Two Paper Boats
  • South America
    • Argentina Chile Colombia Ecuador Nicaragua Peru
      Argentina

      Our Guide to Mendoza, One of the Most…

      Chile

      How to Visit Penguins on Magdalena Island

      Chile

      Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Puerto…

      Chile

      Our Chilean Patagonia Itinerary

      Chile

      An Itinerary Through Chile’s Lake District

      Chile

      Witnessing the Worst Protests in Chile in 3…

      Colombia

      Our Guide to Salento as a Base to…

      Colombia

      Cocora Valley Hiking Guide and Trail Map

      Colombia

      3 Day Bogota Travel Guide

      Colombia

      One Week Medellin Travel Guide

      Colombia

      3 Day Travel Guide to Colorful Cartagena

      Colombia

      Is Santa Marta a Good Base for Digital…

      Ecuador

      Ten Day Galapagos Itinerary

      Ecuador

      Ranch Life at Hosteria Papagayo in Cotopaxi

      Ecuador

      Exploring Quito in 4 Days

      Nicaragua

      San Juan del Sur Travel Guide

      Nicaragua

      How to Enter Nicaragua by Land from Costa…

      Peru

      A Day Trip Guide to Machu Picchu

      Peru

      A Photo Tour of Santa Catalina Monastery in…

      Peru

      Our Guide to Arequipa, Peru’s Most Beautiful City

  • Europe
    • Andorra Armenia Austria Montenegro
      Andorra

      Spending a Winter Weekend in Andorra

      Armenia

      Day Trips from Yerevan

      Armenia

      Discover Yerevan, Armenia’s Up and Coming Capital

      Austria

      Why Vienna is the Most Livable City in…

      Austria

      13 of Our Favorite Places in Vienna

      Montenegro

      Our Guide to Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor

  • Middle East
    • Egypt Israel Jordan Turkey
      Egypt

      Honest Thoughts on Traveling in Egypt

      Israel

      Finding the Best Hummus in Israel

      Jordan

      Petra Guide & Tips on Avoiding Scams

      Turkey

      Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul’s Most Beautiful Palace

Two Paper Boats
  • Asia
    • Japan
      Japan

      17 Unique Experiences to Try in Japan

  • Nomad Life
    • Nomad Life

      Getting Through This Pandemic

      Nomad Life

      Traveling Light, With Just a 30-Liter Pack

      Nomad Life

      How We Afford to Travel Full-Time

      Nomad Life

      The Downside of Airbnb’s Pay Less Up Front…

      Nomad Life

      Our Favorite Airbnbs in the World

  • Photography
  • South America
    • Argentina Chile Colombia Ecuador Nicaragua Peru
      Argentina

      Our Guide to Mendoza, One of the Most…

      Chile

      How to Visit Penguins on Magdalena Island

      Chile

      Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Puerto…

      Chile

      Our Chilean Patagonia Itinerary

      Chile

      An Itinerary Through Chile’s Lake District

      Chile

      Witnessing the Worst Protests in Chile in 3…

      Colombia

      Our Guide to Salento as a Base to…

      Colombia

      Cocora Valley Hiking Guide and Trail Map

      Colombia

      3 Day Bogota Travel Guide

      Colombia

      One Week Medellin Travel Guide

      Colombia

      3 Day Travel Guide to Colorful Cartagena

      Colombia

      Is Santa Marta a Good Base for Digital…

      Ecuador

      Ten Day Galapagos Itinerary

      Ecuador

      Ranch Life at Hosteria Papagayo in Cotopaxi

      Ecuador

      Exploring Quito in 4 Days

      Nicaragua

      San Juan del Sur Travel Guide

      Nicaragua

      How to Enter Nicaragua by Land from Costa…

      Peru

      A Day Trip Guide to Machu Picchu

      Peru

      A Photo Tour of Santa Catalina Monastery in…

      Peru

      Our Guide to Arequipa, Peru’s Most Beautiful City

  • Europe
    • Andorra Armenia Austria Montenegro
      Andorra

      Spending a Winter Weekend in Andorra

      Armenia

      Day Trips from Yerevan

      Armenia

      Discover Yerevan, Armenia’s Up and Coming Capital

      Austria

      Why Vienna is the Most Livable City in…

      Austria

      13 of Our Favorite Places in Vienna

      Montenegro

      Our Guide to Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor

  • Middle East
    • Egypt Israel Jordan Turkey
      Egypt

      Honest Thoughts on Traveling in Egypt

      Israel

      Finding the Best Hummus in Israel

      Jordan

      Petra Guide & Tips on Avoiding Scams

      Turkey

      Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul’s Most Beautiful Palace

Two Paper Boats
  • Asia
    • Japan
      Japan

      17 Unique Experiences to Try in Japan

  • Nomad Life
    • Nomad Life

      Getting Through This Pandemic

      Nomad Life

      Traveling Light, With Just a 30-Liter Pack

      Nomad Life

      How We Afford to Travel Full-Time

      Nomad Life

      The Downside of Airbnb’s Pay Less Up Front…

      Nomad Life

      Our Favorite Airbnbs in the World

  • Photography
EcuadorGuidesSouth America

Exploring Quito in 4 Days

by Lu September 12, 2019
September 12, 2019 983 views
Quito Ecuador

We just spent 4 days exploring Quito, the first city on our South America trip. Quito sits at an elevation of 9350 feet and is right next to the equator. It’s also the best preserved colonial town in the Americas, with some of the most impressive churches I’ve ever seen.

  • Basilica of the National Vow
  • Quito Ecuador Old Town

We flew into Quito close to midnight. Customs was a breeze. We took an Uber to our Airbnb next to Carolina Park. It cost $25. Ecuador uses the dollar and sales tax is 12%. Our 2 bed 2 bath Airbnb cost $300 for the week. It’s in an upscale, clean neighborhood next to the northeast corner of Carolina Park.

On our first full day we went to Megamaxi, the supermarket across the street, and walked around Carolina Park, Quito’s largest park with many ceviche vendors. One stand even had vegetarian ceviche.

The next day we took a free walking tour from Community Adventures Ecuador. The tour was 3 hours and took us through the Central Market and the old town. We learned about a flower tea that helps with altitude sickness and sampled local fruits and artisanal chocolate. We recommend tipping at least $5 per person.

  • Quito Central Market
  • Quito Central Market

After the tour we went to a 3-course lunch for $3.50 per person. These are common in Quito and you can get them for as low as $2.50. They always come with a soup, main plate, juice, and dessert.

In the afternoon we visited the Basilica of the National Vow, the largest neo-Gothic cathedral in Latin America. It costs $2 to enter the church and $2 to climb the towers. The outside is really interesting because instead of gargoyles, there are native animals like iguanas, armadillos, and tortoises.

Afterwards we went to Bandido Brewing, a craft brew pub, when it opened at 4pm. During happy hour you can get $2 mugs and $3 pints. I really enjoyed their Honey Ginger Saison.

I had a headache that night and all of us (Aaron’s parents were traveling with us) had bloody noses for a couple days before we adjusted to the altitude. It’s important to drink a lot of water and wear a high SPF (50 is recommended). I also wore a hat and a thin long sleeve shirt for sun protection. In the fall it’s warm during the day due to the strong sun, but cold at night.

Presidential Palace
Aaron with a guard at the Presidential Palace

The next morning we went to the Presidential Palace for a tour at 11am. You need to make a reservation ahead of time and bring your passport. Our tour guide took us to several museum exhibits and explained some presidential history, but because the President was working there that day, we couldn’t see the offices. The current President is the first one in a wheelchair in Ecuador.

For lunch we went to Govinda’s Vegetarian Restaurant for their set lunch (also $3.50), which is actually vegan. It’s also a yoga studio and the food is half Indian style, half Ecuadorian. It was really delicious.

  • Govinda's Vegetarian in Quito
  • Govinda's Vegetarian in Quito

We had been taking Ubers everywhere because it only costs $3-4 for a 30 minute ride, but we decided to walk an hour back to our Airbnb so we could see some other neighborhoods, like Plaza Foch, which is a hub for restaurants, bars, and shops. It’s one of the tourist centers, which is reflected in some ridiculous prices like $10 for a bar of chocolate, but the streets were kind of grimy and dirty.

For breakfast we discovered a bakery called Cyrano, where you can get baked empanadas (on the street it’s always deep fried), including one with vegetables (not just cheese!), croissants, cakes, and fruit tarts. It’s very fancy inside and there’s even a security guard at the door, but the empanadas and pastries are still only about $1 each. It’s a chain with a few other locations.

We did a big grocery shopping trip at the beginning of our stay and have been cooking breakfast and dinner at home. Produce is cheaper than in the US but not by much surprisingly. Broccoli is locally grown so it’s cheap, bananas are the same price even though Ecuador is a major banana producer, and anything imported, like European cheese, is expensive. Yellow dragonfruit, pineapple, and papaya are good here, tomatoes are terrible, and mangoes are so-so. Chocolate bars are about $3-5, a little high but excellent.

On our last day, we went to the National Museum of Ecuador, which is really well done, with many pre-Colombian art exhibits dating back thousands of years. The museum is free but remember to bring your passport.

National Museum of Ecuador
Pre-Colombian Gold at the National Museum of Ecuador

After the museum, we went to the nearby crafts market where you can buy t-shirts, jewelry, and woven products amongst other things for pretty reasonable prices. You can bargain earrings down to $3, t-shirts down to $5, scarves down to $4, and chocolate bars down to $2. There are a few markets in this neighborhood and they’re all neat, clean, not too crowded, and the sellers aren’t pushy, so you can browse in peace. It’s a good place to get souvenirs.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is a great book if you want to learn more about Pre-Colombian history. I really recommend reading it before a trip to South America.

Next we head to Cotopaxi!

More Information on Visiting Ecuador:

Ranch Life at Hosteria Papagayo in Cotopaxi

Ten Day Galapagos Itinerary

To see where we are now, follow us on Instagram.

FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsappEmail
Lu

Learning about the world through travel.

previous post
Day Trips from Yerevan
next post
Ranch Life at Hosteria Papagayo in Cotopaxi

You may also like

Our Guide to Mendoza, One of the Most Livable Places...

August 18, 2020

San Juan del Sur Travel Guide

March 8, 2020

How to Enter Nicaragua by Land from Costa Rica

March 6, 2020

Our Guide to Salento as a Base to Visit the...

February 29, 2020

Cocora Valley Hiking Guide and Trail Map

February 25, 2020

3 Day Bogota Travel Guide

February 20, 2020

One Week Medellin Travel Guide

February 16, 2020

3 Day Travel Guide to Colorful Cartagena

February 13, 2020

Is Santa Marta a Good Base for Digital Nomads?

February 12, 2020

How to Visit Penguins on Magdalena Island

January 28, 2020

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect with Us

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Email

Search this Site

Popular Posts

  • The Downside of Airbnb’s Pay Less Up Front Option

    June 23, 2019
  • Our Favorite Airbnbs in the World

    June 15, 2018
  • 17 Unique Experiences to Try in Japan

    November 1, 2018
  • Our Guide to Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor

    January 31, 2019
  • Petra Guide & Tips on Avoiding Scams

    February 10, 2019

Follow Us on Instagram

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2020 TWO PAPER BOATS


Back To Top