After spending few weeks studying Spanish in Quito and then hitting the road I have I decided to write about my travels here. Before coming to Ecuador I gained lots of useful and up to date information from various forums, especially this one. I would like now to be able to give something back and give up to date information about life in Ecuador.
I am planning on being here for 6 months. My main reason for coming here is to learn Spanish and hopefully gain an insight into Ecuador and South America. So far its been amazing but many of the guide books are very out of date (be warned). Make sure you research before you come ...
Quito - I found Quito to be a dirty, polluted, noisy, capital. I would recommend a visit but I would keep it short as there is far more to Ecuador than Quito. The central historical or old town is a must see, it has some amazing buildings and is especially nice at night. I stayed in Hostel Revolution http://www.hostelrevolutionquito.com/ which is near the old town, for me this was a much nicer area than the La Mariscal (new town) which is where the main tourist centre in based. At the hostel they helped me arrange tours and where full of good info about Quito and Ecuador.
La Mariscal (new town) is where all the tourist agencies are but its a dirty, polluted and crime ridden area with not much going for it. Its ok for a night out as there are an amazing collection of bars, club and restaurants but it is a poor representation of Quito or Ecuador. Be very careful with the travel agencies in this area, they offer amazing deals but as I found out will take your money and not give the service they promised! Be warned!
The one positive thing about the La Mariscal area is it is where the South American Explorers Club (SAE) http://www.saexplorers.org/clubhouses/quito/ is based. They have been an amazing help and I would strongly recommend anyone spending more than a week in Ecuador to join, even if you are only here for a few weeks they can be really helpful and act as tourist info centre. You can gain much better unbiased advise at the Club than you can in any travel agency plus it is a save haven with free coffee and internet access.
My highlights for Quito would be;
Teleferico – Cable car up to the volcano above Quito.
Old town of a night, the lighting is amazing.
The big parks at the weekend – everyone goes...
Trip to the equator north of Quito
Baños - I took a weekend trip to Baños while I was studying and would strongly recommend it. The town is a cool place to chill out in with warm climate and lots to do and see. Make sure you bike ride or take a chiva (part bus thing...) down the route of the waterfalls, towards the jungle -Puyo. If you get as far as Rio Verde make sure you visit the amazing Palion de Diablo a huge waterfall. If you want lunch cross the little wooden bridge near the waterfall and go to El Altralado, a nice little restaurant with views of the waterfall, much nicer than the restaurants at the top near the road. To get back to Baños if you have rented a bike use one of the small trucks that wait at the car park, they only charge $1.50 for 20min ride back to Baños – much better than the up hill bike ride!
The springs in Baños are nice, its a good idea to arrive at 6pm as they re-open then after changing the water, its the best $2 you will spend to rest your aching legs.
I stayed at the Posada J Maques http://www.marques.banios.com/ and found it to be a lovely little hostel, only a few blocks from the town centre but it is quieter as it is away from all the noisy bars. It has amazing views of the waterfall above the hot springs plus the most comfortable beds in Ecuador (so far!) The hostel can also help arrange any tours as many of the agencies in Baños have an even worse reputation than the ones in Quito.
I am currently in the South of Ecuador and will write a little more very soon...
I hope this is some help to you?
All that childish whining about dirt - have you actually been to a city before?
...but I agree there's much more to Ecuador than Quito...
Thanks Ben! It is very nice to read the experiences of other travellers! And as we will be travelling from north to south in a couple of months, I'm already curious for your report about the south :)!
Very accurate description of Quito but one you won't find published much. ..Most people prefer the popular romantic notion.
Well that’s more than a little bit arrogant. Different people expect/want different things = everyone experience places differently.
Currently the exact area I live people warned me was terribly seedy and to be avoided. Well their & my idea of seedy is clearly very different. To me it’s not seedy at all but to some housewife in suburbia who hardly go anywhere it might be…
Obviously young Ben doesn't have much experience with really big cities. The majority of major cities all over the world have noisy polluted areas. However if Ben had been in the colonial section of Quito at night he just might have found it a little too quiet in many places at night. You really have to know where to go at night there. Of course the traffic is hectic but that happens in many cities all over the world - not only places like London, New York, Los Angelos, Sydney and especially Beijing but also about 20 or 30 other major cities around the world which is seems Ben has never visited. Go to Buenos Aires or Santiago Ben - not too differerent from Quito et al - maybe even worse. So be careful before condemning anywhere you visit and look to the positive and cultural experriences you could enjoy in any of the abovementioned (et al)cities. Come on Ben realx, enjoy yourself and if you find yourself being too critical - stay at home where the there are none on the so-called problems you seem to find overseas.
Omg, give the guy a break! Isn't it allowed to give your own opinion at this forum?!
Everyone experiences a place in a different way.. All depends on which ppl you meet, which places you stay..
It's great not to hear only positive comments, makes it more realistic in what to expect!
I agree.
People should be allowed to write on this forum without fear of being abused. Its nice to hear ones persons own accounts of a place, and great that he took the time and made the effort to feed back rather than just putting one line snipes.
Rather than just telling the guy he is wrong maybe take a little a time an put forth an intelligent response (as some of you have done) as to why you feel Quito is not what Ben writes.
For me Quito has its good points but, well in many ways I agree with him....But then I am not a city person!
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