Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve And Cocoa Farm

Thank you Thank you Thank you to Eddie, Driver Cesar, the hardworking Pescadores of the Mangroves as well as the beautiful people of Finca Cumanda for all of your selfless work! <3 If your reading this as a tourist in the Beautiful country of Ecuador I promise you.... you wont be disappointed by the passionate people of BM tours :) This is a hidden gem of a tour honestly.. if your not oposed to the outdoors and tropic weather ( Humid / dry heat with lots of sun ) than your giving your future self a favor by booking your tour with BM tours :)))) Again.... Thank you Eddie! <3 - Owen + the Ford Family

Haimi (I hope I am spelling his name correctly), was super professional, kind and very well knowledgeable. We learned so much and enjoyed this tour.

This was an amazing experience with a brilliant guide. He was knowledgeable and open to any questions, making the experience an enjoyable one.

Great excursion from Guayaquil. Professional tour guide and good variety with river boat cruise, howler monkeys, many birds species and a visit to the artisian Cocoa farm.

We had such an excellent time on this tour! We live in Guayaquil and so appreciated having a guide to take us through Churute. We hope to do this again with future visitors! The chocolate experience was awesome as well!

This tour was absolutely amazing!! I ended up getting a solo trip with just the guide. Jaime was amazing and clearly knew so much about Guayaquil. I was only in mainland Ecuador for 1 day and this was the best way I could’ve spent it!

The boat trip through the mangroves was pleasant, and seeing the birds was great. So so many shades of green. Note that it is a small motorboat (what I'd call a panga, not a kayaka). The tour of the cacao farm was utterly fabulous and not to be missed. I learned so much and got to taste so many amazing things. Lunch was also pleasant-- though note that Ecuadorans tend to eat a later lunch than Americans do. Our guide was very informative and good company.

Our guide was great but the experience lacked a little, we weren’t able to find the howling monkeys and the cocoa plantation was nothing like the photos on Viator, definitely not where we were! All in all it was interesting but would not recommend for an all day tour.

Great experience! The boat trip through the mangroves was fantastic. As well as the monkey watching. A really special day however the stay at the kakao farm was rather short. Thanks again to the tour guide who made this trip unforgettable!

Our tour guide was the best, thank you Jaime, for an amazing day! We learn so much about Ecuador and all it has to offer.

This was an amazing trip. My friend and I had such a great time. The canoe ride on the river, then off to the forest and see howler monkey's and the cacao farm was just great!!. Lunch was wonderful. All the guides were the best and were so knowledgeable. And wonderful to be with for the day. Do not miss this trip. Lisa RN.

This was a wonderful trip. It was so needed to get out of the city and travel into the real Ecuador. The boat trip was so relaxing and the birds were beautiful. You really get an understand on how hard these crabbers work to bring in a living for their families. Then off to an easy walk in the forest ( do wear closed shoes) and searching for the howler monkey's high in the tree's. We were lucky to get pretty close to one howler. But their voices carry everywhere. Then off to see how chocolate is grown and again, the locals who are involved. It is such a wonderful experience. Every guide was excellent and I just cannot recommend it enough. Also, the lunch was delicious. Lisa RN.

Jaime was great!! We were a little unlucky because it rained for the excursion. But we still got to see many birds in the river and saw and heard the monkeys howl!! Jaime was great at stopping along the way and pointing out interesting things about nature, history and the lands we were on. That made it extra special. Six stars to Jaime!!!!

It was nice to get out of town and see nature. Pickup on time by Jaime, and he was fantastic and professional. Its a little bumpy of a ride, but so exhilarating once you arrive. I recommend long sleeve shirt, long pants, and sturdy water sandals. Great boat ride in the Mangrove Forest. Interesting hike later in the jungle, looking for howler monkeys. Then we had a short cacoa demonstration. Last was a authentic Ecuadorian lunch at a local restaurant. Thank you Jamie.

Fantastic day trip out of the city. Jaime was such a professional and interesting guide. Everything perfect, pickup up on time, and we hit all the high points. Lunch at the end, with local dishes was a nice touch. Thank you Jaime and BM Tours.

Simply no one turned up no one responded till the next day. My questions went unanswered. The staff in lobby tried to contact company concerned no response. So after a wasted 30 mins we went and did our own thing. Its a shame as we only had 2 days in Guayaquil. We were going to do the following day but since the company gave us a BS response.... guide went to wrong hotel.... didn't trust em enough to waste our last day. Viator just takes the money too. No help when I was sitting around between 8.30am and 9am on the day waiting for a no show.

A wonderful way to learn about and explore Ecuador/Guayaquil. Our guides were knowledgeable, friendly and infinitely patient with our group of 7. Our tour covered the dry jungle where we saw howler monkeys (and dodged mosquitos in our mosquito nets and DEET), mangroves (on a long, canoe-like boat) where we saw a multitude of bird and other wildlife, and a visit to a working Cocoa farm/ranch where we learned all about growing, refining and finishing chocolate. The lunch served at the Cocoa farm was fantastic local fare, including a ceviche to die for! Highly recommended.

I would rate this 4 stars had it not been for the significant schedule change and no partial refund as a result. I was contacted the day before indicating the cacao farm would not be able to be visited due to operational reasons and instead they would take me to a cacao museum instead. I responded that was fine, I understood but it did represent a relatively large change eg half of the trip since lunch was going to be there too and asked if a partial refund would be provided. There was no response. The trip itself was fun! I had a great guide (Hymie or Himan sp?) who was personable and made the day so enjoyable as a solo traveler. I thought it was going to a small group tour but it ended up being private. It’s a 45 min drive or so out of the city so you get to see the local area on the way. Once arriving at the reserve, we picked up a local guide and headed on a short walk to the river to get on the boat. It’s a more traditional local small motorized wood canoe but it was steady and safe. We cruised through the mangrove forest and saw lots of birds - herons, friegets, kingfisher! No crocs this day - we had high water. After returning we hiked to a waterfall… it was under a mile but there are some challenging spots including walking across a creek with slippery rocks and scrambling up a bit on some steeper muddy areas. I was glad I had waterproof hiking boots. The waterfall is worth it! And the best part, we did spot howler monkeys on the way back! MOSQUITO REPELLANT IS A MUST. They just followed you in swarms. I wish I had applied to directly to my legs prior to putting on pants. They bit through - I had over 100 easily. Definitely not as bad on areas with direct skin protection! We had lunch at a local restaurant and the garlic shrimp was amazing! We headed back to Guayaquil to the cacao museum which honestly was a disappointment, I would not recommend particularly if you don’t read Spanish. The posted exhibit descriptions did not have an English option. It has only a small exhibit on the actual cacao production and while my guide did his best I really didn’t get the same kind of information as you would on the farming tour and demonstration. So for me it wasn’t an acceptable substitution. Overall, I would recommend the tour and hope you get to experience the original itinerary. Just go prepared :)

Jaime was an incredible guide and he took extra time when we had questions. This was our first tour in ecuador and he really made it special! The cacao farm was amazing and we got to try fresh chocolate with raw sugar and it is my new favorite way to eat it! Thank you for an amazing tour!

Took cruise shuttle bus at 8:30 to port gate exit where we met our guide Jaime. Four others from the ship were in the van with us so a comfortable group of 6. • Ride to the Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve was longer than expected - 2 hours - and much over very rough dirt roads. Took canoe-like boat ride through the mangroves that seemed like a very authenticate Ecuadorian experience sitting low to the water. Saw a lot of birds but no other wildlife. Lots of mosquitoes but repellent worked well and no bites. • Then short ride to a jungle trail for a short walk where we spotted some howler monkeys. • Then about 20 minutes ride to the Cocoa Farm. Very nice 3-course lunch followed by explanation / demonstration of the process from germination (2 varieties, high production red and high quality golden) to harvesting, drying, roasting, making into paste, liquefying and putting into forms. Got to sample the flavor of the seeds right out of the husk - slimy with taste of mango. Also tasted cocoa juice (white). Coffee, chocolate, and a few other items available for purchase at reasonable price with credit card accepted. Very nice stop. • Then 1 hour 45 minutes ride back to port arriving just before 6. This tour had more bus ride riding time than anticipated. The cocoa farm was excellent and made it all worthwhile. The mangrove reserve boat ride was an interesting & memorable adventure but not much wildlife when we were there other than birds.

Wonderful experience! Hymie, our tour guide, was outstanding and made us feel safe and well cared for in our first venture to Guayaquil. Our river/forest guide Carlos did a great job spotting wildlife. Hacienda Cacao Y Mango was delightful and so enjoyed Jamal our guide, the delicious lunch and the emersion chocolate experience. Have already raved about the tour and recommended to friends. Would have liked more detailed info about the tour upfront but so glad we went.

We saw numerous birds on the river and then a family of howler monkeys in the jungle. The visit to the Cocoa farm was great and informative and Jamie was and excellent guide.

We took this tour as two families with 5 children. The guide was so amazing with the kids and ensuring they were well cared for. We loved seeing howler monkeys and crocodiles (and the birds of course). The cocoa farm food was AMAZING! Highly recommend.

The people, the places, the food, the day. All was great. Only hitch was communication on pickup. We thought it was an hour later than tour thought. Uh oh we almost missed out

This was an outstanding tour. What made it so good was our tour guide Eduardo. He was super knowledgable We got to see all kinds of birds, monkeys and alligators. The motorized canoe trip was a lot of fun and interesting. Lunch was absolutely delicious. We also enjoyed the chocolate factory tour.

After a short while of driving, we stopped by the road to admire the local bird population of herons, vultures and pink birds I don't remember the name of. Then we continued driving and reached the Churute forest, where we hiked among tall trees with enormous leaves and chased after monkeys, of which there were plenty to spot. Ecuador's biodiversity is truly astonishing. When we got enough of monkeys (and mosquitoes), we drove some way back to the cocoa farm, where we got to try a Jamaica fruit, raw cocoa fruit (which tastes nothing like chocolate at all!) and picked oranges directly from a tree. We examined the fermenting and drying process of cocoa beans and got a bunch of prepared beans to make chocolate using our own hands. We tried mashing the beans by hand and grinding them using a small hand grinder and then tastes both of the resulting products with a variety of sugar, bananas and other additives. Ultimately, we took the resulting chocolate liquid and cooled it down into the traditional chocolate bar, which we decorated with salt and ate on the spot. The adventure was accompanied by a lovely authentic lunch of meat and rice, and, of course, chocolate ice cream. It was a wonderful day, I'd highly recommend anyone to try it!

The chocolate farm portion was amazing, and the lunch was great. The forest to see the howler monkeys was cool, though we were nearly carried away by mosquitoes. Fortunately, our driver (Jamie) had repellent that helped some.

Both parts of the trip were amazing. The Churute Mangrove was incredible. Our guide and driver were very knowledgeable. Lunch at the Cocoa farm was delicious. We really enjoyed getting to know about the chocolate making process. Would recommend 100%.

I cannot recommend this activity highly enough!!! It was the highlight of our trip. I went with my girlfriend and for any other LGBTQ+ travelers, we had a great experience. As another reviewer mentioned, the trip actually begins at 8:45 not 10. However, this was communicated to us in advance via WhatsApp so I didn’t feel blindsided. We got home around 6:30. BM tours was great with communication and asked us about any dietary restrictions in advance. We were picked up directly from our hotel which was very convenient. Our guide, Jaime, was fabulous and very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area. The motorized canoe ride was beautiful and we got to see so many different types of birds and even a crocodile (from a safe distance)! Then we took a nice hike and got to see the famous howler monkeys. Finally, exploring the cocoa farm (it’s called Cacao y Mango) was incredible. We got a full tour followed by the chocolate making experience. We stocked up on chocolate gifts for all of our friends and family in the gift shop. This trip was both extremely fun and very informative. Lunch was also delicious! We had ceviche, chicken and rice, and an awesome dessert. There were other options available for people with dietary restrictions. There was also a family with two young girls on our trip and they had an amazing time as well. If you’re considering it, book this adventure right now!!!! :)

There were certainly some highlights to the day but unfortunately some significant downsides. First, when we called to confirm pick/up time, we were told the guide was coming an hour earlier than scheduled (which fortunately they were able to change. Second, we had paid for a full-day tour for 6 adults and they had us down for a half-day tour - which also got changed. The guide arrived driving a car that was not big enough for six adults who would be in the car for over 2 hours(had a small folding 3rd seat). Unfortunately, nothing could be done about that. The boat ride that was scheduled thru the mangroves didn’t happen because the boat never showed up after waiting a LONG time. On the upside, we did enjoy our walk through the Churute reserve and the cacao farm tour.

Es war eine sehr schöne Tour voller Naturerlebnisse,kompetenten Tour Guides und ich erfuhr viel Wissenswertes Neues.Danke für diesen unvergesslichen Tag! Alles war sehr gut organisiert und ich bekam Hilfe,weil ich keinen Moskitoschutz mit hatte..So sind se die Touristen ;-)))

Durante il giro in canoa abbiamo visto una miriade di aironi, cormorani, ecc. mentre durante l'escursione scimmie urlatrici e vari tipi di piante. Anche il paesaggio è meraviglioso e la guida preparatissima. Sicuramente da consigliare

A great experience in the mangrove area. Saw lots of different birds and crocodiles in the distance. Then it was a tour of the dry jungle where we saw howler monkeys. The day ended with a wonderful Ecuadorian 3-course meal and chocolate making on the cocoa farm. So educational and exciting. Good guide who told us a lot about everything we saw. Highly recommend.