Best order of places to visit in Ecuador

Quito,Cotacachi,Esmeraldas,Manta, Salinas, Guayaquil & Cuenca.

Good luck, difficult at best and tiring but, worth it if you're up to it. Regarding Quito & Guayaquil, both large cities and large cities bring? You guessed it, crime.

May I suggest limiting time there and spending that time on the other locations.

Reg,

I used to love going to BC back when Americans were still liked there, honeymooned at the Empress, etc.  Too bad Americans are tainted with the stench coming out of our media and the DC ...  I still like Canada and Canadiens but have only visited once since the days of Bush  ...

Cuenca (with a "C") is the odd man out in terms of a travel itinerary as it is in Southern Ec and not "on the way" from any of your targets to another one. 

My suggestion would be to enjoy Quito and Cotocachi for a couple of weeks, head to Esmeraldas (be careful there as it appears to be a little more dangerous) head south down the coast to Manta, Salinas and Guayaquil (again, be careful in Guayaquil) and then do Cuenca as a "side trip" from Guayaquil.

You'll find lots of posts about safety and related stuff here on the blog.  The bottom line appears to be "exercise common sense" as you would in any large city in the US or elsewhere and not sport a lot of bling, cameras, etc. nor walk around in unfamiliar areas after dark. 

   Carlos   aka  "ElGringoBueno" 

PS  My "advice" comes from my own planning process for retirement in So America, so take what I say with a grain of salt. 

PPS  A common piece of advice from "those who know" is to stay more than just a couple of days in any one place to get a feel for the weather and the vibe.  Six months will come and go very quickly while "you're having a ball" so I suggest picking two or three "most likely candidates" for your settling into a culture and plan to leave yourself three weeks or more in each of them.  Expats seem to be attracted to Cuenca and Quito much more so than Quayaquil as far as the BIG 3 are concerned for many and varied reasons.

PPPS  Here are a couple of other spots to consider that might be easily added to your itinerary ...  Otovalo, Zaruma, Bahia de Caraquez, Montanita and Vilcabamba.  You can "GOOGLE 'em, I don't think they'll mind. 

BTW, the latter two are perhaps more suited to the party crowd and/or the psychotropically adventurous (eg. ex hippies from the US of A) ...

Thanks Timo, I appreciate your input. Based on a lot of what I've read, Guayaquil is perhaps the least desirable of these locations but I know someone who lives there and would like to connect. We're used to cities and so not unduly concerned about the crime aspect, assuming we apply common sense, but for the plugging into the culture part we would prefer a smaller community.

Thanks for your thoughtful response GringoBueno, I appreciate it.

I'm sorry if you've had a negative experience here in Vancouver because of being American. Any ill feelings on the part of residents here would, for by far the most part, be based on political opinions (especially in the era you are referring to), which should not be directed at individuals. We have many American friends and interact with Americans visitors here regularly and it's comfortable all the way around.

As for Ecuador, we were hoping that 4 or 5 weeks might be enough to experience these various areas but it sounds like that might not be realistic? If not, then what we'd like to do in that time is somehow get a sense of whether the Andes or coastal regions would be most appealing from the perspective of settling in for a few months. Both my wife and I have been taking Spanish lessons through Rosetta Stone for about 3 months and hope to ramp up our learning during out time there. We wish to experience the country and culture from a less 'tourist' perspective if at all possible.

As for the type of community, we're both very social but not looking for an ongoing party atmosphere. A mix of socializing and peace and quiet would be welcome.

Thanks again for your input.

Hey Followupguy

Welcome:)

Can't say exactly which way to go, (I only spent two weeks their recently) but I would probably go from Quito to the coast, head south, keep touring that way or do it counterclockwise.

Ever on Vancouver Island (Comox Valley) let me know.
Hans

Hi Hans, thanks for your welcome and input.

I was up your way earlier this year, too bad we hadn't connected before then. Are you familiar with Savary Island? We had a cabin there for many years and would often sit on the beach looking out your way.

Home base in Quito for a week check it out and do day trips to cotacachi and otovalo, both worth the trip. Then head to the coast.  A day in Mindo is definitely worth it, maybe two.  Esmeraldes is the big city and not recommended, but the coastal cities south of it are awesome.  Bigger city atacames or tonsupa then smaller sua same.  This is where we are located.  Then make your way south and end up in guaya.   How are you getting around?  That is a lot of traveling.  Maybe you should condense what you are looking for.  Mountains, beach, lots of gringos, big city, country, that could bring down your list of places.  Here is my blog of how we did it. It should help alot.
http://www.atruetalltale.wordpress.com

Follow up Guy,

I would not stress about Crime in Quito.  I live here.  It is not worse than most American Cities and probably safer than a good portion of them.  No one is shooting up schools and churches here. Just regular old fashioned pick pocketing and petty theft.   

As far as touring.  Quito is the base point if you are looking to explore the whole country.  It has been elected as one of Nat Geos 2013 best destination, and is also the leading tourist destination in South America.  to Smite yourself of the experience of Quito due to a reputation that most expats here haven't actually experienced would be in vein.  Spend at least 3 to 5 days in Quito to see the Middle of the World monument, the Centro Historico (largest and most well preserved historical center in all of the Americas).  See breathtaking views from Parque Itchimbia and Teleferico.  Then get acquainted with Quito's surrounding Haciendas and waterfalls.  Don't forget to check out the Llamas at El Crater by the Mirador (Middle of the World).

That is just Quito and the surrounding province of Pinchincha.  There is much to see here.  Don't skip us.

For more about Quito and Ecuador travel and living feel free to view my website, www.themiddleoftheworld.com, to learn more about things to see and do here on your trip.

Mike

Perhaps you can narrow down your search to a spot on the coast that is centrally located where you can wander around on day trips to find your little village.  Maybe the Manta/Bahia area?

In the mountains you can do the same, but travel throughout the Ec Andes is more time consuming due to the roads and the terrain.  If you base around Quito or Cuenca, you'll have plenty of day trip opportunities as well.  Maybe you'll have time to sample both. 

You should have no problem "filling" your time with wonderful sights, sounds and people.  Just wander around on this site (and others are easy to find with an internet search) and soak up a wealth of info and exciting travel ideas.

   Carlos   aka "ElGringoBueno" 

PS  I don't recall exactly when I had my one and only "bad" BC trip, but it was horid, all over town and the island as well.  Even with all of the prior excellent trips, I don't expect to return.  Been there, done that, don't need a T-shirt ...  I haven't soured on Canadiens, I will simply have to meet 'em elsewhere. 

PPS  What's your opinion on Rosetta Stone, so far ...?

Thanks everyone for your input. This is all very helpful and I appreciate it.

Luna2 and Mike, thank you for your blog links. We'll definitely check them out.

Carlos, you asked about my impressions of Rosetta Stone so far. Good question but perhaps it's a bit too early to answer. Their teaching methodology seems to be very much like how a young child learns to speak a language.

First children associate a 'thing' with its word. They understand and learn to speak individual words first, then they gradually understand and learn to use connecting words. Then they may learn singular, plural, possessive, tenses, etc.

For example, first they associate milk with the word milk, then learn to say milk. So they'll say "milk" and mom or dad knows the child wants milk. Then they'll learn to say "want milk", then perhaps "I want some milk", then perhaps "can I please have some milk?" Then they'll learn present and past tense, etc, etc.

Some language programs teach practical phrases that a tourist might need, phrases that can get them by but don't provide the fundamental foundation of the language.

I think Rosetta Stone is probably very good in the long term but it can be a little frustrating in the short term. We're getting there though. Each week our vocabulary increases and we're in the early stages of learning to string words together to make simple sentences and convey meaning. We have a long way to go though and only about 5- 6 weeks left before we leave. I expect once we arrive in Ecuador we'll get a crash course!

Followupguy wrote:

Thanks for your thoughtful response GringoBueno, I appreciate it.

I'm sorry if you've had a negative experience here in Vancouver because of being American. Any ill feelings on the part of residents here would, for by far the most part, be based on political opinions (especially in the era you are referring to), which should not be directed at individuals. We have many American friends and interact with Americans visitors here regularly and it's comfortable all the way around.

As for Ecuador, we were hoping that 4 or 5 weeks might be enough to experience these various areas but it sounds like that might not be realistic?

FollowupGuy;

We can't comment on the "negative experience" issues but would offer our experience in EC last year that seems to be pretty close to what you envisioned.

We too wanted to fit "everything" into a 4 or 5 week excursion and while it is, of course, impossible, we believe our 5 weeks were probably the most productive 5 weeks we've ever spent.

Long story short, my wife and I (me more than her), rapidly approaching retirement, were seriously considering EC (based solely on "research" conducted on the interwebs.

Recognizing that "boots on the ground" was the next, absolutely mandatory, step in the process we set out to plot our attack.
Since both of us work for our local school district our "free time" is pretty much limited to summer vacation and even 5 weeks is stretching it but that's what we decided to do.

In addition, my Mom, at 88 years old, was to be included in our plans for the (5 week duration), as was our college age son who could only join us for 10 days due to other commitments.

We arranged our flight details (NYC to UIO R/T) and coordinated our Son's schedule for him to arrive in Quito a couple days after us and for him to return to UIO 10 days later to fly home.

We rented a house on the beach (vrbo, online)just north of Montanita/Olon for a  month and planned to use that as our "base" to explore the coastal region.

Seeing and experiencing as much of both the Sierra region and the Coast was important since my wife was convinced she "wanted" the beach and I was equally convinced that I wanted the mountains (I'm sure you figure out on your own how I fared in that negotiation . But, regardless, we wanted to experience all we could.

So we spent the first couple days (before our son arrived) exploring Quito at a pace my Mom could endure. When he arrived we spent the next couple days showing him the city and surrounding area (made a great contact thru our B&B with a "driver" who took us anywhere we wanted to go including Cotopaxi, Cotacachi, Mito de Mundo and more. All as "day trips" from our B&B "base".

Since we wanted our son to have some "beach time" we left Quito (in our rental car we had arranged prior to leaving the US, despite the numerous "dire" warnings about driving and/or renting a car in EC) and headed to our beach front rental.

12 or 14 hours later of the most breath takingly beautiful scenery that I won't even attempt to describe other than to say it simply MUST be seen first hand to believe - we arrived at the beach.

Once we settled in and made contact with a couple we had met "on-line" before we went to EC we started exploring the coastal region. South from us we ventured to Montanita, Olon, Salinas and any number of small towns in between.

Next we ventured out to the North taking day trips up the coast to the (mostly) small towns and villages we could "reach" in a day and still return to our "base" at night.

Towns further north beckoned so we made arrangements to overnight in Salinas for a couple days and explored that region including Manta (where we dumped our son off to catch a flight back to UIO and then home), Bahia, Crucita, San Clemente, Jama, and all points between. All in all we "covered" the coast from Pedernales to Guayaquil and a number of "inland" towns between.

Back to our base on the beach for our last couple days and sad "goodbyes" to new friends we made there.

From Olon we headed south once again to GYE, overnighted there and hit the highlights (Malecon, etc).
Then jumped on the acme of the Andes ridge that runs north from (near) GYE clear back to UIO.

Spent time in both Banos (the one with the volcano and hot springs), Cuenca, and finally arrived back in UIO.

If you plot it out on a map it's basically a big circle that encompasses a pretty significant portion of the western half of the country and while it probably sounds a whole lot more "hectic" when put on paper than it actually was, I can absolutely assure you it IS doable and furthermore I can assure you that you will never be exposed to more diversity (in every sense of that word) in a 5 week period.

Feel free to PM me if I can help with any additional details but the very best advice I can give you is, just GO FOR IT, you'll not regret it.

But...but...what area did you chose?! Who won? You or your wife? Don't leave us hanging!

dreams-of-latin-america wrote:

But...but...what area did you chose?! Who won? You or your wife? Don't leave us hanging!

You're kidding, right?

Who ALWAYS wins?

dreams-of-latin-america wrote:

But...but...what area did you chose?! Who won? You or your wife? Don't leave us hanging!

And the "overnight" up north town should have been Bahia - not Salinas (which is, obviously, south.)

Bahia is a large town, small city (too large for us but "just right" for many).

The B&B we stayed at was simply AWESOME Casa Grande

Not cheap but worth the splurge.

If you stay there, you probably won't have to ask but just in case, request the cameron omelette for breakfast and ask Patricio where they got the shrimp (the story that follows will be worth the price of admission.)

Followupguy

I just sent you a message.

Hans

DeansDad,

Sorry for the slow response but thanks so much for your detailed accounting of your 5 week Ecuador adventure. Awesome!

I like that you rented a car and did road trips. Despite the negative things I've read about doing so I'm still bent that way. Having had that experience, would you do it again?

Just to clarify, we will be in Ecuador for a total of 6 months (179 days). Our intention is to spend the first several weeks touring the various areas of the country before deciding on a location to settle down for the duration, rent a furnished house or apartment, and plug into the local culture. Taking that into consideration, would you recommend doing things any differently than the way you did them in terms of exploring the different areas?

I appreciate your PM offer and will probably take you up on that.

Many thanks again to you and all the others who have taken time to respond and share your thoughts and experiences. I truly appreciate it.

Reg (FollowUp Guy)

Followupguy wrote:

DeansDad,


Despite the negative things I've read about doing so I'm still bent that way. Having had that experience, would you do it again?


Taking that into consideration, would you recommend doing things any differently than the way you did them in terms of exploring the different areas?

I appreciate your PM offer and will probably take you up on that.

Reg (FollowUp Guy)

Reg;
"Would we do it (rent/drive) again?"
ABSOLUTELY
We, too, heard and read about all the dire warnings regarding renting and driving. (they were probably reason enough for us to do it).
In point of fact, none of them came true and had we not rented there is no way we would have been able to cover even half of the territory we did.
Car rental is considerably more expensive than what you are probably used to but in the long run, any other alternative would have been more expensive - all things considered.
Yes, the bus system is great (depending on where you are) and we do regret missing the experience (for the most part) but once north of Olon or so, it's simply not a viable alternative unless one's schedule is totally flexible and not time constrained.
I'm sure you've heard all the "logs across the road = banditos at night" and "rental places charge you for dents you didn't put there" stories and I'm sure some of them are true. But, in our case at least there was none of that (although we were "stopped", brought to a screeching halt, one night on a dark, desolate, section of mountain roadway - by a 600 pound llama that decided our lane was his bedroom and he wasn't happy having been awoken by the nutjob bus driver with 103 highbeam headlights coming the opposite direction...
He was successful at convincing us that night driving on those sections of the "coastal" highway that wander inland through the mountains, probably wasn't all that great of an idea.

As far as taking into consideration your "6 month plan", would I do things any differently?
Probably not, except I'd likely not limit ourselves to 5 weeks for the coast and the Sierra regions. Going in, knowing you have 6 months, I'd probably plan to spend the first 3 making the "loop" we made. Our only regret was that we couldn't have spent more time in some of the places we visited and we couldn't visit some places we would have liked to stop at along the way.

Budget 3 months "exploring" (more if you want to include the Amazon- we didn't but you might want to) and if it ends up being less (I'm betting it won't), just tack that time on to the back end.

My guess is, you'll find two or three places by the time you complete the "loop" that just keep calling your name and you just "have to" go back to.
Do it, return the rental car and go back to each one for a week or two. Figure out how to get there without a car (bus/private driver)and what it's like living there without a car. (we're already using up a good portion of your 6 months).
Give each of your "possibles" a fair chance for at least a week or so then move on to the next.
Narrow it down to your final choice and head back there for whatever time is left on your 6 month visa.

If you're lucky (like we were), you'll "know it when you see it".
Problem is, there are just so many possible "this is IT's".

Feel free to contact me (use deansdad and that email factory that begins with a "g") if I can help and if you are starting your excursion in Quito I can recommend the guy we rented the car from. (probably not the absolute "cheapest" but honest and went above and beyond to address the couple of "issues" we had along the way.)

Best of luck on your journey and all I can say is we envy you for the the 6 months.
deansdad