Cacao Farm Excursion Day Trip From Guayaquil

We did not go to the farm expected/advertised. We went to a small farm with limited amenities. We did not get to experience full chocolate making finished. We then drove to a town for lunch - not farm to table meal from the farm! The guide was very nice but seemed to take us to a different location than expected. Rough - not at all structured - seemed to be trying to develop a new tour attraction.

We were on a short layover in Guayaquil on the way home from the Galapagos islands. We were fortunate to find this wonderful day tour, which exceeded our expectations in every way. Our guide, Francisco Did a great job of pointing out highlights along the drive and the Cocoa farm was really interesting. The Cumanda family that owns and operates the farm were so welcoming and friendly. We got to see and participate in the process of making chocolate bars and gained a new appreciation for all the work involved. Alexandra prepared a wonderful truly “farm to table” lunch. I highly recommend this tour and ask for Francisco to be your guide!

Such a wonderful experience with very fun, welcoming, helpful people! We were able to see, learn about, and experience lots of unique plants and animals, including making chocolate from scratch. This is the type of experience you can only have in Ecuador and I’m glad I went for it. I appreciate how communicative and flexible the tour guide was - we felt informed, safe, and comfortable at every turn. If I ever come back, I’d want to do another tour!

Great experience. Visited a farm with lovely people who were really happy to share and show us around. We processed some cocoa beans. Then, a very tasty lunch at a restaurant in the town nearby. The guide was most gracious and very knowledgeable. Highly recommended! Great way to spend a day and explore.

What an amazing tour. Surpassed my expectations. The Farm owner Shirley was extremely hospitable and informative. The lunch was so delicious. Will definitely plan to come back with the rest of my family

Excellent experience, well organized and with an outstanding guide Jaime! The tour was educational but a suitable dose for young children and tween/teens. The meal served was very good.

Jaime was an amazing guide. We enjoyed the entire trip. The La Sagrada Familia farm was a wonderful place to tour and the hospitality was beyond our imagination.

James was an exceptional guide! The farm was beautiful and we learned so much about the chocolate making process. The lunch served at the "castle" was amazing! I highly recommend this experience!

We booked. Missed flight. Tried to move booking. We’re told no. You stole our money. Thanks for being so flexible.

We booked trip to cacao farm but got upgraded to mangrove swamps as well. The attractions were a long way away - 2 hours by bus. The traffic was awful out of Guayaquil. Once we got near the swamps we had about 30 minutes on an unmade up road, the minibus shook and was bumpy and the air con wasn't brilliant. The swamps were visited on a wooden boat, 6 of us on the tour, the guide and 2 helpers. The boat, canoe-like, was beyond basic, we had a life jacket and there was no other support. We clambered into the boat, no ramps, no rails etc. There was no support provision where we boarded the boat, no toilets, no water, no obvious first aid, no emergency provisions. The boat was wobbly until we got used to it. We saw some birds etc, not much but nothing is guaranteed. We got back safely, but if something had happened I just don't know how it would have been dealt with. Next, onto the dry rain forest to see monkeys. The excellent local guide was very helpful (slight mobility issues) and we did see monkeys, it was beyond hot though. Then onto the cacao farm which was great, it was a lovely friendly non-touristy set up. The lunch was delicious and it was lovely to see the fruits growing. We watched the whole process and we got involved at every stage, ending up making a bar of chocolate. We were able to purchase more chocolate and coffee and it was nice that it wasn't at all touristy. It's poor that the guide fell asleep on the way home, we were expecting him to tell us more about Ecuador. Overall, I wouldn't have booked had I known how far away it all was or how basic the boat was. The cacao farm was great though.

The tour was extremely interesting. Everyone was friendly and the whole process was informative. The lunch was beyond outstanding. The whole day was memorable!

My wife and I joined Jaime Bolaños for a trip from our hotel in Guayaquil to the farm. Jaime was quite informational about Ecuador and the surrounding area on the trip out there. Once we got to the farm, we saw cacao plants and how to extract the cocoa beans went through the whole process of eventually making our own chocolate bars. We then had a delightful lunch on site. The whole adventure was a wonderful day. Jaime Bolaños made it much more enjoyable with his discussion going and coming. I recommend that Jaime. Ask for Jaime to take you.

This was an amazing experience from seeing and learning about cacao trees, the processing of the pods, helping to grind the dried beans and ultimately tasting and making our own chocolate bars to take home. Meeting the farm owner and hearing her story really helped me understand how hard the farmers work to bring us the best. The lunch was traditional Ecuadorian and delicious! The guide offered a lot of information about Ecuador and the city of Guayaquil. Highly recommend. Wear bug spray and sun screen!

The meal provided was local and delicious. During COVID the family learned how to make recipes and new uses for their chocolate. They’ve done an incredible job and it was so fun seeing all the beautiful plants and learning about cacao and chocolate making.

This was such a cool experience! We learned about the history of cocoa, the plant itself, and the process of making chocolate and hot chocolate. Lunch was also delicious. So cool!!

We had a really great time with Jamie and are so grateful he took the time to tour us to the cacao farm. He is so knowledgeable and open about both his life in Guayaquil and about this family run farm that we feel like we spent the day with a good friend. Because our tour started a bit later than usual (thanks to an error with Expedia) we started the tour of the farm with lunch. Everything was incredible. We’ve really come to love Ecuadorian food, but this meal was especially well prepared. We highly recommend trying everything! Then, we were given a tour around the farm to see the huge variety of plants and fruits they host. Again, we highly recommend trying everything offered! We learned so much about the cacao process and we’re so surprised about all its different phases, smells, and tastes. The end result was delicious! Our only suggestion would be to bring insect repellent (even in the dry season) but have to thank Jamie for offering us his to use! Overall, this is a great way to spend your time in Guayaquil and we loved our tour with Jamie. Thank you thank you!

Learned a lot about cacao and many other fruits that we didn't expected. We had a great tour guide! I can highly recommend the tour :)

We had the most absolutely wonderful cacao tour. Our driver/guide, Jamie, was kind, thoughtful and knowledgeable. And our guide at the farm, Jamil, was incredible. This was one of the best activities we've ever done. Jamil was a wealth of fascinating knowledge, and we learned a ton about chocolate making (and got to make chocolate), as well as about all of the other numerous edible plants growing at the farm. And the lunch was delicious. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I was with my husband and three kids, 15, 13, and 10, and they also all loved this. Go on this tour!!

This was a fantastic tour! Exceeded our expectations. Jaime was a knowledgeable and engaging guide. Jamil is an excellent teacher. Everything was well organized and done with a congenial approach. The food was delicious!

The visit to the Coco farm was wonderful. My two younger daughters really enjoyed the experience of learning about the cocoa beans and the process that it takes to make chocolate. My little girl enjoyed making her own chocolate that was the best experience for her. If you’re thinking about visiting a Coco farm I strongly advise it it was the most wonderful experience knowing the process of making chocolate.

What an amazing excursion and tour! This trip offers you an opportunity to get out of the city and learn all about cacao and how to make chocolate. You also get to see other items they are going on the farm including rice, coffee, etc. Everyone from the tour guide to the family on the farm was amazingly knowledgeable and friendly! And to top it all off, we enjoyed a delicious lunch made with items grown on the farm. We would definitely recommend this tour :)

What a unique experience - we had such a great time! We learned about the whole chocolate-making process and got to take some chocolate home. To our surprise, we also had one of the best meals of our trip on this tour. We weren’t expecting it, but the meal of crab empanadas, fried fish with rice, and a frozen chocolate cake (the menu changes) was excellent. Highly recommend booking a tour to come here! Perhaps the best part of our trip was our guide, Hime. He was so sweet and knowledgeable, he spoke great English, and is just such an interesting person with great stories. Tip: there are a LOT of mosquitos. Our tour guide had bug repellent, but plan ahead. Wear long pants and sleeves and avoid the color black!

We were picked up promptly by Eddie and a driver . Eddie was incredibly knowledgeable and the drive to and from the farm was fun. At the farm the family is aloes is through the entire process and let us snack on tons of tasty things . Lunch was incredible . Cannot recommend this enough.

I couldn't rate this tour more highly. What a fantastic experience! Jaime was our excellent guide, picking us up and dropping us off at our hotel. He told us details and outlined the history of Guayaquil as we drove off to the farm, and answered all our questions knowledgeably. He was fun and funny; his car was big enough for four passengers, comfy and really clean. The experience at the farm was excellent. We learned all about the chocolate growing and making process. Jamil was great, offering hands-on experiences and talking about his family's history in the industry. The lunch was also incredible -- literally farm to table. Better than anything we ate at our 5-star hotel. We didn't want to leave. If you're visiting Guayaquil, this is a must-do. Ask for Jaime!

I had a full day of really great experience with Jamie. He is great, interesting and has a lot of great stories to share about the city, the country and his life experience. I have learned soooo much about the city and the country. I will say the chocolate experience is a must-do in guayaquil because it’s probably the most interesting experience in guayaquil. The guy at the cocoa farm is also a very nice guy!! We also had a very great and delicious three course lunch after the chocolate making process. We had such a great time that we forgot about time! I will recommend this to anyone who is traveling in guayaquil.

If you have the opportunity, book this tour!👌 Jaime, was incredibly nice and accompanied us the whole tour and told us a lot about Ecuador. When we arrived at the cacao plantation, Jamal welcomed us. You can feel his passion for the cacao farm and to share his knowledge. We have never eaten such good chocolate. And the lunch actually deserved 5 stars. Thank you so much for this very special day! We have learned so much! Many greetings Jan and Sandra

Very (muy) interesting, Delicious/rico, divertido/fun, amable, our host and driver was the best!!! Highly recommend this trip with BM Tours

I was completely impressed by everything this tour provided. It was the last day, of a 10 day trip with my mom, to celebrate my 60th birthday. Our driver, Jamie was prompt to pick us up at our hotel. We took a drive to the cacao farm to meet Alberto, his wife and young son. We were given a tour of the property, cacao, fruit, beans, fermentation, toasting, grinding, blending, and consuming raw, ground, hot chocolate (with just water and sugar), making our own chocolate bars, then enjoying a three course, homemade lunch. We had such a wonderful, relaxing afternoon, and would highly recommend this tour and tour operator. I listed this as travel with friends since no option was better!

Had a wonderful visit to the cacao farm. Adrian, our tour guide from the hotel to the farm (and back) was very friendly and open. Simon, our guide on the farm, did a fantastic job explaining all the aspects of the farm and turning the cacao fruit into chocolate. It was fun to make our own chocolate, and turn that into hot chocolate that we could drink. Lunch on the farm was wonderful, traditional Ecuadorian food. Simon and Adiran joined us at our table and it was a joy to talk with them in an informal setting.

We were happy that we spontaneously booked the activities. Our guide was also great! Clearly recommended!

From the moment we were picked up it was a unique experience. Knowing the whole process of chocolate making was very entertaining (apart from rich, because we were trying everything), even more so when we could be part of the whole process and enjoy the final result. The menu I understand is always changing, but everything was spectacular! I highly recommend to go with family and/or friends for a weekend, it is very good to get out of the routine from time to time:)