Contiki Ecuador FAM delivers adventure and authentic experiences

After an adventurous week in Ecuador on a Contiki FAM trip packed with adrenaline-pumping activities like canyoneering down waterfalls, whitewater rafting and climbing up a steep mountainside via ferrata, Kathleen Anckner of Modern Travel Professionals shared that she has a renewed belief in touring vacations.

“Being on this Contiki FAM restored my faith in touring as a mode of travel because it was so active, social, friendly and engaging. Not all tours that I’ve been on previously had the same level of service and personal touch that Contiki did,” Anckner revealed in Quito on the final night of the trip. “I’m a parent of teenagers who will be entering the Contiki demographic fairly soon and I would not hesitate to send my kids on a Contiki tour. I feel like Ecuador is definitely overlooked as an eco-tourism destination and it’s amazing. If you’re really looking for authenticity, Ecuador is it, and Contiki is not just a party bus – I mean they like to have a good time and that’s great – but it’s not just all about the party.”

Earlier in the week, TTC Tour Brands’ Jenni Berg, director, strategic accounts, had asked the agents taking part in the FAM during TTC Tour Week what was the first word that came to their minds when they thought of Contiki. Along with “young,” “fun,” and “adventure,” the word “party” came up quickly. 

“The one I was looking for was ‘party’ because over the years that was one thing we always had to combat a little bit, there was that perception of Contiki being just about the party, and as you can see already on this trip that’s not the case,” Berg noted. “What your clients are paying for, the value, has nothing to do with after hours. The value of a Contiki tour is during the day, it’s all the amazing experiences they’re getting, it’s the great guides that we have, the accommodations.”

Over the course of the week, agents got to see for themselves what sets the Contiki brand apart and what clients can expect while on an itinerary around the world. The whole concept is to bring together travellers from around the world and connect them through shared experiences, and in our case bonding over adventures. Berg noted that about 50% of Contiki travellers are solo travellers, across an average age of 27 years old. After two decades of travelling with the brand for work and personal vacations, she has seen firsthand how a Contiki trip can be life-changing. 

“My favourite thing to talk about is Contiki. Contiki has changed a lot of lives. It’s one of those things that can be cheesy to say – life-changing trips – but I’ve seen people changed,” she said before sharing a story about a timid traveller from Alberta who came out of his shell during a trip to Australia and wound up being the most popular, funny guy on the tour. “I’ve seen it every Contiki trip, people show up as a cocoon and they leave as a butterfly.”

Notably, Megan Duncan of Travel Gurus said that FAM trips like Contiki’s Ecuador in a Week itinerary go a long way in helping her sell a destination and a tour operator better.

“It’s hands-on experience and you’re able to ask questions to your guide and actually get a feel for what your clients are going to do,” she said. “Clients are looking for agents who have first-hand knowledge about a destination so we can fully answer their questions or doubts and make personal recommendations. You can watch all the videos and read all the blogs but you’ll never get as much out of that as you do from being on the ground.”

The TTC Tour Brands team used bus rides between cities in Ecuador to educate the agents about Contiki and some of the other guided travel styles within the portfolio including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Costsaver and Brendan Vacations, as well as to share news like the fact that Trafalgar is launching its first-ever river cruises on the Rhine and the Danube rivers in April 2026. Interestingly, Contiki now has some trips specifically for 35-45 year olds, a great option for clients who have outgrown the key 18-35 demographic, but still want more experiences with the travel style. 

A memorable part of our FAM was visiting a local community of 64 people in the Amazon in Tena to learn about their methods of sourcing food and medicine, as well as their dancing and cooking traditions. The agents brought school supplies, games, reusable water bottles, toys and more to share with the kids in the village. 

During our stay, women from the village painted everyone’s faces and placed woven headbands on all the agents before sharing a medicinal drink described as Jungle Red Bull tea. The group had the opportunity to play soccer with the children and to go on a scenic hike to see the surrounding area from above. The experience is a Make Travel Matter add-on option in Ecuador, which are travel experiences across the company’s trips that are selected for their positive social or environmental impact on communities. 

“The Travel Corporation as a whole, we do a tonne of stuff all around the world when it comes to sustainable projects, and under our Treadright Foundation… We actually do more than almost any other company out there when it comes to funding projects around the world, giving back to either the people, the planet, or the wildlife of the areas that we go to,” Berg noted. “We want our travellers to experience these things too because people like to feel good when they’re travelling and know that they’re making a positive difference. So there’s at least one Make Travel Matter experience on every tour across all our brands.”

Want to see what we got up to in Ecuador? Here are just some of the highlights of Contiki’s Ecuador in a Week FAM trip:

Going canyoneering down Andean waterfalls in Baños

Swinging into adventure for the perfect shot with views of Tungurahua volcano in the background 

Wildlife spotting and feeding monkeys on a jungle safari 

Going whitewater rafting through the waves of Jatunyaku river

Staying at Cotococha Amazon Lodge in the upper Amazon basin on the shore of the Napo River

Conquering fears climbing up a steep mountainside via ferrata

Visiting an Amazonian community village to learn about their cultures and traditions, the MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience on the Ecuador in a Week itinerary

Going on a scenic horseback riding tour to the outskirts of Baños

Experiencing the caves of Jumandi 

Relaxing at the spa after an adventure-filled week in Ecuador

When the time came to say goodbye, there were a lot of tears, something Berg said was common to see at the end of Contiki trips, but I’ll admit isn’t usually the case on other FAM trips that I’ve been a part of.

“Unlike any other travel brand, young people are brought together from all over the world and quite often these trips may be one of their first without their families,” Berg said. “As they evolve with their fellow travellers through shared experiences, they truly become friends for life and leave bonded for life. That’s the power of a Contiki.”

Throughout the week, travel advisors were encouraged to shared their adventures on social media using the hashtag #TTCTourWeek.

“Travel advisors are our most important storytellers, and Tour Week is just one of the ways we show our support by investing in their success through meaningful on-the-road learning,” added Whitney Ramirez, SVP of sales for TTC Tour Brands. “We’re sending advisors out into the world to experience what guided travel looks like today and giving them the tools to bring those stories to life for their clients. When advisors share in real time, we see engagement rise, destination awareness grow, and our advisor community rally around TTC Tour Brands.”