Best time to visit Guayaquil

The best time to visit the City of Guayaquil is from June to September, the relatively drier and cooler months here.

How to Get to Guayaquil

The Simon Bolivar International Airport is the main access point to the city from most of the cities of United States and Europe as well as the domestic cities. You can get around by buses and cars.

Guayaquil Tourist Attractions

For most of the tourists, Guayaquil is a stop-over before getting on to the Galapagos Islands. However, the city is emerging as a tourist destination in itself and has quite a few sites of attractions.

Its location makes sailing in the Guayas River a must for tourists, giving a glimpse of life on the shores.

Among the important historical monuments of the city, The Cathedral is significant. Built in 1547 with wood, it was reconstructed in 1948 with a neo-gothic style.

The Parque del Centenario is another area worth visiting and has monuments like the statues of Ecuadorian Freedom Heroes. For nature-lovers, there is Parque Bolivar – a botanical garden with pools, turtles and Iguanas.

The city has quite a few museums that tell a lot about the history and culture here. These are the Municipal Museum, the House of Ecuadorian Culture, Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art and the Museum of Central Bank.

The Simon Bolivar Pier is a good hang out place here and has the 1770-built Morisca Tower, good for an overview of the City of Guayaquil.

A significant landmark here is the monument of La Ratonda – where Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin met and determined on the formation of the Country of Colombia.

Worth a visit is the Barrio de Las Penas – with wooden houses and pretty streets and the Santo Domingo Church. The latter – dating back to the 1548 is the oldest church here. In its interior is a well, supposed to have water with healing properties.

For a weekend getaway, you should visit the Playas General Vilamil Beach, also called the Playas. This long beach at a laid-back fishing Village is about a 100 kilometers away from the city and is a popular surfing destination. A bus ride to Playas from the city takes a little less than two hours.

Before you head ahead for Galapagos Islands, spending a day or two here is certainly not a bad idea.

Best time to visit Ecuador

You can visit Ecuador at anytime of the year. December to January and June to August are the time when tourism peaks here.

How to Get to Ecuador

You could fly to the Capital of Ecuador – Quito or to Guayaquil in Galapagos from major destinations like Los Angeles, New York and Miami via Venezuela.

If you don’t mind a road journey, ride on a bus to Ecuador. Buses are also the way to get across the cities of this Country.  Otherwise, you can fly within.

Ecuador Tourist Attractions

The cities of Ecuador have a lot for tourists to see and do. Some of the best attractions of Ecuador are as listed below.

• Make a trip to the Galapagos Island, lying off the west coast of the country. This World Heritage Site has 13 volcanic Islands besides the 40 small Islands and is called the Island of evolution because of some recently formed islands and some rare flora and fauna such as the land Iguana. For water-sports enthusiasts, there is sailing, diving and snorkeling. Flights to this Galapagos from Quito or Guayaquil take about 3 hours.

• Go for a day’s drive to the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador.
• Include a trip to the Avenues of Volcanoes in Banos of Ecuador. The Valley lies south of Quito and is home to indigenous villages with tribes living a lifestyle that dates back to centuries ago.
• Tour the Capital. Amidst this modern city you will hear the traditional Quichua language being spoken by traditionally dressed people, find churches and monasteries like the 1892-built Neo-Gothic Church and the Guayasamin Museum in Ecuador.
• Take a ride on the Devil’s Nose Train that takes you through indigenous villages, Andes Sierras Lakes, and the historic site of the Ingapirca archaeological complex on a speed that supposed to one of the highest in the world.

• Visit Cuenca. You have here some colonial remains, churches and museums and the Catedral Nueva with blue domes and stain-glass windows.
• Go shopping for souvenirs in the markets of Otavalo, a short drive from Quito.
• For some adventure like hiking or mountain biking and for a Nariz del Diablo train ride from highlands to jungles at the coasts, head to Riobamba. There is also the Saturday Market at the square here.
• Climb up the Cotopaxi Mountain and view the 800-metera wide sulphur crater in its centre.

• Reserve a day for Paraque Nacional Sangay – home to active volcanoes, rainforests, snow-capped mountain ranges, glaciers. This Park is a World Heritage Site.
• Go for excursions in jungles Misahauli, Coca, Dureno, Banos, Tena and even Quitoof .
• Sit by the beaches such as those at Bahia de Caraquez beach, Salinas beach, Playas beach, San Vicente beach and Atacames beach and relax.

There is something or the other for all kind of travelers all through the year in Ecuador. That certainly seems like a good deal worth grabbing in Ecuador!

Best time to visit

June to September is the peak tourist season here, though the first week of December is vibrant with the celebrations of the anniversary of San Francisco of Quito.

How to reach

Flights from major international destinations land at the Aeropuerto Internacional Marisal Sucre, the only airport here. For commuting within the city, there are buses, taxis and other usual means of transport.

Quito Ecuador Tourist Attractions

There are several reasons to visit the Capital City of Quito and they can be broadly categorized as cultural aspects and natural beauties.

• Culture
  While the city is modern, amidst the high rise building, you will hear traditionally dressed people speaking Quichua. In the old city, you have mud houses with traditional red roof tiles. There are old churches such as the Neo-Gothic Church built in 1892 and the Basilica del Voto Nacional located on a hill. While the New Town is modern, you have several museums here to tell you about city’s culture. This includes the Guayasamin Museum. This part of the city in North Quito is a commercial area and you have modern-day entertainments like restaurants and also parks.About 35 kilometers north of Quito, right where the Equator crosses is the 10-meter high Mitad del Mundo Village – erected in 1936. The Village is a cultural center with an ethnography museum, souvenir shops and a host to live performances. A famous monument here is the 134.5 feet high aluminum Virgin de Quito Statue on the 9,895 feet high El Pancecillo Hill – one of the few Virgin Statues with wings.
• Nature
  Mountains such as Cotopaxi, Antisana, Pichincha and Cayambe surround the city and you can see the snow-capped peaks here. Visit the Zoo in Quito where you can spot native animals like shyer, puma, ocelot, macaws, condors and various other wild life. It’s a popular picnic spot in Quito.Quito, in fact, is the second highest Capital, above the sea level by 2,850 meters. Bolivia’s Capital La-Paz is the highest. Tour the La Carolina Park here, spread across 6, 70,000 square meters in the centre of the city. It also has a Botanical Garden and an exhibition center. Ride up to the Telferiquo Park, about 4,100 meters high and view the city. Visit the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, a short-ride to the northwest of Qutio and see the town inside a volcano crater!
• Other attractions
  The Telferiquo Cable ride trail is a major attraction among tourists that take you through the north and south of the city in luxury.

Nature and culture, old and new , snow-capped peaks and volcanoes, these contrasts come together in Quito and make a trip here truly delightful and memorable for tourists.