Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez
Traveler rating
4.8/5
Based on 113 traveler reviews. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Quick answer
Is Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez worth booking?
Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez is a 9-hour experience in Quito, Ecuador, from $115 per person. It scores 74 out of 100 on the Outty Ranking, which we label “Strongly Recommended”, based on a 4.8/5 rating across 113 reviews. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start time. Same-day spots are currently showing.
- Outty Ranking
- 74 / 100
- Rating
- 4.8/5 (113)
- Duration
- 9 hours
- From
- $115 per person
We do offer: Richard Hernandez as your TOUR PROVIDER (arranged) SHARED tour and can be customized Toyota 4Runner as ground transportation enjoy the nature wonders at your own pace. pick up and drop off from/to Quito. nat
What you get
- Binoculars
- Licensed Naturalist English speaking guide
- Spotting bird scope
- Ground transportation
About this experience
We do offer: Richard Hernandez as your TOUR PROVIDER (arranged) SHARED tour and can be customized Toyota 4Runner as ground transportation enjoy the nature wonders at your own pace. pick up and drop off from/to Quito. natural history, birding for beginners to amateur level, botanizing in its natural habitat, nature hikes from Easy to moderate-difficult level, sustainable and local support. Street Dog affection:) OR WE CAN EVEN CUSTOMIZE THE TOUR FOR YOU.
What's included
Included
- Binoculars
- Licensed Naturalist English speaking guide
- Spotting bird scope
- Ground transportation
Not included
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Entrance fees
- Tips
- pick up/drop offs out of Quito city or hotels near the airport.
What you'll see and do
Milpe Bird Sanctuary
Birding Street Dog Affection:) Hiking Botanizing Photography Local food
120 minutes here · Admission not included
A professional licensed guided will take to discover the nature wonders of the cloud forest. Discovering waterfalls, water cascades, endemic birds like toucans, tanagers and hummingbirds. Taste the local food, enjoy of the beautiful subtropical weather like. To book with a professional expert is a different way of discovering and learning about people and nature. Fluent English spoken.
60 minutes here · Admission not included
El Pahuma Orchid Reserve
A licensed naturalist guide with fluent Spanish/English spoken. Discovering the nature wonders while hiking through easy or moderate hiking trails. Orchids, bromeliads, tree ferns, heliconias, reptiles, amphibians, trees, bioregulators, in general all the explanations from an local expert naturalist guide, his name is Richard Hernandez.
120 minutes here · Admission not included
Tandayapa
Excellent place for hiking and birding paradise. Local place for trying an exotic local food (under request:)
30 minutes here
Nanegalito
Charming little town where we do pass by without stopping. People on weekends come from the mountains to listen the service in the town and buy their suppliers.
Pass by without stopping
Mindo
A charming town, local political parish. We may stop here for lunch or any other attraction like: butterfly garden, water tubing, zip line,coffee or chocolate tour (under request):
60 minutes here
Mitad Del Mundo
A short stop by the Inty Ñan museum or Mitad del Mundo to visit the Equator line on the way back from the cloud forest.
30 minutes here · Admission not included
Pedro Vicente Maldonado
We will get to visit the most economically prosperous county in the area. As an option for having lunch. Lunch is not included in the tour price.
60 minutes here
Where it starts and ends
Hotel pickup
Pickup is included for all travelers. Pickup begins about 5 minutes before departure.
Before you book
- Cancellation
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- Languages
- en, es
- Ticket
- Mobile Only
- Runs on
- Every day
- Group size
- Up to 10 travelers per booking
- Operated by
- Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours
Know before you go
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Our tour is a PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, people interested in other than ECO TOURISM, NATURE, BIOLOGY, or ECOLOGY, we firmly reject them.
- Open minded to learn local flora, fauna, birds.
- Affection for Street Dogs
Photos
What travelers are saying
Outty’s summary of the themes that recur across 113 traveler reviews. Written by us, not quoted from reviewers.
The guide
7 mentionsTravelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works.
Knowledge and storytelling
6 mentionsReviewers describe the commentary as informative rather than scripted.
Value for money
3 mentionsTravelers feel they got more than they paid for.
Physical effort
3 mentionsExpect real walking or climbing: reviewers mention the effort involved.
Photo opportunities
2 mentionsThe views and photo stops come up again and again.
Food and drink
2 mentionsThe tastings and food stops are a highlight for most reviewers.
Traveler reviews
113 verified traveler reviews for Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Mindo experience
We had a wonderful trip to Mindo with Richard. He is a professional guide who truly knows his stuff and was attentive to all our wishes. The Mindo cloud forests are a must-visit for anyone traveling to Ecuador; I would recommend spending at least one night there so you can hear the birds singing in the quiet of the forest in the morning. There are plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities and trekking. We especially loved the hummingbird farm—it’s an experience our children will remember for the rest of their lives!
via Tripadvisor
Great guide
Richard was incredibly helpful, informative, and clearly passionate about what he does (especially about birds and indigenous people) He also listened to what we wanted to see and made sure to take us to the places we were most interested in. Highly recommend!
via Tripadvisor
Fantastic hummingbird and butterfly experience
We spent ten hours with Richard on our trip to Mindo. He asked us what we wanted to do and that’s exactly what we did. We took a short hike to visit a waterfall and saw hummingbirds, butterflies, orchids, and really interesting plants. We went to a butterfly garden where you were allowed to let the butterflies sit on your fingers. We visited a hummingbird reserved where you can feed them from your hand. And, we visited a chocolate factory where we tasted fifteen different varieties. It was a fantastic day with a fun, intelligent, professional, safe, and well-informed guide. Your time with Richard will be well spent.
via Tripadvisor
Expensive and uncomfortable
I booked 2 trips with Richard, traveling with a friend. The first was to see the Inti Raymi festival around Otavalo, and the second to see a combination of archeological and wildlife sites around Mindo. I'll start by describing the content of each tour. Before the Inti Raymi festival, Richard sent me a brief itinerary which included many of the components of the festival, such as the ritual bathing and Warmi Puncha, but described them as happening over 2 days, rather than what actually happens which is over a week. This is something I would have expected him to check/know ahead of time, and meant that we did not actually see all the things we had hoped to. For the archeological and wildlife tour, I should explain that this operates differently in Ecuador than other areas I have been to. In particular, around Mindo there are many small private reserves, where the owners allow access for payment and often have feeding stations for birds, with hides or chairs to give close access. The experience is very different to being in a national park for example and having to find birds and animals in a really 'wild' situation. Almost all of the activities I did as part of the tour (archeological sites, chocolate tour, night walk, butterfly garden etc) had their own guides, and in most cases Richard did not actually attend, let alone provide guiding assistance. If I had known this in advance, I definitely would not have booked Richard, paying for what I expected was a high degree of wildlife expertise. It would have been much cheaper and more enjoyable to just book a driver to take us to the different sites. There is no doubt that Richard is an experienced birder. However the only time we actually got to see this expertise is when he found a family of 4 toucans, which we were able to see in the extreme distance through a scope. As soon as we saw these, he considered the task finished drove us back. I now want to say something about how it felt doing a tour with Richard. If you are considering booking, I highly recommend you read all the one star reviews. Their experiences where very similar to mine. When done well, guides can give you insights, share their knowledge and enthusiasms, and allow you to see much more than you ever would by yourself. I certainly had this experience with other wildlife guides in Ecuador. However, that was not my experience with Richard, and often I felt trapped, almost like a hostage in the car, during his stream of consciousness rambling and intrusive personal questions. In many ways I regret not cancelling the 2nd tour with him, and only did not do so because he made it clear he would not repay the 50% deposit I had paid, which was quite expensive. Some examples: he talked a great deal about himself, including claiming healing powers, and the ability to see the future, his health issues (at one point he announced he would show us photographs of his scars/injuries so we could better understand his suffering- fortunately this didn't happen), his very important and rich clients (including mentioning multiple times 'friends of Hillary Clinton'), how much is car cost, mansplaining matriarchy, gossip about people along the way, who we either met once or not at all (X is not sleeping with his wife, Y is a lesbian, but serves good food, how he had to stop associating with Z after she took up with an afro-ecuadorian 'stallion"..). He also mentioned the sexual prowess of his father several times, and explained that an American pope had been elected because the main problem with the Catholic church was in America. I asked what problem that was, in his opinion, and he explained that some American catholics were too indulgent of gays, and there was too much pedophilia. He also explained at one point that the reason Ecuador had not won its World Cup game against Curacao was that God was unhappy there was so much much corruption and prostitution in Ecuador. However apparently God changed his mind against Germany (likely because of Richard's prayers). Of course, there are cultural differences between people, but some if some of Richard's comments or questions had been made in my workplace, they would have been swiftly reported to HR. An example: in the Inti Raymi tour, Richard encouraged my friend to take a ritual bath, which she did not want to do. To explain this she said that she did not have a change of dry clothes, to which he answered that he could lend her his underwear, because he wasn't wearing any. He seemed to consider this funny rather than highly inappropriate. At various points in the trip Richard made comments about problems with "Karens and Cougars". He even explained that he often had to use a microphone and camera in his car to protect himself from sexual harassment claims and/or women making passes at him. The latter suggestion is of course, not technically impossible, but personally I find it exceptionally unlikely. I have thought about my experiences on this trip a lot subsequently, and come to the conclusion that people have likely raised the same issues as I am doing with Richard before- the sleazy comments and stories, the intrusive questions etc- and he has genuinely not understood the problem, or considered it a problem of the client, not himself (eg they were 'a Karen' or ''a Cougar"). But if you are a guide working almost entirely with people from a different culture, it is surely necessary to be able to understand their perspective. What makes a good tour is much more than the wildlife you see, its also about feeling comfortable and treated respectfully. Sadly, that did not happen on my trips with Richard.
via Tripadvisor
Definitely worth the trip.
The trip was very well organised. We were picked up from our Airbnb right on time. The hummingbirds were amazing and we got to feed them. The butterfly farm was fascinating. There was a nice hike to a stunning waterfall. Andres was very knowledgeable
via Tripadvisor
Good to know
- Duration
- 9 hours
- Free cancellation
- Up to 24h before
- Minimum age to book
- 12+
- Availability
- Bookable today
- Runs on
- Every day
- Price range
- $115 to $333
- Hotel pickup
- Included for all travelers
- Booked in 30 days
- 40
- Verdict
- Strongly Recommended
Why this scores 74
The Outty Ranking is a weighted composite. Here is how this experience performed on each component.
Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez: questions travelers ask
Practical detail on this experience, plus the wider planning questions for Quito.
How much does Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez cost?
+
Prices start at $115 per person. The final price depends on the date, the time slot and the number of travelers, and peak weekends in Quito usually price higher than midweek mornings. Live pricing and remaining availability are confirmed on the booking screen before you pay.
How long does Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez take?
+
Plan for about 9 hours from start to finish, not counting travel to the meeting point. Most travelers leave another 30 minutes on either side so the rest of the day in Quito is not rushed.
Is Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez worth it?
+
It holds an Outty Ranking of 74 out of 100, which we label "Strongly Recommended". That score blends traveler sentiment (4.8/5 across 113 reviews), the depth of that review evidence, recent booking momentum, value for money against comparable last minute in Quito, and how flexible the cancellation terms are.
Can I cancel or reschedule Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez?
+
Yes. Cancel free up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Inside that window the booking is non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded.
Is Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez suitable for kids and families?
+
The operator sets a minimum age of 12. Older children generally do well here, and families should factor in the 9-hour running time when deciding.
How far in advance should I book Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez?
+
Around 40 people booked this in the last 30 days, so popular slots go early. Two to three weeks ahead is comfortable in shoulder season, while summer weekends and holidays in Quito can sell out a month out. Same-day spots do open up when other travelers cancel, so it is worth checking if you are already in town.
What should I bring or wear?
+
Bring photo ID, your booking confirmation on your phone, a refillable water bottle and comfortable shoes. Dress for the weather in Quito and add a light layer if any part of the 9-hour experience runs outdoors or after sunset.
Where does Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez start and how do I get there?
+
The exact meeting point and directions are on your voucher once you book, and they sit in central Quito within reach of public transport. Arrive 15 minutes early: late arrivals are treated as no-shows by most operators.
What are the best things to do in Quito?
+
On Outty we rank every Quito experience on the same 0 to 100 scale, and alongside this one the highest scorers right now include Cotopaxi tour from Quito -horseback ride and hike-NO TOURISTY way, Baños Full Day Tour from Quito Including Entrances and Activities, Gastronomic and Cultural Walking Tour of Quito with Tastings. The city page groups everything into most popular, highest reviewed, last minute and family-friendly so you can build a day around what actually delivers.
When is the best time to visit Quito?
+
Booking patterns follow the same curve: prices and queues climb in peak weeks, while shoulder season gives you better availability on the top-ranked experiences and more room to change plans.
How many days do you need in Quito?
+
Three full days covers the headline sights without sprinting. A workable rhythm is one anchor experience each morning, such as this one, an unhurried afternoon in a single neighborhood, then a food or nightlife booking in the evening. Five days lets you add a day trip outside the city.
Do I book through Outty or through the operator?
+
Outty ranks and explains the experiences, then hands you to Viator to complete the booking with the operator directly. The price is the same as booking on Viator yourself, and Outty earns an affiliate commission on the referral, which is how the rankings stay free to read.
Ready to lock in your spot?
Pick a date, choose your group, and see the exact price for Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tours - PRIVATE - Richard Hernandez.
Pick your date
