"Ecuador" a Ecuador Travel Page by StephanB

I spent 2 months traveling around Ecuador by myself and this was significant to me because it was the first time traveling without my wife and daughter. At times it was a little too quiet (the traveling alone part), but most of the time it was a nice change from the family travel we have been doing over the past couple years. I met many more fellow travelers than we usually do. When I have my wife and daughter, we seem to attract far more locals and families. Both modes of travel have unique advantages.
I started with a couple weeks in and around Quito. I then booked an 8 day trip to the Galapagos on a dive boat called the Nemo. The Galapagos was an amazing experience. Other-worldly is a fitting description. Sure, it was expensive, but well worth it. From the Galapagos I flew to Guayaquil but didn't stay longer than the transport to the bus terminal. I worked my to Cuenca where I stayed with a local family for 2 weeks while I took spanish classes. I also visited Zaruma (very cool little mountain town), Vilcabamba, Banos, Latacunga and a week hiking the Quilatoa Loop.
The people of Ecuador were just fine. They seemed quite content to just leave me alone. I never felt unsafe anywhere in the country. I walked around in the old town area of Quito and Cuenca alone at night on many occasions without a hint of trouble. The old town area of Quito is much safer then the Mariscal area, and I thought it had much more appeal.
I have traveled for 10 months in South America, and Ecuador is definitely one of my favorite places. Beautiful countryside, warm people, incredible sites (Galapagos), and fantastic hiking.
Although they use the US dollar as currency, it is still a very affordable place to travel.

I can't imagine a trip to Ecuador without including a visit to the Galapagos islands. The only excuse would be the cost, and that can be a major issue for someone traveling around South America on a budget. The flight over, which is the only legitimate way to get there, will cost around $375 round trip. You can save a few bucks flying from, or returning to Guayaquil as opposed to Quito. The difference is only around $15-$20. The cost to enter the park is US $100. That figure may go up to $500 if the rumors are correct.
The tours will be the major expense. I think a boat cruise is definitely the way to go. If you figure in all the food, guides, lodging on board, etc., it's not a crazy amount of money. I choose a more expensive boat (Nemo I, they have a Nemo II also) that ran $1,250 for an 8 day cruise. I paid less than another couple that spent a good part of a day roaming from one tour operator to another while on the island. I went through Safari Travel/Adventures located in the mariscal area of Quito. They were wonderful to work with, and they don't own a boat so I think they don't try to push you towards a certain boat. I chose my boat because they offered diving, although, in hindsight, you could see almost as much snorkeling as you could diving, and the snorkleing was free. The dives came out to about $60 per dive.
The islands were an amazing experience that I will never forget. If you can afford it, you must make an effort to get there.

About 2 hours south of Quito is the town of Latacunga. This is a starting point for some of the hikes around the areas mountains. I was more interested in hiking between some of the small villages in the Quilatoa area, rather than scaling some of the regions higher peaks. Possibly that was due to the fact that 4 weeks earlier I got terribly sick from the altitude around Quilatoa, and that wasn't that high. I think it was more the fact that I did too much, too soon after arriving in the country from an altitude of around 0. Guide books like the Lonely Planet have a time-table of the bus schedules for rides in-between towns, and they are fairly accurate. An exception would be the bus that does the complete loop leaving from Latacunga. The book says 12:00 departure, in reality it was around 11:00. You can also hitch a ride on the milk truck from any of the small towns, and i hear that it is quite an experience. I choose to hike from Quilatoa to Chugchilan, then from Chugchilan to Isinlivi. Both were around 5 hour hikes without stopping, and i hired a horse and a guide to carry my HEAVY backpack. In hindsight, I would have kept most of my things at the hotel in Latacunga and hiked alone. It would have been difficult without a guide, but most of the expense was the horse hire. I weigh about 100 kilos, so riding a horse, and having it take my bags was out of the question. No Klidesdales around. I loved this part of the country, and I would highly recommend some hiking in this area. Quilatoa is not much of a town at all, but the crater / volcano is well worth the visit. You can walk around the crater, or straight down and back up. The Quilatoa Cabinas was a nice place to stay. The next day you can hike to Chugchilan. A beautiful hike through some farm lands. If you hire a horse, you have to go an alternate route from the one that starts on the edge of the crater. Chugchilan has 3 really nice places to stay. Cloud forest was a nice looking hostal ($8 a night per person), Mama Hilda's was where i stayed and we paid $10 a person, but we had 4 people and they didn't want us to go down the street. usually it is $12 to $14 a night. Very nice rooms and really good food. In Isinlivi there is only one place to stay, LLullu llamas. Very cool eco-lodge with rooms and dorms. The catch is that you have to eat there, or go to the market and get some tuna. The meals were $6 for dinner and $3.50 for breakfast. A little steep, but good food.