Cocoa and Tropical Fruits Farm with Fine Chocolate Experience

We had a fantastic day at the Cacao y Mango farm with Francisco. It was a perfect way to spend our day in Guayaquil before leaving for the Galapagos. Francisco was a terrific guide. He was knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. We’ve taken local tours while traveling before, and this was definitely at the top of our list. After our pickup at the hotel, we drove about 50 minutes to the farm, stopping along the way to sample some delicious local fruit at several roadside stands. The farm is family owned, and their pride in what they do was obvious. After a welcome drink of some cold cacao juice (delicious), Jamil took us on a tour of the property. We then made our own chocolate, from roasting the cacao beans, to grinding them, to making hot chocolate and fondue with local sugar cane. We had a chance to make our own chocolate bars with a variety of toppings. After the chocolate, we had lunch on a lovely outdoor patio. Shrimp ceviche, chicken stew with passion fruit and ginger, served with rice and an amazing pico de gallo, chocolate cake and chocolate mousse made with their own chocolate, and we finished with coffee grown on their farm. Everything was delicious. We all enjoyed the experience so much. Highly recommend!

We had a fantastic day at the Cacao y Mango farm with Francisco. It was a perfect way to spend our day in Guayaquil before leaving for the Galapagos. Francisco was a terrific guide. He was knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. We’ve taken local tours while traveling before, and this was definitely at the top of our list. After our pickup at the hotel, we drove about 50 minutes to the farm, stopping along the way to sample some delicious local fruit at several roadside stands. The farm is family owned, and their pride in what they do was obvious. After a welcome drink of some cold cacao juice (delicious), Jamil took us on a tour of the property. We then made our own chocolate, from roasting the cacao beans, to grinding them, to making hot chocolate and fondue with local sugar cane. We had a chance to make our own chocolate bars with a variety of toppings. After the chocolate, we had lunch on a lovely outdoor patio. Shrimp ceviche, chicken stew with passion fruit and ginger, served with rice and an amazing pico de gallo, chocolate cake and chocolate mousse made with their own chocolate, and we finished with coffee grown on their farm. Everything was delicious. We all enjoyed the experience so much. Highly recommend!

If you only have one day in Guayaquil then this is the day for you. Simon is a beautiful soul who’ll teach you so much. The family chocolate business is a joy to experience. One of the best pieces of fish I’ve had was served for lunch.

This experience provides a wonderful opportunity to meet a local enterprising young family who happily provide a genuine insight into Ecuadorian rural life for their visitors. In addition, they are preparing to manufacture high quality artisan chocolate from their farm for export to Czechoslovakia. My guide Simon, was both kind and knowledgeable and gave me the gift of fully understanding the time consuming process of turning cacao fruit into exquisite tasting chocolate. Along with seeing the amazing abundance of fruit that this farm produces, there was a delicious lunch prepared from their own produce (or very local). This was a very special experience that ended with decorating my very own chocolate bar to enjoy. Thank you Simon!

This was the best private tour I have taken… And I have taken a lot of them. Francisco was so informative and so much fun. We started the tour when Francisco and driver picked us up at our hotel. Along the highway heading to the Cocoa farm. We stopped at open air fruit stands. Francisco talk to the vendors and we were able to try a lot of different fruits we had never had before. We were greeted at the chocolate farm by the owners daughter-in-law. She too was very informative and very personable. We walked all around this huge farm and she showed us all the different fruits that they grew and explained how everything was done. We got to see the cocoa bean before it was opened. Then she opened the bean and all the little cocoa beans were inside. We learned that it was quite a process to get the beans out of the pod, dry them, roast them and grind them. We were even allowed to do some roasting and grinding, and then we did tasting of the grindings. She picked bananas off of a tree, and we dipped them into the grindings. What a treat she told us about all the machinery that helps them process the beans. And took us into the building where they pour the chocolate for the bars. We were then invited to a home-cooked meal at the owner’s house. What a delicious treat that was she even made us desserts. If I ever get back to Ecuador, I will definitely contact Francisco to take another tour. What a great guide he is.

This cacao farm visit was an absolute highlight of our trip and easily one of our favorites. Touring a working cacao farm with more than 30 different fruit trees was both fascinating and inspiring. We learned so much about the agricultural side of cacao—from the different plant varieties and harvesting methods to bean processing and the chocolate-making process. One of the most interesting things we learned was that cacao can absorb aromas from neighboring fruit trees, which is why the farm is planted with such incredible biodiversity—vanilla, lime, orange, mango, and so much more. This diversity gives each farm its own unique flavor fingerprint, something we had never considered before and now deeply appreciate. The experience was educational, immersive, and truly heaven for chocolate lovers. To top it all off, the family who runs the farm welcomed us with incredible hospitality and prepared a delicious lunch in their home, making the day even more special. If you have an extra day and want to explore inland beyond Guayaquil, this experience is a must. We left with a whole new appreciation for chocolate and a deeper understanding of how to savor and taste it properly. Huge thanks to our guide Eddy and our wonderful hosts, Rody and Alexa—they were amazing.

My husband, daughter and I visited Guayaquil for Thanksgiving Holiday. We booked the cocoa farm tour with Francisco after having an exceptional time him with on the city highlights tour. Simon was our farm experience tour guide. He was fluent in English (lived for may years in Canada), knowledgeable about almost everything and so much fun to spend the day with. At the farm, we were served a delicious lunch of local foods prepared on site in the family kitchen, toured the farm and then dove right into a hands on chocolate making experience---from bean to bar!

What an amazing day. We tasted several types of fruit while walking through and learning about this amazing farm. The best part was learning how to make chocolate from start to finish. The tour ended with a wonderful lunch of Ecuadorian specialties hosted by the farm. Francisco was our guide and shared so much of his culture and knowledge with us. By the end of the tour we hated to leave. Do yourself a favor and spend the day with amazing people and make sure you request Francisco as your guide.

Very friendöy farmer family where we have seen the WHOLE process to make chocolate by hand and all these different fruits...wow...and all to taste

What a Wonderful Experience! If there was a garden of Eden today this farm in my opinion must be close! Fruit trees of all kinds and lots of cocoa pods! Learning the process of making of the chocolate from scratch is fascinating and REALLY fantastic taste! What an honor to meet the family that works so hard and willing to share this experience with us all. Anyone of any age can enjoy this experience. Highly Recommend! We took this tour early in the morning before our evening flight. Need to allow 5 to 6 hours for this tour.