Travel Information

There are always too many guidebooks to choose from, but I would recommend The Rough Guide to Ecuador. It's the best guidebook I've found on Ecuador so far. It can give you more specific information on other destinations you might want to visit while you are in Ecuador like the Galapagos, Baños and Otavalo.

If you just want to have a better idea about what Ecuador looks like, you should buy the Insight Guide to Ecuador.

Below, I have put some logistics about travel and getting around. I also added information about cool places to visit in Ecuador below.

How to Get There

You can get to Ecuador by taking a flight to either Quito or Guayaquil. American Airlines and Continental both have flights to either Quito or Guayaquil. American flies from Miami and takes approximately 4 1/2 hours. Continental flies from Houston and takes between 5-5 1/2 hours. You also might be able to find cheaper flights on CheapTickets.com, Expedia.com or with LanEcuador or Avianca airlines.

To get to Cuenca, you will have to allow an extra day. This is due to the fact that after flying from the United States, you usually arrive in Quito or Guayaquil too late in the night to make it to Cuenca that same day. As a result, you will probably have to spend the night either in Quito or Guayaquil, and then take a flight or a bus the next day to Cuenca. For aesthetic and tourism purposes, Quito is a nicer city, but both cities offer buses and flights to Cuenca.

Quito to Cuenca

I would advise flying into Quito and then flying to Cuenca if you want to see things that would interest a tourist or traveler. As Ecuador's capital city, Quito has a lot to offer with museums, nice architecture, restaurants, cultural attractions and art galleries. It is also closer to other great places to visit like Baños or Otavalo.

You will have to take an Ecuadorian airline from Quito to Cuenca. I recommend Icaro airlines. They have newer airplanes than Tame. Tame is the national airlines and has great flights to the Galapagos, but the planes for internal flights seem to be older. I've flown Tame many times, but I think Icaro might be nicer and more modern. The flight takes between 45 minutes to an hour.

For reservations, you can use the Icaro website or Tame website. You could also use a travel agent in the United States, or I can recommend this travel agent in Ecuador (they understand English):

Expediciones Apullacta
website: http://www.apullacta.com/
Gran Colombia 11-02 & General Torres
011-593-7-83-7815
e-mail: info@apullacta.com

You can use this travel agency for finding guides for the Cajas National Park or Indigenous Markets outside of Cuenca as well.

A lot of travel agencies from the United States also work with Metropolitan Touring. I'll provide contact information below.

Metropolitan Touring
website: http://www.galapagosvoyage.com/home.asp
Sucre 6-62
011-593-7-282-3782

If you don't fly, you could also take a bus from the terminal terrestre. The ride by itself takes between 9-11 hours on winding mountain roads. I would recommend breaking up the long journey by stopping in Baños.

Guayaquil to Cuenca.

If you don't plan on doing any touring, you can fly into Guayaquil, stay the night and then take a flight the next day to Cuenca. Just to warn you, Guayaquil is an ugly port city with little to offer tourists (I extend my apologies to any people from Guayaquil). Still, if you only plan to go to the Galapagos islands and Cuenca, Guayaquil might be a good option since many flights to the Galapagos leave from Guayaquil.

Both Tame and Austro Aero fly from Guayaquil to Cuenca. I would perhaps contact one of the travel agents that I listed above to ask about flights.

If you decide to take a bus from Guayaquil to Cuenca, you will leave from the terminal terrestre and the ride will take between 3 1/2 to 4/12 hours. Make sure you take the bus from San Luis bus company and be sure to ask if the bus goes through Cajas. This bus takes between 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. The bus that goes the other route takes between 5-6 hours.

The ride is probably my favorite ride, even though it is a bit hair-raising, as you travel from sea level to over 8,000 feet altitude in such a short time. There are many instances where you are looking from your tiny highway on the mountainside into a limitless sky. You also get to see the different types of environments in Ecuador from tropical forests to cloud forests to upper paramo.

Getting Around

Aside from planes, Ecuador has an incredible bus system. You can catch a bus at each town's terminal terrestre (bus station). Buses leave frequently and go just about anywhere you want to go.

If you don't want to take the buses, you can also bargain with a taxi driver to drive you between places. However, the buses are much better than you are probably imagining. I took them frequently and really enjoyed the scenery on almost all of my bus trips.

I have been asked about renting a car from some people. It is possible to rent a car in Ecuador. However, the roads, even the main highway, have a lot of potholes. The roads in remote areas can be in various states of disrepair. The Panamerican highway between Quito and Cuenca isn't bad. It is just well traveled and has some wear and tear (meaning potholes). Drivers also drive differently in Ecuador, and I usually feel safer with the bus drivers who are familiar with the roads than with my own driving abilities. That said, I would consult a guidebook about renting a car, but the buses really go just about anywhere you want to go. If you want to read about an adventure my father, Susie and I had when we rented a car 4 years ago. I'll put a link to a letter I wrote my friends and family about our trip.

Exciting Places to Check Out in and Near Ecuador

The Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands might be an expensive trip, but it's highly worth the cost. I can recommend Lindblad Expeditions for touring the islands, but there are many tour companies. You should look in a guidebook for more information. In addition to the cool wildlife (iguanas, sea lions, tortoises, etc), bird watching and spectacular scenery, there is great snorkling and diving as well. If you want to dive, you should take a special diving trip. One of my friends got to swim with a whale shark.

Otavalo

Otavalo is perhaps the most famous Indigenous (Indian) market in Ecuador. You can not only buy really great handmade goods from the Otavaleños, but you can learn a lot about a very successful Indigenous group in Ecuador. I highly recommend staying at Hacienda Cusin. It has incredible accomodations with fireplaces and beautiful gardens. There are many other haciendas in the area too, but I've only stayed at Cusin.

Near Otavalo is a town called Cotocachi which has become famous for its leather goods. It's worth stopping by this town if you want a leather jacket.

Because Otavalo is only an hour and a half away from Quito, you can visit the market on a day trip, but you should really try to stay at Hacienda Cusin. On Saturday, Otavalo has it's largest market day.

The Avenue of the Volcanoes

Home to a number of incredible active and inactive volcanoes, the Panamerican highway seems to pass right through the middle of all of these spectacular mountains. Cotopaxi is the most famous for being the highest active volcano in the Western hemisphere. Though located near Lactacunga, you can see this volcano all the way from the airstrip in Quito on a clear day. On a cloudy day, however, you might not see the mountain at all. If you do have the opportunity to see it, you'll wonder how such a massive land formation could ever be hidden behind clouds.

Many people enjoy climbing Cotopaxi. I'm not much of a mountain climber myself, but you can find guides for this climb fairly easily in what people call 'Gringolandia' in Quito.

I've heard that the hacienda San Augustin de Callo is a very nice place to stay, even though I've never been there. It's built on top of Incan ruins and supposedly has an old Incan place of worship on its grounds. You should click on the link above to check out their website.

Mindo

I have never gone to Mindo, but I've been told by many that it is one of their favorite places in Ecuador. Located in a cloudforest 2 hours away from Quito, Mindo has incredible biodiversity and vegetation. It is also described as a birdwatcher's paradise and has close access to waterfalls and great hikes. Many of the hotels have orchid and butterfly gardens. At any rate, it's worth looking up this town in a guidebook. As an aside, they recently put in an oilpipeline into this important area. Many environmentalists protested for years, but the oil companies ended up winning. I talked to someone who recently went to Mindo and said that they couldn't see any difference. However, this might be an important area to visit while it still exists.

I did some research and found a few hotels in and near Mindo that you might want to check out. The Bella Vista Lodge (www.bellavistacloudforest.com); El Monte (www.ecuadorcloudforest.com); the Arasha Spa (www.arasharesortspa.com) and Hacienda Primavera (www.haciendaprimavera.com)

The Amazon Jungle

There are several great jungle lodges in Ecuador to see incredible vegetation and learn about the plants in the jungle. If you're lucky, you'll even get to see some animals. I haven't been to the Amazon Rain Forest in Ecuador, but I'm sure it's beautiful. I've heard that La Selva and the Sacha Lodge are very nice. If these are too expensive, you can find cheaper options at tour agencies either in Quito or Cuenca.

Vilcabamba

This is a fantastic place to relax in a warm climate and beautiful setting. Several hotels operate spas, and you can enjoy hiking, swimming at your hotel's swimming pool, horseback riding and taking in the valley. I don't know how many times I've traveled to Vilcabamba, but I could always return.

Vilcabamba became slightly famous a while back because it was rumored that people lived to be well over a hundred in this peaceful valley. Scientific study has sense proved that to be untrue. However, there does seem to be something special about Vilcamba. After coming here and relaxing, you might just feel like you could live to a ripe old age as well. Another interesting bit of information about Vilcabamba is that one of the Merry Pranksters from Ken Kesey's band of hippies and experimenters has settled down with a family here.

There are a number of nice hotels in Vilcabamba, but I'm going to recommend Madre Tierra. However, it might be a better choice for ages 18-mid thirties because you have to walk up stone pathways to some of the rooms. The hotel/spa has rooms and accomodations for a range of prices from backpacker style rooms to very comfortable rooms that feel more like a country house than a hotel room. The price normally includes an excellent breakfast with eggs, fruit and granola and homemade bread and a delicious dinner. When you ask for a room, just ask for the nicest room or inquire about the different kinds of rooms. Here is their website: www.madretierra1.com

Vilcabamba is fairly close to Cuenca, only 5 hours away by bus. It involves taking a bus to Loja and a short bus ride or taxi ride to Vilcabamba. You could also hire a private car or taxi if you wanted.

Many backpackers or around the world travelers go to Vilcabamba, then cross the border into Peru and take a cheap flight into Cuzco.

Baños (near Ambato, not the smaller Baños that's close to Cuenca)

Located in a beautiful settings at the base of Tunguragua Volcano, Baños has a lot to offer tourists. There are hotsprings, beautiful waterfalls, incredible vegetation, and great hikes. You can even rent a mountain bike and take the 3 hour ride downhill through waterfalls and cloud forest to the jungle. Don't worry tourists normally take the bus back uphill or arrange for a tour company to pick them up. If you want to go to a hotel with the most incredible rooms that I have ever seen, go to the Luna Runtun. The hotel is perched on top of a mountain overlooking the lush green valley and also operates a spa. The only drawback to this hotel is that you are removed from the town, so if you want to get a drink or go to a restaurant, you'll always have to take a taxi. In town, there are a number of hotels where you can stay. My favorite is a pleasant, inexpensive hotel connected to a great French restaurant called Le Petite Auberge. Many of the rooms have fireplaces, hammocks outside and cost between $10-$16.

Travel Advisory for Baños: This advisory isn't meant to scare you, but I thought that I should write it down anyway. For many of you who heard about my initial experiences in Ecuador, you might remember a nearby volcano that was erupting. That volcano is called Tungurahua, and it is located near Baños de Ambato. It is still undergoing the process of eruption that it began in October of 1999. The government decreased the alert status to yellow, and I traveled there 2 or 3 times after the alert was downgraded to yellow. If you do travel to Baños, you should head over to the church in the center of town which has a number of paintings depicting past eruptions of the volcano and how the virgin of Baños always saved the town and the people. The Virgin has also saved people from falling off the bridge. In addition, there is a painting of Jesus eating cuy (the Andean dish of roasted guinea pig) for the last supper.

The spa resort Luna Runtun advertises the volcano as a tourist attraction, but I just thought that I would let you know.

Machu Picchu

Although located in Peru, you can easily catch a flight from Guayaquil or Quito to Cuzco in order to see these incredible Incan Ruins.

There are many other places to visit in and near Ecuador, but this should give you a good start. If you have any questions, feel free to call or contact me. I could give you even more suggestions if you want them.

One of the guests has recommended Mountain Travel Sobek as an option for trips to Machu Picchu and around Ecuador. I saw that they had a trip around all of the haciendas in Ecuador. I recommended many of these haciendas above. You can check out their trips at www.mtsobek.com.