Cotopaxi and the Middle(s) of the Word with Pedro - Pedro was our guide for a great tour of Cotopaxi and the Middle of the World. We chose the private tour so we could adjust things on the fly. He was a great guide and alternated between explaining the culture and history of the places we say or letting us nap on the long drive. We went to Cotopaxi for a hike and it was cloudy and started to hail so we did just a short half hour hike and did see some of the volcano through the clouds. We saw wild horses, a condor, and a resigned looking fox waiting out the hail storm. We decided to check out the lagoon quickly and had a great lunch and then Pedro suggested going to Middle of the World, which we thought we would not have time to see because it's in the opposite direction from Quito. But we did get to see all of these things, as Pedro adapted to the weather and what we were interested in seeing. There are actually two Middles of the World, the original one and the newer GPS corrected one. The newer one has a museum with a tour of pre Columbian history of the area and demos of the odd physics that happen exactly at the equator. We were so glad to have Pedro as our guide on our adventures.

Wise Kind Guide -- Amazing Views - Pedro was a terrific guide. Very experienced and knowledgeable, but also, very wise and kind. These are equally important when bringing average Americans who live at sea level to Cotopaxi. I was not able to complete the full hike because I became short of breath. I happily sat on a rock and took time-lapse photos of the amazing cloud movements below me. My spouse carried on with Pedro and experienced the debilitating effects of altitude sickness for the first time in his life. Pedro picked us up right on time at the hotel and we were fortunate to be the only two people in his group on April 1st. No fooling, he said it was the end of the busy season (school holidays). Pedro's wise plan, from years of experience with newbies, was to take as up the mountain gradually with appropriately paced and interesting stop-overs. We spent about 15 minutes acclimating at each one: a view of the city of Quito from a park where I loved to see the dogs that hang out on residential rooftops, a cash-only artisan shopping visitor center where I could decide whether to buy some coca leaf to try later, a lagoon full of wild birds and so on. Weather changes fast. This will be said to you in Quito and in the Galapagos and you need to really imagine what that means. It's sunny and perfect and you cannot see a dark cloud in the sky, but you MUST bring a rain jacket. As I decided to stop hiking, Pedro suggested that I take the key to the car. I declined as I imagined the ease of great weather and a slow descent to retrace my steps back to the car. Sure enough I found myself photographing freezing rain in a warm but not waterproof jacket. That's on me! Despite a lot of light-headedness and a bit of disorientation, my Spouso™ took great photos. And Pedro kindly assisted him to get some more portraits in great spots. What was most important and skillful is that Pedro accepted our decisions, he gave us HONEST assessments of what lay ahead and he offered but did not force anything. He did not encourage either of us at anytime and this was indeed KIND and WISE. Each of us needed to know ourselves and not try to please him. His neutral, matter-of-fact, pleasant, accepting manner was the safest choice. You will be in good hands, trust this tour group, Real Dreams.

Great trip to Cotopaxi - Our guide Pedro was fantastic! He provided historical information about the region as we were driving to Cotopaxi as well as pointing out natural features of the area. He also prepared us for the hike to the base camp due to varying weather conditions. The whole tour was such a great experience!

Cotopaxi day trip from Quito - Our tour guide was amazing and full of information about the region. She was clearly very excited to share her beautiful country with us. The tour group was very easy to work with and set us up on a great tour given our desire for a day trip from Quito. Highly recommend!

An unforgettable hike with Pedro! - Great short hike until the refuge at 4'864m. Our guide Pedro even offered us to continue until 5'000m which my partner did! Pedro was an exceptional and flexible guide that we highly recommend 😊

A breathtaking experience - Breathtaking experience, spectacular views and my guide and driver were lovely - thank you! Everything was included which made for an easy day also.

Hiking the Cotopaxi with Ximena - We had a wonderful day hiking the Cotopaxi with our very nice and attentive guide Ximena. She explained us many things about the volcanoes in Ecuador and the country in general. It was very interesting to listen to her and talk with her. The hiking was a great challenge because of a very windy day. She also took great care of my wife who is not used to such an altitude. My son my wife and myself had a wonderful day on the Cotopaxi and around thanks to Ximena !

Absolutely beautiful park and expert guide! - Visiting Cotopaxi is a great choice only 90 minutes from Quito and you’re in one of the highest volcanoes of the world. Our guide Pedro was very informative not only on the volcano but on its flora and fauna. The bad news was that conditions were so harsh the wind so strong that we could not hike to the base camp. But this is life on a volcano and nothing anyone can predict. The mountain makes its own weather so you never know and you respect it. The scenery was lovely though and we enjoyed the terrain driving in the national park and of this beautiful mountain. We returned to the visitor center for lunch and good company and learned a lot about Quito a city of 17 volcanoes. It was worth going and we joyed it. Plus being a private tour we called the shots giving us great flexibility. The car was an suv and very comfortable also. Highly recommend!!!

Visit to Cotopaxi - The guides, Pedro and Carol, arrived to pick us up on time, and from the beginning they were very friendly and pleasant. The way to Cotopaxi was pleasant, full of conversation between the 4 of us. When we arrived, they patiently explained everything to us, and during the ascent we made all the necessary breaks and they offered to take lots of photos for us. Then we went to the lagoon where we took a 1:30 hour walk and it was very beautiful. Super recommended.

Vulcano joy near Quito - Amazing day with top notch guide Pedro! Pickup from the hotel and straight off to the Cotopaxi volcano. Nice hike to the visitor center. Continued by a stop at the nearby lake. Concluded with a good lunch and back to Quito!