Trip to Ecuador
 

My husband, son (age 12) and I will be traveling to the Galapagos this March and are taking a Linblad Cruise of the islands. I am contemplating adding a side trip to either Cuenca or Quito with my son before our cruise and was wondering if anyone had suggestions as to what might be fun for us to do there and which city you would choose. We would probably have an additional 3-4 days in advance of our trip. Lastly, wondering if there would be any security concerns for me traveling alone with just my son. Thank you very much to anyone who responds.

Hi Elizabeth
Quito is not safe to walk at night, but i stayed at Nu House, a boutique hotel situated near a central square open all night with cafés, restaurants etc' where you can walk safely at night.
Otavalo is a fantastic saturday market (& continued to Cuicocha Lagoon)
Mitad del Mundo may be interesting for your son with demonstartions related to Equator (Coriolis etc')
Maybe go to a rainforest lodge for 3-4 days?
I;ve also been to Papallacta hot springs and enjoyed the "Paramo" vegetation om the way, but won't recommend it.
a day to Laguna Quilotoa was really nice with a visit to local indigenous house high on the Paramo (started from Machachi area not quito)
Cotopaxi is another beautiful day, though i missed the views of the Mt

Congrats awesome selection on Linblad el numero uno...

www.guanguiltagua.com Best most professional knowledgeable

good direct personal experience last fall with them

they spoke PERFECT english I learned a lot.

dennistourguide@hotmail em I used for them.

there are some safety cvivil unrest issues there

due to a rather insane left leaning clueless presidente

who challenges the police all the time so insuremytrip.com

always wise... trave.state.gov good info.

I traveled with driver/guide above was excellent my great

hotels in best areas...

www.nuhousehotels.com Main best area far safer than old town

www.haciendapinsaqui.com Bolivar slept there peacocks markets

www.bellavistacloudforest.com 150 species of hummingbirds

all close to Quito my top 3 might consider them got

discounts on all from $90 or so with Dennis/Eva last fall.

Ecuador/Galapagos truly awesome most amazing wildlife ever.

Cuenca is nice lots farther away make more time or skip it

Not much different than Quito for me...

Enjoy!

The civil unrest was over a year ago. There have been no incidents since then. The president does not "challenge the police all the time." In fact, when Wikileaks revealed secret cables from the U.S. ambassador writing about the corrupt police chief, she was booted out of the country.

My friend and I stayed in Quito before and after our Galapagos cruise last year. I'd recommend the family run Los Alpes for Quito accommodation, http://quitolosalpes.com/ This place was outstanding due to the touches of Spanish grandeur that remained from the grand house the place had once been, the friendly and helpful staff who go out of their way to provide helpful assistance, Claudio speaks excellent English and other staff have enough to allow communication and the price, about $70 AUD per night. They serve dinner and have a menu with steak, pasta and vegetarian choices.

I also like Aby's suggestion of an Amazon lodge, and we looked at Sacha Lodge for this experience, http://www.sachalodge.com/

Have a great trip,


Pol