Happy Gringo

Happy Gringo has operated since 2004 during which time we have helped over 15,000 clients to realise their dream holiday, and we have established ourselves as one of the leading and most respected travel agencies / tour operators within Ecuador. We are joint UK/Dutch owned and have chosen Quito as our base. Our office is located in the dynamic and developed "new town" area of Quito - right in the midst of the very best tourist services and hotels. Our mission is to be "a company run by happy people delivering the perfect holiday experience to the most satisfied clients". We are a fully registered Ecuadorian company that is both affiliated with the Chamber of Tourism CAPTUR and licensed with the Ecuadorian Tourism Ministry. We consider one of our real strengths to be the dedicated team of travel experts that we have assembled. We have an excellent mix of Westerners and Ecuadorians who complement each other perfectly to assist our clients, and we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have our current group of staff together. Allow us to introduce our team: About Happy Gringo - Ecuador Travel We are recommended by: General Manager - John, hailing from London UK, is a seasoned traveller having visited more than 50 different countries worldwide, and with over 8 years of travel and work experience within Latin America. He holds both BA (hons) and Msc degrees in business and management from UK universities. He is the original founder of Happy Gringo and has been living in Quito for the past 7 years where his big passions are football and nature. Sales Manager - Eva is from Holland, is joint owner of Happy Gringo, and has been based in Ecuador for the past 7 years. She is well travelled and speaks fluent Dutch, English & Spanish as well as a good working level of German. She holds a degree in Anthropology with a specialism in Ecuadorian culture, and also an MBA. She needs plenty of energy to maintain the excellent sales service that our clients are accustomed to whilst at the same time looking after her two mischeavous young daughters. Operations - Valeria is very proud of her roots from Puyo, deep in the Amazon area of Ecuador. She has 5 years of experience working in tourism in Ecuador, has studied English at a local language institute and is the person to thank for the smooth-running organization of our trips. Sales - Marcelo has been working in tourism for the last 6 years, both tour guiding and organizing/selling trips. He is a nature lover and also enjoys practicing adventure sports, both of which have seen him travel extensively throughout Ecuador and South America. His helpful, friendly attitude together with experience and knowledge make him the perfect person to organize your Ecuador adventure. Sales - Angel has over 5 years experience working in hotels and agencies in Quito excelling at frontline customer service. He speaks perfect English and Spanish, loves interaction with tourists, and cites computing and video editing as his favoured hobbies. Sales - Bernardo joined us in February 2008 and his sales and language skills are a welcome addition to the team. He lives in Quito with his young son, holds a degree in French and English applied to International Affairs as well as a flight dispatcher license, and his passions are music and travel. Sales - Dany graduated in tourism from Quito University as a licensed tour guide and originally worked for Happy Gringo guiding groups in both Ecuador and Peru. Since then she has settled into our e-sales team specializing in particular in Galapagos cruises. Her hobbies are reading and travel; it is her goal to go to Brazil in 2014 for the next World Cup. Sales - Marco has studied Intercultural Communication and lived/worked in London for over 7 years so has an excellent grasp of the English language as well as basic Italian and Portuguese. He lives with his wife and son, is a very sociable person and particularly enjoys meeting people from other parts of the world. IT- Alex takes care of our IT needs which includes computing, software and typical IT trouble-shooting. He enjoys travelling and has already been to Europe several times, he also has a very active social life. Operations / Accounts - Natalia joined the Happy Gringo team in December 2010 to work as Accounts Assistant. She lives in Quito with her family, enjoys music and sport, and above all loves to share new experiences with her young daughter. Operations / Accounts - David graduated in tourism at the Central University of Quito and has been working with us since 2008. His responsibilities are divided between operations tasks and invoicing. He is a huge fan of football and supports Barcelona from the coast of Ecuador; he also enjoys nature and music. Driver - Milton is a regular favourite with our clients for his safe driving skills and amiable personality. He will always go the extra mile for his passengers to ensure the perfect trip for them! Milton speaks basic english and is keen to interchange language skills for those clients that would like to improve their spanish with him. Tour guide - Luis is from Quito and has been working with Happy Gringo clients since 2008 both in Ecuador and Peru. He holds a full professional guiding license and specializes in Ecuadorian History and Culture. His favourite region of Ecuador is the Andean Highlands and he considers working in tourism to be his dream job! We are used to receiving glowing praise from our passengers after his trips! Tour guide - Marcelo has been guiding in Ecuador for the past 2 years since graduating as a licensed guide at Quito University. He has a real passion for his country and in particular loves to travel in the Amazon region. When not busy working he enjoys typical Latin American pastimes such as football and dancing. Tour guide - Markus is a native Kichwa from Saraguro, an indigenous village located in the southern Andes of Ecuador. He is very proud of his heritage and upbringing. Markus loves his work as a guide because it allows him to share with his guests the rich cultures and landscapes of Ecuador, as well as to learn from our guests about their homelands and traditions. His positive spirit and enthusiasm have made him popular with Happy Gringo clients! Tour guide - Gabriel is from the town of Lago Agrio in the Amazon region of Ecuador and has been guiding for the past 5 years since gaining his license and Ecotourism degree. He enjoys typical Latin American pastimes such as football and music. He enjoys meeting tourists and would love to share his experiences with Happy Gringo clients. Tour guide - Andres is from Quito and has been working as a professional tour guide for the past 4 years. His specific area of expertise is the mountains and cloudforest area of Ecuador. He loves to travel and has enjoyed various trips to Europe, USA and Latin America. His other passion is Andean music - he always has a selection of traditional instruments with him when he is guiding so just ask if you would like to hear a tune! Tour guide - Christian lives on the foothills of the Pichincha Volcano just outside of Quito at 3200 above sea level and has been guiding now for over 6 years. He loves hiking and camping as well as adventure sports such as kayaking / rafting / mountain biking.