Ecuador
velvetneblina
travelling mom, lived in ecuador 1 year
Sep 13, 2006
based on 14 votes
easy travelling, great food, cheap fun
-
Explore locations featured in this Traveler List:
Guayaquil, Salinas, Montanita, Quito
- Category: Roadtrip
-
Traveler type: Culture, Sightseeing
-
Appeals to: Couples/romantics, Honeymooners, Singles, Families with small children, Families with teenagers, Students, Budget travelers, Active/adventure, Tourists
- Seasons: Winter, Summer
- Tags: backpacking, beach, Ecuador, attractions
|
|
1. Parque Historico Guayaquil
|
|
| Wonderful day trip or late afternoon since it has a romantic essence to it. Its just across the Rio Daule about a 10 minute drive from Guayaquil. This place was made to show the history of Guayaquil so its full of lush gardens and native fauna everywhere, historical buildings and homes. Offers picnic areas, guided tours, great food, good learning experience. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Beautiful city called "la Perla del Pacifico" which means "The Pearl of the Pacific". Largest city on the banks of a huge, Rio Guayas. Adorable boardwalks exist throughout the city since it has many canals and mangroves co-exisisting with the habitants. Breathtaking views from historical "Las Penas" where the city was founded and now is a bustling tourist attraction full of cafes, bars, karaoke and an artist village. Next to Las Penas is the most impressive boardwalk with parks, restaurants, outdoor theaters, museums, even IMAX and universities all overlooking Rio Guayas. Great food everywhere, excellent entertainment (very enthusiastic people here they love to dance). The city has truly gone through a major beautification project and it shows. There's even an Iguana Park, Zoo and fantastic malls. For safety, I recommend to not carry much with you while you're sightseeing. Maybe a small backpack with water bottle, sunscreen, copy of your documents and that's it. If you're in a group take turns carrying the backpack. |
|
|
|
|
|
| This is the 'IN' beach. From upscale living quarters to elegant restaurants and hotels and nightlife hardcore. Really cool clubs, bars, cafes, discos everywhere. I was reminded of a mini version of Miami Beach or Acapulco. This town is the place to visit especially during "la temporada" which for locals means "vacation time" between December to early April. Spend New Years eve here will be a whole new experience. Salinas has a little bit of eveything, even an artisans alley, open-air markets, nice park, transportation and food galore. Many water sports are offered all year round, tours of the Ruta Del Sol which is a wonderful drive of the up the coast. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Just about an hour drive north of Salinas is Montanita, a very popular hang-out for locals and tourist. Its a tiny town with a rustic, tropical flair to it. The people make Montanita. With its mixed bohemian, eclectic, liberal ambiance all you can do is kickback and relax. All water sports are available even parasailing but it specializes in surfing. There are surfing schools, surf rentals, cafes, bars, discos, hostels. Only 1 atm in the whole area. To get there you can take the bus from La Libertad or Santa Elena but make sure you get there before dark since service stops. Otherwise, at night in Santa Elena only you will find across from the central park & church small pickup trucks with benches to sit on that will take you to Montanita. In Santa Elena you will find hostels, atms, food and the park has a very clean restroom. |
|
|
|
5. Museums
|
|
| The city of Guayaquil has many museums. You can find a few at the Malecon 2000 boardwalk, el Banco del Pacifico has an amazing art collection, cute art galleries in Las Penas and others the are found throughout the peninsula of Santa Elena. You can get information at booths called ITUR. They are in the malls and some main streets. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From La Libertad I took a bus directly non-stop to Quito, with my kids too. It was a 9 hour trip at night. Good thing because you have to pass the cordillera and believe or not I'm afraid of heights. But travelling calls me. There are 2 bus lines that go from La Libertad to Quito at night only. At first we stayed in the north of Quito in a clean hostel but it was way too far from everything so I don't recommend staying to the north unless you don't mind having to walk ALOT up and down hills to get to the main bus lines. I recommend the central or historic area of Quito. Its full of tourists and central to all transportation. We got our work-out since we did all of our travelling w-a-l-k-i-n-g. No guided tours. With kids. We went to Otavalo, loved seeing the Otavalenos and observing them interact with each other. Went to the middle of the world! Take warm clothes because even though its sunny the weather changes quickly and its freezing. From there had the opportunity to go into the crater of Pululahua volcano that is inactive supposedly but the experience was so right on!!! The place itself is peaceful and the greenest green all around. Eerie at the same time. On another day we went to the historic Quito and toured some churches but my favorite was the Monastery, its the only one. Breathtaking and a bit morbid since they have an underground cemetary. We also went up to the Quitoferico, cable car scenic park. This was incredible!! A must for everyone. Wonderful view of the whole city of Quito and fun!! There are restauranst, discos and an amusement park all in one. |
|
|
|
7. Ruta del Sol
|
|
This is the route of the most popular beaches of Ecuador, even though there are others to the north of la Ruta del Sol. From Guayaquil you can take a bus from the main bus terminal thats huge, to the city of your choice. They are comfortable buses and good roads. You can head to Posorja/Playas which faces the mouth of the Rio Guayas and here you can even see the enormous tankers and ships passby. The other route takes you to Montanita, Salinas, Ballenita, Ayangue, La Libertad and other not so popular beaches. From Salinas or Santa Elena you can find transportation to any of these beaches but at specific times. Otherwise, in La Libertad which is the biggest city in the peninsula due to the port, oil refineries and military base, here you will find EVERYTHING YOU NEED including transportation to all places.
The Ruta del Sol has amazing beaches that are great for families like Cautivo, Chipipe in Salinas, San Pablo, Ayanque, Manglaralto, Montanita (if you want an eclectic,bohemian, party atmosphere), Olon, Puerto Lopez (offers whale watching tours). The majority have great food, local art, hostels and some acuatic sports. For surfing, the locals go to Chuyuipe near Ballenita, Punta Coito, Mar Bravo, Montanita and near Posorja/Playas theres lots more like Engabao. Playa Rosada which means pink beach its beautiful!! Its a very low-key sunbathing only spot but you need an all-terrain vehicle since its a dirt road to get there (there are no services here) its right before Ayanque. As you travel along you will see small villages with small museums and some bigger ones like Real Alto in Chanduy, Amantes de Sumpa in Santa Elena, Farallon Dillon in Ballenita and in Salinas there is 1 across from the boardwalk. This region is also known for its amazing native art, history and archeological sites. Make sure you carry cash since there are limited atms. Salinas, Sta. Elena, La Libertad have atms only. |
|
Compliment velvetneblina
