1

what type of things do you enjoy doing?
Mindo is close to Quito and really captured my fancy. I will be staying in a tree house lodge while I'm there! There are lots of activities you can do there, rafting, hiking, biking, ziplining, birdwatching, butterfly gardens etc...If you go to Otavalo just know there is a lot more to do there than just the market. There are excellent day trips you can take to various locations like Cuicocha lake, Mojanda lakes, peguche waterfalls, parque condor. Many of these can be arranged with a guide: http://www.runatupari.travel/tours-and-trekking but some of them you could easily hike to from Otavalo. Baños is also close to Quito and a lot of outdoor activities available. You can also arrange day trips to nearby locations. Cuenca is close to Cajas National Park, and a lot of day trips can be done from there too. I think for 9 days though you should decide whether to base your activities around Quito or Cuenca and maybe just pick no more than 3 or 4 destinations around one of these cities.

2

Thank you, very useful! Maybe I can do 7 days for Quito and around + 2 days in Cuenca with a round trip flight...

3

It doesn't sound like you'll be arriving to Quito. Probably Guayaquil (itself not a very exciting place).
Quito has a beautiful old town, worth at least a couple of days. Similar is Cuenca, although smaller.
From Quito you can make a day trip to Mitad del Mundo - the equator line.
Between Quito and Cuenca you can stop in Latacunga and from there go for two tours, Lago Quilotoa and volcano Cotopaxi.
Next, you can stop at Tambo or Cañar and from there visit Ingapirca, which is the northernmost Inka city.
That itinerary should fill up your nine days.

4

Yes yes arrivin in Quito ;-) I definitely think i should give up the Amazon, hence forgetting about vaccination etc...

I will go to Mindo, but not the same as rainforest in the Oriente ?

5

My god this one is so hard to plan. So now thinking:
Day 1 quito
Day 2 otavalo
Day 3 quito
Day 4 day excursion to cotopaxi
Day 5 pallapacta
Day 6 quilotoa lake
Day 7 baños
Day 8 baños
Day 9 quito

What do you think? I have the feeling i wont see much of ecuador!

6

In fact i was just thinking i can skip pallapacta, coz i was just going there for the thermal springs: i can do that in the evening in baños!

7

Do Quilitoa while doing Cotapaxi as they are not too far from each other and then go on to Banos.

8

yes and in Baños you can arrange a day hike in puyopungo jungle reserve, just to give you a little taste of the orient. The tour usually includes a visit to Paseo de los Monos in Puyo. This is a sanctuary for rescued monkeys. Of course you can just take a bus to Puyo from Baños to visit the monkeys on your own, but I'm not sure how to get to the jungle without a guide.

9

day 1 - quito, take night bus to bahia and then bus to canoa
day 2 - canoa - beach town, surfing - coco loco hostel!
day 3 - take bus to bahia, then bus to puerto lopez - visit isla de la plata in puerto lopez
day 4 - take bus to montanita - beaches, drinks, surfing, parties
day 5 - take bus to cuenca via guayquil - museums, churches, more like europe
day 6 - take bus to banos - waterfall bike ride, hot baths, good food - stay at plantas y blancos, go canyoning with geotours
day 7 - depart from banos for a jungle trip - the somona lodge in the cuyabeno is awesome - book with agency geotours in banos
day 8 - jungle
day 9 - leave jungle

enjoy
:)

10

Hi UnMax,

Sounds like a good trip. The nice thing about Ecuador is its easy to get around and see a lot of things. If you do go to quito, here are specific recommendations as to how to spend your time (lived in quito for 4 months):

http://www.boundlesstraveler.com/quito-ecuado/

I have made videos, photos, as well as listed specific prices and detailed review of most of the famous places in Ecuador: http://www.boundlesstraveler.com/category/ecuador/

If you can I would definitely go to Banos & Cotopaxi (climb it), just make sure to give yourself time to adjust to the altitude!

Good luck, email me if you have any questions :)

11

Not an ideal itinerary really because you haven;t allowed for travelling time between the various places. To visit Isle de la Plata you need to be in Puerto Lopez early in the morning as boats leave early 9.00am at the latest. From Montanita to Cuenca will take the best part of a day so won't leave much time in Cuenca if you are going to Banos from there which will also take the best part of a day so I'd forget the itinerary of #10 completely if you really want to enjoy yourself as it is quite unrealistic.

Quito and surrounds are doable and you can skip Otavalo and head south and do the Quilitoa Loop and include theThursday Saquisili market which I found more enjoyable and less touristy than Otavalo but had vendors from Otavalo selling their wares there too.The animal market was great fun with locals from outlying areas coming in to buy and sell animals. Cotapaxi is in that region to so you could visit there on the way to the Loop if you wanted and then after the Loop head on down to Banos for the springs and stuff and then from there continue on down to Cuenca.