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🇪🇨Things to Do in Ecuador
From the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands to Quito's colonial old town - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Ecuador is small enough to combine Andean mountains, Amazon rainforest and a Pacific coastline in one trip, but its single biggest draw sits apart from all of it - the Galapagos Islands, roughly 1,000km offshore, where wildlife shows almost no fear of humans thanks to centuries of isolation. Quito, the capital, is the standard gateway for both the mainland and the islands. Here are 6 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Galapagos Islands
A volcanic archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of evolution, with giant tortoises, marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies visible at extremely close range due to the animals' lack of natural predators or fear of humans.
📍 Galápagos Islands
🚉 Flights from Quito and Guayaquil land at Baltra or San Cristobal; every visitor pays the national park fee and a transit control card on arrival, and inter-island travel is by small ferry or light aircraft.
Quito Old Town
One of the largest and best-preserved historic centers in Latin America and among the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites ever designated, with colonial churches and plazas set at over 2,800 meters altitude.
📍 Quito
🚉 Nearest stop: Plaza del Teatro or Santo Domingo on the Trole busway, with the Quito Metro's line 1 now running beneath the city - the old town is a UNESCO site and largely pedestrian at weekends.
Avenue of the Volcanoes
A stretch of the Ecuadorian Andes lined with over a dozen volcanoes, including Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and climbable with proper mountaineering guides.
📍 Ecuadorian Andes
🚉 The Panamericana runs the length of it: buses from Quito's Quitumbe terminal serve Latacunga, Ambato and Riobamba, and the Cotopaxi park entrance is a short taxi from Machachi.
Middle of the World (Mitad del Mundo)
A monument marking the equator just outside Quito, with a museum and the novelty of standing (roughly) in both hemispheres at once - the actual equatorial line, measured by GPS, sits a short distance from the monument itself.
📍 near Quito
🚉 Take the Metrobus to Ofelia terminal, then the Mitad del Mundo feeder bus for 45 minutes - the Intinan museum next door is where the equator actually falls.
Ecuadorian Amazon (Cuyabeno & Yasuní)
Ecuador's Amazon basin is reached by a shorter flight from Quito than most other Amazon access points, with Cuyabeno and Yasuní among the most biodiverse reserves for jungle lodge stays.
📍 Cuyabeno & Yasuní, Ecuadorian Amazon
🚉 Lago Agrio and Coca are reached by overnight bus or a 40-minute flight from Quito; from there it is a motorised canoe of two to four hours to the lodges, which arrange everything.
Otavalo Market
One of South America's largest and oldest indigenous markets, held every Saturday, selling textiles, jewelry and crafts from Kichwa artisans in the northern Andes.
📍 Otavalo
🚉 Buses from Quito's Carcelen terminal take two hours to Otavalo, and the Saturday market fills the Plaza de Ponchos a few blocks from the terminal.
Mark Ecuador, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Ecuador?
A week suits Quito plus the Avenue of the Volcanoes or Otavalo well. The Galapagos Islands are worth treating as their own 5-7 day extension given the cost and logistics of getting there and cruising between islands.
What's the best time to visit Ecuador?
June-September is the dry season in the Andes and a good time for the Galapagos, when water is calmer and wildlife including whale sharks is more active. December-May is warmer with more marine life diversity but rougher seas.
Is Ecuador good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Quito is manageable for independent travel, and Galapagos trips are almost always arranged through a licensed cruise or land-based tour operator, which handles most of the logistics for you.
Do I need a visa to visit Ecuador?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays (typically up to 90 days); other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: cancilleria.gob.ec.
What are some things to do in Ecuador on a tight budget?
Quito's old town and the Mitad del Mundo monument grounds cost little to visit, land-based Galapagos trips (staying in island towns rather than on a cruise ship) are considerably cheaper than a live-aboard cruise, and Otavalo Market costs nothing to browse.
Can I rent a car in Ecuador, and what licence do I need?
You can, though the intercity buses are frequent, cheap and cover the whole Andean corridor. A foreign licence is accepted for visits of up to 90 days when carried with an International Driving Permit, and the minimum age is generally 21 to 25. Quito operates a pico y placa restriction barring cars by plate number during weekday rush hours. Mountain roads are steep with frequent fog, and the Galapagos cannot be driven to at all - the islands are a flight and then boats. Official visitor information is published by the Ministry of Tourism at ecuador.travel.