Destination Guides

Where to go in Ecuador

Matching Ecuador's regions and cities to trip types — first-timers, beach weeks, food trips and family holidays.

6 min read · Updated 2026-08-01

Ecuador is one of South America's smallest mainland countries and one of its easiest to travel, because the Andes, the Amazon basin and the Pacific coast are all within a few hours of each other. The country markets itself as four regions — Costa, Sierra, Amazonía and Galápagos — and that division is the right way to plan. Altitude, not latitude, sets the climate: Quito sits at roughly 2,850m and stays springlike all year while the coast is hot and humid. The US dollar is the national currency, which makes budgeting simple.

The places worth building a trip around

Each of these has its own page with timing, budget and getting-around notes.

Quito (City) — High-altitude capital with one of the best-preserved colonial centres in Latin America.
Galápagos Islands (Island) — Volcanic archipelago 1,000km offshore with famously unbothered wildlife.
Cuenca (City) — Elegant colonial city of domes, rivers and Panama-hat workshops in the southern Andes.
Baños de Agua Santa (Region) — Adventure-sports town of waterfalls, hot springs and canyon swings below an active volcano.
Amazon — Yasuní & Cuyabeno (Region) — Rainforest lodges and canoe trips reached from Coca or Lago Agrio.
Cotopaxi & the Avenue of Volcanoes (Park) — Snow-capped volcano and páramo grassland an easy drive south of Quito.
Otavalo (City) — Indigenous market town north of Quito, with crater lakes and waterfalls nearby.
Montañita & the Pacific coast (Coast) — Surf and nightlife village on the Ruta del Spondylus, near whale-watching waters.
Quilotoa (Lake) — Turquoise crater lake and the multi-day Quilotoa Loop village walk.

Pairing them up

Andes highlights: Quito, volcanoes, markets and the adventure town. Route — Quito → Otavalo → Cotopaxi & the Avenue of Volcanoes → Baños de Agua Santa.