Welcome

disclosures..

I didnt do the late arrival unless i have to due to limited flights or thats how the timing works out.

im not that much of a risk taker. Id rather arrive early and wait. Im not important enough to have a plane or boat wait for me.

Also, you may want to consider the what-ifs. what if your flight is delayed anywhere? how will it affect everything down stream. will it be a domino effect?  Flight changes arent not so uncommon id risk it.

To me, do what you want. I had planned to visit Quito before and then head to Guayquil and stay there overnight to meet a travel friend.

Assuming you will arrive in Baltra and head to Puerto Ayora, i would check that the ferry/water taxi is running before you do this. If you do, in the morning? when you meet the ship, you may have to go back to the airport to do so. Again, check with them about the logistics. Its not jsut about you, but about them. I did this just to spend some time in Puerto Ayora. But you will have to take into account getting back to the airport to meet your cruise. Also, i wanted to meet them at the dock, but they said to meet at the airport. I even tried to meet at the channel, but again, had to meet at the airport.

If you go meet your ship in San Cristabol, then its not a big deal since you will have to go into town anyway and the lodgings are there.

If you havent looked at map you really need to start doing so. you may see and it may raise some questions for you to figure out.

good luck

Quito is such a lovely city where you can explore beautiful colonial architectural areas, Middle of the World, and dine at amazing restaurants like "Somos", "Urko", "La Purisima", "Katari", "Miskay" and others. Also from Quito you can explore incredible outdoorsy sites like Cotopaxi, Antisana, Pichincha and other amazing mountains which have beautiful fauna and flora. Last time we visited Antisana we saw a mountain lion preying on white deer, it was an incredible experience that I've never seen before in my life.

Guayaquil is a warm Florida alike weather city (always nice and warm) where you can experience less architecture and less natural sites, there is a wonderful reserve called Churute where you can watch monkeys, slots and crocodiles but we've never had the chance to go and see it.

My advice will be as a first time visitor to Ecuador to go to Quito first, from there you can see more than from Guayaquil, I'm pretty sure you will make it back to Ecuador, it is an amazing country and it is safe for tourists contrary from what you read on line. We always go back there since we have family living in Cumbaya (Quito), that suburb is something else, it has amazing vibes, architecture and dining places.

Galapagos is a paradise, we made it there last year and took a Naturalist trip in order to explore pretty much all of the islands, I can't wait to go back there in order to stay at the beach and just chill and relax during the warm season.

Ecuador is one of the most amazing countries in the world to travel and explore, enjoy it!

There's no real "layover" in GYE--it's just a stop to offload some passengers and onboard those continuing to the Galapagos. You don't even leave the plane.

Quito is indeed a lovely city. There is so much to see and do in and around the city. Luisa's advice above is spot on for both cities.

It's always worth arriving at least a couple of days ahead of your cruise in case of baggage snafus.

Dear TM,

good advice above. Quito was the 2nd ever site to be recognized as "UNESCO World Heritage" - and it is a good idea to plan to arrive 2 days before your cruise - just in case there are issues on the way down. The vast majority of folks don't experience any significant altitude issues in Quito - maybe a mild headache / some sleep issues.

It's easy to fly throught Guayaquil though - if that works better for you, no problems. It's a steamy Latin American port city and exhibits that personality very well (both in the positive and negative sense). Right out of a Graham Greene novel...

Warmest regards,

Heather Blenkiron

Thank you for the great guidance and advice. I think I am going to fly in two days before and to where will boil down to flight times.

The altitude in Quito is 9000 ft. You should use acetazolamide under prescription of your physician in order to get through the altitude without problems, we use coca leafs which work instantly for hiking and getting adjusted to the altitude.

I love the descriptions of the 2 cities in this thread; honestly, you can’t go wrong, and your decision to leave it to flight schedules makes sense. All else being equal, I’d give the edge to Quito…the centro histórico is spectacular, and the city’s setting & climate will provide more of a contrast with the Galapagos. Re: the altitude, my personal experience is that it slows me down a bit, and I sleep poorly the first night, but I’ve never taken medication (aside from acetaminophen or ibuprofen for headache as needed). Others I’ve traveled with or spoken to about their travels have had similar experiences.

I liked Guayaquil more than I expected, and there’s more than enough to do there to fill a day (at least). “Steamy port city” is exactly right! In a weird way it reminded me a bit of New Orleans.

We flew into Guayaquil and out of Quito. We had a lot o fun (2 adults and 3 kids under 14) walking the boardwalk in Guayaquil and we found some fun places to eat. In Quito, we had a guide take us around the colonial part of the city and we had a blast. It’s a beautiful area and it was a fun way to spend a day waiting for our 12:40 am flight home. The altitude was not much of an issue here (but more of an issue for us in Cusco, Peru). Guayaquil is steamy and Quito is delightfully cool in the evening. FYI, we traveled from 7/27 and just got home yesterday (8/14)

marathongirl-

Sounds like a fun trip, please post a TR when you get a chance!