Combatting Loneliness: Small Group Tours to Ecuador for Solo Travellers

Spending time in the natural environment is proven to improve our mental health and feelings of wellbeing - it can combat loneliness and bind communities together. Ecuador is one of the best countries to visit to immerse yourself in nature, being one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries with four unique and distinct regions, the Amazon, Andes, coast and Galapagos. New Scientist Discovery Tours and Mercury Holidays are offering exciting small group tours for like-minded travellers, helping combat the loneliness sometimes felt on solo trips.

New Scientist Discovery Tours

New Scientist Discovery Tours provides knowledge-fuelled experiences worldwide, showcasing fascinating history, revolutionary scientific discoveries and ecological diversity. Running science-themed tours, cruises, expeditions and weekenders across the world, with experts on board, approximately half of customers are solo, like-minded travellers.

For solo travellers interested in nature, ecology and exploration, New Scientist Discovery Tours has set up a tour running in August 2024 where guests can follow in the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt, tracking part of his 1802 expedition through Ecuador’s Avenue of the Volcanoes and on to the Amazon and the Cloud Forest. These regions helped to establish his "unity of nature" theory, which heavily influenced Darwin’s work. This tour offers an amazing opportunity to combine two of Ecuador’s most fascinating natural destinations – the biodiverse wonders of the Amazon and the Pacific cloud forests to the west of Quito – and to travel through what Humboldt dubbed the "Avenue of the Volcanoes". Visitors can visit a long section of the Pan-American highway where the Andes meets the equator, and where beautiful vistas of snow-capped volcanoes, crystal clear lagoons and lush green valleys can be enjoyed in abundance.

New Scientist Discovery Tours offers a 11-day Ecuador tour starting from £4,675pp, including return flights, accommodation, transport, meals where indicated, guide and talks and walking seminars. Book here: https://www.newscientist.com/tours/ecuador-in-the-footsteps-of-alexander-von-humboldt/

Mercury Holidays

For solo travellers looking to meet like-minded travellers and explore far flung destinations, Mercury Holidays is selling an exciting tour to Ecuador and the Galapagos islands. Guests who book onto this 10-day itinerary, can experience the unique wildlife encounters that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, getting up close to sunbathing iguanas, playful sea lion pups and male frigate birds via yacht, as it sails among the isles of this volcanic archipelago. As one of the world’s most mega-diverse countries in the world, guests can enjoy the region's natural beauty, swimming with turtles and reef sharks and take in its urban wonders on city tours of Quito and Guayaquil.

Mercury Holidays’ 10-day Ecuador and Galapagos tour starts from £4,695pp, including return flights, 17 meals and 9 excursions. Book here: https://www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/destination/latin-america/ecuador/holidays/escorted-tours/ecuador-and-the-galapagos-islands

Main Image Credit: Alex Boas