Quito Transportation Tips by acemj

Bus

For me, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say for the majority of visitors to Quito, the most useful bus routes will be the north-south links between the Old Town and La Mariscal. Fortunately, it's very easy to make this connection cheaply and conveniently.

There are three main bus networks. The Trole, which uses electric trolley buses and runs along Avenida 10 de Agosto in the Old Town and along Avenida Maldonado and run most of the day (not after 11:15 pm on weekdays and 12:35 am on Fridays and Saturdays). For connections between the Old Town and La Mariscal, it makes no difference which bus you get on, they all follow this route.

The Ecovia runs between La Marin in the Old Town and along Avenida 6 de Diciembre through La Mariscal. While it's not electric, is is eco-friendly, which means the buses are low emissions vehicles and they are just as easy to use. Again, any bus will connect you to the Old Town or La Mariscal.

The Metrobus Q runs from 6am to 10pm and also runs low emissions vehicles from the Universidad Central at the southwestern edge of the new town to the airport along Avenida America and Avenida de la Prensa. I didn't actually take the "Q", but it looks like a great option.

There is a flat fare of $.25 for the buses! Not a bad deal!

Mode: AROUND

Type: Bus

Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre is the main entrypoint for international flights (along with Guayaquil in the south) and the fairly modern terminal is located about 6 km from La Mariscal ($4 by cab) and 8 or 9 km from the Old Town ($6 by cab). There is a small information desk here along with ATMs if you need to get some cash.

On the way back to the States, we were able to use the very nice VIP lounge (because of a flight problem with American Airlines), which was very nice with free food, comfortable chairs and internet access.

The approach into Quito is somewhat harrowing as you must fly between jagged mountain peaks in often unpredictable weather. My trip was delayed because of a plane that skidded out at the end of the runway shutting down the airport for a couple days and diverting me to Bogota, Colombia. My second attempt at Quito from Bogota was also delayed due to weather and we were forced to turn around after circling for an hour or so and head all the way back to Colombia. Apparently, this is not uncommon here, so be prepared for possible flight delays when coming to Quito.

The airport code is UIO.

Mode: TO

Type: Airplane