Ecuador was one of those vacations where I hit it completely out of the park. It was so diverse, so unique, and had a series of events that are unlikely to occur again even if I could plan them. The craziest event was on my last day when Ecuador was conducting their five year census. During the census all citizens are required to stay in doors so an accurate count can be done in a single day...I was in Guayaquil, a city of just over two million people, and there was no one in the street. No cars driving by. No restaurants or stores open. I was on an upper floor of the hotel and when I looked out the window the only people I saw were two kids kicking a soccer ball in their front yard. I thought "wow, this country is really religious I guess everyone's at Church." An hour later and their were still no signs of humanity on the street. I began to panic it seemed like a scene out of The Walking Dead. In the hotel lobby they assured me I'd be able to take a taxi to the airport for my departing flight. The taxi ride was just as eerie - no cars on any of the four lane highways or bridges. Crazy, crazy times.
Other parts of the trip were just as unique - I hitch hiked in dump trucks through the Andes, a volcano was erupting, and my time in several cities coincided with festivals and parades. I was also able to find a turkey kebab for Thanksgiving Dinner - it was considered an exotic meat.
For these reasons it is difficult for me to provide an objective review. I caught an $850 NYC -> Galapagos -> Quito ...buses to Guayaquil -> Philadelphia flight. When you are deciding on a trip to Ecuador your itinerary will come down to whether you want to see the Galapagos and whether you favor a beach or mountain route between Quito and Guayaquil...or if you have enough time see it all. Quito and Guayaquil are very contrasting cities - the colonial and conservative city vs. the cosmopolitan and sophisticated city. It's relatively easy to get around, the food is decent, and if you're lucky a lot of interesting things will happen.
Other parts of the trip were just as unique - I hitch hiked in dump trucks through the Andes, a volcano was erupting, and my time in several cities coincided with festivals and parades. I was also able to find a turkey kebab for Thanksgiving Dinner - it was considered an exotic meat.
For these reasons it is difficult for me to provide an objective review. I caught an $850 NYC -> Galapagos -> Quito ...buses to Guayaquil -> Philadelphia flight. When you are deciding on a trip to Ecuador your itinerary will come down to whether you want to see the Galapagos and whether you favor a beach or mountain route between Quito and Guayaquil...or if you have enough time see it all. Quito and Guayaquil are very contrasting cities - the colonial and conservative city vs. the cosmopolitan and sophisticated city. It's relatively easy to get around, the food is decent, and if you're lucky a lot of interesting things will happen.
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GALAPAGOSIt would help to have a scuba diving license - I did an introductory dive which was good but the better stuff, hammerheads were about sixty feet deep and out of range for a beginner. Even without the license I was busy for the three days I spent here. There's enough on the surrounding islands and day trips to keep you busy. It seemed like to reach the better dive sites you'd need to sign up for a multi-day trip.
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QUITOQuito sits high in the Andes and it's remote location helps to preserve a colonial core. There's a central business district with modern hotels, but it's just a short walk away to the historical areas. I was here during some sort of festival so the streets were a bit crowded. There's also a good, albeit small, coffee culture and it's an easy place to spend a few, stress-free days.
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CENTRAL HIGHLANDSTo go from Quito to Guayaquil you will need to decide between the beach and mountain route. I took the mountain rote and enjoyed the scenery and seeing a few native villages. Travel is pretty easy using buses but if you don't feel like waiting you can always hitch hike with a truck driver - it would help to know some basic Spanish if for no other reason to have a conversation with the truck driver to prevent him from follow asleep at the wheel.
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GUAYAQUILQuite the contrast and not as charming as Quito yet still enough to see and do for a few days. Despite being more modern than Quito and having a fabulous waterfront promenade the most interest thing in Guayaquil was the Iguana Park...which is exactly like it sounds...a city block park filled with iguanas. You'd see one iguana, look closer, and see thirty more.
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