Travel to Ecuador...suggestions?

Question

Wife and I are looking at about eight days in Ecuador...Is it possible to fit in a few days on the Galapagos, in Quito and a couple days in the Amazon? If so, where would you suggest we stay and for how long? Any other solid suggestions for eight days in this country?

Answer 1

Eight days seem pretty tight to visit all. Even thought one of the beauties of my country is that you can go from beach to rainforest, going through andes mountains in about 9 hours (driving). Honestly I would recommend a day in Quito (visit Colonial Quito, which is the old part full of history and beautiful architecture) a day in Guayaquil (if you go to the "Museo Historico de Guayaquil" they can give you a free tour around the historic sites of guayaquil in less than 3 hours, going from Cathedral, city hall, river walk, fortress to rpoetct the city from pirates, etc) take  a tour to the Ecuadorian coast line, you can drive yourself or hire at a travel agency, one of the best places to stay is ATAMARI, is a lodge surrounded by nature, right on the beach. If you are looking for a little more "city" like, go all the way up to Manta, where you can find 5 star hotels (Oro Verde). That should take at least two days (1 going 1 coming back)  you can also go to Banos, which is a samll "european-like" town in a valley accross the Andes, the beauty of it: its the dor way to the Ecuadorian rainforest. From here you can take bike rides to the "devils cauldron ( a beautiful amazing waterfall) and other waterfalls, also you can go from here to different small hotels in the rainforest, such as "Anaconda lodge" (for a "natural experience" : no electricity or hot water or TV) o "cabans del suizo" ( for a more comfortable experience...) this should take at least 2 or 3 days...

Honestly, Galapagos are beautiful, a great experience, but it takes too much time, and Ecuador has SO MANY other places to show...If you do decide to skip Galapgos, stay an extra day in Quito or GUayaquil...both cities havea lot to show..including parties!!! (which you can also find a lot of in Banos...along with more tourists!!) Check out this websites!

www.vivecuador.com/html2/eng/home.htm

www.ecuador.com/

www.ecuadorexplorer.com/

Answer 2

Hi there,

You can just about fit everything you mention in but it will be quite tight, I think!

The Galapagos are fantastic but the minimum length of a cruise is 4 days and many boats only offer 5 or 8 day cruises. It is possible to go for a shorter amount of time than this and stay in a hotel either on San Cristobal or Santa Cruz but this will restrict what you're able to see.

The jungle is a similar story in that you can get to the edge of it and back in a couple of days but to get into the real rainforest and see the best of the wildlife, you are again looking at 4 days minimum.

What I would personally recommend would be to spend a day or so in Quito and maybe another couple of days exploring the "Valley of the Volcanoes" to the south - you could fit in a trip to the Otavalo market as well. This would certainly be more relaxing but obviously it would mean missing out on the rainforest...

Hope this helps!

Dan

Answer 3

Ok, here is a short answer: if you're staying only 8 days do the following: visit Quito (half of the world equator line where you can put a foot in each hempisphere) then go to Guayaquil, Cuenca, Baños and Otavalo. These places are awesome and you will get a fair understanding of the country. I wouldnt go to the jungle in Ecuador, it's not a detrimental comment but the jungle part of Peru or Brazil is much better than the one in Ecuador. Dont squeeze Galapagos into all that. If you want to see Galapagos you will need at least 5 days travelling from island to island.