Yesterday, we shared our experience visiting Iguazu Falls, one of South America’s natural highlights.
But no one talks about what the actual trip there is like. We want you to use this as your Iguazu Falls travel guide, so that you know what you’re getting yourself into when you visit these famous waterfalls.
Read on to learn about the things that nobody tells you about your trip to Iguazu Falls:
It was not cheap or easy to visit Iguazu Falls for us – but it is cheap now!
Iguazu Falls are located on the border between Brazil and Argentina, out of the way of any other destination in either country. The only way the falls can be on the way anywhere is if you happen to be traveling overland through Paraguay (which most people aren’t). So likely you’re detouring to make a special trip here.
In total, we spent $1,000 for a four-day trip, traveling by buses and staying in the cheapest hostel we could find available. Here’s how:
Getting there is expensive. Buses are your cheapest option. On the Brazil side, Sao Paulo and Florianopolis, the closest biggest cities, are both just under 16 hours away by bus. From Buenos Aires it is a full 24-hour bus ride, and our trip from Rosario was 20 hours and cost ARS480, or $95 US dollars per ticket and our onward journey Puerto Iguazu to Salta was another ARS590, or $115 per person.
2019 Update: The exchange rate works in your favor even more now than it did when I updated this post last in 2017.
2017/2018 Update: Please note that if you’re going to Iguazu Falls now, you’re in luck! The exchange rate from USD to ARS has dropped significantly over the past four years, and you’ll only pay about 1/4 of what we paid. The current prices are:
- ARS480 = US$28 (apprx.)
- ARS590 = US$34 (apprx.)
This is one of the world’s major natural wonders, so there is obviously an airport. Buenos Aires is a two-hour flight, but flights are normally around $350 one way.
Hotels and hostels have inflated rates, and even places with mediocre reviews are overpriced and quickly booked. We paid ARS245 / $48, for a double room in giant, mediocre hostel with carpet that may have not been vacuumed in years. Unless you are on a shoestring budget, we would recommend to choose a place with better reviews, but that will bump you up to more per night.
Iguazu Falls admission rates are another extra cost on top. Per person we paid ARS60 / $12 for the bus to the Falls and back, plus ARS170 / $34 entrance and another ARS150 / US$30 for the boat ride – which we really recommend doing, too. So that is $76 total per person, plus Dani paid BRZ41.66 / $21 admission to visit the Brazilian side of the Falls, plus ARS8 / $1.60 for the bus to the border and ARS12 / US$2.40 (each way) from the border to the Falls.
***UPDATE 2019 EXCHANGE RATE***
- ARS245 =US$5.42
- ARS60 = US$1.33
- ARS170 = US$3.76
- ARS150 =US$3.32
- BRL41.66 =US$10.62
***UPDATE 2017 EXCHANGE RATE***
- ARS245 =US$14
- ARS60 = US$3.50
- ARS170 = US$10
- ARS150 =US$8.80
- BRL41.66 =US$13
***UPDATE 2018 EXCHANGE RATE***
- ARS245 =US$13.29
- ARS60 = US$3.25
- ARS170 = US$9.22
- ARS150 =US$8.13
- BRL41.66 =US$12.37
In total, the actual visit to the Falls cost us $181, and would have cost $210 had Jess come to the Brazilian side (plus an extra $140 for a 90-day visa that U.S. citizens must pay).
Our tip: Don’t leave planning to the last minute. Booked in advance, a return flight from Buenos Aires could have cost under $400 – twice the price of a bus ticket, but saving you two entire days of your life on a not very comfortable bus. Another great option to save money is booking in advance a complete tour package with a local travel agency from Argentina.
Consider a visit to the nearby historic Jesuit Missions in Paraguay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, while you are in the area. It’s a 4-hour trip from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, by car (a little longer by bus).
Puerto Iguazu is not all that great
Considering that Puerto Iguazu is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Argentina, the town leaves much to be desired.
Other popular tourist towns in Argentina – Bariloche, Cafayate, El Calafate, Ushuaia, are solid cities. They have great infrastructure for tourism and in general felt on par with similar places in Europe or the U.S. Puerto Iguazu feels much more like a developing country, only restaurants and souvenir shops line the streets, most hotels are in urgent need of renovation, and there were many child beggars walking barefoot from table to table all day throughout town. Our tip: Try to find a good deal for a nicer hotel on Booking.com or a hostel with excellent ratings on Hostelworld, and book well in advance. Splurge at some of the nicer restaurants – we loved La Rueda, an upscale restaurant on Avenida Córdoba 28.
***Update 2019***
The good news is that since we stayed in Puerto Iguazu, a number of Airbnb’s have popped up on the Argentinian as well as the Brazlian side of the Falls! If you are not signed up with Airbnb yet, use my referral code to sign up and get up to $30 off your first booking.
You can choose between private rooms or entire apartments – here are some of my favorite apartment, for as little as $55 for an entire apartment:
The real stars of Iguazu are not the Falls!
Sure, the Falls are why we are all here and are by the far the most stunning aspect of your trip to the park. But you rarely hear about the coatis (a raccoon-like animal) that feel like the true main attraction. From the minute you pass through the gates, you’ll be met by dozens of coatis roaming freely.
Tourists are constantly snapping pictures of them, possibly more than of the Falls. They kneel down and get so close to them – but don’t be fooled. These buggers BITE. They steal food, rummage through bags and depending on how many there are – they can get rather aggressive. There are very large, very graphic warning signs showing what a coati bite looks like, but in true tourist mode, people from around the world still get frightening close to them, feed them or even pet them!
Our tip: Don’t feed the coatis and keep a safe distance if you don’t want to pay for a rabies shot. If they smell food, they are likely to bite you.
The nature around the Falls is spectacular.
Staring at the Falls for hours, getting lost in imagining all that water rushing by your eyes every second – that’s the core reason you visit Iguazu Falls. But the wildlife here is amazing, and more than almost anything else, we’ll remember the butterflies, hundreds of them, fluttering around us as we wandered along the trails and through the gorgeous jungle here. There are colorful birds, huge catfish in the river, crocodiles, those pesky coatis and monkey and jaguars, (albeit the last two we didn’t personally see).
Our tip: Take some time for a picnic – bring your own food, as the food in the park is overpriced and lackluster – and really take in the jungle scenery as well, not only the Falls.
The National Park is huge!
While the Brazilian side is pretty manageable with only one walkway (1.2 km long / 0.75 miles), the maze of walkways on the Argentine side is much bigger than we expected. While you can see Niagara Falls easily in a couple of hours, you can wander the walkways at Iguazu Falls for hours and hours. The upper trail, the lower trail, the trail on St Martin’s Island, the trail to the Devil’s Throat. If you’re also planning to take a boat ride, you can easily spend six hours in the park, especially as the little train ride from the entrance to the first set of trails takes a while, as does the train ride to the Devil’s Throat (Garganta Del Diablo).
Our tip: Plan at least half a day for your visit to make sure you have enough time to walk all the trails, and have time to take in the falls from all the viewing platforms. We wouldn’t advise to attempt seeing the Brazilian side and the Argentine side in one day.
The weather is iffy.
Iguazu Falls are in a tropical region and it rains. A lot. Being in the densely humid jungle, it can rain hard for a few hours or a whole day. We saw plenty of package tourists trucking it out to the Falls the first two days we were in town because they had their one day and it was time to move on.
Our tip: Err on the side of unpredictable tropical weather and give yourself a couple of days’ leeway so you can opt to go on the sunniest day possible. Trust us, the sun sparkling off the water, countless rainbows and all those butterflies make waiting a day or two totally worth it.
Still looking for a place to stay in Puerto Iguazu?
It took me around eight hours to get from Montañita to Cuenca, with a quick stopover in Guayaquil where I changed buses. As soon as I got off the bus in Cuenca, I got a good vibe from the city, and I had a feeling I’d enjoy my stay there.
I walked to the hostal I had booked, instead of taking a taxi, and the walk was much needed after the long hours spent on the bus. I noticed right away how beautiful the architecture was – the buildings were mostly from different eras , but it was the mix of architectural styles that made it so interesting.
Cuenca was the first city in Ecuador I found visually appealing – neither Quito nor Guayaquil had done much for me with their boring, unimaginative architecture. Yes, I admit it: I prefer cities that are delightful to look at over cities that aren’t all that pretty (which is probably why I never fully understood the appeal of Chiang Mai in Thailand). The unique blend of architectural styles has led to Cuenca being awarded a place on the elusive list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Cuenca charmed not only UNESCO, but also me with beautiful Spanish-colonial architecture, well-preserved Renaissance buildings, a pleasant town plaza and a number of impressive churches, especially the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The unique fusion of different cultures and epochs in South America that can be seen in Cuenca’s streets and architecture are impressive, and I was even more impressed when I read about Cuenca’s UNESCO status, which is based on cultural heritage, and that the classification actually comprised of over 1,000 buildings in Cuenca!
Cuenca’s recognition for cultural heritage naturally means that the preservation of historic buildings is taken seriously here, which is why it is such a delight to simply wander the streets, marvel at the buildings, and try to figure out which era they belong to.
But there’s more to the city than just architecture and wandering around: If you enjoy museums, Cuenca is THE place for you. The city had enough museums to keep me busy for the entire week I spent there: the Modern Art Museum, Central Bank Museum (Museo del Banco Central), the Prohibited Museum (Prohibido Centro Cultural), Medicine Museum, Museum of Aboriginal Culture, a religious museum in the Convent of the Immaculate Conception, the Inter-American Traditional Art Center, and probably a couple of other ones that I have since forgotten about.
Somehow, I never made it into any of the museums, even though the Modern Art Museum was on my to-do-list for Cuenca. But I made a mistake that I’ve made before (it seems like I never learn?!): I waited too long. Assuming I had plenty of time since I was staying in Cuenca for a whole week, I spent the first few days in town taking things slow, simply meandering in the parks and streets, peeking into churches, photographing murals and street art, walking around the market and exploring the coffee shop scene.
One thing left on my to-do list was climbing the bell tower of the new cathedral, which I was told was well worth it for the sweeping views over the town and the Andes Mountains.
But then, somehow, the week slipped through my fingers, and before I knew it, I had only two days left. And these two days happened to be completely rained out. On my last day, a rain storm so fierce passed through Cuenca that I got completely soaked while I ran from a coffee shop to a restaurant only three blocks away. There was no way I would enjoy climbing up the bell tower of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the New Cathedral, in this weather.
I beat myself up for not doing it on one of the days when the weather was nice, but in all honesty, I enjoyed my time in Cuenca even though I barely did any touristy things.
I got into a nice routine of going on a morning run along the river, a couple of times all the way down to Parque Paraiso, a pleasant, forest-like park which is the largest green space in Cuenca.
Afterwards, I’d walk up the stairs between Calle 3 Novembre and Calle Larga and look at the street art there, before plonking myself down for breakfast in one of the many cafes around town. There are no shortage of breakfast destinations in Cuenca, ranging from cheapie desayunos for less than $3 in the more local places, to pricier, gringo-fied versions at Goza, where I splurged on a $7 breakfast (they had shakshuka on the menu, how could I resist!).
Another thing I loved about Cuenca? It was the first city in Ecuador where I never had trouble finding something to eat that I enjoyed. Ecuadorian food is not known to be very vegetarian-friendly, and for most of my time in Ecuador, I hadn’t had any memorable meals. But in Cuenca, there were several international restaurants: an Indian restaurant, a Thai place, two Italian restaurants, and a number of vegetarian restaurants.
When I wasn’t typing away on my laptop, I spent most of my time eating my way around town, reading on my Kindle in one of the cafes or people watching in the main square, and that was okay. I didn’t feel the need to do much more, and I enjoyed not feeling rushed, not feeling like I had to sightsee all day long.
My week in Cuenca felt more as if I was living there instead of taking in all the tourist sights, and it showed me once more that visiting a place is about so much more for me than hitting up all the museums and landmarks a city has to offer. Those aren’t the places where the locals spend their time. Instead, I ran into fellow runners in the park, I chatted with café and bar owners about life in Ecuador, I watched kids play together in Parque Calderon and loved getting into a routine for a while, to discover what is would actually be like to live there.
Speaking of which, Cuenca is very popular with expats, and is without a doubt the most popular expat destination in Ecuador. I have to admit though that while I enjoyed my time in the city, I didn’t feel the draw that many expats must feel. I could not see myself moving to Cuenca. But that being said, I rarely feel like I could move to a place.
After a week of standing still, I got itchy feet and was ready to move on to my next destination: Baños, the Adventure Capital of Ecuador.
When I looked into Ecuador’s beaches and tried to decide which one(s) to visit, two names came up over and over again: Canoa and Montañita. Both sounded equally as nice but what made me eventually go for Montañita was the fact that it was quite difficult to get to Canoa.
The bus from Quito takes nearly nine hours (with a change in between), and from Guyaquil around six hours. Montañita was only three hours from Guayaquil by bus.
This little beach town is not only the number one surf spot in all of Ecuador, but it’s also known as one of South America’s prime party destinations. People come from as far as Argentina to celebrate there at massive open air parties in which DJ’s play their sets right on the beach, and the music blasts loudly out of giant speakers, resounding throughout the entire bay.
Arriving on a Thursday, a four-day party weekend was just about to start. I was barely able to get a room in town and had to settle for a dorm bed, but as soon as I checked into my hostel I knew it wasn’t for me. A DJ was playing house music in the backyard of the hostel – but all I wanted were a few tranquil beach days.
So I packed up my Kindle and headed into town instead, hoping to find a cozy little coffee shop or a quiet spot on the beach. As soon as I got to the town center, however, it became clear that none of this was going to happen. Big speakers were set up in several bars along the beach, all blaring loud dance music. Quiet reading time on the beach? Fuhgeddaboudit.
I decided to focus on finding a coffee shop instead, but again, I had no luck. There wasn’t a coffee shop in Montañita, at least not one that looked like they’d serve a decent cup of not-instant coffee. Instead of coffee shops, I passed tourist restaurant after tourist restaurant, souvenir shop after souvenir shop, with a number of tour operators in between. Flea market stalls were lining the streets, where hippies with dreadlocks sold self-made jewelry and cheesy souvenirs. A few vendors with food carts were praising their ceviche to everyone that passed.
And in the middle of it all? Hundreds of people. Backpackers, party goers, families – it seemed as if everyone had descended on Montañita at the same time that I had arrived in search of some peace and quiet.
I went for a long walk along the beach, which in all honesty, did not wow me in the slightest. The waves were so high that it was nearly impossible to just walk into the water and enjoy the ocean – instead, you had to be careful not to get swept away by a wave. There was a red flag on the beach, signaling that it was dangerous to go into the water.
Frustrated and unsure about what to do, I went back to my hostel and got my laptop out. Was there a place nearby I could go to? On Booking.com, all but a handful of pricey hotels were booked out. I decided to check Airbnb and see if there was maybe a room somewhere available, but everything in town was either already booked or looked terrible. And then I saw a gorgeous little cabin a little further inland, away from the ocean and away from Montañita. It was closer to the coastal village of Mangaralto a few miles to the south. The cabin seemed to be in the middle of nowhere – it was exactly what I was looking for: tranquility, peace, and solitude.
I still wanted some beach time, but I had a feeling that being in Montañita during a party weekend would annoy me more than it would relax me, and so I decided to spend three nights in the cabin and then return to the town after the weekend, when better accommodation was available and the all-day-all-night parties had come to an end.
And so the next morning, I instructed a cab driver to bring me to the cabin, following the instructions I had gotten from the owner. I asked him to let me out on the side of the road and walked up an unpaved road to where the cabins were – or at least were I hoped they were. Luckily my sense of direction had not failed me, and after a short uphill walk, the cabins came into sight.
“Yes”, I thought to myself, “this was definitely the right decision!”.
The host showed me to my cabin, and even though there were three other cabins, I was the only guest for the weekend. I didn’t mind the solitude though, on the contrary – I was thankful for some alone time.
One day I walked further into the mountains to visit the village and get a glimpse of rural living in Ecuador, and I made my way down to the beach every afternoon just in time for sunset.
And each sunset was so worth the three kilometer walk. The colors of the sky were spectacular, and I made it a habit to treat myself to a sunset cocktail while indulging in my book.
Other than a couple of bars right on the beach, there was no sign of tourism in Manglaralto. It was a fishing village through and through, with none of the crazy party tourism creeping over there from Montañita. Here, it was only locals who were enjoying the beach, with no foreigners at all. I loved watching the local kids running around in the water, screaming with joy every time they got hit by a wave.
When I returned to Montañita on Tuesday morning, I was relaxed, but I was also ready for some city life – good food in particular. I had only received breakfast in the cabin, and couldn’t find any good food on my strolls to Manglaralto – it was usually the ‘Catch of the day’, and not much for vegetarians, which is why I spent most of the weekend on a fresh fruit diet.
Montañita felt like a completely different town when I returned: gone was the blaring music, gone were the crowds. It was still fairly busy, but far from the masses that had overrun the village for the weekend.
I found a much nicer place to stay, a little further from the town center and the beach, but with a lovely outdoors lounge area, hammocks and lush gardens – and: a kitty!
And I had already seen a few places that I wanted to eat at: Thanks to its popularity, Montañita, like so many Latin American beach towns, has convinced quite a few business-savvy travelers to put their backpacks down for a while and open a restaurant. I knew there was an Israeli café with hummus and falafel, there was another Israeli place with shakshuka (which I am officially addicted to), and there were several Argentine empanada places. I couldn’t decide where to eat first!
The beach still didn’t do much for me though. I have to admit that I am a bit of a beach snob these days – but lots of people do love Montañita. Had the surf not been as intense and the current less strong so that people could actually go into the water for a swim, I might have enjoyed it more, but the red flag didn’t disappear for the entire time I was in town.
However, I did enjoy watching the surfers – because they definitely couldn’t complain about the waves. On the contrary, they were embracing the wild ocean here, and for me it was fun to just relax and admire their skills.
The lovely lady who owns the cabin I stayed in recommended that I also visit Olon, another beach village just north of Montañita, which she said she found more enjoyable than the party town. And so I went there for an afternoon, and saw right away what she meant: the vibe in Olon was completely different. No loud bars, no ramshackle buildings – Olon felt a little nicer.
In Montañita I felt that the town grew too fast, so that buildings were constructed in a rushed way, with not much thought given to aesthetics or durability, which is why most of the hostels and hotels around town look anything but inviting.
What made up for the lack of charm though was the nightly sunset, which of course didn’t disappoint here either as it was just three kilometers up the road from Manglaralto. You can’t go wrong with Pacific sunsets.
So while I didn’t love Montañita, I also can’t say that I had a bad time there. And who knows, had I been in the mood to party while I was there, and danced the night away every day, staying out until the wee hours of the morning, I may be raving about Ecuador’s most popular beach town now.*
When I did do some research about the city, I found a few sights that sounded like they were worth visiting mentioned in travel guides, and I decided that Guayaquil sounded interesting enough to spend a few days after my cruise.
However, the city didn’t make it easy for me to love it. It didn’t wow me with its architecture, and it wasn’t particularly charming. It was rainy and cloudy during my stay, and even though I spent five days in town, I never found a place to eat that I truly loved.
The main attraction of the city seemed to be the revamped Malecon 2000, and I had chosen well with the place I was staying at: a stylish, new 
The Malecon 2000 was one of the most extensive urban-renewal projects in South America. Before the malecon was built, this area of the city wasn’t very popular, but these days, the malecon is teeming with people day and night. The boardwalk is made up of ponds, playgrounds, sculptures, gardens and offers sweeping river views. There are restaurants and coffee shops, and even a Moorish clock tower.
The Malecon is truly beautiful, there is even a Ferris wheel for panoramic views over the city, and an IMAX cinema, where I treated myself to a viewing of LaLa Land one night.
The Sweet & Coffee café right on the Malecon was nice enough to while away an afternoon or to pick up an iced drink and go on a stroll through the manicured parks next to the boardwalk. Ice cream vendors line the boardwalk, and they were constantly busy since Guayaquil was always hot. Rain or shine, the pressing heat never disappeared. Even at night, temperatures would rarely go below 80
I had read about a park in the city center that supposedly was filled with iguanas, and even though I’d seen plenty of iguanas in the Galápagos Islands, I wasn’t tired of them yet, and I was excited to check out the park and see if it was indeed filled with iguanas.
The guide book had not lied: there were dozens of iguanas hanging out everywhere in the small park, with people touching them as if they were fluffy little bunnies instead of leathery reptiles.
I was amazed how gentle they were and seemingly unafraid of people – almost like their distant relatives out in the Galapagos Islands. A lady had a stash of ‘iguana food’ on one of the benches – basically just lettuce cut into small pieces – which she was selling. I invested 50 cents in a bag of lettuce and within minutes I was surrounded by hungry iguanas of all shapes and sizes. That afternoon ended up being my fondest memory of Guayaquil.
Even though I spent plenty of time wandering the streets of the city, I just didn’t feel much of a connection to Guayaquil. A city of 2.69 million people, it is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador (yes, bigger than Quito!), and it seemed mainly to be just that: a big, busy city.
I left the main sight of Guayaquil for my last day, when, for the first time during my stay, the clouds opened up and gave way for bright blue skies: the perfect day to hike up the 432 stairs to Cerro Santa Ana, where you can climb to the top of a lighthouse atop the hill (in case 400+ stairs aren’t enough), which offers beautiful 360 panoramic vistas over Guayaquil.
From up there, you can also admire the highest building in all of Ecuador, a modern twisted skyscraper named The Point, and an architecturally interesting structure, albeit at 137 meters (449 feet) tall it is a moderately sized skyscraper in the scheme of things – at least for someone who is used to North American metropoles.
Guayaquil has one of the largest and most important sea ports in all of South America, and the building sits right next to the Guayas River which flows into the Pacific a few miles from there.
Even though I left early in the morning for my climb up the hill, I was drenched in sweat by the time I reached the top, but the views were well worth me huffing and puffing my way up the steep little alleyways.
The stairs lead right through Las Peñas, Guayaquil’s oldest neighborhood. The houses there are more colorful than anywhere else in the city, and some of them have stunning wooden frames and balconies. At 400 years old it is one the oldest and best preserved neighborhoods in the entire country, which is why it was declared a ‘Cultural Heritage Of Ecuador’.
Las Peñas used to be Guayaquil’s poorest and most dangerous neighborhood until a regeneration project transformed its ramshackle buildings into an eye-catching sequence of brightly painted houses, restaurants, bars and shops. It takes its name from the cliffs and limestone rocks that formed the hill (Peñas = rocks).
This was easily my favorite part of the city – everything Guayaquil was lacking in charm and personality could be found here. The little alleyways were filled with clotheslines, kids were playing in the streets and cats were lazing on the hot stonewalls. Many of the wooden houses in Las Peñas have been beautifully restored.
One of Las Peñas’ most famous (temporary) residents? Che Guevara. He passed through Guayaquil in 1953 on his famous South American voyage. Back then, Las Peñas was a crumbling, poverty-ridden neighborhood. Che gave free pediatric assistance to its inhabitants. Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Neruda also spent time there.
While Guayaquil has come a long way from its poor and crime-ridden past, it is still not the safest city in Ecuador. Several times locals stopped me and told me to put my camera away when I was out taking pictures, and whenever this happens, it makes me feel uneasy.
Luckily though, I ended my time in the city on a good note in Las Peñas, where for the first time, I could see the draw of Guayaquil.
It’s impossible to love every place you visit, and I was happy when I boarded the bus for my next destination: Montañita, Ecuador’s most famous beach town.
Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835, and his study of the local wildlife contributed significantly to his theory of evolution, later published in his famous book ‘The Origin Of Species’.
This is especially true on Santa Cruz Island, as it is easy to get around via taxi and bus or even just walking. You’ll see wildlife in town (herons and other birds, and sea lions) and you can visit popular wildlife spots on the island. It is also possible to rent bikes to cycle to further away spots. The benefit of basing yourself on one of the islands: You can get a true feeling for what life is like in the Galapagos Islands.
One good thing to know before visiting the Galapagos Islands is that you can also fly directly to the Galápagos Islands and look for last minute cruises directly in Puerto Ayora, where the majority of cruises depart. This has the advantage that you can see the boat before handing over the money and meet the guide that will be on board. Having a good, knowledgeable guide can make or break the trip.
One important thing to know about the Galapagos Islands is that between June and December, during wet season, cruises are 15% to 20% cheaper.
I knew the best way to see the islands was to take a cruise, to sail around the islands for a few days, go on land excursions and snorkeling trips while enjoying life on the water in between. A few weeks ago, I finally boarded a plane to the Galapagos Islands and I was curious to see how the reality of a Galapagos cruise would compare to the picture I had in my head.
After a two-hour flight from Guayaquil, we arrived on the island of Baltra, a small island that, other than being home to one of two airports in the Galapagos, is uninhabited. Flying in, we could see barren reddish ground below us. Baltra is the world’s first “green” airport, which means it is running on renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind farms, and seawater desalination.
Before we were allowed to leave the airport, we had to pay the $100 National Park fee, and our carry-ons were searched. I quickly learned that it’s not allowed to bring apples onto the islands – or any agriculture goods, for that matter. Later I learned that it is strictly prohibited to bring any food on land with us when we set foot on the islands for land excursions.
By now, we were on the Galapagos for 45 minutes – and was already completely smitten by the islands.
When we arrived in Santa Cruz, we hopped on a bus which took us on our first land excursion, before we even boarded our yacht. We drove towards the center of the island, and as we got further away from the shore, the grey, dry bushes and branches that cover the rocky ground were replaced by a lush green forest. A rainstorm had just passed through the island and the smell of fresh rain mixed with the smell of the flowers and plants was mesmerizing.
Other than the road that cuts through the green in a straight line, there was no sign of human existence anywhere. At some point, we passed through a village. Nothing more than a few little houses, each and every one flanked by banana trees; a donkey standing on the side of the road.
When we finally reached the end of the road, it felt like we were in tortoise paradise. We were surrounded by tortoises of all sizes who were sitting in the high grass, happily munching away on leaves and straw. They couldn’t care less about us, a group of camera-toting tourists, literally fresh off the boat.
Bellies full, we all put on wellies and headed down to a pond where the tortoises like to gather.
Our naturalist guide – obligatory on every Galapagos cruise – told us that giant tortoises are the longest-lived of all vertebrate species, easily reaching over 100 years. The oldest on record lived to be 152 years, but it’s not impossible that there’s a tortoise somewhere on the islands that was already alive when Charles Darwin stopped in the Galapagos in 1835.
When Darwin arrived, there were 15 different kinds of tortoises on the islands, now the number is down to 11. Hundreds of thousands of tortoises were killed when whalers and pirates stopped at the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are not on the brink of extinction anymore – but still an endangered species, there are only 15,000 of them left in the Galapagos, which is a tiny number.
After saying goodbye to these gentle giants, we made our way to the port of Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora. This town is the most populated urban center (population 12,000) in the Galapagos Islands and this is where the yacht that would take us around the islands over the next few days was waiting for us.
The 16-person aptly named Majestic was amazing: eight cabins for two people each, a gorgeous sun deck with Jacuzzi and sun chairs, and a beautiful dining and lounge area.
At 6am, I woke up after a mostly well-slept night. I woke up once around 2am, which was when the boat started moving, which made me feel a little seasick. Luckily that feeling passed and I was able to sleep for a few more hours.
I could hardly believe how serene it felt. The Islands seemed uninhabited, there were no other boats. It felt like our boat was the only one cruising around the archipelago, but I knew that there other boats out there, somewhere.
After a generous breakfast buffet of pancakes, eggs, breads, cheese, ham, yogurt, porridge, muesli and fresh fruit, it was time for our first wet landing. This means, taking the dinghy to an island near us and getting wet up to the knees while disembarking the dinghy.
When we jumped out of the dingy and waded through the shallow water onto the beach, I thought to myself, this is how Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panamá, must have felt like when he was blown off course during a voyage to Peru and landed in the Galapagos Islands instead. A deserted beach, lush green vegetation, a volcano looming in the background. The island hasn’t changed much since then.
The beach we landed on is called Espumilla Beach because of the foam (espuma in Spanish) that is created as the waves crash against the shore.
We watched the ghost crabs quickly moving into their sand holes every time we got too close, pelicans and blue footed boobies dive bombing for food with a sudden plunge – head first – into the ocean, and an American Oysterhunter enjoying the solitude.
Our second stop for the day: snorkeling! Our first exploration of the underwater world of the Galapagos took place just off the coast of Santiago. As soon as we jumped into the ocean we noticed how clear the water was, and we were surrounded by colorful fish immediately. On this first snorkeling trip we saw a small shark, a sea turtle and a spotted eagle ray. Not bad for a morning of snorkeling!
Next on our agenda was kayaking. We got to see the same coastal area we just explored underwater, except that we are now above water. We kayaked along the rocky cliff side of the island, watched some seals lazing in the sun and some blue footed boobies sunbathing on the rocks. Whenever I turned around, I saw nothing but the open sea. It truly felt like we were the only ones out there. So far, I still had not seen a single other boat.
We got back to the boat and had lunch, and right after we polished off our plates the boat started its engines to bring us to our next stop. While we were cruising, we had time to make use of the sun deck and the jacuzzi. The luxury yacht is just as much a part of this experience as the landscapes we passed and the wildlife we saw.
A couple of hours later, our stop for the afternoon came into sight: nothing more than a barren rock in the ocean, surrounded by smaller rocks, all bleak, without any sign of life on them. There were, however, four or five other boats anchored here, and we soon learned why: Bartolome Island is home to some spectacular lava formations, the most remarkable one being Pinnacle Rock, a rock formation that rises high into the sky.
The tiny island is said to have some of the most beautiful landscapes of all of the Galapagos Islands, including a tuff cone of an extinct volcano that can be climbed that offers stunning views over Bartolome and the other islands, and a variety of red, orange, green, and black volcanic formations. Sadly, we had frolicked in the water for too long during our morning excursion that we ran out of time to climb the volcano before sunset, but there was still time for another snorkeling session.
What the island lacks in plant and animal life is more than compensated by the surrounding sea. This is a popular spot for Galapagos penguins, and sure enough two playful penguins joined us on our swim for a while. Watching them whiz around us and chase each other was highly entertaining. After they left, we swam slowly along the rocks on the shore and spotted several sharks, spotted eagle rays, star fish and a myriad of colorful fish. We all agreed that this snorkeling session was better than in the morning – and that one had already been amazing!
Back on the boat, we had just enough time to change into some dry clothes before we set off on a short sunset ride in the dinghies to see the penguins again, this time on shore, and take pictures of the lava rock formations.
After our sunset excursion, we had our nightly briefing for the next day and were told that we’d have breakfast at 6am. Another early start, and since we had such an action-packed day, everyone retreated to their cabins as soon as we finished another scrumptious dinner.
When my alarm went off at 5.30am the next morning, I was everything but ready to get up. My skin burned from too much sun and too little sunscreen the previous day. We fueled ourselves with a filling breakfast and at 6.30am we were already on our way to our first stop of the day: Las Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island.
Again, we arrived on a completely deserted beach, the only sign of life were the fresh traces of sea turtles who came onto the shore to make their nests in the sand. Looking at the traces, our guide commented that we must have just missed them, that’s how fresh the tracks were.
The only ones who joined us on our morning beach walk were the hundreds of Sally Lightfoot Crabs that move quickly on the rocks along the shore, already visible from far away, thanks to their bright orange/red bodies. These agile little crabs were supposedly named after a Caribbean dancer, and the way they can climb up rocks on vertical slopes and run in four directions, I can see why someone said they resembled a dancer.
We walked over to a little lagoon which is known to be a popular feeding place for flamingos. When we got there, we saw only one lone flamingo marching around the muddy water, but the flamingo population on the Galapagos is only 600, so even seeing just one of these distinctively colored birds felt special.
Afterwards, it was time for another snorkeling session. This time, we got to swim with turtles! Even though I’ve swam with turtles in the Philippines and in Mexico, it never loses its magic for me.
The species of turtles we swam with, the Green Sea Turtle, is the only kind of sea turtle that nests on the Galapagos Islands. Like many species of sea turtles, the Green Sea Turtle is an endangered species, their nests often destroyed by other animals, and the tiny hatchlings being eaten by birds before they can even reach the ocean.
We followed these majestic creatures around the coral for a while, watching them feed on sea grass and going up to the water surface to get air every once in a while. For me, it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning.
We returned to the boat where, as always when coming back from an excursion, we were greeted with fresh fruit juice and snacks. We spent the rest of the morning on board, enjoying the sun deck, reading a book, or just gazing out at the ocean.
One thing I loved about the cruise was how well we ate. Sometimes it felt like all we did was eat – especially that morning. In between our post-snorkel snack and noon we got to try another tasty snack of cheese filled plantains and then it was already time for lunch. Lunch was always served buffet-style, including vegetables, rice, some kind of meat and a fresh salad. For me as a vegetarian our chefs prepared a special dish for each meal, including vegetarian ceviche (the rest of our group got ‘real’ ceviche).
After a couple more hours on the boat we reached Santa Cruz where we got off the boat to spend the afternoon in the small town of Puerto Ayoro, to buy some souvenirs, have a drink, or to check our emails (there was no Wi-Fi on board). We all loved the sea lions that seemed to have taken over the town – they were lounging on an otherwise empty dock, frolicking in the water, and stretching out on some benches along the pier.
We got back to the boat just in time for another beautiful sunset, and then it was already time for our Farewell Dinner and Farewell cocktail. The days on the boat had gone by way too fast!
The cruise was not quite over yet though: On our last morning, we got up early for one last sunrise snorkeling session around Kicker Rock, a rock in the middle of the ocean that is popular with hammerhead sharks. 
And yes, it didn’t take long until we spotted the first shark! In addition to sharks, we were joined by a group of sea lions, a lonesome turtle and again, hundreds of colorful fish. A memorable end to our four-day cruise.
Since our cruise ended in a different island than we departed from, we got to take a tiny 8-seater plane back to the main airport in Baltra. I ended up in the co-pilot seat, terrified at first, but quickly easing into the experience and enjoying the vast ocean views with a little island coming into view every once in a while. This was my first time in such a tiny aircraft, and having a front row seat for it made it even more exceptional than it already was.
As we approached the airport in Baltra, where our connecting flight to Guayaquil was waiting, I felt the strong urge to skip the flight and stay longer in the Galapagos. I was not ready to get back to the mainland, where emails, work and deadlines were awaiting me. I wished I had more time in this remote paradise – the Galapagos Islands had captivated me in a way no other place has had a grip on me in a long time.
I am not sure if I’ll ever get to return to the Galápagos Islands, but if I do, I’ll make sure to spend more than four days there – I already missed the Majestic, which we had left only a couple of hours before, and I wanted to explore the islands we didn’t get to see on our cruise – like Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island or the beaches of San Cristobal Island.
The article made Quito seem like a gem of a city, a town so beautiful that it would sweep me off my feet. The problem was, I just didn’t feel it. I had spent three days in Ecuador’s capital, my first stop on my trip through the country, which is usually enough time to make me fall for a place. But Quito and I, we just didn’t connect.
I was a bit wary of visiting Quito, after hearing stories of robberies, people throwing feces from church towers to distract you so that they can take your belongings (see 
The cab driver who brought me from the airport to my hotel (a great opportunity to practice my rusty Spanish during the 45-minute ride) put me at ease, however. Quito had gotten much safer over the past few years, he assured me. I had nothing to worry about.
The next morning I joined about ten other travelers on a tour of Quito’s Old Town, this time with commentary from a local, and including a few spots that I had indeed missed. Did any of them wow me though? Unfortunately, I still didn’t love the city, but I have to say that I am glad I joined the walking tour because it gave me a much better understanding of the Ecuadorian culture and some insights into the life, history, and politics of the country.
Our guide Andrea took us to the central market for example, where she gave us an introduction to the local fruits, and where I was excited to learn that one of my favorite Colombian fruits, lulo, grew in Ecuador, too, but was known as naranjilla here. Andrea introduced us to several other Ecuadorian specialties, whetting my appetite for the 
The walking tour also brought us to my biggest oversight: The bohemian La Ronda neighborhood with narrow cobblestone alleys and colorful houses, which I found more charming than any other part of the city I’d seen so far.
But even with Andrea’s lovely introduction to Quito, I still wasn’t too impressed. It didn’t help that it was raining every day during my entire stay, which means the city was always covered in a layer of clouds and the temperatures were in the 50s – too cold for me to be comfortable. Instead, I never left my guesthouse without my rain jacket and a scarf.
As for my taxi driver’s comment about Quito having become much safer, Andrea still warned us that it wasn’t a good idea to walk up El Panecillo Hill, on top of which the 45-meter-tall Virgin of Quito thrones over the city, (made of seven thousand pieces of aluminum!) a popular sight for tourists, but apparently not save to walk to. My guidebook had also warned to walk up this hill.
Overall I felt like there was just not a whole lot to do in Quito. I visited almost all of the churches, including the beautiful, ornate Neo-Gothic Basilica del Voto Nacional which turned out to be my favorite, and where $2 bought me admission to the bell towers, which offered great views over the city, albeit the cloudy skies never went away for long enough to make it a truly stunning view.
Just a short walk from the Basilica del Voto Nacional church was the Centro De Arte Contemporaneo De Quito, the Contemporary Art Museum, which, I was happy to find out was free to visit. For an art lover like me, it turned out to be a highlight of my visit to Quito. During my visit they had a photography exhibit about a native group in the Ecuadorian Amazon, which was superb, as well as the ‘Tres mil leguas de algodón’ exhibit by Ecuadorian artist Fabian Patinho for which he photographed women who were comfortable in their bodies in underwear in an intimate setting and then turned them into acrylic paintings.
As I walked out of the museum, I noticed that the walls across from the museum were covered in murals and graffitis – the best ones I’d seen so far! The street art felt like an added bonus to this artsy morning.
I almost made the same mistake Alex In Wanderland made to skip the ‘New Town’, but after reading in her article that she regretted waiting until her last night in town to check it out, I decided to head over there to see how it compared to the Old Town. Again, it didn’t blow me away, but it was nice to see that there was an area with lots of restaurants, bars and nightlife, something I hadn’t seen to the same extent in the Old Town, and as I ventured further away from Plaza Foch, the main square in the New Town, I found especially the little plaza Borja Yerovi with its colorfully painted houses and murals delightful.
I even decided to stay in the new part of town upon returning to Quito so that I’d be right by some nice coffee shops and bars, and maybe check out the nightlife. I congratulated myself on that decision when I stopped in Quito for the second time a few weeks later.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have come back to Quito had it not been for a mountain biking tour of Cotopaxi volcano I wanted to do. Since this particular tour only runs on weekends, I didn’t get to do it during my first visit, but I really wanted to climb at least one volcano in Ecuador, so why not go for the second highest active volcano in all of South America? Cotopaxi is one of the highest volcanos in the world, reaching a height of 19,347 feet (5,897 meters).
Again, the weather gods weren’t on my side when I returned to Quito, but I tried to make the best of my volcano tour. On a grey and rainy day, our group of six piled into a minivan, and when we arrived in Cotopaxi National Park, the volcano was hiding behind a massive cloud. We drove up until a parking lot to do a short climb up to Refugio Jose Rivas at 15,953 feet / 4,864 meters – the highest point you can climb to at the moment. Summiting hasn’t been possible since August 2015, when the volcano woke up and started spewing ash again for the first time in thirteen years.
As we were making our way to the Refugio, it started snowing, and what started out as light snow turned into a considerable snowstorm by the time we reached the top. The snow turned into rain when we descended again, ready to hop on the mountain bikes, ruining the experience I had been very much looking forward to.
We arrived at Laguna Limpiopungo at 12,566 feet (3,830 meters) completely soaked, muddy and chilled to the bone. The flora and fauna of the Altiplano, which I had admired when we were driving through the Altiplano that morning, was barely visible in the rain, and I couldn’t even bring myself to take out my camera and snap a picture of the lagoon, which is popular with birds and would have made for the perfect place to end our tour at. This was certainly not the mountain biking adventure I had been hoping for, but I guess you can’t be lucky all the time.
When I was dropped off in Plaza Foch, the center of the bar scene of Quito’s New Town, after the tour, I knew I had made the right decision to stay in this part of town: the plaza, which had been quiet the night before, was bustling with people, the coffee shops and restaurants were all busy. It was Friday night and I was determined to make my last night in Quito a memorable one.
I found a lovely vegetarian restaurant, El Maple, and right across the street from it, a fantastic artisanal German micro-brewery, Cherusker Cerveceria. On the same street (Joaquin Pinto), I checked out The Lucky Charm Pub, and around the corner Finn McCool’s Irish Pub, which happened to be right next door to 
