Buses in Ecuador

In most cases the answer is LOTS of busses. Latacunga Banos busses do not stop at the bus station, you have to catch the Quito Banos bus somewhere West of town.

Thanks Willemspie. We should be ok then.

That's it for buses. Are they very frequent? We're not likely to be stranded somewhere are we as we don't have any flexibility?

It's easy to move around on busses in Ecuador and in South America in general. Still, you'll need flexibility and time margin when you travel in SA. You can't pinpoint your trip because you are on a tight schedule. You've got to leave some space for the unexpected.

latinbus.com is a good source of info, but i agree with the other posters that a) there are LOTS of buses in Ecuador and b) You really cannot plan your trip down to a tee. Ecuador will have other plans in mind for you...just have a rough idea and go with the flow

Thanks, tried latin bus, on the Latacunga to Baños, for example, there are no times or schedule. It just says not available online. Haven't travelled in Ecuador but have used buses in Chile and Argentina. No problems there. Unfortunately, we're not on a year long trip and we don't have much flexibility. We would need to get from a to b on a particular day, but it wouldn't matter what time.

I understand; sometimes you have to be more organised when time isn't on your side. Bus rest assured that between Latacunga and Banios there are PLENTY of buses. You may have to change at Ambato, however. (It's one hour to Ambato and then another hour to Banios). You'll have no problem just turning up on the day for this route. Suerte!

Many thanks jdgannon. I've arranged a lift from Chugchillan to Latacunga to catch the bus to Baños. Everything's taking shape now.
Gracias por ayudarme

The buses run frequently in Ecuador and at all hours. You are correct about the Tena-Papallacta bus being the Quito bus, it generally runs every hour or so. Same between Tena and Banos. Amazonas and Transportes Banos are two of the better companies to use. When you arrive in the bus terminals the companies will have their respective schedules posted you can just find the earliest departure and your off. I wouldn't be to worried about it the whole country gets around by bus. Most places you stay also have bus schedules and can give you the latest beta.

Many thanks Skipnstone, looking good.