Tours or drivers/guides for highland towns

[WILLIAM WEINER]

I am going to attend the IL conference in February and take a day tour on the ninth and a 3 day coastal tour ending back in Quito on the 13th. I want to stay in Ecuador until February 25th and would like to travel to Loja/Vilcabamba then north to Cuenca and eventually to the Otavalo Cotacachi area and back to Quito. I need to learn a lot of Spanish before I would be comfortable traveling alone to the highland towns. Expat Journeys has a nice 10 day tour that would fill the bill but they do not offer it in my time frame. Any suggestions of tour operators or English speaking drivers available would be appreciated, also suggestions of reasonably priced hotels in these towns. If anyone else is interested in traveling together on a similar itinerary through the highland towns I would like to hear from you. Email to geobill@frontier.com .

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Try jack Abercrombie — lives in Quito and does ll kinds of tours: jackabercrombie1492@yahoo.com

[WILLIAM WEINER]

Thanks Susan. I’ll contact him. Please let me know if you think of anything else of interest.

[SUZAN HASKINS]

Bill, here is what I can suggest: You can fly to either Loja or Cuenca and explore those areas. In Vilcabamba and Cuenca you’ll find plenty of expats to keep you company.

In Vilcabamba, I’d suggest you stay at Izhcayluma: http://www.izhcayluma.com or Madre Tierra: http://www.madretierra.com.ec — with a reservation they may be willing to arrange transfer from the airport for you. It’s not hard to get a taxi from the airport to Loja or Vilcabamba but I can understand you may not be comfortable with this without a lot of Spanish. ALWAYS write down the name, address and tel # of your destination — I’ve always found the taxi drivers to be helpful and they’ll call for directions if they don’t know where you’re going or can’t understand you. (Taxis at taxi stands at airports and other sanctioned sites should be fine — until you are more comfortable, don’t hail one on the streets in Quito or Guayaquil.)

The Catamayo airport is about an hour from Loja and 90 minutes or more from Vilcabamba. Negotiate with the taxi driver and you should pay about $35 for your fare from the airport to Vilcabamba – -there are also shared vans or little trucks where you will pay less.

At the IL conference, introduce yourself to Edd and Cynthia and they’ll give you some tips about Cuenca. Or, in advance, email Edd at Ecuador@internationalliving.com and ask him for suggestions.

This is a good site that covers Vilcabamba and Loja, et al:
http://www.seekvilcabamba.com/Welcome.aspx

If you’d like to take a shuttle between Loja or Vilcabamba and Cuenca, there are several.

I’ve heard most expats talk about http://www.operazuaytur.com — the website may offer details about their services.

I understand they’re not great with email, but if you need to reach them, try emailing Operazuaytur at reservas@operazuaytur.com and tell them what you want — write in both Spanish and English….

Another option is Eddie Remache at c.p.s2012@live.com. He offers a private service out of Cuenca, along with his brother, Freddie. Supposedly answers emails promptly. (They’re Ecuadorians but, until a couple of years ago, lived their whole lives in the US and speak perfect English.)

And one more is Victor Ojeda, victorh0613@yahoo.com

To get from Quito to Otavalo or Cotacachi, contact Mauricio Bonilla: gbsmaury@hotmail.com. He speaks English, but his father Jose, who does the driving, does not. Jose is my personal driver and he’s the best. Copy him on your correspondence so he also has dates/times, etc.: josebm1058@hotmail.com. From Quito to Cotacachi he normally charges $55 to $60.

In Cotacachi, I’d suggest Hotel Land of the Sun or Los Arbolitos or Las Cuadras.

Please let me know if you need anything else?

[WILLIAM WEINER]

Thanks again Susan.

[WENDY MARTIN]

Susan, thank you for the detailed information. My husband & I will be exploring Ecuador for 3 weeks in early June & share William’s desires & concerns about exploring with limited Spanish tho we are working to correct that deficiency. Your suggestions will be very helpful.

William, how was your adventure in Ecuador? Any comments or suggestions about the services recommended? Thanks for your input. Wendy & Dana

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