Destination OS · Old-town mornings, thin air
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.
- Local time
- --:--
- Weather
- forecast below
- Currency
- USD
- Best months
- Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Dec
- Airport
- UIO
Cash need
2/5
Heat risk
1/5
Stroller
1/5
Friction
52/100
Rules in force · 7Above 2,500 m (Bogotá, Quito, Cusco, La Paz) keep the fir…
- South America ↗Above 2,500 m (Bogotá, Quito, Cusco, La Paz) keep the first day light; sleep lower where you can (Sacred Valley before Cusco) and descend if headache comes with vomiting or confusion.
- South America ↗A yellow fever certificate is required on arrival in French Guiana, and asked for on some routes into Bolivia, Paraguay, Suriname and Guyana, or when arriving from Amazon areas — vaccinate at least 10 days before travel and carry the card.
- South America ↗Overnight buses are the norm in Argentina, Chile and Peru, but pick top-tier companies and keep valuables on your body; on-board thefts from overhead racks are the common loss.
- Ecuador ↗Check entry rules for your passport with Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an Ecuadorian consulate.
- Ecuador ↗The Galápagos has its own entry controls: a transit control card bought at the airport before departure, a national park entrance fee, and inspections for food and plants. Check official Galápagos rules before booking.
- Ecuador ↗Several coastal provinces (including Guayas, where Guayaquil is) are under official warnings and periodic states of emergency; read your government's advice before routing through them.
- Quito and the northern Andes ↗Spend two or three nights in Quito before hikes above 3,500 m; go up in steps.
At a glance
- Clusters
- 4
- Places
- 8
- Day plans
- 1
- Places to eat
- 2
- Sleep areas
- 2
- Gateways
- UIO
Right now
Checking the weather…
Working out what is open near you…
Decide
Who it suits, the trade-offs and when to go
Overview
The city in one paragraph, who it fits, and how many days it takes.
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.
Fits
- First-time visitors to the Andes
- Culture and architecture trips
- Short stays before the Galápagos or Cotopaxi
Does not fit
- Wheelchairs and strollers in the old town (steep cobbles)
- Travellers with heart or lung conditions who have not checked altitude advice
- Late-night walkers
- 2 days
- Historic Centre morning + La Mariscal / La Carolina afternoon
- 3 days
- Four clusters, old town in the morning, Guápulo at the end
- 5 days
- Four clusters + Mitad del Mundo or Otavalo day trip + one slow day
- Don't confuse
- The Historic Centre (Centro Histórico) is not the same as La Mariscal, the modern tourist district about 3 km north; they need a car or the metro between them.
Hover, tap or tab to an area to see what it is like. Pins are sleep areas; arrows at the edge point to the airport.
Off the map: Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) (60–90 min by the usual route).
Where’s what, as a list:
- Historic Centre (Centro Histórico): Morning cluster: plazas, La Compañía and San Francisco on steep, stepped streets; be out by early afternoon and take a car back after dark.
- La Mariscal: Flat, central, full of restaurants and hotels: the night-1 base and the place to eat; walk it in the day, and take a car after 22:00.
- La Carolina: The city park and botanical garden: a flat, open half-day for day 2 when the old town's steep streets are done.
- Guápulo: A steep village on a ridge below the city: come for the church and the view, take a car down, and do not plan a long walk back up at altitude.
- Sleep area Historic Centre, price band $$.
- Sleep area La Mariscal: suits Families, older travellers, solo on a budget, price band $$.
- Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), 60–90 min by the usual route.
Decide
The honest trade-off: what you will enjoy, what will wear you down.
You will like
- Colonial churches and plazas
- Cool, dry days
- Mountain views from a cable car or a ridge
You will hate
- Altitude headaches
- Steep streets
- Rain after 14:00
When
Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Dec. Month-by-month verdicts below, with the live forecast first.
Quito: next 7 days
Loading forecast…
Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Air quality
Loading…
Model estimate (CAMS via Open-Meteo), not a street-level station; readings near busy roads run higher.
Rain most afternoons; mornings clear.
Wet season; Carnival weekend crowds and closures.
Wettest stretch; plan indoor afternoons.
Wet; Semana Santa processions in some years.
Rain easing; cool mornings.
Drier and sunnier; good visibility.
Dry, windy afternoons; peak visitor month.
Dry and sunny; keep sun cream on.
Dry season ends; still good.
Showers return; carry a rain jacket.
Wet afternoons; 2 Nov holiday closures.
Fiestas de Quito in early December; Christmas closures.
Arrive & move
Getting in, getting around, and your bags
Arrive
Each gateway has its own airport-to-bed page with timings and the last safe connection.
Move
The default way around, when a pass pays off, and when the last trains go.
- Default
- 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.
- Last trains
- No rail constraint for the day plan; taxis and ride-hailing run all night.
- Other modes
- Other modes (Rome2Rio) ↗
Luggage
Where big bags are a problem, and how to get rid of them for the day.
Rule
- Lockers
- Few public lockers; hotels hold bags after check-out.
- Forwarding
- No forwarding service culture; keep the big bag at the Quito hotel for trips away.
- Dead zone
- Late check-out flights: ask the hotel to hold bags and for a shower room; many do for a small fee.
See & do
Walking clusters, day plans and the places worth the time
Clusters
Plan by cluster: each is a walkable area with a rescue point and a bag rule.
Morning cluster: plazas, La Compañía and San Francisco on steep, stepped streets; be out by early afternoon and take a car back after dark.
rescue 100% · max p90 6.2′ · half
Flat, central, full of restaurants and hotels: the night-1 base and the place to eat; walk it in the day, and take a car after 22:00.
rescue 100% · max p90 6.2′ · half
The city park and botanical garden: a flat, open half-day for day 2 when the old town's steep streets are done.
rescue 100% · max p90 6.2′ · half
A steep village on a ridge below the city: come for the church and the view, take a car down, and do not plan a long walk back up at altitude.
rescue 100% · max p90 6.2′ · 90m
Days
Ready-made day plans, timed against opening hours and walking distances.
Places
Each place gets a verdict and the time to be there, not a star rating.
Show 2 more placesShow fewer
Eat & sleep
Where to eat and which area to sleep in
Eat
A short list of places worth crossing the city for, each with how to get a seat.
Vegetarian-friendly score
2.5 / 5 · Workable
- Country diet noteOur country guide rates vegetarian eating as easy.2 / 2
- Places to eat in this guideToo few places with a known answer (0) to judge; 2 not yet checked.0 / 1.5
- Budget eating lines0 vegetarian lines in "Eat by budget".0 / 0.6
- Meat-free national dishes3 meat-free dishes in the country food list.0.3 / 0.4
- Dedicated vegetarian kitchens0 mentions of vegetarian restaurants, Buddhist or fasting kitchens.0 / 0.5
Country note: Easy in Quito, Baños and Cuenca; set lunches often use meat stock.
Vegetarian places near me →Make a diet card →
How we score
- Country diet note (up to 2): easy 2, workable 1, mixed 0.75, hard 0; no note 0.5.
- City places to eat (up to 1.5): 1.5 × (vegetarian-friendly + half of partly friendly) ÷ places with a known answer; needs 3 or more known places.
- Budget eating lines marked vegetarian (up to 0.6): 0.2 each.
- Meat-free national dishes (up to 0.4): 0.1 each.
- Dedicated vegetarian kitchens mentioned — Buddhist chay, shōjin ryōri, Jain, fasting food, vegan cafés (up to 0.5): 0.1 each.
- Total rounded to the nearest half point, 0 to 5. Built from our own pages only, not from reviews.
Sleep
Pick the area first: it decides your walk home at night and your first morning.
Practical
Money, essentials, safety and the pocket card
Money
What a day costs at three comfort levels, and how to pay.
- Budget
- $25–45 excl. bed / day
- Mid
- $45–100 excl. bed / day
- High
- $100+ excl. bed / day
- IC card
- No transit card needed for these clusters: taxis, ride-hailing and walking. The metro runs north-south (check current hours) but is not needed for the day plan.
- Cash rule
- 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.
Survive
Safety basics, the lines not to cross, and practical habits that save the day.
Safety
- Altitude: headache and breathlessness in the first 24–48 hours are common; rest, drink water and descend if symptoms worsen.
- Sun: UV is strong at 2,850 m even on cool, cloudy days; use sun cream and a hat.
- Pickpockets work crowded plazas, buses and the Historic Centre: keep phones and passports in a front pocket or a zipped bag.
- Emergency: 911 (ECU 911 covers police, fire and ambulance).
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.
Practical
- Toilets: cafés, malls and museums; carry tissues and small change.
- Tap water is not for drinking: buy bottled or filtered water.
Deep dive
History, reading, photos and every source
Sources
- officialEcuador Ministry of Tourism
- secondaryWikivoyage — Quito