Driving/Getting around for the month of December

Welcome to the Ecuador forum, emoss.

Limit your travel to the coast in December 2015 as that is the height of El Niño weather.  You can read up on this topic at the forum's El Niño 2015 thread, which is reachable through the searchbox function atop this page.

If you meet a taxi driver in Quito whom you like, you could have him drive you to the coast for $80 to $100. 

Airfare at $77 per person one-way may be prohibitive (UIO-MEC) these days for folks on a tight budget.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you very much cccmedia! I thought that December was supposed to be past the rainy season. It's hard to know what's going to happen. After all, Seattle had 90 degree weather from May through August this year, and that's unheard of! If I did limit the townships/cities to visit on the coast, which one's would you say are the top 3 or 4? We are retirement age, and want some infrastructure (stores, some expats), but would like to find something near beautiful beaches, with great people and food! Oh yeah, and extremely affordable! We're not asking for much, are we?
Do you have the name of anyone you would trust to get us to the coast in one piece?
Again,
Thanks for your help!
EMoss

Coastal places....

Salinas ... touristy, but has the infrastructure and low cost you seek.  Extremely busy during high season, December to May approximately.

Bahía de Caráquez (bah-EE-ah day kah-RAH-kez) ... extremely high marks from Expats in recent years.

For more cities on the coast that meet your needs, type the word coastal into the Search Expat.com box at the top of this page .. click on the search icon .. and you'll get to a page listing active and former threads you may peruse.

If you can negotiate with a taxi-driver in Spanish, I could send you one or two names and phone numbers of taxistas I prefer in Quito.  But it's too early to contact them now.  Get back to me the week before your trip if you would like that information.

cccmedia in Quito

Thanks again CCMedia!
Since reading of the impending "Super El Niño", I've decided to change my itinerary, and could use YOUR help. Arriving in Quito December 4, leaving Quito December 8, my boyfriend and I will visit the Otalavo Market on Dec. 5, and then hang out in Quito until December 8. Any suggestions of the best places to visit during our stay (I LOVE art and architecture, gardens and photography). Also, any great restaurants for dinner would be nice to know of.
After Quito, we have nothing booked until we go to Cuenca for December 23 to December 26. We have to be back in Quito to fly back to Seattle on December 31st at 1:30 AM (arggg)!
I was thinking that a trip around the volcanoes and a visit to the Amazon would be great. This is a scouting trip to figure out where we want to move to next summer, so I would like to see towns with enough infrastructure to consider living in. We definitely want to see Baños, but other than that, the only other place in the Andes that I have on my list to see are Vilacabamba (for the great gardening) and Cuenca. I'm kind of at a loss here, as I had originally planned to spend the beginning of our trip on the coast. Now, I think we would only go west if the scientists are all wrong and the weather there proves not a problem. That would be at the end of our trip, after leaving Cuenca on December 27. That would only give us 4 days though! Hotels/Restaurants/Art & Garden suggestions welcome!
We were planning to rent a car, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea after reading about the crazy drivers. We're not adverse to bus rides if we can get around the countryside. Is there a tour of the Volcano's and to El Oriente that anyone would recommend?
I'm so glad that I found Expat.com! You guys are SO helpful....thanks for your input in advance!
Sincerely,
EMoss

Visiting Quito, Cuenca and Vilcabamba is good planning since the point of the trip is to learn about places where you might live starting next year.

I also think you are doing the exact right thing in delaying a possible Pacific Oceanfront visit until you feel reassured that 'the coast is clear.'

Frankly, though, visits to the Oriente, Baños and the volcanoes would be off-purpose.

The Oriente is hot and humid, and healthcare is questionable.  I would save that trip until after you have moved somewhere else in Ecuador.

Two volcanoes -- Cotopaxi and Tungurahua -- have been active lately.  As folks who have posted that you seek a "laid back" experience, you should consider delaying any visits to those two places.  The national park around Cotopaxi has been closed under a continuing state-of-emergency .. and there are reports that the tourism business in Latacunga has dried up.

Baños is at the foot of Tungurahua, so you should consider ruling that town out as inappropriate for a move.

Folks who are at or near retirement age when moving to Ecuador should give priority to places where excellent health care is available.  Of the Expat friendly places, that mostly means Cuenca, Quito and the Quito suburbs.

If you get to experience Quito, its suburbs, Vilcabamba, Cuenca and possibly the coast during your few weeks in Ecuador, you will have accomplished a lot.

cccmedia in Quito

emoss28 wrote:

Arriving in Quito December 4, leaving Quito December 8, my boyfriend and I will visit the Otalavo Market on Dec. 5, and then hang out in Quito until December 8. Any suggestions of the best places to visit during our stay (I LOVE art and architecture, gardens and photography).

A lot of the places discussed on the Quito weekends thread are open to you on weekdays as well.  Take a look...

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=490850

Given your interest in gardens and your potential move to Ecuador, consider visiting Pakakuna Gardens, a residential development within Hawaii-style botanical gardens about 15 miles from the new Quito airport.  Here's that link.  As potential new EC residents, you can likely arrange for a tour of the place....

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=497425

cccmedia in Quito

CCMedia,
Your offerings of info have been invaluable! I can't thank you enough!
I had read about one of the volcanos erupting, but had no idea how many areas have been affected. So, I guess it's going to be:
Quito to Cotapaxi, back to Quito then to Baños for a look-see, then spend the rest of our time in Cuenca and Vilacabamba before heading back to Quito. It sounds like we'll be missing a lot, but as you say, we'll have plenty of time to tour when we move next summer.
Now, on to booking more hotels!
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Sincerely,
Elisabeth Moss

You are so right.  The info offerd to us new comers is invaluable.  I feel so much better having you guys on this blog giving us the how to in EC.  I am also traveling to EC this Nov to check out were I want to live in 2 yrs.  I  got most of my functional info from the people in this blog.  So Thank you so much!  You are all a gift!!

HI Isabelle,

I don't see a problem visiting the coast.
Manta is a beautiful city where the sun and warm temperature is present.
I'm living in the Canadian project called Mirador San Jose since 2011 and everyday this project become a village that will have about 1,000 houses with all the infrastructures needed.  All nationality are welcome.

For more details on this proje t...see our website

miradorsanjose.com

At this moment there are nice big or small houses for rent if you would like to get the feeling to see if this would be the right place for you to stay...about 55 min. from Manta where you can get everything you want.

If you plan to travel on the coast...to be safe...stay on the the Highways, small routes may get damaged if el Nino hit, but I don't see why you should stay only in Quito and Cuenca regions.

Flying from Quito to Manta, 30 min. and you are here.. 
I can suggest you great secured taxi drivers...one Canadian lady driver and one Ecuadoriano man driver.
With JoLynn or Juan, you can visit, they know Manta's regions very well and you can relax.

Have  a nice day.
Sevy

We've done EC three times and have rented a car each time. The last time, Oct 2014 we rented a jeep from Cuenca Car Share for a month. Best rental yet and reasonable compared to the places near the airports. We drove all over the country starting in Cuenca. Flew into GYE, took the $8 bus to Cuenca and drove south from there. Vil, Machala, Guayaquil, Engaboa, Salinas, up the coast to Canoa, into the interior to latacunga, Banos, the Amazon, Pujo, Tena, Guamote, down to Cuenca. Dropped off the car, bus back to GYE and home to Oregon. Fabulous time. No hassles, no problems. Can't wait for our 4th trip.

Hi!
I also live in Oregon.  I am coming to Cuenca for a month to see if it is were I will move to in 2yrs.  How do I get to Cuenca from Quito not flaying?  Can any one tell me the Options?  I do not want to drive either.   Thank you in advance.  Martha

aterosin wrote:

Can't wait for our 4th trip.

Hi Aterosin,

Have you scheduled your trip yet?

Where do you live in Oregon. We re in Talent, right near Ashland and Medford.

The reason we fly always into GYE. We arrive late at night, take a $3 taxi over to the Terminal Terrestri and catch the bus to Cuenca. One leaves EVERY hour! for $8. This works for us because we really see the country, meet the locals, etc. It is a tour type bus with bathroom, sometimes the air conditioning works, sometimes not and takes 4 hours or so. GYE is hot and humid but as you leave the city and start climbing you will need a sweater as you travel into the Andes. The views are breathtaking!
Quito: Its an (at least) 8 hour bus ride to Cuenca. Equally long by car.
Our first trip we rented from a place near the GYE airport. Did it all online, negotiated the price. Still higher than CuencaCarShare.
Gerry

Not yet. We have a building project here that is taking our time. When its done we will get crackin' on it.

There's also Facebook groups on Ecuador!! I've learned a lot there and made some friends along the way too. G

I am in Portland.  I was surprised how many people from Oregon are interested in moving to Ecuador.  I bought my air line tickets to Quito so that I could see some of the scenery on the way to Cuenca with maybe a night stay on the way.  I come back to Oregon thru Guayaquil.  The trip back I probably will take the bus to Guayaquil.  I have found very little on how to get from Quito to Cuenca.  I really do not want to drive or fly.   
All input is appreciated.   Martha

Hi Martha, There is a bus from Quito to Cuenca. If you have the Lonely Planet travel book it will tell you where to go to find the bus terminal.  The cost is usually a dollar per hour. The Terminal in Cuenca is easy to find by foot, taxi or bus. I have Portland Friends in Cuenca that you might want to look up.  Flying from Quito to Cuenca might be a good way unless you want to stop along the way and explore.  If you are a FBk person, I have our whole trip in an album, with a daily Journal that you can check out and see the towns we went to and what we did. We stayed in hostels which were very nice, saved our budget and you can find recommendations in the Lonely Planet as well. Private message me if you want.

Hi fellow Expats,
I hope to be one soon. I'm just a tourist now though. Our trip (4 years in the making) is finally coming to fruition! We leave Seattle on American Airlines at 11:15 at night, arriving Miami and then Quito at 2PM. We have found a taxi driver who speaks English named Pablo Mena, who was recommended to me by another woman on the Expat.com! I will write to you all of my opinion, but his prices seem to be mostly inline with other private car drivers.
Our trip begins in Quito for 4 days....we hope to acclimate during that time, and get a good look around the city. Then it's off to Otavalo, Cotacachi and Iburra, where we will meet up with Yolanda Santana from Remax Real Estate. She seems to be a perfectly lovely and friendly woman, who has gone out of her way to help us with reservatons, etc.
Then we return to Quito for one night (Dec. 12), before we're off to Mindo to the El Monte Lodge for 3 days. Back to the Quito Airport Suites for Dec. 15, and flying out to Cuenca. I found out the bus ride is something like a total of 10 hours or so, and my back can't take that. Plus, I would rather spend my time lounging and looking at real estate than riding on a crowded bus!
Once at the Cuenca airport, we have to make our way to town to pick up transportation to Vilcabamba. I'm guessing it won't be that hard to get a ride. Anyone know how long it takes? From downtown Cuenca we go to Vilcabamba...staying at the recommended Hosteria Izhcayluma 🏩 Dec. 16 through the 18th. We have just one night in Loja, before going on to Cuenca for December 20-25th. I seem to remember that Christmas celebrations are especially lovely in Cuenca....something like candlelight strolls to the cathedral? I guess I'll find out! I had heard of a real estate agent named Maribel Crespo at Ecuador Homes real estate. However, I have written to her and gotten no word back, and when I went to the Ecuador Homes real estate website for Cuenca, she is not listed as an agent. Does anyone know how she can be reached, or is there another agent anyone can suggest to show us the real estate ropes around Cuenca?
After Cuenca, we fly back to Quito, and then our drive has said he will drive us to Baños for only $25.00. Not bad for a 3 1/2 hour drive! Three days in Baños, and then it's back to the Quito Airport Suites for the afternoon to early evening. You can rent rooms out for partial days=partial price there, but you have to be out by 9PM. Our flight leave UIO (American Airlines again) at 1:44 AM! Ouch!
We fly back through Dallas Ft. Worth, 2 hour layover, and arrive home on New Years Eve day. Just in time for some bubbly!
If any of you have any suggestions for me, please write soon, and Feliz Navidad!
EMoss

emoss28 wrote:

our driver has said he will drive us to Baños for only $25.00. Not bad for a 3 1/2 hour drive! Three days in Baños, and then it's back to the Quito Airport Suites....

If any of you have any suggestions for me, please write soon....

Whatever you do, don't get involved in real estate in Baños.

As you know, it's at the foot of Tungurahua.  Scientists believe Baños could be devastated if the currently-active volcano blows.

Have a safe trip.

cccmedia in Quito

emoss,
I am certain you will be very pleased with the services provided by Pablo Mena. I had the pleasure of being driven by him to Cotacachi from the airport with a tour of Quito thrown in on the return trip. He was very informative about all the areas we passed through. I found him to be very punctual, a rare quality in Ecuador, or so I have heard.
Now if I can only convince him to move his operations to a base in Cuenca beginning in March, when I plan to move there, it would be wonderful!! Still he is an excellent resource for operating out of Quito. Enjoy your visit! When you return to establish residency, I'll look forward to meeting you.

Thank you CCMedia. I will just enjoy the baths! Are there any restaurants in Quito that you would especially recommend? We like all kinds of food, from Indian to Italian, Japanese to Thai. Or, an authentic quality Ecuadorian meal with a nice atmosphere. We don't want to break the bank, but would like to experience some of the best that Quito has to offer!
Thanks for everything CC!
Elisabeth

emoss28 wrote:

Are there any restaurants in Quito that you would especially recommend? We like all kinds of food, from Indian to Italian, Japanese to Thai. Or, an authentic quality Ecuadorian meal with a nice atmosphere. We don't want to break the bank, but would like to experience some of the best that Quito has to offer!
Thanks for everything CC!
Elisabeth

Dear Elizabeth,

My favorite Indian restaurant is Sher e Punjab near the Quito Marriott.  I recommend the curry, the vegetarian dishes and fish.  Ask them not to put in too many peas or guisantes -- ghee-SAHN-taze.  Enjoy the Bollywood videos while you wait for your food.

Mama Clorinda just off Plaza Foch might be a good choice for típico Ecuadorian food.  Gringos like to try the cuy --  pronounced kwee -- or guinea pig.  You can let us know if you think it "tastes just like chicken."

I'm not partial to the Asian food at most of the chifas, and the cook at the Thai restaurants is not guaranteed to be of Thai heritage.  If you do go for Chinese food, you might order the shrimp dish camarones a la plancha, which often turns out pretty sabroso.  Be careful, it's steaming hot.

Cheap eats -- nice surroundings:  Stop by the Marriott's poolside lunch-only restaurant and get the grilled veggies.  The upstairs dinner restaurants at the hotel are pricey, but your grilled order won't come close to breaking the bank.  Add an iced tea.

Please let us know what you think of some of the restaurants you visit in Quito.

¡Buen provecho!

cccmedia in Quito

Hi emoss28,
We are in Quito now and doing some looking around.  Would you please share the name and contact information for your taxi driver?  Thank you!

Pablo Mena. His English is good, and he's a very good driver, great guy! 00593994698595  Is his phone number.

So was $25 to Banos the actual price from him to drive you from Quito?

For $25. the taxi coop rates on the wall in Lobby of the UIO Quito Airport, will get you back to downtown Quito in about 45 - 60 minutes depending on time of day.

By Domenick Buonamici <......on@gm.......> 03 MAR 2016-

--"Driving in Ecuador vs the USA: 21 major differences"--

"This week I had the chance to sit down with one guy who knows the roads of Ecuador better than anyone I know,  Jack Abercrombie, a guy from Atlanta who has been living in Ecuador a few years now. 

He has a truck he uses to help new arrival expats in Ecuador move large loads of goods and pets within Ecuador.  We started chatting about the differences between driving in the USA vs Ecuador. 

1. No right on red in Ecuador.  Hard one to get used to. 

1A. Lane-challenged drivers who just kind of mesh, its even worse on the coast in Guayaquil where the lanes aren't even painted on the larger roads sometimes. 

2. Pedestrian laws.  Way different in Ecuador too.  As they should be in my opinion.  Like in nature the bigger object has the right of way, hence the car over the walking person.  Pedestrians must yield to cars in Ecuador,
not the other way around like in the USA where cars must stop in the middle of no where so a pedestrian can cross the road. 

3. Honking.  Also, Ecuadorians use their horn and flash their headlights A LOT.  I think its because there are a lot of dumb drivers who change lanes or pull out onto highways without looking properly.  Also on curves or at stop signs in country towns.  A flash of the lights is good to let other cars know you are there as they may be planning to zoom past their stop sign. 

4. The Roundabouts.  Heard they are starting to get more common in the USA but in Ecuador they are everywhere and they're great in the countryside.  No one has to stop, its just a continual moving wheel with one simple rule,
the people already in the traffic circle have the right of way. 

5. Lots of one way streets.  In Ecuador there are MANY one way streets, and they are often not marked.  So you have to kind of guess like by how the cars are parked and other small factors you learn as you go.
 

6. Parking in VERY tight spaces.  Literally, in Quito Ive seen cars parked on the road with one inch between them and the other car on either side.  You get used to it.  Often you have to park your car in parking lots that force
you to fold back your side mirrors. 

7. More likely to get car stolen.  Take extra little precautions like don't park on the street at night in Ecuador.  Trust me you'll be glad you did.  A friend of mine in my little town showed me how he can disarm an electronically
locked car and the alarm within about 3 minutes.  Its practically common knowledge in Ecuador. 

8. All stick shift, no automatic cars.  I had to go back to driving class to learn the stick.  Very few automatic cars in Ecuador.  Its just a preference. 

9. Traffic cops out for “lunch money”.  When pulled over in Ecuador, you'll often see the drivers standing out of their cars pleading with the traffic cops.  Often the louder you plea the better in Ecuador.  Some cops when they
see you are a foreigner will try to scare you into giving them a bribe, the best way I've seen to handle this is to pretend like you really dont speak one word of Spanish, even if you do, then they will often get frustrated and
just let you go. 

10. Different protocol with accident.  When accidents happen in Ecuador it is generally a shouting match, whoever screams louder wins I guess.  The police come, try to let you sort it out among yourselves, if you can't,
then they will impound both cars until guilt is determined.  In the cases of a death or serious injury they will arrest the parties involved until guilt is determined.

11. "The laying down Cops".  As Ecuadorians call them "chapas acostadas" the laying down policemen or speed bumps are quite common in Ecuador especially in the small towns on the coast.  Be careful for the teeth rattling home-made ones that aren't marked and blend in with the road at night! 

12. Police stops.  The police stops where they may ask you to open your trunk, they are generally looking for drugs or weapons, not something to be worried about if you don't dabble in that. 

13. All the d@mn buses!  As the bigger object rules in nature, so do the bigger objects (the buses) rule on the roads of Ecuador.  They do pretty much anything they want often cutting you off from the far left lane as they drop off a passenger. 

---------------

Enter Jack...
14....Toddlers playing on side of road unattended along highway in small towns.   I get it that this is a cultural difference, and have no beef w/ the children helping their families, what bothers me is I slow up when I see this off in the distance, and my fellow Ecuadorians speed up and come around and never let up on the gas as they pass by the children & cattle, as well as the school buses & myriads of children just getting off of the school buses, is what gets to me.

15... Buses with little regard for human life.  There is little to know regard for human life, city busses in town, running & gunning with elderly on board, Inter provincial busses speeding & passing / racing each other in dangerous
blind curves sometimes 3 deep in a 2 lane hwy with oncoming traffic.

16...Hwy's with mud slides, torrential Rain down pours w/ very extremely thick fog, flooding, freak hail storms up to 30" - 36" deep, seismic activity in dry desert mtn. areas causing land slides w/ boulders & debris, Volcanic Activity
Ash fall out, incredible Commercial Truck & Bus Crashes,

17...Speed trap radar cameras spitting out tix that are applied to you license plate, months later, if you slow up or are maintaining the correct speed limit, and as you pass the camera and another driver is passing your vehicle at the same time, you get a tix also. For rental cars, these are applied to your rental car license plate and put on your debit / charge card.

18. Lax DUI / DWI Laws of 3 days in jail / $360. fine / 10 points off of your license. Many Commercial & Private drivers will have a few beers early in the day hauling heavy loads & passengers, and it does not have to be around the holidays.

19...Branches and logs placed in the road in a curve b4 an accident or broke down vehicle is the ecuadorian way of emergency flares / triangles.....

20...Precarious left turns.  Some will put on left turn signal, and pull over to the right hand side and wait until oncoming traffic clears before making the left turn.

21... Random stopping. Some stop right in the middle of the panam hwy and piss on side of rd. right at a Petro EC 500 meters ahead sign. ..or just stop for any reason at all, oblivious to who or what is behind them?

There you have it, a few of the major differences, other than that, its pretty much the same. You can reach Jack at "journeymanjack. ..."

We rented a car thru Cuenca Car Share and drove all over for 3.5 weeks. Gosh, it was fabulous. We got lost a few times, people helped us, and police escorts to the right road. Many roads are only marked in ONE direction. We stayed in Hostels along the way, the best hostel being in Guamote. Be sure to hit this highland town on a Thursday - Market Day - the best authentic market we found. Forget Otavala market - too touristy. We drove into the Amazon past Banos after ziplining. Tena, the monkey town and other out of the way places. A great trip. We hope to return for our 4th visit soon.