king bed in one one room and two double beds in another. Outside, we had a private porch, hammock and a sunken tub in the deck. The rooms had a lot of nice little extras, from a dry box to keep electronics free of moisture, to mosquito netting over all the beds. There was also a washroom with double sinks and warm showers.

Meals at La Selva

Our stay at La Selva included all meals and snacks. Dinner, supper and breakfast are served at specific hours, but there are light snacks available from friendly Marcello, the bartender, any time of day.

Breakfast our first day started things off right, with a delicious fruit plate, cheese and meat plate, tiny corn tamales in corn husks, coffee, tart orange juice, pineapple juice and an offer of eggs.

We especially loved the chef’s willingness to accommodate us, as me and the kids are vegetarians. They were happy to whip up kid-friendly veggie meals, and asked us what we’d like best.

They also offered up great fish and meat meals which Charles was thankful for after early days and long nights hiking and going on adventures.

They also offered some great desserts which everyone was thankful for.

Weather: We went in early March, and found it warm and with humidity never dropping below 80% any time. When it rained, which it did at some point every day, the humidity got even higher. I set out some pants to dry from a walk one night, and in the morning they were wetter from the overnight humidity than they’d been the day before. Damp everything is pretty standard Amazon rainforest fare so pack accordingly. That said, the staff at La Selva does offer a laundry service.

Bugs: Well, it is the Amazon jungle, so there are bugs. Surprisingly, we found that there weren’t a lot of mosquitoes when we visited in March. Charles was surprised that there were way fewer mosquitoes in the Amazon jungle than in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba however it’s still a good idea to bring mosquito repellent, especially on the night walk. We also didn’t find any creepy crawlies in our room, much to our eight year old daughter’s relief and each bed has a netting that we made sure we used.

WiFi: Yes, there is WiFi at the lodge. The WiFi is via satellite, so it’s enough to check email, but don’t count on streaming Netflix or uploading your photos with La Selva Lodge Ecuador WiFi.

Hot water: There are hot water showers. We did have our hot water go out once, but we told the front desk, and they had it up and running in a couple of hours.

Drinking water: La Selva gets its water from an underground well. There’s filtered drinking water available at all times in the main lounge, and they bring a pitcher of filtered water to your room every day. Guests are also given personal refillable water bottles to use while they stay at the lodge.

Location: The La Selva Amazon Ecolodge is in Ecuador’s Amazon region, bordering Yasuni National Park and the mighty Napo River. To get to it you need to get to Coca where they’ll take you down the Rio Napo River for a few hours to their private docks and then you need to take a canoe up a small creek and across the Garzacocha (Heron) Lake.

La Selva Lodge reviews: Click here to see reviews for La Selva EcoLodge Ecuador.

How to Book La Selva: You can book La Selva Lodge through Booking.com or compare prices on TripAdvisor here.

Click now to see prices and availability.

G Adventures La Selva Lodge Amazon Adventure: We visited independently, but you can also visit La Selva Ecolodge as part of an all inclusive La Selva Lodge tour with G Adventures. The G Adventures tour includes flights from Quito and other transportation, as well as the standard La Selva package of accommodation, activities and gourmet meals.

See prices and availability on G Adventures.

Not only was Isabela Island our favorite of the three Galapagos islands we visited, but it felt completely different from both the more sophisticated Santa Cruz and the up and coming San Cristobal.

Check prices and availability at Hotel Albermarle now!

If sandy streets, relaxed vibes, a slightly Caribbean feel and an overabundance of some of the most unique animals in the world appeal to you, then Isabela Island might be perfect for you. Even more similar than the Caribbean, Puerto Villamil reminded us of our long stays on the southern beaches of Thailand with it’s eclectic selection of restaurants and it’s sandy, wide streets.

We spend our time in the Galapagos on a land based tour, hopping from island to island. If you’re looking to maximize the amount of time you spend on the water, a cruise based Galapagos cruises for families might work better for you.

While we were there, we stayed at one of the islands best reviewed hotels, the Hotel Albermarle. Situated right on the beach, only seconds from the surf complete with scores of palm trees and marine iguanas just out it’s front door, Hotel Albemarle was a great place from which to explore Isabela island.

Our review of the Hotel Albemarle in the Galapagos Islands

Named after the original name for Isabela Islands, the Mediterranean styled Hotel Albemarle makes guests feel at home, no matter where they hail from.

Check prices and availability now.

Complete with a couple dozen or so rooms, many overlooking the white sands of the beach and the clear blues of the Pacific Ocean, stepping into the white lobby from the sand covered road in front feels like a hidden oasis from the hot sun of the Galapagos.

Without a doubt, one of Hotel Albemarle’s best features is the people working there. The resident manager, Carlos, was always on hand giving us great advice on which spots on the island not to miss and local tidbits on the best restaurants and best tour companies to go with. He always made sure we enjoyed our stay and was incredibly nice to talk to with his impeccable English.

Natalia, the next in line, was great as well and we had some great conversations the nights she was working. Both the cleaning staff and the breakfast cooks where also helpful and polite.

As well as the small front lobby complete with a few computers, the hotel also features a small pool in the center and a breakfast nook to enjoy the tasty, free morning breakfasts.

There’s also a fridge with water, drinks and beer you can purchase for about the same price as one of the local shops in town. The Albemarle Hotel also has filtered water where you can refill your own water bottle at any time during your stay, which was a nice plus.

If you want to relax, there are comfy sun loungers around the pool with some of the best free internet we found on any of the islands. There’s also a great roof top terrace that’s perfect for early morning coffee or late night relaxations. Just don’t try sitting up there during the day unless you want an instant tan under the unrelenting Galapagos sun.

Note: In general, the internet on any of the Galapagos Islands is just a fraction better than dial up and unreliable even on the best of days.

Don’t expect to push all your pictures up to the cloud or get much internet-based work done while you’re there. Streaming anything from YouTube or Netflix was also next to impossible anywhere on the islands.

We were in a pool side ground floor family room, with two twin beds and a double.

We loved the high ceiling (it must have been 10 or 12 feet high), with plenty of fresh air and a bright, white room.

Like all the hotels on Isabela Island, the Hotel Albemarle is a small boutique hotel. You won’t find any well known hotel chains on the island and that’s helping to keep the money local while ensuring that the island doesn’t outgrow it’s world heritage status.

The wildlife on Isabela Island

Considering 97.5% of the Galapagos Islands is a national park and that the entire set of islands is surrounded by a huge marine reserve that’s second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, you’re guaranteed to spot some amazing endemic wildlife on and around the island.

From sea lions and marine iguanas on the shores, hammerhead sharks and sea turtles in the water, to giant Galapagos tortoises and blue footed boobies on the land, you can also find the only tropical penguin in existence on Isabela Island. The Galapagos penguin often plays right beside the main dock in town and a few have even been known to show up around the beach in front of Hotel Albemarle.

If you’re in the Galapagos Islands to view wildlife, and let’s be realistic, almost everyone that goes there does, then Isabela Island is probably the island for you. Nearly every Tripadvisor review (see reviews here) concerning Isabela Island has one single gripe, that they didn’t budget more time to stay there. Well, that and the fact that they didn’t bring enough cash, since there aren’t any ATMs on Isabela Island.

Note: Most of the day trip operators and even a few restaurants take credit cards. Just make sure you verify that before going and note that most of the tour operators charge you more if you pay with a credit card. Like the rest of Ecuador, the US dollar is the main currency everywhere in the Galapagos Islands.

Around Hotel Albemarle and Puerto Villamil

From day trips to just hanging out on the beach, there are tons of things to do outside the Hotel Albemarle Isabela. Right in front of the hotel is a gorgeous beach complete with a volleyball court and small playground for the kids.

Off to the side is a protected marine iguana nesting site with dozens of marine iguanas basking in the sun or competing for mating rights and for an animal that spends the majority of the time just sitting there watching them fight can be quite entertaining.

To the other side of the beach there is the town jetty that makes for scenic views and, when we were there, they were getting ready to open a bar at the end of it.

Right next to the hotel is the town’s often boisterous enclosed football (soccer) field. For such a small town there are soccer games nearly every night and on the weekends it can get quite loud at times. Be prepared that if you’re in a room adjoining the field, don’t expect to get any sleep before 10:30 when the last game is often played.

Carlos informed me that the town is planning to move the football field further into town and setting up an open aired market in the paved zone in it’s place. This will be a great addition to the town as well as ensuring that people with early mornings can get the sleep they need.

Just down the sandy road that runs in front of the hotel, on the other side of the soccer field, is a series of chill out bars playing soft reggae while watching the waves break along the beach.

On the other side of the hotel runs the main street of Puerto Villamil, here is where you’ll find restaurant after restaurant featuring local delicacies as well as pizza, pasta and lots of fish. There’s also some of the bigger touring companies, a ferry company and some small grocery stores.

Note: Because the Galapagos Islands are so remote, over 600 miles or 1000 km’s from the mainland, supplies on the island can be hard to get at times. While we were there, the main cargo boat that supplies all the islands sank and all the stores and restaurants had mass shortages on stocks for a few weeks so a lot of menu items weren’t available while we there.

Animals of the Galapagos Islands

Some of the most scenic day trips you can do in the Galapagos Islands originate from Isabela Island so whether you’re taking one of the many tours or going it alone, there’s a lot to do for such a sleepy place. Carlos at Hotel Albemarle was great at giving us suggestions on where to go and most of all, when to go to get the most out of it.

Like most of the Galapagos Islands, you can be sure to see sea lions and marine iguanas just about everywhere you look as well as the remarkable frigate birds flying overhead. In the wetlands of the island you can see pink flamingos and common stilts and Darwin’s finches exist near land and sea.

Under the water you can see hammerhead sharks as well as plenty of sea turtles, stingrays, manta rays and sea horses. If you’re snorkeling there’s a good chance you’ll be visited by an inquisitive sea lion and, if you’re lucky, the only tropical penguin in the world, the Galapagos penguin.

Day trips from Isabela Island

Some of the more notable day trips from Isabela Island include our favorite, snorkeling at Los Tuneles with it’s lava channels and tunnels where you’ll see plenty of sea turtles, reef sharks and the the blue-footed booby.

For the hikers there’s the Sierra Negra Volcano which is the second largest active volcano in the world. This 16 km walk will take you to the rim where you’ll see spectacular views of the volcano and the surrounding islands.

Want to take a tour? Viator offers a few trips to and from Isabela Island.

See trip prices and details here.

If you want to see the only tropical penguin in the world up close then you’ll want to do the Tintoreras tour. On this tour they take you across the channel from the dock to explore the little islands where the penguin resides. Expect to see plenty of sea lions and you get to look down on some amazing shark nesting channels on a small hike.

If you want to get your feet wet you can hit any of the many beaches throughout town or the one across from Hotel Albemarle. However if you want to do some snorkeling, then Concha de Perla is where you want to go. Grab the wooden pathway beside the main dock and walk for a minute until you get to the small dock and jump in. You can see everything from sea turtles to reef sharks at the Concha de Perla.

If you want to see some giant Galapagos tortoises then you’ll want to take the wooden walkway just past Iguana Crossing that will take you over lagoons and swamps filled with flamingos and stilts to the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center. It’s around a 30 minute walk and you’ll get to see some of the giant tortoises first hand. If you’re tired from the walk, just take a 5 minute taxi back to town.

If you want a little tragic history, you’ll want to rent a bike and bike down to the Wall of Tears. It’s around 5 km from town and can get quite hot if you don’t go in the morning or late afternoon but it’s an interesting bike down well marked roads where you can stop at quiet lagoons and totally secluded beaches.

What you need to know about the Hotel Albemarle Galapagos

Hotel Albemarle is in the small town of Puerto Villamil, on Isabela Island in the Galapagos, Ecuador. It’s a stone’s throw from the town’s restaurants and shops.

Check TripAdvisor reviews.

Check prices and availability now.

You can find out more about the Albemarle Hotel on their website.

The four of us were pelted by rain and salt water spray for almost the entire two and a half hour ferry ride from Isla Isabela to Santa Cruz. That ferry ride from Hades is a story we’ll tell another time, but it’s enough to say that we would have probably sold all our worldly possessions for a warm shower and a dry towel right then.

Luckily, the folks at Red Mangrove Hotel Galapagos were happy to help.

Check prices and hotel information here.

We trudged into their lobby as wet as if we’d swum right out of the ocean, and they didn’t bat an eye. The staff just helped us carry our soaking wet luggage to our room, where we used their dry towels and piping hot shower to restore ourselves.

Then we got to work drying three suitcases worth of wet clothes, plus the soaking wet clothes we wore on the ferry.

Luckily for us, the Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge had a de-humidifier in our room. It’s the first time we’ve ever been in a hotel that included one. It was a huge help drying out our stacks of clothes that got soaked by rain on the ferry from Isla Isabela to Santa Cruz and it made what could have been an otherwise long ordeal into barely an inconvenience.

The best part of Red Mangrove!

One of the best features of the Red Mangrove Hotel in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz is its friendly residents. Yup, you guessed it, they’re the sea lions that lounge everywhere on the benches and boardwalk that surround the property.

We dropped by the boardwalk several times during our stay and the sea lions were always there, often joined by some cheeky marine iguanas.

Tip! No need to go searching for wildlife on the island of Santa Cruz, when you stay at the Red Mangrove, the wildlife comes to you!

The coastal location does mean that Red Mangrove’s restaurant and boardwalk have a stunning view of the azure waters of the Santa Cruz Port.

Hands down, besides for the fact that our room included a de-humidifier, our favorite parts of the hotel were the ocean side boardwalk and pier.

About the rooms at Red Mangrove

While I believe most of Red Mangrove’s rooms are on upper floors or with great views facing Academy Bay, we had a family room on the main floor, halfway between the lobby and the hotel’s entrance. It was quiet, roomy, fully equipped and clean, but if I go back, I would spend a few dollars more and stay in an ocean side or upper level room with views of the sea for our next visit.

Our family room had two single beds, plus one queen. They were both comfy, but the single beds had an extra layer of comfort from a small memory foam topper. We almost kicked the kids out of their beds so we could sleep in the comfy singles!

Our room came complete with it’s own enclosed courtyard so it would make a great place for families with small children to roam about safely.

Important: Just after we stayed there, Hotel Red Mangrove was bought by the folks at Haugan Cruises, who also happen to own the same La Selva Lodge we stayed at during our stay in the Amazon a few weeks before. Haugan Cruises has a great reputation in the Galapagos,  and we’re looking forward to seeing the improvements they bring! While we stayed there it was called the Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge, and it’s now re-branded to be known as the Red Mangrove Hotel by Haugan Cruises.

Check prices and hotel information here.

About the mangroves

The hotel has a unique coastal location among the mangroves (thus the Red Mangrove name). If you’ve ever spent much time by the ocean, you’ll know that mangroves are a vital part of a coastal ecosystem. They provide nutrients, and are home to many species of birds and wildlife.

Unfortunately, mangroves often have a stagnant water smell. We found this stale smell to be minimal at Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge, however it was definitely present, especially on the walkway after the unusually heavy rains when we arrived. Also, there are only a few rooms set within the mangroves themselves at the Red Mangrove Hotel, since most of the rooms are overlooking the water.

Note: You may see the hotel occasionally called the Hotel Mangle Rojo (which is just Red Mangrove translated into Spanish).

Red Mangrove restaurant – what’s there to eat?

While we were there, the Red Mangrove Restaurant offered pretty much only sushi for supper. We aren’t sushi lovers (and Micki and the kids are vegetarian), so we didn’t get a chance to try it out though it got decent enough reviews. It was also on the higher end of the price scale.

Isla Grill at the Red Mangrove Hotel

If you’re a lover of sushi, you probably would have enjoyed the Red Mangrove restaurant, however we just found out that the new owners are completely redoing the restaurant at Red Mangrove. The new restaurant is going to be called the Isla Grill and will offer both traditional and international foods with unique surf and turf meals. There will also be pizzas, burgers, salads and I’m guessing great breakfast options if it’s anything like the food we ate at the award winning La Selva Lodge. We want to go back just to try them out.

See TripAdvisor reviews here for the old Red Mangrove Restaurant

While we were there, the Red Mangrove hotel did offer breakfast and lunch as part of an inclusive meal deal, however we didn’t opt for it, so we ate in town most days during our stay on the island. In some ways it’s too bad we didn’t get a chance to review their breakfast offerings, however the breakfasts are going to change when the restaurant soon re-opens as the Isla Grill.

Tip! If you’d like to visit the restaurant to check out the sea lions and gorgeous views, come during the evening happy hour, where you can get 2 for 1 drinks.

How to book

Check prices and availability here.

It may be easiest to book a room at the hotel through booking sites like Expedia or Hotels.com.

You can also book directly with the hotel, although you’ll have to fill out a clunky contact form on their website.

Tip! Book an ocean side or upper level room to get gorgeous views and lots of natural light and air flow.

Check prices and availability here.

Want to find out more?

If you want to find out more, visit the hotel’s website, or see them on Facebook or Twitter. Due to the fact that it’s under new ownership, we expect the hotel to undergo a few changes and, if it’s anything like La Selva, probably for the better.

If you’re interested in SCUBA diving in the Galapagos Islands, there’s also a well regarded SCUBA center at the Red Mangrove hotel. Check their reviews here.

The hotel also offers free bike rentals.

Where is the Hotel Red Mangrove Galapagos?

The Red Mangrove Hotel Galapagos is on the island of Santa Cruz, in the town of Puerto Ayora. It’s on the west side of town, and a little isolated from the busy town itself. That said, it was only a quick five minute walk to the main part of Charles Darwin Avenue, where we found more restaurants and souvenir shops than we could count.

If you’re flying in, you’ll land on nearby Baltra Island to the north and be taken for free by bus and ferry over to Santa Cruz, where you can take a taxi to get to the hotel. If you’re flying from the Galapagos Islands, the hotel can help you order a taxi that will get you to the ferry that will take you to the airport.

The hotel is about a 15 minute walk from the pier along nice paved roads or you can grab a taxi for under two dollars. If you go east, the Charles Darwin Research Center is just a few minutes down the road and is definitely worth a visit.

Now, what happens when I say Amazon rainforest? Suddenly, jungles, animals, huge rivers and unknown dangers start popping up in your mind.

Now, what happens when I say Amazon luxury ecolodge, with gourmet meals and personalized tours based on your own interests? Conflict of emotions? There shouldn’t be because that’s exactly what La Selva Lodge, in the jungles of Ecuador is all about.

We had the amazing opportunity to spend five days at La Selva Lodge in Ecuador firsthand checking out what makes this the number one ecolodge in the area. I’ll give you a hint, good food, good people and amazing surroundings.

We met up with Miguel, the lead coordinator at La Selva Resort at the Coca airport. We were flying in from the Ecuadorian capital of Quito where we had previously met with a La Selva spokesman who quickly helped us through the check out process and informed us about meeting up with Miguel once we landed in Coca.

After a quick 45 minute flight, we grabbed our bags and jumped in their private van with another two fine fellows from Quito to head to their office in town. Once there, Miguel explained what we were up to for the rest of the day.

Basically, the easy part was over, now we needed to do some walking, some boating, some more walking and then boating again.

It was pretty much that way every day going forward, with constant changes on what we were doing, what we would be seeing and what times everything would be happening. Since nature waits for no one, our plans at La Selva changed as fast as the weather. That turned out to be a good thing, but I’ll save that for later.

After a quick washroom break (there’s no washroom on the boat) and receiving a few refillable water bottles we set off walking toward the town docks. Only two blocks away we got our first taste of the mighty Amazon.

It turns out that my actual knowledge of the Amazon is far less than I once believed. For one, the Amazon river is actually comprised of several tributaries spread out over seven million kilometers starting in Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, and five other nations and continuing through Brazil before finally dumping into the Atlantic Ocean.

Here in the town of Coca or, as it’s officially known, Puerto Francisco de Orellana, the river is called Rio Napo and is one of the Amazon’s largest tributaries. It’s also quite a large and fast river in its own right.

As we made it down to the docks and donned our supplied life jackets, we learnt that we were going to be traveling downstream for around 2 hours via a very long and fast boat before getting off the main river and taking a small walk over to a creek where we’d take canoes the rest of the way to the lodge. This is pretty much the way most of the Amazon lodges work in that area of the Yasuni National Park, with each lodge sitting on it’s own lake or river off the main Rio Napo river.

We also received some nice boxed lunches to eat on the ride to our next stop. Ours included a burrito, apple, muffin and a tasty granola bar. It also included a tasty local beer called Pilsener.

As we made our way down the river, we realized just how dangerous the river can be. Luckily, our captain was an expert driver and easily navigated the ever changing sand bars, the massive tree trunks floating down the river and the hidden dangers that existed everywhere.

Unfortunately, the elusive pink Amazon river dolphin was nowhere in sight. We later found out they’re not that common around Coca and, unlike their ocean relatives, they rarely leave the safety of the muddy and turbulent waters so they’re incredibly hard to spot. That never stopped us from looking though.

As we approached the private La Selva docks a few hours later, we were thankful for the protective canopy our boat offered and the rain ponchos we were given. During our two hour ride it had suddenly downpoured and we were quickly reminded why they call this area of the world a rainforest. It also explains why the Amazon river has more flow of water than the next seven largest rivers in the world combined.

After taking off our life jackets and hitting the washrooms again, we walked the few hundred feet to a small creek while the porters moved our luggage over. Now the real adventure began.

As we climbed into the loaded down double canoe the fact that we’re in the Amazon truly hit home. After spending a few days in Quito’s eternal springlike cool temperatures, the hot, humid weather was both a relief and a curse. The temperatures were warm, but we learned quickly to say goodbye to nice, dry clothing.

As anyone who’s spent time there will tell you, in the Amazon, there’s just damp and more damp.

Once our canoe was fully loaded, our paddlers quickly set off down the stream. Within minutes we were lost as the mangrove filled creek branched off in several areas. Luckily, our guides knew the path and we made our way through the eerie landscape.

Knowing that there is everything from piranhas, to electric eels, to black caiman, to fish the size of our boat below us didn’t do anything to steady our nerves as the laden down canoe slowly navigated the sharp corners. There was so much going on around us that our fears quickly turned to wonder at all the new sounds and movement.

Up ahead, Miguel, who was with us on his way back to the lodge as well, spotted a troupe of black capuchin monkeys leaping over us, scrambling to get across the small creek. It would be the first of seven encounters with monkeys for us while we were at La Selva Lodge, and the first of the five species of monkey we saw during our stay.

Besides for the Capuchins, we saw countless varieties of birds on that first canoe ride. I would name them, all however we were so in awe of our surroundings the first day that we never cataloged them. The hoatzin, more commonly known as the stinky turkey to the locals, was definitely one that stood out and was always found along the creek. Its crazy spiked mohawk and distinctive call made it a favorite find to everyone.

We also saw dozens of beautiful bird of paradise flowers everywhere we looked along that creek. These are found only in specialty flower shops back home, they usually sell for a ridiculous sum, so it was cool to see so many of them everywhere we looked.

As we finally exited the creek 20 minutes later, we realized that we really hadn’t researched La Selva Lodge enough before getting there. Maybe that was a good thing, because as we turned a bend and saw the La Selva Lodge sitting high above the beautiful lake it calls home, we actually gasped at the beauty of the moment.

Surrounded by calm, tea stained water, the La Selva Lodge stood out in comparison to what we had just witnessed, yet blended perfectly with the surrounding Amazonian jungle. It looked like it belonged there. Even more importantly at the time, it looked inviting after a long day of flights and boats.

We also didn’t know it, but our Amazon adventure was just beginning and it would one of the busiest yet rewarding stays our lives.

Stay tuned for our complete review of the wonderful La Selva Lodge in the coming week, including our encounters with monkeys, birds, lizards and tarantulas deep in the Amazon jungle, as well as yoga classes by the water, gourmet food, outstanding guides, our visit to a native village, parrot clay licks, fishing for piranha and climbing a 10 story tower high above the Amazon canopy to spot some of the Amazon’s most sought after species.

Interested in checking out La Selva Lodge for yourself?

You can check out their webpage here, book a stay with them here, view their well ranked TripAdvisor page here or you can get an idea what a 4 day trip to La Selva Lodge entails with Gadventures.

We were careening through Quito’s busy morning traffic, worn out from long flights and short days, when Cristina talked about her very favorite place to relax just outside the city.

It sounded like a dream: A nice hotel, dozens of hot pools and a world class spa overlooking a small village, high in the lush cloud forest of the Andes only an hour east of Quito.

Take a private tour from Quito.

Flash forward a few days, and our little family of four were soaking in the hot spring pools at Hotel Termas de Papallacta Ecuador, surrounded by verdant mountain slopes, hummingbirds, and tropical flowers. We know a good hot spring resort when we find one and Termas Papallacta definitely belongs in that category.

Check prices and availability now.

Termas de Papallacta Hotel, sometimes called Papallacta Hot Springs Resort or Termas Papallacta, is located in the small Ecuadorian town of Papallacta, in the Andes of South America. It’s at a whopping elevation of 10,800 feet (3,300 meters). In comparison, Denver, Colorado is a mere 5,400 feet (1,645 meters).

Tip! Because of the extremely high elevation in Papallacta, be mindful of elevation sickness. If possible, try to leave a day or so to acclimate to the elevation in Quito before you visit.

We arrived on a cool, rainy day midweek in February, which was really the perfect time to take in the magic of this place.

Hotel Termas de Papallacta Ecuador Review

Below you’ll find our Termas Papallacta hotel review, including a look at our room, the public pools, the spa, the spa’s hot pools, the resorts private hot pools, the restaurants, and even information on hikes around Papallacta.

Check prices and reviews.

Contents – Click any of the following links to skip directly to that area

• Rooms
• The public hot pools
• The spa hot pools
• Private hot pools
• Restaurants
• Spa
• Hikes around Termas Papallacta
• Location, price and other necessities

The hot pools at Termas Papallacta

All of the hot pools at Hotel Termas de Papallacta sit at the base of lush mountains high in the Andes. In total, there are dozens of pools and hot tubs, with water of varying temperatures, that range from swimming pool size to intimate pools for only a few people. Unlike most natural hot pools, there is little to no sulfur smell around the pools or the resort!

That said, there are essentially three types of hot pools at Termas Papallacta:

• the public hot pools for day guests (included free of charge with your room)
• the exclusive spa hot pools, available to hotel guests (15% off for guests) and the public (higher fee than the public pools)
• guest only private hot pools located outside the family cottages and scattered around the main hotel

We’ll give you a detailed overview of all the hot pools below however first we’ll talk a bit about the grounds and our room.

The grounds at Termas Papallacta

The expansive grounds around the resort alone are reason enough to visit Papallacta. The grounds are painstakingly cultivated, with lush vegetation and tropical flowers overflowing every nook.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a peek at some of the native animals, including hummingbirds, the spectacled bear, pikas, the mountain tapir, and even a small native wild cat called the Pampas cat. When we were there we saw a small rabbit, hopping along by one of the private pools, and an otter by the river, along with plenty of hummingbirds and butterflies.

Rooms at the Hotel Termas de Papallacta Ecuador

The resort has accommodations for everyone from single travelers to couples, to families and groups of friends.

We stayed in a family bungalow, which was just across the creek from the lobby. It was only about 100 meters from the main lodge, but felt far enough to feel like a private oasis.

To get to the family bungalows, you cross the road from the main lobby and drive over a small, covered wooden bridge that passes over a small rushing creek. The gate is often closed however there is always someone around to open it if you’re coming or going.

Our place was a two story cabin with a sitting room, a spacious bathroom and a master bedroom with it’s own well appointed en suite bathroom on the main floor. Upstairs, in the loft, was another four single beds.

All of the beds were comfortable, with plenty of spare blankets and pillows. They even provided a space heater for the upper level, which we appreciated to help keep the kids extra toasty up in the loft at night.

Since we visited on an especially cool weekend in February, we truly appreciated the heated water running under the travertine covered floors. That’s right, complete in floor heating! Some cabins even feature fireplaces and a sunken tub.

There were lots of little touches, from purified water in a big water cooler with plenty of glasses, to soft robes and fluffy towels for poolside use and comfy slippers. Outside, we had our own little patio with table and chairs off the side of our family cabin. There was even private parking.

I was surprised the free WiFi worked so well in the cabins, and was fast enough to work with. Now, it wasn’t lightning fast, but it was usable, and I thought that was a big win in a small town high in the mountains in Ecuador.

Probably my favorite part of the family cabin were the private hot pools just outside our cabin door. 

The resort has two small clusters of bungalows, and each cluster of bungalows has its own exclusive thermal water pools for guests. We shared our pools with only a handful of other bungalows, and we often went outside to find we had all of the pools entirely to ourselves.

Check room prices.

If a family bungalow is too big for you, Papallacta Hot Springs Resort has standard rooms, with two doubles or one king bed, as well as rooms with king bed and a Jacuzzi next to the main lodge.

There are also suite cabins perfect for couples or a small family (three people max) with king beds, small sofa beds, fireplaces, and in floor heating.

The Termas Papallacta has also just started a new bed and breakfast option, which allows access to the public pools, along with a more modest room and breakfast.

Find information on rooms and prices.

Tip! Hotel Guests get a 15% discount on spa services.

The public hot pools at Termas de Papallacta

Besides for the guest only private pools, Termas Papallacta resort has two types of hot pools for day visitors – the public hot pools or public baths as they’re often called (which we’ll talk about here) and the exclusive hot pools available at the Spa (we talk about those a little later).

There’s a lot of confusion online about the cost to access the public baths at Termas Papallacta resort, with most reports mistakenly quoting prices to access the exclusive spa hot pools, which are more expensive than the public thermal baths. The confusion comes from the fact that the public can pay to access two separate areas of the Termas Papallacta: the main public baths (which are less expensive, but lovely), and the exclusive spa area baths.

Access to the public spas is free if you’re a guest of the Termas Papallacta resort. Check resort prices here.

If you’re not staying at the hotel, there’s a modest charge for tickets to the main thermal baths at Termas Papallacta.

• Adults $8.50 USD
• Kids age 3 to 11 are $4 USD
• Children under 3 are free
• Seniors (over age 65) and special needs are $4.00 USD

Hours at the public hot pools are 6:00 am to 9:00 pm.

To get to the public hot pools, go past the lovely Termas de Papallacta Spa Resort main building, and you’ll find the public pools on your left, across from the large parking lot. The entrance to the public hot pools is under the sign that says Balneario (translated, this roughly means waterside resort in Spanish).

You’ll pay at the ticket entrance building or show your hotel wristband for free access. Towels cost $1 with a $5 deposit however, if you stay in the resort, towels are provided for free. Staff will pass you a sizable wicker basket to hold towels and other belongings.

Most people just throw all their belongings in the baskets and carry them everywhere they go however once you get inside there are lockers you can rent for the day that are more secure.

Once you pass the ticket booth, you then walk over a small bridge and a rushing stream to access the pools. You’ll also pass a small building with medical staff on hand in case of emergencies.

Once inside the gate, there’s 10 hot pools of varying temperatures to enjoy, grouped into three main areas.

When you first walk in, you’ll see the main pool on the right, which is kept at a moderately warm temperature, and is large enough to double as a swimming pool. This pool is one of the best for children since the water isn’t too hot and there’s plenty of space for them to play in. It’s also a great spot to lounge in since you won’t overheat and there are numerous jets everywhere.

Off to the left is another section of three more hot pools and a plunge pool.

Straight ahead, you’ll find a restaurant and snack shop before the washrooms, showers and lockers.

Just past the restaurants are another set of pools up a small hill. You’ll find the hottest public pools at Papallacta are on the top hill. As such, you won’t find many children there.

For the brave, there’s three cool plunge pools around the property. All are filled with icy cold green river water and are a hyper fast way to cool down.

Tip: Staff seem to be constantly draining and refilling the hot pools. If you find the pool you want is empty, just show up again in a few hours and it’ll probably be up and running again.

Restaurants inside the public Papallacta hot pool area

Aside from the main restaurant in the hotel’s main building, and a fancier restaurant in the exclusive Spa, there is a smaller restaurant and snack bar located in the public hot pools area of Termas Papallacta.

The Pumamaki restaurant and the Kiosco snack bar are side by side in the center of the public hot pools.

Kiosco Snack Bar

The Kiosco snack bar sells snacks like hot dogs, nachos, chips and crackers plus drinks and gifts like Termas Papallacta themed shirts and towels. You can also pick up sunscreen and a few other toiletries here. There’s a nice terrace outside, and you order from the front counter.

Pumamaki Restaurant

The Pumamaki restaurant offers sit-down service, with seats inside and on the terrace outside. You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner here. There’s a six page menu with a wide selection, including the fresh trout that’s famous in Papallacta as well as sandwiches and Ecuadorian style soups (be sure to try the Locro de la Casa/Potato soup with cheese), salads, grilled steak, plus desserts, drinks, and wines. There’s also a kids menu.

Restaurant prices in the public thermal baths area of Papallacta run about $9 USD for a economic set menu to $14 USD for a compete set menu, which includes appetizer, dessert and main course.

Tip: There’s also a public accessible restaurant in the main building as well as a restaurant in the Spa area.

Termas Papallacta Spa

Termas Papallacta’s spa is tucked away just past the main building on the right. The spa offers a suite of luxurious treatments, plus at least eight exclusive hot pools.

Spa pools cost $22 for adults, $14.50 for children, and $11 for seniors. Spa hot pool access is not included in hotel rates, however, as a guest of the resort, you get 15% off all spa services.

Tip: If you happen to visit Papallacta during a busy time, we’d highly recommend paying extra for access to the quieter, exclusive spa hot pools.

The spa offers a range of spa treatments, from private Jacuzzi baths to chocolate or mud wraps, to relaxing massages. Prices are quite reasonable by North American standards, at about $69 for a 60 minute deep body massage, or $60 for a hot stone massage. There are also individual thermal Jacuzzis and steam baths at the Thermal Grotto available for about $12.

The Spa hot pools are much quieter than the public baths, and we didn’t see any children here, other than a young girl of around 12 or 13.

We were lucky enough to enjoy a steam bath at the Thermal Grotto, which left both of us completely relaxed and utterly spent.

There’s also a restaurant in the Spa area. It was closed when we visited, but the views over the private spa hot pools are gorgeous.

Main Restaurant: Termas de Papallacta Restaurant

The main restaurant is in the main building just behind the lobby, and it serves delicious food (if slightly expensive for Ecuador). That said, we thought dining there was well worth the money, and found that compared to Canadian or American prices, the food was fairly moderately priced for the quality.

The restaurant at Termas de Papallacta has a good selection of American style food, including pastas, seafood, fish and plenty of Ecuadorian specialties. We ate here for lunch and dinner for two days in a row, and found plenty of delicious food to keep us happy.

There’s also a buffet breakfast available every morning as well as a set menu for those that want something special.

Our eleven year old loved the traditional Ecuadorian potato and cheese soup, which was comforting and warm in the cool mountain climate.

I tried a traditional soup of palm hearts, popcorn and plantain chips. It was delicious, and served cold, which I wasn’t expecting, with a burst of fresh flavor. I think the closest thing I’ve ever tried is gazpacho.

If you’re a seafood fan, be sure to try the trout, which is locally, and sustainably, farmed. None of us are big seafood fans, so we didn’t try it, but other diners told us that it was fresh and flavorful, and one of the best items on the menu.

We also really loved the pesto pastas, and the restaurant kindly made a butter pasta for our eight year old, which she devoured every night.

Note: You can also eat at the Pumamaki restaurant and the Kiosco snack bar inside the public hot pools area. Check out the info on the public hot pools above for more info on them.

Hiking and Guided Walks at Termas Papallacta

Termas Papallacta has an area called the Exploratori (or alternatively, The Terra Foundation or Exploratory Center), where you can book a guided walking tour, and camping spots. You can find it to the the right of the public baths.

The center is open 8 am to 5 pm.

Tip! When we were there in February mid-week it seemed to be closed down, but other readers have said it was open for them. It may be best to ask at the front desk for information.

The center can give you information about plants and animals, with four different trail options and a native tour guide. Guided tours range from $2 USD to $6 USD, and a tent camping spot at Papallacta Resort is $6 USD a night. You can even arrange longer treks, horseback riding and rafting. Ask about treks to the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve.

There’s also a self guided trail called the Sendero de la Isla along the Papallacta river. The trail starts next to the public pools (Balneario), and takes about an hour and a half to navigate. You’ll walk over several small foot bridges, and have the chance to see llamas and other wildlife, along with the stunning cloud forest scenery.

Getting to Papallacta Hot Springs in Ecuador

Papallacta is about a 45 minute drive from Quito’s airport, and about an hour from Quito’s city center.

There are several ways to get to Papallacta, including renting a car, taking the bus, grabbing a taxi, or taking a tour that includes transportation.

Rent a car

We rented a car to get to Papallacta. It’s a 40 mile (73 km) drive on windy roads, and mostly uphill, with some steep grades (maximum posted speed was 60 km most of the way). The road is newly paved and generally in good condition, and the scenery is stunning. When we visited mid-week in February, there was very little traffic on the road however there was fog in places.

When you arrive in Papallacta, head left through town and up the hill to get to the resort.

If you drive, watch carefully as we saw a few major potholes on the highway due to recent rains. These were big enough to do some major damage to a car however most were well marked.

Quito is also a challenging city to drive in, as many intersections aren’t well signed, and we found that our Google Maps GPS didn’t have many of the new roads marked. That said, roads were generally in great condition and newly paved.

Based on our experience, we found driving to Papallacta quite easy but personally wouldn’t recommend renting a vehicle from Thrifty Car Rental Ecuador Quito Shyris Ecuador. It gets a 1.6 of 5.0 Google rating for a reason.

They charged us more than our reservation, said they didn’t have the car we reserved in stock, and gave us a horrible tiny car that barely fit our luggage and us, and could only get up to 30 km/hour on many of the uphill sections on the highway to Papallacta. They also threw on a condition at the end (just as we paid) that we couldn’t drive the car in Quito during rush hour. Luckily, this fit our schedule, but is a little ridiculous. Other Thrifty locations in Quito get pretty bad reviews on Google as well.

We did find some good reviews for Sixt Rental Cars in Quito on Google, so we’ll try them the next time we’re in Quito.

Check Sixt rental prices here.

Public Bus

You can take a public bus from Quito to Papallacta for around $3.00 each way. Since bus schedules change all the time, it’s best to do a search just before you go. That said, you should be able to catch any bus going to Coca, Lago Agrio, Tena or Puyo and get off at Papallacta. Just be sure to ask if you can get dropped off in Papallacta when you buy your ticket, and confirm your drop off with the driver.

Local buses in Ecuador are much easier to manage if you speak at least a bit of Spanish. In Papallacta itself, you’ll need to pay another $3 or so to get a ride up the hot springs on one of the communal truck taxis. Getting down you can get the hotel to call a taxi for you and they should also be able to help you arrange bus transportation back to Quito.

Taxi or shuttle

You can get to Papallacta by taxi or shuttle, and it should cost about $50 USD per way, but you’ll need to find a driver willing to wait for several hours while you enjoy the hot springs.

It may be easier and cheaper to get a tour instead with a reputable company like Viator. Tours start at around $85 USD for return transportation and a private guide. Check tour prices here.

Papallacta hot springs tour

The easiest way to get to Papallacta is to go with a tour. Reputable tour companies like Viator have day tours starting at around $60, with more luxurious tours with hotel pickup at around $136.

Check prices for day trips to Papallacta here.

Viator also has some fantastic combo tours, including a tour that lets you stay overnight in a private cabin at the Termas Papallacta, with a visit to the nearby Antisana Volcano. Click here for more info and prices. If you’d like to see the Amazon as well as the Andes, there’s a seven day private Amazon and Andes adventure tour as well (check prices here).

What I really like about the Viator tours is that many of the tours offer free cancellation, so you can get a full refund up to 24 hours in advance if you cancel.

Click this link to find more tours with things to do and see in Quito.

Should I do a day trip to Papallacta, or stay the night?

We’d highly recommend staying the night at the Papallacta Hot Springs Resort if you can find the time. It’s a magical experience to stay on site, and you’ll get to experience much more of the resort than if you just stay the day. You’ll also get to experience the private pools at night and early morning.

Check prices and availability here.

How to book Termas de Papallacta hotel

You can book Termas de Papallacta directly with the hotel, or on hotel booking sites. Check prices and availability now.

Check reviews on Expedia or TripAdvisor.

Looking for something different?

See homes and condos for rent on vrbo.

Tip: Termas Papallacta, and the rest of Ecuador, use the US Dollar as currency.

Where is Termas Papallacta hot springs resort?

Fun fact: The name Papallacta translates from papa (potato) in Spanish and llacta (town) in Quichua. The town was originally known for, as you can probably guess, growing potatoes. Today, Papallacta is best known for its luxurious thermal spas, and for producing a significant portion of the water supply for Ecuador’s capital, Quito.

Papallacta is located about an hour drive East of Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, high up in the Andes mountains. Quito is the world’s highest official capital city, at an elevation of 9,350 ft (2,850 meters), and, with over 7 million residents, has daily international flights from all corners of the world. This modern South American city is also a great gateway to the Galapagos Islands and excursions into the Amazon.

Luckily for us, The Phoenix Resort in the heart of San Pedro, Belize is worth every penny and earns its reputation as one of the best resorts on Ambergis Caye.

We were fortunate enough to stay at The Phoenix Resort for five days and had the opportunity to find out for ourselves what makes the place a Tripadvisor favorite.

Just want to hear the highlights? Look for our quick review on The Phoenix Belize at the end of this post.

A word of caution though, our Phoenix Belize review might make you book a one way flight to the island of Ambergris Caye off the coast of mainland Belize, so continue on at your own risk.

First Impressions of The Phoenix Resort

Tucked out the way at the north end of Barrier Reef Drive, known as front street to the locals, the unassuming side entrance of The Phoenix Resort leads into a shaded lot full of golf carts, which are the most common mode of transportation on the island of Ambergris Caye. On the left is a playground for kids, and up above is the hotel patio bar with free drinks during happy hour every day from 5 to 6 (local beer and rum only).

There’s also the well reviewed Sol Spa and gym located on the second floor with the resort owned Red Ginger restaurant tucked below next to the main lobby.

The main entrance to The Phoenix Resort is actually located on Pescador Drive, known as middle street to the locals, however the most common entrance is via front street with quicker access to the many restaurants, shops and bars along the beach.

Once you cross through the lobby from the main entrance and exit the rear door you see the saline lap pool and then the beautiful and heated multi-level main pool, with a well stocked pool side bar. There are loungers positioned all around the pool, as well as tables and chairs where you can sit back and enjoy a bite delivered fresh from the Red Ginger restaurant, or sip on a tasty concoction the friendly bar servers whip up.

The ultra-stylish, three-story high buildings that comprise The Phoenix surround the entire pool area. Nearly every one also has an ocean view of the clear blue water. There is no beach at The Phoenix Resort, which is the case for almost all of the hotels on Ambergris Caye. However, there is a short seawall and pathway that runs in front, as well as several long piers nearby you can swim off if you fancy a dip in the ocean.

Note: This area of Belize isn’t known for its beaches, and even if you happen to find one in town the shallow waters, the sea grass don’t make wading in all that appealing. There are a few hotels with beaches on the island, however they’re all just outside the town proper. Most people that want to spend time in the ocean take snorkel tours and there’s some amazing snorkeling fairly close to shore.

That said, the Phoenix Resort is right on the water and the water views are gorgeous. The entire grounds on the resort are well maintained and patrolled 24/7, and there always seems to be someone around if you have any problems, however they’re never obtrusive.

The Rooms at The Phoenix Resort Belize

Each room at The Phoenix Resort Belize is condominium size. You can stay in one, tow or three bedroom suites, and the two and three bedroom suites all include two bathrooms.

Our 1,700 foot, two bedroom suite had a huge en suite with a large jetted tub, a big walk in shower and his and her sinks. There was a nice collection of shampoos and conditioners as well as other toiletries in both bathrooms and super plush towels and robes.

There were also flower petals strewn all around our suite when we checked in that made the suite smell wonderful. Turn down service that night took all the flower petals away so that was a nice bonus as well.

The main bathroom had two doors, one from the main hallway and one directly from the second room, with his and her sinks as well as a large shower. As such, the two bedroom suites at The Phoenix would be equally fine for two couples or a family of four. There was also a washer and dryer hidden away in the main bathroom, complete with detergent so that was a bonus.

The master bedroom had a very comfortable king sized bed and a plush white duvet complete with a variety of soft to firm pillows. There was also a new LCD TV as well as a safe hidden in the oversized closet. The spare bedroom included a pair of comfortable twin beds and another LCD TV as well.

The rooms were all meticulously maintained and we all enjoyed staying at the resort.

The Kitchens at The Phoenix Belize

All the suites at The Phoenix include well appointed kitchens complete with stainless steel appliances, including a fridge, dual sinks, a blender, a stove, an oven as well as a dishwasher. There’s also filtered water from a tap in the kitchen so you can cut down on purchased water bottles while you stay there. The kitchen was well stocked with a Keurig coffeemaker, plates, glasses and cutlery as well as a decent selection of pots and pans.

There were a few spices in the cupboard, as well as salt and pepper but that’s about it. Luckily, there are two grocery stores almost right in front of the hotel, so stocking up on supplies is a quick walk away.

Side note: I was short some butter one morning while making a late brunch and one of the women cleaning noticed my distress (there’s daily cleaning as well as a turn down service at night) and she offered to grab me some butter from the restaurant so I could finish cooking. It was incredibly nice of her and she reminded me that the restaurant could also provide additional pots and pans if I needed them. Many thanks!

As well as the large kitchen area, there was a living room complete with a large screen TV. The living room also had a outdoor patio right off it with another table, chairs and a few loungers for relaxing. We had a few of our meals out on the terrace and it was a great place to eat breakfast before the pool area got busy.

In Room Extras at The Phoenix Belize

When you stay at The Phoenix Belize, they include a lot of extras, including free WiFi which is always important for us. I have to say the Wifi at The Phoenix was pretty good for Ambergris Caye. There were a few spotty areas around the resort but it was reliable in the suite, around the pool and in the bar, which are pretty much the areas we stayed around the most.

A cool bonus when staying at the resort is that it includes an Apple iPad during your stay and a Bose speaker system to pair with. As well, there was a cell phone with $20 worth of service. The cell phone was helpful when meeting up with some friends in town and also calling about a flight off the island. It also came in handy when I called around to get some snorkel tour prices, however the hotel tour prices ended up being comparable so we ended up booking through them instead.

The iPad was great for the kids and it included links to the onsite Red Ginger restaurant for ordering room service. It also had information about the other restaurants the resort owns in San Pedro, namely Wine de Vine and the Blue Water Grill restaurant. As a guest at The Phoenix, you also get 10% off all food at the Red Ginger, as well as their other two restaurants, however there is a small surcharge for room service.

You also get a delicious welcome drink when you check in and there was a small bottle of rum, a bottle of Coke, a bottle of tonic water and a lime waiting in the suite for us when we checked in as well. Needless to say, they didn’t go to waste.

Resort-Wide Extras at The Phoenix Resort

Complimentary Yoga classes

Throughout the week there are complimentary Yoga classes upstairs on the rooftop patio for guests staying at The Phoenix Resort. We didn’t make it to any, however two separate friends we know who’ve stayed in San Pedro raved about how good the instructors at The Phoenix were when they heard we were staying at the hotel.

Complimentary Drinks

Every day from 5 to 6 PM there are complimentary cocktails served upstairs on the roof top patio bar. The free drinks include local rum, local beer and, often wine from their Wine de Vine store. Our favorite beer (and it seems the favorite of everyone on the islands) was the locally made Belikin beer. You can get it in Regular, Light and Stout. We enjoyed Regular the most, however plenty of people love the Stout.

Free Kayaks and Paddle Boards (SUPs)

Free kayaks and paddle boards are included at the resort, however you can’t get them on site. Instead, you need to grab a voucher from the main lobby and walk a few blocks south past Central Park to one of the dive centers near the ferry terminal. It’s a quick walk, however it’s a bit of a pain to have to go first to the lobby, wait for them to call and then walk down there. The good part is that the resort is just about the perfect distance to paddle to before heading back into the wind and coasting back to the dive center to return your paddle board or kayak.

Complimentary Wine Tastings, Chocolate Tastings, and Painting Classes

As well as the free daily cocktail hour, The Phoenix often offers free wine tastings, chocolate tastings and painting classes to its guests as well. These events change every week and you’ll find a copy of the resort activities on the iPad as well as printed in your room. They even offer special painting classes just for kids. You can contact the front desk to find out more info as well as watch the sign by the foot of the stairs to the patio and spa.

Complimentary Bicycles

Though we never got around to using them ourselves, The Phoenix Resort offers free bicycles for their guests. We rented a golf cart for our entire stay on the island, so er either walked or took the golf cart, but we spotted several guests using the bikes on a regular basis. The bikes looked in good shape and San Pedro is the perfect size to get around by bike.

Bouncy Castle

Everyday, at around 3 PM, there is a bouncy castle for the young ones to play on. Ours decided they were too big for it, however if you have young children with you this would be a great way to tire them out everyday. There’s also the

Amenities at The Phoenix Belize

Pools

There are two gorgeous pools at The Phoenix Resort. Both are saline pools and both are heated. The heater in the lap pool was being repaired while we were there so we strategically opted not to use it, however it looked liked a great way to get an early morning workout. The main pool had multi levels and included a shallow end that would be great for smaller kids to wade around in while the parents sample some of the tasty beverages the guys in the pool bar whip up.

Unlike some of the huge resorts in Mexico, there are no “Activity Coordinators” or music being pumped out around the pool, making it a chill and pleasant place to hang out. The only time it ever seemed to get busier was around 3 or 4 when most people got back from taking tours or checking out the town. We had the pool to ourselves quite a few times, especially before lunch.

As well as the pool bar, open most days from 10-5, there are plush pool towels and off resort (for snorkeling or other tours) towels available on the corner of the pool bar, and special lounge chair towels for the loungers. You can order food off the menu from the Red Ginger and it will be served to you pool side as well.

Sol Spa

Guests at The Phoenix Belize can enjoy the amenities of the onsite Sol Spa. The Sol Spa offers sport, therapeutic and deep tissue massages as well as a variety of scrubs and body treatments. They also do mani/pedis, facials and more. The massages can be had poolside, in your room or in one of their lovely spa treatment rooms. We didn’t have a massage, but one of the other guests raved about it while we were down by the pool one day so it sounded nice.

Fitness Center

Next to Sol Spa is the fitness center at The Phoenix. It contains all the usual assortment of treadmills, elliptical machines, a universal weight machine as well as some free weights. They also offer complimentary passes to a nearby, more fully stocked gym if you want more variety in your workout.

Red Ginger Restaurant

The onsite, resort owned, Red Ginger restaurant is a well reviewed restaurant and a great addition to the hotel. You can eat in, order from the menu poolside, or have them deliver your food right to your room. We only ate in the restaurant once, but we did get nachos and sandwiches every day we were there. The nachos were heavenly and were a great poolside treat between lunch a dinner.

The Red Ginger has daily specials and a brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays. Guests get 10% off all their food at the Red Ginger, however there is a $5 BZD fee ($2.50 USD) for room service. You can check out the Red Ginger menu here. Just remember that the prices on the menu are in Belizean Dollars which is usually at half the US dollar (so divide by 2 to get USD price).

Blue Water Grill and Wine de Vine

Though neither of these places are located at the hotel, they’re all part of the same family and guests staying at The Phoenix Resort get 10% off their food and drink at both restaurants. The Blue Water Grill, a few blocks south down front street right on the beach, is known for its great seafood and ambiance and the Wine de Vine store is one of the best places on the island to buy local and imported wines. They also sell some really tasty looking platters in their meat and cheese deli section.

You can check out the Blue Water Grill’s menu here and Wine de Vine’s page is here. Note that prices are also in BZD so divide by 2 to get USD pricing.

Business Center

The Phoenix offers a small business center, complete with a few computers and printing facilities. They also include a small library of books, DVDs and board games you can borrow while you’re staying at the hotel.

Activity Planner for Offsite Activities

Though not really an amenity, the activity planner who works at the front desk is great at setting up any offsite activities you might want to do on Ambergris Caye or even on mainland Belize. They can help you set up everything from snorkeling the amazing Hol Chan Reserve and Shark Ray Alley to diving in the world famous Blue Hole. They can also get you a good deal on golf cart rentals, fishing trips, catamaran tours and jet ski rentals.

There are also a ton of things to see and do off the island like day trip excursions to the mainland to check out ancient Mayan ruins, go cave tubing, ziplining, jungle trekking and so forth. You can usually set up these activities once you get to Belize, however, depending on the season, it might be better to arrange them in advance.

A Quick Review of The Phoenix Resort Belize

What we loved

The Phoenix Resort is right in heart of San Pedro and that makes it easy to check out the nearby bars and restaurants. The rooms are bright, spacious, cheerful and clean and their nachos were so good we ordered some every day we spent there. We also loved lounging by the pools and the free daily happy hour up in the little patio bar.

Micki’s note: The kids and I loved the warm, ocean side pools so much that we spent every morning playing in the pool, and eating nachos for lunch. Pure heaven.

What could have been better

The free kayaks and stand up paddle boards they offer require a voucher from the front desk and are stored a few blocks away from the hotel with another company. On the positive side, they are included free. There’s also no beach at The Phoenix, however all the beaches are public in Belize and there is a small beach a few doors down you can use. You can also swim from the end of the nearby pier if you love swimming in the ocean as much as I do.

Final Impressions of The Phoenix Resort Belize

To say we enjoyed our stay at The Phoenix Resort on Ambergris Caye would be an understatement. From the moment we walked into our bright, spacious suite we knew we were going to be comfortable there. They included pretty much everything we needed as well as a few that surprised us. The included iPad and cell phone were especially nice while we were there.

From a tasty welcome drink while checking in to a free ride to the airport on the way out, we felt we were in good hands while we were there. We especially loved that the people at The Phoenix Resort were happy to help us in any way but stayed out of the way once we were settled in. That’s exactly what we love about a place. Well, that and tasty nachos…

About The Phoenix Belize

You can find more Phoenix Belize reviews on Tripadvisor or visit the Phoenix Belize website. You can also find the Phoenix on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Check lastest prices.

Want to check out their restaurants? You’ll find them here (prices in BZD): Red Ginger, Blue Water Grill, Wine de Vine