Chocolate Getaway 4 Days - Ecuador Tour
The Olsen family opens it farm doors for travelers seeking to live and authentic and unique experience off the trails in their Ecuadorean adventure. Guests staying at Hacienda La Danesa may enjoy outdoors activities included in the nightly rate such as the Cacao & Chocolate Experience, Lazy River Tubing, Biking, Milking in the Gardens and for an additional price, Horseback Riding or In-Room Spa. A Half Day Excursion is included in this program making it a great option for travelers seeking to immerse in the local culture through the connection with locals and enjoy traditional from farm to table cuisine.
4 Day Ecuador Itinerary
Day 1: Hacienda la Danesa
1:00 pm / Welcome to Hacienda La Danesa
Your host will greet you and give you a warm welcome to the farm and tell you about Hacienda La Danesa's rich history. You will have time at leisure to explore the gardens and property, enjoy refreshing cold-infused drinks and a traditional snack.
1:30 pm / From Farm to Table Three Course Lunch
Hacienda La Danesa offers a truly unique gastronomic experience inspired in a Farm-to-Table ethos. It grows and produces most of the ingredients at the farm, while buying the rest from the neighboring communities. The chef will offer a three-course meal with a few options for the main course for you to choose from. Vegan/vegetarian options are available upon request.
2:30 pm / Milking in the Gardens
Hacienda La Danesa produces around 1,200 liters of milk every day and had won for 20 years in a row the best dairy cattle in coastal Ecuador. One of our beloved cows will visit us in the gardens and share some of her milk with us. If you want a Café au Lait you will have to take the espresso straight to the cow's udder for fresh warm milk!
3:00 pm / Biking
At this time you may explore the property by bike and visit the different plantations on the property such as teak, cacao, sugar cane and rice.
6:00 pm / Drinks at the Teak Terrace
8:00 pm / Three Course Dinner
Your host will greet you and give you a warm welcome to the farm and tell you about Hacienda La Danesa's rich history. You will have time at leisure to explore the gardens and property, enjoy refreshing cold-infused drinks and a traditional snack.
1:30 pm / From Farm to Table Three Course Lunch
Hacienda La Danesa offers a truly unique gastronomic experience inspired in a Farm-to-Table ethos. It grows and produces most of the ingredients at the farm, while buying the rest from the neighboring communities. The chef will offer a three-course meal with a few options for the main course for you to choose from. Vegan/vegetarian options are available upon request.
2:30 pm / Milking in the Gardens
Hacienda La Danesa produces around 1,200 liters of milk every day and had won for 20 years in a row the best dairy cattle in coastal Ecuador. One of our beloved cows will visit us in the gardens and share some of her milk with us. If you want a Café au Lait you will have to take the espresso straight to the cow's udder for fresh warm milk!
3:00 pm / Biking
At this time you may explore the property by bike and visit the different plantations on the property such as teak, cacao, sugar cane and rice.
6:00 pm / Drinks at the Teak Terrace
8:00 pm / Three Course Dinner
Day 2: Cloud-forest and Waterfalls
8:00 am / Farm Breakfast in the Gardens
9:00 am / Half Day Excursion: Hike in the Cloud-forest and Waterfalls or Buffaloes Close Encounter
Option 1. Hike in the Cloud-Forest
The La Esperanza Cloud Forest Reserve will astound visitors with its beauty, bounty and great amount biodiversity. Wind-sculpted elfin woodlands give way to rainforests where tall trees (Guayacán, Matapalos, Laurel, Balsa, Vegetable Ivory (Tagua) and others – festooned with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, vines and mosses – rise high into the sky. The variable climate and large altitudinal gradient have helped to produce an amazingly heterogeneous set of creatures that live here. Some of these include the jaguar, ocelot, Baird’s tapir, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrellabird, and the famously elusive resplendent Cock of the Rock.
Guests will depart Hacienda La Danesa at 9:00 am (or early if bird watching) and arrive to Bucay at 9:30 am. From here you will start driving up the mountain for 40 minutes until you arrive to the starting point of the hike. In this one hour hike you will visit three different waterfalls of different heights where you may jump in for an uplifting experience and feel the power of water. For guests interested in canyoning down the waterfall, your instructor will provide with all security equipment. After visiting the three waterfalls, guests will visit a local farmer to learn about the artisan sugar cane juice and liquor production where you will have a hands on experience and make your own Sugar Cane and Lime juice. You will return to Hacienda La Danesa just on time for lunch.
Option 2. Close Encounter with Water Buffaloes
Guests will visit Hacienda La Victoria, a 15-minute drive from Hacienda La Danesa. Hacienda La Victoria is known for their excellence in Brahman and Water Buffaloes farming. Upon arriving you will be greeted by a family member for a traditional Ecuadorian coffee and snack with fresh buffalo mozzarella. Here you will receive a brief of the areas you will visit and learn about their operations.
Before riding their horses or mules, you will try your luck fishing your lunch. Once you have fish your lunch, the cook with kindly prepared it for you upon your return to the hacienda house. The horse riding experience will be about an hour where you will get up close to the water buffalos. Guests will get so close to the buffaloes that will feel their breath in their bodies. You will also see over 20 different types of birds so this experience is great for birdwatchers as well.
Upon you arrival back to the hacienda house, you will be greeted with fresh lemonade and a beautiful lunch (fished by you hopefully!) accompanied by the house favorite wine next to the lake. When days are clear you will see the beautiful highlands in the horizon.
3:00 pm / Welcome Back to Hacienda La Danesa
4:00 pm / In-Room Spa
6:00 pm / Drinks at the Teak Terrace
8:00 pm / Three Course Dinner Option
9:00 am / Half Day Excursion: Hike in the Cloud-forest and Waterfalls or Buffaloes Close Encounter
Option 1. Hike in the Cloud-Forest
The La Esperanza Cloud Forest Reserve will astound visitors with its beauty, bounty and great amount biodiversity. Wind-sculpted elfin woodlands give way to rainforests where tall trees (Guayacán, Matapalos, Laurel, Balsa, Vegetable Ivory (Tagua) and others – festooned with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, vines and mosses – rise high into the sky. The variable climate and large altitudinal gradient have helped to produce an amazingly heterogeneous set of creatures that live here. Some of these include the jaguar, ocelot, Baird’s tapir, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrellabird, and the famously elusive resplendent Cock of the Rock.
Guests will depart Hacienda La Danesa at 9:00 am (or early if bird watching) and arrive to Bucay at 9:30 am. From here you will start driving up the mountain for 40 minutes until you arrive to the starting point of the hike. In this one hour hike you will visit three different waterfalls of different heights where you may jump in for an uplifting experience and feel the power of water. For guests interested in canyoning down the waterfall, your instructor will provide with all security equipment. After visiting the three waterfalls, guests will visit a local farmer to learn about the artisan sugar cane juice and liquor production where you will have a hands on experience and make your own Sugar Cane and Lime juice. You will return to Hacienda La Danesa just on time for lunch.
Option 2. Close Encounter with Water Buffaloes
Guests will visit Hacienda La Victoria, a 15-minute drive from Hacienda La Danesa. Hacienda La Victoria is known for their excellence in Brahman and Water Buffaloes farming. Upon arriving you will be greeted by a family member for a traditional Ecuadorian coffee and snack with fresh buffalo mozzarella. Here you will receive a brief of the areas you will visit and learn about their operations.
Before riding their horses or mules, you will try your luck fishing your lunch. Once you have fish your lunch, the cook with kindly prepared it for you upon your return to the hacienda house. The horse riding experience will be about an hour where you will get up close to the water buffalos. Guests will get so close to the buffaloes that will feel their breath in their bodies. You will also see over 20 different types of birds so this experience is great for birdwatchers as well.
Upon you arrival back to the hacienda house, you will be greeted with fresh lemonade and a beautiful lunch (fished by you hopefully!) accompanied by the house favorite wine next to the lake. When days are clear you will see the beautiful highlands in the horizon.
3:00 pm / Welcome Back to Hacienda La Danesa
4:00 pm / In-Room Spa
6:00 pm / Drinks at the Teak Terrace
8:00 pm / Three Course Dinner Option
Day 3: Horseback Riding
8:00 am / Farm Breakfast in the Gardens
10:00 am / Horseback Riding
Stroll through the open fields with a Montubio cowboy for a 90-minute horse riding experience. You will have the opportunity to ride through the Teak Plantations and ride through the rivers.
12:00 pm / Lazy River Tubing
Floating down the lazy river surrounded by nature its quite an experience. The water temperature in the tropics is perfect to spot wild animals such as iguanas, snakes and sometimes sloths.
1:30 pm / Farm to Table Three Course Lunch
3:00 pm / Cacao & Chocolate Experience
We will visit the plantations to learn the history and process of the cacao in Ecuador surrounded by cacao trees. You will continue to visit the fermentation and drying process up until the final stage where the cacao beans are stored and ready to be sold. We will then continue to the workshop where our local chocolatier will show you how artisan chocolate is produced. We will cover the tempering and crystallization process up until the packaging. You will have the opportunity to make your own chocolate bar to take home!
8:00pm / Goodbye Hygge Three Course Dinner
10:00 am / Horseback Riding
Stroll through the open fields with a Montubio cowboy for a 90-minute horse riding experience. You will have the opportunity to ride through the Teak Plantations and ride through the rivers.
12:00 pm / Lazy River Tubing
Floating down the lazy river surrounded by nature its quite an experience. The water temperature in the tropics is perfect to spot wild animals such as iguanas, snakes and sometimes sloths.
1:30 pm / Farm to Table Three Course Lunch
3:00 pm / Cacao & Chocolate Experience
We will visit the plantations to learn the history and process of the cacao in Ecuador surrounded by cacao trees. You will continue to visit the fermentation and drying process up until the final stage where the cacao beans are stored and ready to be sold. We will then continue to the workshop where our local chocolatier will show you how artisan chocolate is produced. We will cover the tempering and crystallization process up until the packaging. You will have the opportunity to make your own chocolate bar to take home!
8:00pm / Goodbye Hygge Three Course Dinner
Day 4: Guayaquil
8:00 am / Farm Breakfast in the Gardens
10:00 am / Transfer to Guayaquil
10:00 am / Transfer to Guayaquil
4 Day Ecuador Itinerary Includes
- Cold Infused Water and Soft Drinks
- Three Course Lunch and Dinner
- One Excursion
- Activities in Program
- Transportation to/from Guayaquil and to Excursions
- English Speaking Host
- Accommodation at Restored Stables or Garden Cottage
- Horseback Riding / In Room Spa
4 Day Ecuador Itinerary Does not Include
- Alcoholic Drinks
- Additional Snacks
- Additional Excursions
Meals Included
- Breakfast Served Daily
- 3 Dinners
- 3 Lunches
Chocolate Getaway 4 Days
4 Days
