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Voykit pocket guide · Ecuador
Quito
Quito sits at about 2,850 m: keep day 1 flat and slow, do the old town in the morning while the sky is clear, and take a car, not a walk, after dark.
Quito is a long north-south city in a high valley. The Historic Centre is a hillside grid of plazas, churches and steep cobbled streets; La Mariscal and La Carolina are the flatter modern districts to the north; Guápulo drops off a ridge to the east. The trips that go wrong are the ones that ignore altitude on day 1, walk the old town after dark, or plan an outdoor afternoon in the rainy months when clouds and showers arrive after 14:00. Four clusters cover a first visit; Otavalo, Mindo and Cotopaxi are trips away from one kept bed.
- Country
- Ecuador
- Best months
- Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Dec
- Time zone
- America/Guayaquil
- Stay
- 2 days: Historic Centre morning + La Mariscal / La Carolina afternoon
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Ecuador uses US dollars. Keep $20 in small notes and coins for taxis and markets; withdraw at ATMs inside banks or malls in daylight, not on the street.
- Daily spend
- Budget $25–45 excl. bed · Mid $45–100 excl. bed · High $100+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Claro and Movistar (plus CNT) sell prepaid SIMs in malls and shops with a passport; Claro has the widest coverage.
- Emergency
- All emergencies 911 · Tourist police Via 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · US plugs work without adapters.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: 10% service often included; add a little for good service.; Galápagos naturalists and crew: US$10–20 per person per day in total, split per the boat's guidance.; Drivers and day guides: US$5–10 a day.
- Water
- Not safe from the tap in most places (Quito and Cuenca's water is treated but pipes vary); drink bottled or filtered.
- Toilets
- Put paper in the bin, not the bowl; bus terminal toilets charge a few cents.
Get in
By air
- Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO)
- UIO to the hotel: one pre-booked or ride-hailed car to the door, 45–90 minutes because the airport is out in Tababela; the risk is not the ride but arriving late to a hotel that closes its door.
Get around
Walk inside a cluster; taxi or ride-hail car between clusters.
- Passes
- No pass. Short taxi rides inside the city are cheap; use the meter or agree the fare before you get in.
- Late at night
- No rail constraint for the day plan; taxis and ride-hailing run all night.
See and do
01La Compañía de JesúsIglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
The gilded Jesuit church a block from Plaza Grande: go in the morning; allow 45 minutes and dress for a church.
02Calle La Ronda
A narrow old street of small workshops and cafés: good for a late-morning coffee; not a street to walk alone after dark.
03Parque La Carolina
Quito's central park: an easy, flat morning walk on day 2 with the city's ridge in view.
04Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia)Plaza Grande
The main square of the old town: half an hour in the morning, before the crowds and before the sun is strong.
05San Francisco church and plazaIglesia y Plaza de San Francisco
One of the oldest church complexes in the Americas, on a wide plaza: 30 minutes on the way to La Ronda.
06Santuario de GuápuloSantuario de Nuestra Señora de Guápulo
A small baroque church at the bottom of a ridge: 30 minutes plus the view; take a car down and back.
07Quito Botanical GardenJardín Botánico de Quito
Greenhouses and garden beds inside La Carolina: about an hour, and a good rain-shelter choice.
08Plaza Foch
The small square that anchors La Mariscal's cafés and restaurants: a base for dinner, not a sight.
Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.
Eat
- Mercado Central
- The old town's covered food market: a hot set lunch (almuerzo) at a stall; go at 12:00–14:00 and sit where locals sit.
- Restaurants around Plaza Foch
- The densest choice of dinner tables in Quito; walk in before 20:00, or book on busy nights, then take a car home.
Sleep
- Historic Centre
- Restored colonial hotels a few minutes from the plazas; choose a hotel with a staffed door and arrive by car, not on foot after dark.
- La Mariscal
- First-timers and late arrivals: a hotel with a 24-hour desk on a flat street, walking distance to restaurants and a car ride to the old town.
Language
Spanish is spoken clearly and relatively slowly in the Andes, making Ecuador a popular place to study it. Kichwa is widely spoken around Otavalo and in highland villages; Amazon groups speak Shuar, Waorani and others.
- 'Buenos días', 'gracias', '¿cuánto cuesta?'; 'chévere' means cool.
- WhatsApp is how hotels, guides and bus companies are reached.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake; women often one cheek kiss; avoid: Skipping the greeting before a question
- Time: Allow for 'hora ecuatoriana' socially; avoid: Assuming tours leave late — they do not
- Photos: Ask people first; avoid: Photographing children without permission
- Dress: Layers in the Andes; avoid: Beachwear in city centres
Red lines
- Churches: cover shoulders and knees; photography is banned inside many of them, including La Compañía.
- Do not walk the Historic Centre's quiet side streets or the park edges after dark; take a car door to door.
- Do not accept unofficial taxis at the airport or bus terminals; use the official rank or the ride-hailing app.
Scams (Ecuador page)
- Bag slashing and seat theft on buses: Bag on your lap, never under the seat or overhead.
- Mustard or spill distraction: Walk away, do not accept 'help' cleaning up.
- Unofficial taxi 'express kidnapping': App taxis or hotel-called cars only.
- Fake Galápagos 'last-minute' cruise deals: Check the boat's licence and reviews; pay via a known agency.
- Counterfeit US$20 and US$50 notes: Carry small notes; check change.
One and two days
1 day
The first day of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Historic Centre morning, Mercado Central lunch
- 08:30Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia)
- La Compañía de Jesús
- San Francisco church and plaza (optional)
- Mercado Central
- Hotel or café 14:00–17:00 to rest at altitude; dinner in La Mariscal, car back.
2 days
The first two days of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Historic Centre morning, Mercado Central lunch
- 08:30Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia)
- La Compañía de Jesús
- San Francisco church and plaza (optional)
- Mercado Central
- Hotel or café 14:00–17:00 to rest at altitude; dinner in La Mariscal, car back.
Day 2 — La Carolina park and garden, Plaza Foch dinner
- 09:00Parque La Carolina
- Quito Botanical Garden
- Restaurants around Plaza Foch
- Evening: dinner around Plaza Foch; take a car home after 22:00.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Ecuador Ministry of Tourism: ecuador.travel/
- Wikivoyage — Quito: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Quito
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Quito
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Take me to
- Iglesia de la Compañía de JesúsLa Compañía de Jesús
- Plaza GrandePlaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia)
- Iglesia y Plaza de San FranciscoSan Francisco church and plaza
- Santuario de Nuestra Señora de GuápuloSantuario de Guápulo
- Jardín Botánico de QuitoQuito Botanical Garden
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/quito). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.