The rain forest, surroundings & lunch.

Excellent tour

The guides were excellent, friendly and knowledgeable. The tour went longer than expected, as they went out of their way to fit in as much as possible to make make our day a memorable one.

Ecuador sampler

Wonderful experience. Gave us a real good sampling of Ecuador. Our guide (Chis) was wonderful filled in all the blanks and hit all the highlites for us. Ps the lunch was a great local experience

Bad experience, learned my lesson.

Called to cancel on 3/25, around d 12;20 pm because Saphire Princess canceled Manta Port due to political I nstability in Ecuador,state of emergency was extended for another month,etc. Talked to customer service, left email and phone number where I could be reached. At sea heading toward Puntarenas Costa Rica on 3/25.Have not heard from you or tour operator. Tells me there is poor communication between Viator and tour company reaching out to customers. I would think twice if I ever book with you again. I had a very bad experience this time, will not recommend even to my worse e emy

Excellent tour

Tour guide did an excellent job. Lunch was very good. Selected tour points are very interesting and attractive. We enjoyed the excursion.

Great Adventure!

We had heard so many stories about this country and really did not know what to expect. Overall, the tour was great - we got to see monkeys in the rain forest, climbed to the top of the lookout point but what made it exceptional, was the guide. Our guide, Christpher, was outstanding explaining not only items on the tour but the country as a whole. We felt we got to know the people of the country and very much enjoyed the adventure.

A full day with a great guide

We booked with SOS for our first visit to Manta. We scored a day with Christopher, who went out of his way to make certain we all saw as much of Manta and the surrounding countryside as possible. We started at the local fish market and Christopher was able to translate questions we had for local fishermen. Everyone was so friendly. We visited a lighthouse on a short hike up a mountain along the beach. We spent an hour or so in a local rainforest. We dined on local cuisine (Tonga). It was exceptional. We finished the day out in Montecristi visiting a hat maker of the REAL Panama Hat. We even purchased one. All in all the perfect day with a fantastic guide. Thank you, SOS!

Great tour

From the port pick up, our guide Fernando looked after us superbly. His English was excellent and he explained things well. The walk in the rainforest was a little strenuous with many steps but well worth the effort. Lunch was great in a local restaurant.

There was a lot of...

There was a lot of climbing for elderly people and too big a gap before lunch which was at 2pm. To get to the tour at 8am we had to have breakfast before 7am. Only water was provided on the tour before lunch. At the rainforest the guide only spoke Spanish which had to be translated into English by our bus tour guide and there is only one toilet at the rainforest for all the tourists. Seeing the hat making was nice.

Hats, Beach, Forest hike and super lunch

The long hike was really challenging but if you prepare with hiking shoes, preferably waterproof, and you are in good shape, this is a great excursion. We didn't see monkeys but lots of plants, insects and butterflies.Our guide, Victor, and our driver were wonderful. If you are not really prepared, turn back and enjoy the short walk. They added Montechristi and Modesto Hats. Loved it, since we were out to buy hats. Lunch was tasty and not touristy. Super.

Rain Forest & lunc

Great tour of the rain forest. We saw howler monkey's, a tarantula spider, and many birds. Our tour guide was knowledgeable about all things related to the forest. The hike to the lighthouse was fun as well. Afterwards a great local lunch was provided that was delicious!

Beautiful with a few issues

The pros: the guides were knowledgeable and interesting, the driver was excellent, the rainforest was beautiful, the pickup/drop off was easy Cons: the "walk" thru was difficult and wet and muddy which was fine, but wear hiking shoes/boots (beautiful sights and monkeys - just be prepared), the lunch place didn't serve food, so they got some next door and we paid again for our lunch and for our guide and driver, there were no restroom breaks all day and no running water at the museum, we ended up spending 8 hours on this tour kind of dawdling around.

Hiking in Pacoche

Fernando was very nice and knowledgeable. He was friendly and helpful and led us on a 90 minute tour of Pacoche Rainforest. Due to COVID we wanted to travel in our own transportation, and SOS and Fernando were very accommodating. Fernando in his car led our car following from our AirBnB to the rainforest, where we were met by a forest ranger. The adults and our 16 year old very very much enjoyed the tour. Thank you!

Excellent and intimate tour

We really enjoyed this tour to see the flora and fauna. We were whisked from port in a nice van after a tour of the local (and amazing) fish market, and travelled to the rainforest (which is a substantial walk/hike, not for those of limited mobility). Our guide, Daniel, was superb and spoke very good English (we were lucky, during the week he’s a professor) and had great insight as well as knowing how to avoid the big bus tours/crowds. We packed a lot into the tour to also see the Panama hat demonstration, lunch at a local restaurant (ok, but not great service, but we were having so much fun), visit the memorial of the country hero and more.

Rainforest, Surroundings, and Lunch

The things we saw were amazing, howler monkeys, Panama hat demonstration, San Lorenzo. Our bus, however, was filthy and in need of repair. The brakes sounded like they would go out at any moment. Great itinerary!

Great day with Fernando

Fernando was an excellent guide- funny, flexible and a wonderful translator. He was a great help in the rain forest where my rusty Spanish was not sufficient to understand guide. He also made interesting stops at the lighthouse and pacocha Museum, where his language skills were invaluable. We had a very generous and tasty lunch at San Mateo beach, and Fernando helped us set up some kayak rentals for the following day.