Otavalo Unveiled: A Day Journey Through Time And Tradition!

Lincoln met us at our hotel and from start to finish was one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had. He told us so much about the country and gave us options to help match our day to our interests. The best stops were the biscuits store in Cayambe and a weaving coop in a small village I don’t remember the name of. The Otavalo market and the leather village was more commercial and/or touristy than we had hoped but I’m glad we had the opportunity to see them. It was a FULL day but such a great one.

We had the most wonderful guide Phillipe. He was so skilled and knowledgeable. We learned so much and had some great conversation. We felt that we had a truly authentic experience far beyond our expectations.

It was really great seeing the volcanic lake and the giant poncho market and the leather market. Also, the biscuit making experience was interesting and lunch was rustic. A very enjoyable day!

A fun day tour with a great and knowledgeable guide! The tour's organization was less clear than that of other companies and could be improved.

Lincoln was my guide and he was very knowledgeable. It ended up being a “private” tour because the other person did not show up. His English was fairly decent and we had good conversations. Our first stop was a family shop for Bizochotos, a savory biscuit. The equator ran through the shop. I had a guided tour of the bakery. I also had samples of the biscuits and various blue agave drinks and jams. I purchased some biscuits and local chocolate. My goal on the trip to South America was to purchase an authentic baby alpaca sweater. He took me to a shop that had a demonstration about how the textiles are made originally by hand and later by loom with foot pedals. Here I found my sweater and I also purchased a small wall hanging. I chose to make my purchases here as opposed to the market because I knew they were authentic and it was a family business, so my purchase supported that family. We also visited the market on market day and it was very overwhelming. I walked around for about an hour, but there was so much to look at and nothing spoke to me. We had lunch at a local restaurant and the food was amazing, even for a vegetarian. Popcorn was the “bread basket” instead of breads or chips.

My guide, Philippe, born and raised in Quito was an absolute delight to be with for the day! He was very attentive, kind and always thinking one step ahead of the day! His knowledge of the whole area and to the places we went for example the leather district where he went above and beyond to find me leather book markers because he knew a guy who owned a leather workshop was in depth which really showed up when we went to the national park. He took me to a traditional kichwa lunch, and it was nice to see the ladies interaction with him in that they like and respect him. He is a superb driver in the crazy traffic they have in Quito and surrounding areas!!! Oh yeah his English is so good and he had me smiling alot. He is definitely a treasure when it comes to guiding, his knowledge and being so personable and that's coming from someone who just went on a day tour with a strange man in a new country! You rock Philippe! Thank you giving this 72 year old retired paramedic one of her best days ever!!

We were picked up on time from our hotel lobby, as promised. The quality of the tour (comfortable van, guide, driver, information provided, points of interest, time allotted at each stop, etc) were well beyond expectation. Special thanks to our guide, Felipe, and our excellent driver!

Wonderful day full of experiences in culture, food, and artisans!! Filipe was a fantastic guide! The education in Ecuador’s culture and food was the best part of the trip and the shopping was great!

Felipe was an excellent tour guide, very informative and we loved his attention to detail. The history of agave and Kichwa was our favorite part of the trip! Bizcochos bred and cheese was delicious as well.

Fantastic day tour. We loved Otavalo markets. Stui, our guide, was absolutely brilliant. He took care of everything and provided excellent information along the way, including the history of Quito (all in English). We highly recommend this tour company.

Felipe was an exceptional guide. We hired Carpediem for two days for private tours and he went above and beyond in working with our special requests.

Felipe was my super helpful guide for the day. Had an AMAZING TIME! I saw everything I wanted to, plus more! Felipe had excellent suggestions, we even saw a parade. And he helped me with my Spanish. 😁 The sights, the drive with awesome music, and the people especially Felipe made it a unforgettable day. Thanks again, Felipe. You're the best. 😎

I had a fun day with Lincoln. It ended up just being the 2 of us. We had many laughs. I recommend bringing luggage with lots of room. There are lots of lovely things to but at Otovalo. Also the town of leather goods which is where we had a delicious lunch. The people at Otovalo were a bit pushy for me & it was difficult to just shop as they were doing the hard sell. I’m not a fan of that or crowds so not my thing ver went for a walk along a beautiful lake & Lincoln described many of the plants. Traffic back to Aquino was horrible.

Fun day exploring the countryside. In addition to visiting the Otovalo market, we stopped for bizcochos, had a lovely lunch & wandered around Parque Nacional Cotacachi.

Excellent tour. We visited beautiful places.Highly recommended. Felipe our guide was the best. He helped us plan our day . Felipe is an excellent guide.He gave us great advices for our stay in Quito.

Highly recommended.The tour was very interesting. We visited beautiful places. The guide Felipe was the best. He helped us have a wonderful day. Additionally Felipe gave us a lot of advices for our stay in Quito. Thank you Felipe.

Felipe was an excellent guide, he was very friendly and helpful. He went the extra distance to make sure that we had a great time. He was very patient. I was just going to take a public bus from Quito to Otavalo but I would have missed so much. This tour is much more than I expected. I am very glad that I took this tour and would highly recommend it

My guide was Felipe and I'd booked this tour due to multiple good reviews especially on Felipe. Felipe was very attentive to my needs and gave me room to do what I want by providing me options and not rushing me. I casually said I wanted to see indigenous family with guinea pigs and he immediately arranged it for me! It was a great surprise as it's the last day for me in Quito and to witness a family full of guinea pigs was one of my bucket list in my one month of latin america expedition. Felipe's swift response made my day and gave me a deep memory in my trip and for sure will highly recommend anyone to take on this experience!

We loved this tour! It had a great mix of nature, food, and culture. Our guide Estuy was very friendly and knowledgeable, we learned a lot from him!

My payment was refunded even though it was after the deadline for cancellation.

We really enjoyed the trip. Detailed and professional explanations and punctuality of the guide.

Lincoln our guide was excellent he explained our itinerary of the day then proceeded to tell us about the history each step of the way! His English was excellent so we understood everything he told us! The tour itself was amazing and the lunch stop was perfect!

Felipe was very accommodating and flexible. We had a great time. He was very knowledgeable and helpful.

We had a wonderful experience. Our guide, Felipe was very professional and always ready to address our questions and needs. It was great to go around the andean landscapes, culture, gastronomy, and capture the wonders of Imbabura province in one day. Highly recommended!

The tour was wonderful and we definitely recommend it. Felipe, our guide was very professional, kind and always ready to our questions and needs. It was great to travel to Imbabura province and enjoy, the views, local sites, food, handicrafts and the rich Ecuadorian culture along with the context and knowledge of a great guide.

We had a great time with our guy Sarai , she is helpful, accommodating, and knowledgable. The tour covers exactly what was listed under the descriptions. We have a smooth ride and in depth visit to each places . We really appreciate the arrangement. Lunch was delicious. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Quito

The tour took us to towns outside of Quito providing information about how Ecuadorians live and work in the countryside. Our guide and driver was Lincoln Guaman who provided interesting facts about the local economies. We discussed a variety of topics such as the environment, agriculture, native attire and the markets. His knowledge of Ecuador and the surrounds was outstanding. The visit to the Bizcochos restaurant baking and Aguave (tequila making) demonstration was enjoyable. Loved Cotacachi and the beautiful scenery of the area. I would recommend Lincoln for your local tours is you can book him.

The guide Felipe was excellent and very knowledgeable. The driver Fabricio was also excellent. I really enjoyed the bizcocho breakfast stop and the mini-hike at volcanic laguna. It was nice to wander the Otavalo market, but the leather town didn't do much for me. Overall it was a nice day and a great way to see places outside of Quito that I couldn't get to otherwise.

Great day experience, good communication and driver.

Filipe was very knowledgeable and shared his vast experience with us. We would do another tour with him

Saraí was a great guide! She gave us such great information. I really enjoyed the market. I highly recommend this tour!!

Great day trip with a small group. Guide allowed us to customize trip to what we wanted to see. Main market was full of local products. Had an interesting lunch prepared by indigenous people. Total fee was 56 dollars.

This was the best day I had in the Quito area. Felipe was an amazing guide and tailored the day so I could select preferences and timing. As a private tour I saw so much more and it was both a beautiful and fascinating day. Felipe has a wealth of knowledge about historic, economic and natural phenomenon. I was impressed and would do it again if I could.

Lincoln was a very good guide and had a lot of knowledge i was able to learn a lot on this tour about the country. I would definitely reccomend it and do it again.

Very good way to start our Quito vacation. It is a van-based vacation (helping get over my altitude sickness on my first day here) and covers a lot of ground. The Saturday Market was great and the tour combined nature, culture, ecotourism and gastronomy. A good complement to other, more Quito-centric tours we’ll do later.

The trip to Otavalo provided a good overview of Ecuadorean crafts and indigenous culture, a great way to start our vacation. Felipe had deep knowledge of the area and was very pleasant company.

I had a GREAT experience. To get to know Ecuador through the eyes of the Otavalan people was a time to remember. Our guide, Felipe, was an essential part of it. Thanks to him, I learned a lot more than I expected!

Our excursion to Otavallo far exceeded our expectations. We were hoping for a couple of hours to explore the market and to get some guidance from the tour guide around quality and pricing. Felipe, our tour guide, shared so much great information with us about the city and the people as we drove and the tour company does so much to support the local artisans. Felipe first brought us to a great store as an initial stop, where we saw demonstrations and were able to taste traditional biscuits and agave products.  Then he took us to another store where he introduced us to two local indigenous women who carry on the traditional culture. They explained their outfits and sold amazing alpaca scarves for a very reasonable price. We were also able to see and photograph alpaca there.  Then we went to a store with a woman who showed us how they prepare and dye the alpaca wool and use a loom to create the double sided weavings. Again, amazing products and prices there. Then we had time to shop at the Otavallo market with Felipe's guidance and advice. We did a hike to the lagoon in the volcano crater. We were treated to a delicious authentic lunch at a local resident's home and toured her garden. Last stop was the leather market. A truly amazing day--can't say enough good things about it! A 10 out of 10!

Our excursion to Otavallo far exceeded our expectations. We were hoping for a couple of hours to explore the market and to get some guidance from the tour guide around quality and pricing. Felipe, our tour guide, shared so much great information with us about the city and the people as we drove and the tour company does so much to support the local artisans. Felipe first brought us to a great store as an initial stop, where we saw demonstrations and were able to taste traditional biscuits and agave products. Then he took us to another store where he introduced us to two local indigenous women who carry on the traditional culture. They explained their outfits and sold amazing alpaca scarves for a very reasonable price. We were also able to see and photograph alpaca there. Then we went to a store with a woman who showed us how they prepare and dye the alpaca wool and use a loom to create the double sided weavings. Again, amazing products and prices there. Then we had time to shop at the Otavallo market with Felipe's guidance and advice. We did a hike to the lagoon in the volcano crater. We were treated to a delicious authentic lunch at a local resident's home and toured her garden. Last stop was the leather market. A truly amazing day--can't say enough good things about it! A 10 out of 10!

This trip outside the city was amazing! There was so much to see and learn in Otavalo and Cotacachi. Felipe was a great guide.

It was a pleasant day spent visiting Otovalo and the surrounding areas. Lincoln did a fabulous job of explaining and exposing us to the history, culture, and food of area

Great trip to two older towns, learnt about the traditional dress and saw many people wearing this. The market offered everything and at good prices with some bargaining. Otavalo and Cotacachi both had traditional squares that were vibrant.

We did the Otavalo 1 day WT tour with CarpeDM adventures, with Alejandro as our guide. It was an excellent tour, we didn't just see Otavalo but a few other parts of the area too, the highlight being volcanos and a national park. Alejandro was a fantastic guide, very friendly and informative not just in regards to Otavalo but on Ecuador as a whole. I would thoroughly recommend this day tour to others, it is worth it and good value for money. Great lunch included too!

Lincoln was a wonderful guide. He took us to many places in addition to the Otavalo marketplace and pointed out various histories of the area. He also provided a wonderful cultural context and history for many things we saw. We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this trip.

We had an excellent day with Lincoln! His local expertise and pleasant personality really made our tour a high point of our stay in Quito. He was able to give us insights we would have otherwise missed.

So many places to visit along the way. We never felt rushed and Alejandro was happy to answer any questions in addition to his fantastic commentary. My son and I felt very lucky to have such a wonderful guide who was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We were able to take our time and enjoy every moment

Estefania was so friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. She was flexible on the itinerary to better fit our interests. She is passionate about the communities and shares that with her tourists.

A day to remember with our great and fun guide Nathalie. She is local speaking quicha with french ancestors! A perfect guide to show us the jewel that is Otovalo market! The drive went quickly with several stops on the way and a delicious local lunch on our way back. One of the highlight of our trip in Quito. A MUST do. Saturday is the best day. Carpe Dm was very profesional and easy to deal with. We booked as a private tour which was great as we were able to practise our spanish with Nathalie. Thank you !!

I learned about CarpeDM tours from Lonely Planet. I was immediately impressed with their email responses as we wanted a day tour to Otavolo. Our guide Lincoln was superb! He picked us up from our hotel on time, spent the entire day driving us to special locations including a hot chocolate and biscuit cafe, the equator, and famous market. We also had a special request of empanadas which he made possible. Well worth the price for a private tour because Lincoln welcomed questions and is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about Ecuador. When I return to Quito, I will enjoy another tour! Gracias, Lincoln!