Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands

Hi!

My girlfriend and I will be traveling across the Americas and Africa. We will be visiting Argentina some 3-4 months into the trip and have become familiar with the exchange rate dilemma. But before going to Argentina that we will visit Ecuador.

We would like to avoid traveling with thousands of USD in cash in hand through several countries for several months but also want to stretch our money by exchanging at Blue Dollar rates. So we figured why not withdraw money in Ecuador before heading…

Dear people,
A couple of questions if I may.
1.Can anyone suggest a good hostel in Quito?
2.Does it matter if I go to the Galapagos Is from Quito or Guayaquil?

regards
Moondoggie

Thanks to other posters on this forum, we have decided to go to Cotopaxi on the last day and night we have with a visiting friend next week.

We don't want to take a day tour as we'd like to explore the area and stay overnight somewhere. Can someone please let us know how is the best way to get there? I believe there is a bus from Quito but not sure where it goes or where to catch it.

We'd like to do some hiking and explore the area but have no intention of climbing a glacier (:-)). Also would…

Hi

How does one pay for a Galapagos cruise if you book last minute in Ecuador. Do they accept credit card there? A basic cruise will cost at least $1000 USD. I don't want to be carrying around that much cash as I'll be travelling for 2 months before entering Ecuador.

Any ideas?

Allen

Hello folks,

I did already a couple of spanish classes a while ago in Bolivia. In the meantime my spanish is that good that I can have a proper conversation with the local people in present and past tense. So there are still lots of grammar things missing and also obviously most people would not correct my faults in my conversation. Therefore I would like to do some more spanish classes in Quito, especially to improve my conversation skills, but also to learn more grammar.

As I am not a total…

My husband and I and a male friend have a day and a night after returning from a trip to the Amazon and debating whether to go to Otavalo or Cotopaxi for that time. We all enjoy the outdoors, hiking, exploring and experiencing local culture so would appreciate any thoughts on which place to go.

Thanks.

Flying from the UK to quito tomorrow to begin around six months of travel in south america hopefully covering Ecuador Colombia Peru Bolivia argentina Uruguay and Brazil before returning from Rio... Plan is to spend a week or so in Quito to acclimatise and also take a short Spanish course. Anybody around Quito at the moment? Will be staying in secret garden..

I'll be taking a bus from Mera (between Banos and Puyo) to Quito the day before I have to catch a 10:35am flight from the new airport. I'll be content to just read a book or walk around a bit, so I really just need someplace with a decent bed, and someplace I can eat. A grocery store would be fine. I'd like to stay close to the airport instead of in town. any suggestions?

I arrive at the new airport in Quito this Wed. 7:05 am. I need to get to the bus station to get a bus to Puyo. First, should I be going to Terminal Quitumbe? Next, how much should a taxi cost to get there, and about how long is the ride? If I take the express bus to the old airport, about how much is a taxi from there, and about how much time can I expect this to take ( the bus and the taxi)?

What's the best way to do this? I've had a quote of $165 for a private car but that's a lot of money. Could we get the bus towards Quito, get off somewhere and then get a cab? If so where? The thing is we're in no rush as we're just spending the night near the airport before catching an early flight the next morning.
Thanks