Quito, Ecuador
 

My wife and I are planning on going to Quinto sometime in 2007 and the only thing definite right now is that we will stay at the Marriott. I would really appreciate some advice on when to go, where to eat, what to see and some great day trips. We always visit the tourist attractions but we really prefer to get involved in the local culture as much as possible on each trip. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Don`t you have this on the wrong board?

There is no South America board here on Fodor's. I guess the Latin America branch might be closest?

I could not find a board for South America and this was the closest I could get to Equador. Hopefully someone will find it and pass along some good advice.

I think suze is right - the Latin America board would be your best bet.

I am also planning to go to Ecuador next year-- the Latin America forum is the place where Ecuador can be found. I find the south america forum on tripadvisor(dot)com gets more action as far as Ecuador is concerned.

Britannica online -
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9369798

defines 'Latin America' -

'Countries of South America and North America (including Central America and the islands of the Caribbean Sea) south of the U.S.; the term is often restricted to countries where either Spanish or Portuguese is spoken.' ((*))

www.lonelyplanet.com has a forum called "The Thorn Tree" that would be another good place to check.

well it might be nice if you did some basic research before sending out a hail mary. do you want to visit craft villages around ottavalo? do you want to visit a cloudforest such as mindo or bellavista? do you want to stay at a hacienda for a few days, walk trails, horeseback ride? do you want to sit on top of a rail car and take the devil's peak train ride? do you want to go to thermal baths at papallacta? once you answer some of those questions and decide how much time you have for options beyond the cruise, then you might get some good specific advice. try tripadvisor once you have decided what you like to do the most and want to figure out if it can be done in the time you have.

artnuvo - Your advice is good, but a year late. ((*))