Wondrous day in the cloud forest - Really recommend this, as you can tailor the day to your own interests. I lucked out with a guide who knows a lot about plants, butterflies, hummingbirds, and birds in general, so I learned a lot on the hike to cascada reina, which I really recommend. It’s an hour each way, so beautiful, and includes a fun teleférico ride. The chocolate factory tour is great, with samples and description and demonstrations, and the bird watching stop is peaceful, beautiful, miraculous.

Omar, our guide was excellent. He... - <p>Omar, our guide was excellent. He explained aspects of our tour with patience and professionalism. However, my wife and I are in our upper 70s, so we decided to forego the long hiking part of the tour, and Omar rearranged our schedule accordingly. Instead of the long hike, we spent our time at a place to observe hummingbirds, a butterfly sanctuary, and an orchid exhibit. The hummingbird observatory was extraordinary, and a fantastic place to take pictures. The butterfly and orchid exhibits were nothing special the botanic garden in Quito is much better for orchids, and we have better butterfly exhibits in the U.S. My wife also went on a really interesting chocolate making tour in Mindo, and the town of Mindo is quite charming. Still, we had to pay separate entrance fees for each of the exhibits, and for people like we, who can't do the long hike, those fees should have been included as part of the package.</p>