Ecuador has quickly become one of my favorite places I've traveled, I feel like I say that about every new place that I go, but Ecuador really floored me. I went in not knowing what to expect and with very little planning compared to what I usually do, because I had to cancel my Peru trip 2 weeks before I was supposed to leave (which I had taken MONTHS to thoroughly plan) and plan this trip within those two weeks. Not ideal for me, but it ended up being a test of my flexibility with plans and helped me learn how to start letting go of having to control everything for fear of not knowing what'll happen next. So, I guess it was good for me. I mainly chose Ecuador because its ridiculously close to Peru in location, I needed the same vaccines, I'd still need the altitude sickness pills I bought, and um...hello? THE. GALAPAGOS. Little did I know what I was getting myself into, in a good way!
Why Choose Ecuador?
Ecuador truly has everything I could have wanted and more. You want mountains? Cool, you'll find those everywhere. Volcanos? Got you covered there too. Beaches? Yup, you betcha. Rainforests? Only the most well-known one- the Amazon. How about cloud forests? Sure thing. Big cities, old cities, modern cities, traditional food, experimental food, fusion food, upscale food, cuisine from around the world, friendly people, remote communities, waterfalls, nightlife, quirky little places, animal encounters, snow, tropical weather, temperate, beach, mountain, river? Check it all, because Ecuador has it. Every place I visited was so completely different than the last place I had been in climate, scenery, plant types, animal types, to the way the communities looked with regards to architecture and infrastructure. I couldn't believe I was in the same country for the whole month, I just didn't expect such variation. I also met so many new friends that live in Ecuador (and others that don't of course) because the people here are just so friendly and lovely to chat with. Even in broken Spanish or through their broken English...or a mix of both to try and understand what the other was saying. Communicating with people was so rewarding and made both people involved feel good once we both understood what we were saying. Like we had figured out a puzzle together! I even started making some little jokes in Spanish too which felt really cool. I'm sure you want to know more about where I went and how I spent my time in Ecuador, and while I didn't get to do and see everything, this itinerary is a great starting off point for you to follow or to use as a jumping off point to come up with your own adventure!
My Itinerary
Guayaquil- 5 days
In order to get to the Galapagos, you need to leave from either Quito or Guayaquil, I chose the latter for really no particular reason except that you have to go through Guayaquil even if you leave from Quito, so why not make the flight a little shorter by skipping that step? For my first venture into this city, I would return at the end of the month for my flight home, I stayed at the Hotel Boutique Panama Guayaquil which was located across the street basically from the Malecon 2000, where I ended up spending most of my time in Guayaquil. Its also well within walking distance to most of the city's main attractions and a short (and cheap) taxi or bus ride to the others. I found 5 days to be way too long, as I was able to see and do everything I had wanted to in about 2 days. It is MASSIVELY hot here, and humid, so be sure to bring sunscreen (which you should reapply often) and a wide-brimmed hat to protect yourself from the super strong sun.
Here I went to El Parque Seminario, also known as Iguana Park, where iguanas just roam around freely. I'm not talking about like one or two that you might spot, I mean somewhere in the 20s or 30s worth of iguanas! Chillin' on trees, strolling on the paths, sunbathing in the grass, munching on fruit, and anywhere else you can imagine they'd be. Very cool to see and it's located in front of the Cathedral of Guayaquil with sculptures along the paths in the park.
While in Guayaquil I also checked out a bunch of street art while walking around, and from the air in the Aerovia sky tram, and explored the Malecon 2000. A street with rides, historical monuments, shops, restaurants, entertainment, a market on certain days, photo ops, museums, a cinema, and so much more. I also headed over to the Santa Ana area to climb the 402 steps up to the view point where a lighthouse and church sits with a breathtaking overview of Guayaquil. I also did a little looky-lou on Google Maps to determine where areas of interest to me were and made a route out of those- Malecon Del Salado, Parque Centenario, Church of San Francisco.
Galapagos- 10 Days
There will be a ton more about this in the "What I would change" portion of this blog because boy howdy did I mess this up. I chalk it up to not enough time to research but, I'll go into that later. If you are in Ecuador, it is 10000% worth the extra money to get yourself to the Galapagos, even if you can only visit one or two islands. I cried. The wildlife here is truly extraordinary to the point where it feels a bit surreal. Like, there's no way I should be able to practically (not literally, don't get too close to the wildlife Jetsetters!) rub elbows with marine iguanas, lizards, sea lions, pelicans, blue footed boobies, zayapas (they look like crabs but don't call them crabs!), frigate birds, and more...and that was without even going on a tour or doing anything crazy. They're all just going about their business on the islands. Anyway. I will gush about the Galapagos in a later post, you're here for that itinerary.
I landed in San Cristobal and then pretty much immediately jumped on a ferry over to Santa Cruz where I had dinner, explored, and spent the night. The next day I took an early ferry ride over to Floreana Island where I spent a day and a half- which you can read all about here if you want to more detail on it. I stayed at the Hotel Whittmer, went on a tour, enjoyed swimming, did plenty of snorkeling, and met some new friends. From there I popped back over to Santa Cruz, which sort of acted as home base since that's where all of the ferries to the other islands leave from. I stayed here for a day and a half? Two days? Another snorkeling tour was on the agenda, in fact my favorite one from the trip, as well as just walking around, shopping, and exploring. I spent a lot of time here with the friends that I met on Floreana and since one of them lives there we went to their house for a bit and they showed me around. We also ate at a wonderful little local spot that was hidden away (called K.F. Williams) and drank until early morning at the Bongo Bar.
After Santa Cruz me and one of the Floreana friends popped over to Isabela, where I stayed for two and a half days. She left halfway through the second day which was a shame, but I managed on my own- it was just a little quieter. Isabela was easily my favorite island, and I'll go on and on about it in another blog post later on this month because it was wonderful. Here we took yet another snorkeling tour, this time to Los Tuneles (The Tunnels) that are a series of...well...tunnels formed by volcanic eruptions. We also checked out La Perla where I highly recommend bringing snorkeling gear since really all you can do there, we didn't bring any so we didn't partake. We also explored the beach, visited three different places to spot flamingos (and saw some at each one), and learned about Galapagos tortoises at a reserve. Since this is basically a whirlwind tour of the islands, our time was already up here and we were headed back to Santa Cruz. Where I'd explore a little more before heading on yet another ferry over to San Cristobal.
I had some breakfast, visited the Darwin Center as well a tiny chocolate shop called Chocolapogos where the chocolate was in the shape of different marine animals, especially turtles. The chocolate wasn't just cute, it was good too! White, dark, and milk chocolates with a variety of fillings! And you all know I got the passionfruit filled ones. Delish! If you have the opportunity to buy something from the wonderful artist at the Green Reef Gallery, please do. His paintings are beautiful whether you buy them on a canvas, or on one of his hand-painted Panama hats. I bought a hate for my dad the first time I was in Santa Cruz and ended up going back the second time I was on the island to get one for me. It is one of the most unique souvenirs I have ever gotten and I wore those things the next 2.5-3 weeks so that they wouldn't get smushed in my suitcase- they held up SO well. I was worried about them the whole time.
Last but not least, was my final stop in San Cristobal. I spent a couple days here where I hiked up the Cerro Tijeretas view point, did a day tour that took me to the inactive volcano of El Junco, where you can see a lake that has formed in it's crater at the top, then to another tortoise reserve where you could walk around and see tortoises roaming freely, followed up by an hour or so at Puerto Chino beach which was lovely. I honestly didn't know about this tour, but the taxi driver I had during my initial visit to San Cristobal was lovely and had told me about that its a common one that taxi drivers can do, so I took him up on it. If you have the opportunity to do this, definitely do it. My favorite was that El Junco, the view at the top is just marvelous. I had a wonderful meal at Midori with a stunning sunset view of the water as my final dinner in the Galapagos and headed back to the mainland the next day
Quito Take One- 3 days
This first foray into Quito really should have been 4 days, but I was delayed for hours at the airport in San Cristobal that I didn't get to my Airbnb until like 9 or 10pm. It was a long day and it was incredibly cold here compared to the beautiful beach weather I had been taking in for 10 days. Also, you need altitude sickness pills if you plan on coming up here. I thought maybe mine fell out in on of the hotels during my island hopping and I was pissed. When I eventually returned home and saw them sitting on my desk I was just livid with myself for not even packing them in the first place. I really had sworn that I did. Please make sure you have them. I was miserable my whole time in Quito and eventually in Cotopaxi later during the trip. I slept a lot in Quito which I felt bad about initially but, sometimes you have to listen to your body.
I still managed to do quite a bit while here like try Cryrano bakery, walk around and explore the city, visit Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City) where there is a monument situated on the equator at 0 degrees latitude, and take an awesome tour via Airbnb Experiences. The tour took us to the market in Otavalo, beautiful scenic breakfast at San Pablo lake, waterfalls, Cuicocha lake inside a volcano caldera, and a four-course meal at a restaurant all included with the price of the tour. It was phenomenal and is called the One Day Experience with the Real Ecuador hosted by Santiago.
I also had the pleasure of eating at Zazu, which offers a 6-course tasting menu, and at Paccari Experience House. Definitely check either, or both, of these out if you're in the area! From here I caught the bus over to Mindo.
Mindo- 3 Days
Mindo was lovely and I highly recommend it here, though I think I would have liked a whole week here. I walked the trails at Casa Amarilla (Yellow House) which costs around $6 to access. The map is a bit misleading as the 1st trail off the main path is much further up than the hand-drawn map implies. There's 3 or 4 different trails, one with a beautiful outlook over the cloud forest, each named for the types of animals that frequent that trail. I was able to see monkeys and toucans as well as tons of plant life, birds, and insects. Someone on trip advisor even saw a baby anteater on the trails and I am definitely jealous!
The waterfall nature preserve needs a taxi to get to...you can walk but my God is it a hell of a hike. I'll be discussing this in a later post for sure. Once you climb the mountain, hopefully in a car rather than on foot, you must ride on a small tarabita that takes you across the canopy of the cloud forest and to the entrance of the preserve. Here you can check out 7 waterfalls, one path that has 6 and one long path to see the grandest waterfall in the preserve. I took the path to the 6 waterfalls because I like to get the most bang for my buck and I was wiped by the end of it. But it was beautiful and you certainly don't need to go to all 6 waterfalls to enjoy the area and the experience.
A couple I met, which turned out had an almost exact schedule as me for the next week or so, had gone on a birding tour and couldn't stop raving about it. The husband isn't even a bird person and he thought it was WELL worth the money. I actually ran into them at two restaurants, which must have been the universe at work, El Quetzel and Fuera De Babilonia and both are located ridiculously close to each other which was unintentional. El Quetzel is a chocolate company and restaurant where every item on the menu has a cocoa element. Even the margaritas! Fuera De Babilonia is a wood-fired pizza place that is absolutely delicious.
Within the town there's the Nathaly butterfly house and hummingbird sanctuary as well, run by just one man or maybe his family. The butterfly section is the most promoted , while the hummingbirds are a bit more hidden, though he made sure to tell me as I was about to walk out, that I had missed a whole section! What a peaceful little nook.
Quito Take Two: 2 Days
This time I was in Quito's Historic old town, which was stunningly beautiful in both setting and architecture. Staying at the Secret Garden Quito allowed me to catch a shuttle to their sister hotel in the Cotopaxi National Park, so I was basically just here to rest up a bit and get myself to Cotopaxi. The hostel was great to stay at anyway with a rooftop bar, tons of outlets, tours, and activities. I think I would stay here again if I come back and I'd recommend it to others too. I walked around the city and explored, which was easy enough to do since there were maps and street signs that were easy to follow. There's a bunch of monuments and churches to check out- my favorite one being the Basílica del Voto Nacional where you could climb up to the top towers and even face a fear inducing staircase to the very top. Was the panic attack worth it? Yes. The view is tremendous. I wish I had time to go on the Teleferico to check out the top of the Pichincha volcano, but it just wasn't in my time limit. I also ate at two great restaurants- La Exquisita and Coffee Romance, both of which will have their own posts. Hopefully I'll remember to update this post with all of the links to everything!
Cotopaxi- 3 Days
Here, out in the middle of nowhere, we stayed at the Secret Garden Cotopaxi which wound up being more of a retreat. The room you purchase come with a waterfall hike, another trek during your stay, and all meals. You can also do any of the additional treks for an added cost. There is no wifi, no service at all in fact. There's only the breathtaking scenery to take in and your fellow campers to enjoy the company of. I chose the birdhouse room and, if I were to revisit this hostel, I would pick it again in a heartbeat. Be prepared because even the introductory, right out of the car trek to the waterfalls is...insane. I'll have more about this place in a more in-depth post, but if you're fit and into adventures this is your place. If you find the price worth it to lounge around the peaceful surroundings, which I absolutely do, then do that! I'm not sure how else to get here, or if it's really worth going to this park without a place to stay as it's pretty remote. So if you don't have at least three days to spend here, I'd consider skipping it.
Baños- 5 Days
What a lovely town, one of my favorite places I went actually. Here I enjoyed the natural baths, waterfall right in town, delicious candies from local "taffy" pullers (it's similar to taffy but not called that), Troll Mountain (a park with large, wooden trolls), paragliding, and the best assortment of restaurants of any place I'd been. Baños is known as the gateway to adventure, because all around it are extreme, adventurous activities that you can access through tours. The only adventurous thing I did was paragliding, which for me was terrifying, but ultimately enjoyable once I was up in the air. We also did the swing at the end of the world, which isn't as extreme as it sounds I promise, a really neat animal park, and a one-day tour into the Puyo Amazon rainforest with Imagine Ecuador. It was incredibly informative, filled with all sorts of activities for a jam-packed day, and our guide was fantastic.
Restaurants I enjoyed were Honey Coffee and Tea (I went here like a million times), Mestizart, Haycha Restaurante, and I had some bougie inventive drinks at Crater Rooftop Bar. For the baths, there were plenty of options but we wound up at Termas de la Virgen which were right next to the waterfall and it was plenty enjoyable.
Guayaquil- 3 Days
Back in Guayaquil to round out the trip before coming home. I met back up with two different friends I had met while exploring Ecuador and ate at some good places. I highly recommend Santo Verde, Bob Cafe and Wine, Al Puerto Bar and Grill, and The Cream Coffee. Santo Verde was the shining star here though as they had bolon...in sushi form. Wow. Bob cafe was cute with the abundance of oversized teddy bears scattered throughout the restaurant. One of my friends took me to the Historical Park that had a nice little zoo depicting the different climates of Ecuador in both the animals on display as well as the flora surrounding you and the paths in each zone. It was pretty neat to explore it and read the information placards.
What I Would Change
The Galapagos is where I really beefed it. For everything I wanted to do, 10 days was not nearly enough time. I probably should have had at least two whole weeks here. I underestimated how much the sun would wipe me out, how much time traveling to and from (both walking in the heat as well as the bumpy boat rides) the different islands and even getting to the places I wanted to go would take up and also wipe me out, and just exactly how much there is to see and do on each island. Not only that, but having more days on each island means doing things a little less hectically and being able to sit and take in my surroundings more would have been great.
In order to make time for Galapagos, I would have cut two days off the first stint in Guayaquil. It was just too many days that I didn't need. I was glad I had them because I was able to meet some cool people, but travel-wise, it wasn't necessary. I would have also eliminated the whole second leg of it, leaving straight from Quito or meeting my Guayaquil flight after a flight from Quito, if that makes sense. I would also have rid myself of that first stint in Quito, staying just a night to catch the bus to Mindo.
Speaking of Mindo, I for sure would have extended this to 5 days as I wanted a couple more days to really take in the surroundings and to do that freakin' bird tour! It sounds so amazing. I would have also liked to wander the town some more and maybe hike the trails at Casa Amarilla again. I would have also extended the Quito historical town by two days at least. I think 3 days at Cotopaxi was perfect, I might opt to do it again, but use it as artistic inspiration instead of hiking until my legs were little nubs on the ground. I might do one trek, but I'd rather bring some art supplies and paint or sketch.
I also did Baños perfectly too, time-wise. Five days was lovely, though I'd say you could get away with 3 days instead if you wanted, but I loved having the 5 days to explore! It gave me enough time to wander the city, get in a couple of tours, eat at a bunch of good places, get some fresh fruit at the market, and also to kick back and relax a little. I truly was able to just lounge here because I had so many days!
Comments