Our partner: Quinti Ecuador

Quinti Ecuador is dedicated to promoting inclusive, sustainable, and regenerative tourism through tailor-made travel experiences that empower women and local communities across Ecuador.

With a strong commitment to authenticity, Quinti enables conscious travelers to engage deeply with the country’s diverse nature, culture, and cuisine — from the high Andes to the Amazon and Pacific coast.

Quinti is aimed at people who want to travel in order to connect: with nature, with other cultures - and with themselves. The team attaches great importance to respect, mindfulness and genuine participation. This makes every trip not only an unforgettable experience, but also a contribution to a fairer and more sustainable world.

What elements of Quinti’s tours set their approach apart from other operators?

They stand out in the travel industry through their strong focus on authentic community connection. By spending one to three months on the ground in each location, the team cultivates meaningful relationships and gains a deep understanding of local needs.

A defining feature of their work is inclusivity: Quinti trains blind individuals as sensory facilitators, creating immersive travel experiences that are not only enriching for guests but also empowering for underrepresented communities.

These thoughtfully curated tours span diverse ecosystems and cultural regions — from the mangroves of Esmeraldas and Manabí, to the highlands of Oyacachi, and the Amazonian foothills. Trips typically range from 6 to 14 days, with flexibility for custom group or solo travel.

By emphasizing slow travel, respectful exchange, and personal transformation, Quinti offers more than a vacation — they create spaces of connection, belonging, and deeper understanding.

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What is Quinti’s approach to responsible travel?

Rather than following a standard model, their approach to responsible travel is rooted in long-term engagement.

Each trip is designed to nurture lasting partnerships, support capacity-building, and celebrate cultural wisdom. Rooted in the founder’s upbringing and her grandparents’ legacy, Quinti believes tourism should empower, not extract.

Their regenerative model ensures all stakeholders — travelers, hosts, and team members — grow together, cultivating a sense of shared responsibility and deep respect for the land and its people.

How has Quinti adapted tourism to address environmental and community challenges in Ecuador?

By rethinking traditional tourism models, the team addresses environmental challenges and empowers local communities across Ecuador through a series of thoughtful, hands-on initiatives:

• Direct community engagement: An extended amount of time is invested in each location co-design programmes that align with local needs and goals.
  
• Inclusive experiences with blind facilitators: Trained blind facilitators lead sensory activities that reframe how we experience place.
  
• Eco-friendly, locally made souvenirs: Guests receive handmade items crafted from sustainable materials by local artisans.
  
• Capacity building and local training: Workshops for community partners enhance their skills and strengthen economic resilience.
  
• Cross-cultural student Eexchange: Internships and exchanges with international and Ecuadorian students help amplify voices and bridge global audiences.

Together, these initiatives reflect Quinti’s mission to lead sustainable, inclusive tourism that delivers meaningful benefits to both people and the planet.

What are some standout conservation or cultural initiatives Quinti has been proud to support?

From conservation projects to cultural preservation efforts, Quinti’s team has supported a range of impactful initiatives across Ecuador—each reflecting a deep commitment to sustainable, community-centered travel:

Oyacachi (Sierra Norte): Quinti partners with the Kichwa community to provide training programs that teach traditional skills like wood carving to local youth. They also support a reforestation project aimed at restoring the native Aliso tree population.

Esmeraldas & Manabí (Pacific Coast): Through the Muisne desde adentro initiative, travelers engage in mangrove conservation while learning about Afro-Ecuadorian music, cuisine, and spirituality.

Llano Grande (Andean Highlands): Quinti collaborates with a women’s association to promote traditional embroidery, thereby creating unique souvenirs and generating a sustainable income for women.

Hierbateras Projects (Amazon & Highlands): Quinti supports women-led initiatives that use ancestral botanical knowledge for healing and preserving cultural heritage while providing holistic health solutions within their communities.

Quintis signature programs

1) The Sensory Experience

Quinti invites travelers to explore Ecuador through touch, sound, scent, and emotion, guided by visually impaired facilitators. Activities include barefoot walks through native forests, identifying medicinal plants by their aroma, listening to traditional music in intimate settings, and tactile art workshops with local artisans. Set in biodiverse and culturally rich regions, this immersive program deepens empathy and connection by engaging all the senses, redefining how we experience and relate to a place.

2) Women’s Retreats

Designed by and for women, these retreats offer space for reflection, empowerment, and connection. Set in natural environments across Ecuador—from the Andes to the Pacific Coast—each retreat blends wellness practices with local knowledge and hands-on cultural experiences led by women leaders and artisans.

3) Connecting with Ancestral Knowledge

These journeys center indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian communities as cultural knowledge holders. Participants explore traditions such as herbal medicine, food heritage, storytelling, and spiritual practices—engaging respectfully with the people who sustain them and supporting efforts to preserve and share this heritage.

4) Afro-Ecuadorian Culture

Through collaborations with communities in Esmeraldas and Manabí, this program highlights the music, dance, cuisine, and ecological traditions of Afro-Ecuadorian life. Activities may include visiting coastal mangrove restoration projects, learning traditional cooking techniques, or participating in oral history workshops—offering travelers a window into a vibrant and often underrepresented part of Ecuador’s cultural landscape.

Quinti Ecuador curates thoughtful travel experiences that reflect the richness and diversity of the country’s people and landscapes.

Each program is developed in close collaboration with local communities, offering travelers a respectful and immersive way to engage with Ecuador’s cultural traditions, ecological diversity, and regional identities — from ancestral plant medicine in the Andes to community-led conservation efforts in coastal mangrove forests.

With a focus on cultural integrity, inclusion, and shared learning, Quinti invites travelers to experience Ecuador not as outsiders, but as welcomed participants in a more connected and conscious form of tourism.

Explore South America together with Quinti!