Top Ecuador hotels
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One of the highlight of Ecuador is its wonderful Pacific coast. The magestic Pacific offers, under these lattitudes, hot water (a point of interest for those of you who live in California ; )).You can see pics in my Montanita and Puerto Lopez's pages but there are many others.
Ecuador counts an incredible number of volcanos, some of which are still active.A visit of Ecuador would be uncomplete without sightseeing (and even climbing) the volcanos.My pages under different cities comprise some pics of volcanos in Ecuador.
Ecuador is a marvelous country to discover the Andes. It offers all of the various landscapes and climates of this mystic and gorgeous mountaigns chain.The views, the people and their culture, and the roads are incredible.
Generally not finished, half-built, dirty and rosty... This one is a joke (it's only paintings) but it's really close to the standard of the ecuadorian house...Generalement pas finies, a moitie construite, sale et rouillee... Celle-la, c'est pour rire (tout est peint), mais c'est assez proche du standard de la maison equatorienne...
You can be an Angel if you wish to !On peut devenir un Ange, si on le veut tres fort ! In this hotel, Stef and I became angels... for a short time !Dans cet hotel, Stef reporter et moi meme sommes devenus des anges... tres rapidement !
The Ecuadorian Coast may be as trendy as it sometimes may be calm and empty.Be careful to the weather, it's generally hot, but it rains two or three days a week between May and November.La Cote Equatorienne peut etre aussi "tendance" qu'elle peut etre parfois calme et vide.Attention au temps, il fait generalement chaud, mais il pleut deux a trois fois par semaine entre Mai et Novembre. Mompiche....Nobody, empty, long beach...Mompiche,Personne, vide, place immense
I found that speaking Spanish was a definite plus here. Rather than spending $100 on a guide (which I found not so great here for the price) I had the travel company (G.A.P.) recommend a taxi driver for $70/day. Procuring a taxi driver through a travel company is more reliable than just finding someone on the street. You must speak Spanish in order to take advantage of this. I found the taxi drivers I used in general just as knowledgeable as the guides and less money. But again you must speak fluent Spanish. The entire trip as every day was an adventure. I used my Spanish on an every day basis.
I was very taken by how friendly and hospitable the people of Ecuador are, especially the rural residents.We were fortunate enough to visit several Ecuadoran families in their houses. It was an opportunity to learn how they live and thrive in this beautiful little country.And, it's also a chance to buy local handicrafts directly from "the manufacturer". You get a great deal, and THEY get ALL of the money for their labor. Win-win, as they say. One of my fondest memories was the visit to the farm pictured in this tip. They had several looms set up inside the house and the demonstration of weaving technique was fascinating. And, I appreciate the grandmother inside who, without a spoken word between us, convinced me that I needed a beautiful, new camera strap for my old Canon AT. I still have the strap, but I've moved on to better cameras.
When you visit Ecuador, there is a great deal of local color and experience to be had at the various markets, both rural and urban. And, the markets are also a great place to get good quality fruits and veggies for cheap eats.Many of the markets are world-famous, Otavalo's Indian market , for example. However, each little local market has something to offer, be it lunch or learning. One of my fondest market memories occurred in Riobamba. We saw a bunch of guys playing with one of those little "kick bag" things. (can't remember the name). Basically, they're playing tennis with their feet, and using a small sack of beans to do so.We gave it a try and weren't even close to good. But, the smiles all around made the market experience richer.
I could defanitly recommend a homestay as the BEST way to learn the language. My host family, the Ordonez, was so patient and helpful! My first month in Ecuador, I could only understand my name (despite my four years of instruction in high school), but by the end of the year, I was fully fluent (besides a little problem with the subjunctive form, that 3 years of college Spanish took care of!). Quito, or a city in the mountainous "Sierra" zone, is the best place to learn because they enunciate their words and speak very clearly. It is more difficult to understand speakers from the coastal region, because they tend to slur their words together or leave off the last syllable - many Spanish native speakers have trouble understanding them! Many organizations offer homestays for HS students such as AFS (who I went with - www.afs.org), Rotary (www.rotary.org), and Youth for Understanding...
Four Points by Sheraton Quito Quito
6 Reviews and 82 Opinions I knew this hotel as the Sheraton Quito, but I suppose that it was, at least at one time, a Four...
Hotel Victoria Cuenca
1 Review and 46 Opinions I arrived without a reservation at the end of a long and exhausting day (see my Alausi page). The...
Samari Spa Resort Baños
33 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Ecuador attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Ecuador sightseeing.
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Q: Hello I leave in Ecuador next month and i'm looking a spanish school, located in the Pacific Coast. I know there is a school in...
A: Hello Enrico You're right, Montanita is such a touristic place. I understand you want to avoid it. Last year, I have spent one month in a spanish school in Sua, near...
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