Airline Travel
Transportation in Ecuador
The air transport system in Ecuador is more efficient than most other Andean countries. The country has the advantage of small size and relatively low prices (except for flights to the Galapagos Islands).
Quito’s international airport is located about 10 kilometers north of the city. The other main airport of the country is in Guayaquil, about 5 miles north of the city. Both airports are served by buses and taxis.
The main domestic airlines are TAME , Icaro and Aerogal .
Most tourists move across the country by bus, arriving almost everywhere and are cheap. The “mini-buses” (buses with 22 seats) cover long distances in a relatively short time, the largest “bus” on the other hand are slow, but help to socialize and have fun on them. If traveling by bus, have your passport handy, because on the outskirts of the city police checks are often performed. Do not cross the province of Guayas with night buses, and roads are often frequented by bandits.
The railway system of Ecuador is extremely limited and consists mainly of two tourist trains. The most famous is the one that crosses an extraordinary stretch of road that runs from Alausi by The Devil’s Nose. The second is used on weekends for travel between Quito area and Bowling Recreation Area, near Cotopaxi.
Travel to Ecuador you can order a long passage in the van, trucks (rancheras) or taxi, but Fix a price with the driver before leaving. In some large cities you can rent a car at a price comparable to that of the U.S. and Europe, but taking into account the efficiency of public transport travelers are few. Anyway, if you rent a car, you can do with a major international companies such as Avis , Budget , Hertz and locates , or any local agency. To rent a vehicle must be 25 years old, passport, valid driver’s license and a credit card.
You can also reach the islands by sea, but cruises are cheaper than flights. Anyway, traveling by boat is a fairly common practice in Ecuador. The most common type of boat is a canoe with a motor, which is used as a water taxi or a bus along the main rivers in the eastern part (as the Rio Napo) and parts of the north coast. Even the Manatee Amazon Explorer Cruise along the river Napo. The idea of ??turning the Galapagos on a private yacht may seem wonderful, but you must have a license (and licenses are limited to the Galapagos Islands). However, there are services (sailing boats, cruise ships and ferries) not allowed to visit the archipelago. Some rivers are crossed by ferry to tramp.
Ecuador is not the ideal country for cyclists, but it’s still possible to visit by bike. Bicycle shops are scarce in Quito, and there are a fairly small range of spare parts. The best tour operator for mountain bike routes are in Quito and Riobamba. Bike rental is a recent introduction in Ecuador, and usually only be done for the short haul, generally in Quito, Riobamba and Cuenca.