Terms of use, in plain words

Local Friend Tour (“we”, “us”) designs bespoke, small-group trips across Ecuador: the Andes, the Amazon, the coast and the Galápagos. It was founded by Allyson Alemán, a licensed national tour guide, who works with a team of local guides. When these pages say “you”, they mean anyone who visits this website or talks to us about a trip.

Trade name

Local Friend Tour

Run by

Allyson Alemán, founder and licensed national tour guide

Legal name

Allyson Aleman (as shown on GetYourGuide) [Allyson to confirm: the exact legal name registered with the SRI for this RUC]

RUC

0993375394001

Registered in

Villamil Playas, Guayas, Ecuador

Legal address

[Allyson to confirm: full street address of the registered domicile]

Email

[email protected]

WhatsApp and phone

+593 96 316 7240

Tourism registration

[Allyson to confirm: Ministry of Tourism registration number, if the business holds one]

These terms apply when you:

• browse localfriendtour.com, including its experience pages and the “My trip” list;
• write to us by email, WhatsApp, the contact form or social media to plan a trip;
• book a trip directly with us.

Three pages work together: these terms, our Privacy notice and our Bookings page. When you book, your written proposal adds the details for your trip. If they ever say different things, this order applies: 1. your proposal, 2. the Bookings page, 3. these terms.

Booked through a platform?

If you booked through ToursByLocals, GetYourGuide, Viator or another platform, that platform’s terms and cancellation rules apply to that booking. We still look after you in the same way on the day.

• No account, no prices. You don’t need an account. We don’t publish prices: every price comes in a written proposal made for you.
• Photos are illustrations. Many photos on this site are generated images. They show places and moods, not real team members or travellers.
• Experiences are ideas. The experience pages show what a day can look like. Your real plan is shaped with you and written in your proposal.
• Things change. We keep information as accurate as we can, but opening hours, roads, prices of entry and park rules change in Ecuador. We confirm the details that matter in your proposal.
• Please be fair. Don’t copy the site in bulk, try to break it, or pretend to be us.

Talking to us is free and doesn’t commit you to anything. A trip becomes an agreement when you accept your written proposal and we confirm it, as explained on the Bookings page. That page covers payments, changes, cancellations, weather, the Galápagos park rules and travel insurance.

• Accurate details. Names as they appear in passports, arrival times, and anything about health or mobility you’d like us to plan around.
• Your documents. Passports, visas, vaccinations and entry rules are your responsibility. We can point you to official sources, but we don’t give immigration advice.
• Safety first. Follow the safety instructions of guides, boat crews and park rangers.
• Respect. Respect local laws, the communities who host you, wildlife and the national parks.

• We plan and guide your trip with care and professional skill.
• Before you commit, we tell you clearly what is included and what is not, how payments work, and the change and cancellation terms for your trip.
• We choose our partners carefully and tell you who they are.
• If something important changes, we tell you as soon as we know.
• We look after your personal information as our Privacy notice explains.

Your rights stay yours. Nothing in these terms takes away or limits the rights you have under Ecuador’s Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor or any other law that protects you.

[Lawyer to confirm: whether to add a clause on responsibility for loss or damage and how to word it, given that the consumer law (Art. 43) voids clauses that exempt or limit a provider’s liability]

The text, the logo with its little bird, the photos and the design of this site belong to Local Friend Tour. You’re welcome to share links. If you’d like to reuse a photo or a piece of text, ask us first.

The reviews on this site were written by travellers on other platforms (such as ToursByLocals, GetYourGuide, Tripadvisor, Viator and Google). We show them as written, never edited, with the name as the platform shows it and a link to the original. If you wrote one and would like it off our site, tell us and we’ll remove it here; it stays on the platform.

Videos and interviews belong to whoever published them.

If you send us photos, feedback or a story, we use it to plan your trip or answer you. We publish something you sent only with your clear permission, and you can change your mind later.

This site links to other services: WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and the booking and review platforms. Once you’re there, their terms and privacy policies apply. We’re not responsible for how they run their services.

During a trip, tell your guide or Allyson straight away, so we can fix it there and then. After a trip, write to [email protected] and tell us what happened. We reply [Allyson to confirm: how quickly you reply to complaints].

If we can’t solve it together, you can turn to Ecuador’s consumer protection channels (the Defensoría del Pueblo receives consumer complaints). For questions about your personal data, see Questions and complaints in our Privacy notice.

These terms are governed by the law of Ecuador. [Lawyer to confirm: which city’s courts are competent (for example Guayaquil or Playas), and whether to offer mediation, which the consumer law allows only with your express agreement]

You can read every legal page in español or English. Ecuador’s consumer law asks for consumer contracts to be in Spanish. [Lawyer to confirm: confirm that the Spanish version prevails if the two ever differ]

When we change these terms, we update the “Last updated” date and add a line to the change log on the Legal page. Earlier versions are available if you ask. A trip you have already confirmed keeps the terms that applied when you confirmed it, unless you agree to a change.