Ecuador with Kids: Guide, Tips + Our Itinerary

If you’re thinking of bringing your kids to Ecuador, then you’re in for an amazing trip. We spent two weeks travelling through Ecuador with our kids, it wasn’t enough time, and we’re considering going back. Ecuador is a unique country with a lot of diverse natural beauty and landscapes. We found the people very kind, the food is great, and there is so much wildlife.

I would definitely recommend Ecuador as a family trip to families who love to explore nature. It’s rich with mountains, volcanoes, rainforest, wildlife, beaches, and has almost something for anyone. There are a few things to keep in mind about taking kids to Ecuador, especially if you plan on driving around the mainland like we did. Whether you’re visiting the Galapagos or exploring the volcanoes and rainforests on the mainland, I’m positive you will have an amazing trip. Everything you need to know is below, so scroll further for all the things you need to know for visiting Ecuador with kids (I don’t hold back on anything and will make sure you’re fully informed!)

Key Places to Visit in Ecuador as a Family

• Galapagos Islands- This is the #1 place to visit for most families, although we actually decided to save it for another time
• Mindo Cloud Forest – Mindo is just 2 hours west of Quito, it has a small town, chocolate tours, butterfly sanctuaries, bird watching, waterfalls and ziplining. We loved it here and one of the coolest things we did was feed hummingbirds
• Quito – Quito is worth a visit even if just for a few days, it has some amazing attractions like the Teleferico that takes you to the top of Pichincha volcano and gives an epic view over the clouds, mountains and city below
• Cotopaxi National Park Cotopaxi is an active volcano south of Quito. There are other volcanoes visible from the area, so its very scenic. We did a farm stay just north of Cotopaxi and could see several volcanoes from the farm. Some choose to go or stay right in the national park
• Baños – Baños is all about mountains, waterfalls, adventure activities, and a bustling mountain town. We heard from an Uber driver that not too many families make their way out to Baños, but we found it to be an incredible place to spend time with our kids, and even after 4 nights, we wished we had more time!

3 Important Things to Know about Visiting Ecuador with Kids

1. Allow time for altitude adjustment. Quito is the second-highest city in the world at 9,300 feet above sea level, but many parts of the city are even higher. If you go up the Teleferico, or visit Cotopaxi National Park (which is south of Quito) you can expect to be spending time at anywhere from 10-14,000 feet above sea level. The person in our family who struggled the most with altitude sickness was me. I didn’t feel 100% until well into day 3 and the beginning of day 4 in Quito. Luckily, our children were fine, but my youngest had a nosebleed during our first night. If you live at lower altitude, like I do, then its important to allow yourself a couple days in Quito or Ecuador of taking it easy and making sure you’re adjusted to the altitude.

2. Car seats and booster seats aren’t in use, so plan ahead (for young kids.) We were surprised to see that car seats and booster seats don’t seem to be commonly used in Ecuador. Most drivers, including cabs and ubers, didn’t have them, and some of their cars don’t even have proper seat belts. This is definitely something to be aware of before your trip to Ecuador with younger kids who require restraint systems in your home country.

Child restraints are required by Ecuadorian law, but we found that it wasn’t something that was actively enforced. We saw many young children riding in cars without them; babies and toddlers sitting on parents’ laps in the front seat, several people, including kids, sitting in the back of pickup trucks, and numerous people in laps in back seats of cars. On one occasion, we were in an Uber that didn’t have seatbelts and had to go through a routine stop by the police. The police officer saw that none of us in the back were wearing seatbelts, and he didn’t say anything.

So what we found was that the laws that you’ll read about ahead of time online before your trip to Ecuador are one thing, but what you might find is another. We brought a booster seat from Canada, but we didn’t carry it with us for every ride, because it would be impossible to haul it around all day without risking losing it. We did use it for our longer drives, but for shorter trips around the city, our daughter rode buckled into the back seat beside me. This wasn’t our ideal situation of course, but we were just balancing how to get around without losing the booster seat.

Every family will have to decide what they’re comfortable with, but I wanted to mention it so you know what to expect. If I were planning this trip again, I’d probably bring an inflatable or foldable travel booster seat that’s much easier to carry throughout the day. Your options for child restraints in Ecuador come down to:

• Finding private driver(s) with car or booster seats – your best bet is maybe drivers that have kids of their own and may already own car seats or booster seats
• Bringing a car seat or booster seat from your home country, which is what we did. The only thing to keep in mind is that this may not work for short one-way rides, because you would need to find a place to safely store it
• Bring an inflatable booster seat that’s easy enough to carry around anywhere. This isn’t a perfect solution, but it might be the best chance of guaranteeing 100% that you always have one. This would need to be bought in advance as we found that it wasn’t available on Amazon the day before our trip

3. Carry toilet paper or tissues around with you. Many bathrooms in Ecuador don’t provide toilet paper, at least not for free. Sometimes there’s a dispenser to buy it from, or a person is selling it. (Also, you can’t throw it in the toilet, similar to other Central and South American countries.) So, its useful to carry some around to avoid having to scramble to find change to pay for it.

4. Learn a few words in Spanish! Speaking Spanish is really helpful in Ecuador. We found that Ecuador isn’t like Costa Rica, in that people will speak English to you when they see that you’re a foreigner. You’ll likely be addressed in Spanish, and expected to answer in it. Not too many people in Ecuador are fluent in English, or comfortable speaking it. This may be different out in the Galapagos, but in mainland Ecuador, knowing Spanish is useful. If you don’t speak Spanish, no worries – you can still enjoy a visit to Ecuador. I recommend knowing your numbers, common greetings, and the kinds of phrases that you’d see in a phrasebook.

5. There are dogs everywhere, but be careful about petting them all. You’ll see dogs everywhere in Ecuador. You’ll see them wandering into cafes and restaurants, sleeping on the side of the road, or just chilling out in parks. Most of them are strays (or ‘libres’ as my Ecuadorian driver would say) but some of them are dogs with homes too. In Ecuador, its common to let your dog roam for the day, and then return in the evening. Regardless, you won’t know automatically whether a dog is a stray or owned, and its best to be careful about petting dogs you don’t know. We pet many of the dogs we encountered in Ecuador, but it was always a judgement call. I recommend talking to your kids about how many dogs they will see, but explain not to

10 Amazing Things to Do in Ecuador with Kids

1. Take the Teleferico to the top of Pichincha volcano in Quito

Going up the Teleferico in Quito was one of the coolest things we did on our trip. At over 14,000 feet, it is the highest point on Earth that most of us have been, and you can tell by the epic view below. The gondola ride is 20 minutes long, and they fit six people in each car. We were up there for a total of 2-3 hours; doing the hiking, meeting some lamas that a nearby farmer brings for photo ops ($1 per person), doing the swing at the edge of the clouds, and eating lunch in the cafe.

2. Swing into the clouds

There are a few of the large swingsets in Ecuador situated at high elevation where it feels like you’re swinging into the clouds. One of them is at the top of the Teleferico in Quito, and another is at the Casa del Arbol in Baños. My 5-year-old was able to go on both of them. There is a larger one in Baños that was only suitable for older kids and adults, but they also had smaller ones there more suitable for young children.

3. Visit the equator

Ecuador has a really unique location, being right on the equator. There are a few different attractions you can visit to experience being on the equator and in the ‘middle of the world.’ The Middle of the World city (Ciudad del Mitad del Mindo) is really popular in Qutio. Its a gated town with the iconic monument that you can get photos in front of. There are also restaurants, ice cream shops, souvenir stores, a train, and a kid’s playground. We found the Ciudad del Mitad del Mundo very family-friendly, and ideal for visiting with all ages!

4. Do equator experiments

There’s also a museum right beside the Mitad del Mundo that we are really glad that we visited called the Museo Intiñan. The Museo Intiñan runs by guided tours only (English and Spanish are both offered) and they engage the whole family in a tour where they teach you about indigenous Amazonian culture and way of life, and chocolate making, plus they do the equator experiments.

The equator experiments are fun and educational, but many of them are for educational purposes only, so the outcomes that you see aren’t real, or because of the equator. However, it was still really interesting how they explained life on the equator, and the impact it has on the seasons.

The only part of the tour at Museo Intiñan that some may find a bit questionable for young kids is the shrunken heads; they explain to you how and why the Amazonians used to make them, there are photos on the wall of the process, and they also have a few physical replicas – including a real one from the 1700s. For older kids, this is fine – movies geared to preteens like Pirares of the Caribbean and Harry Potter have depicted shrunken heads before, so it may not be the first time they’ve heard of it. Our 5-year-old, however, had a few questions and we just answered her in a way that was honest but still age-appropriate.

5. Try some of the jugos

Ecuadorians love to blend fresh, locally grown fruit and turn it into jugos (juices.) You’ll see juices everywhere, and you can choose from so many flavours. They don’t tend to blend fruits from my experience, although you could probaby ask. The most common flavours were strawberry, guava, passionfruit, watermelon, mango and guanábana. (Guanabána is called soursop in English, although I’ve never heard of it before. It’s mostly grown in northern South America and the Caribbean. I loved guanabana juice; my daughters preferred watermelon or strawberry.)

When you order a juice in Ecuador, you may be asked if you want it con leche o agua (blended with milk or water) and if you want con azucar, with sugar. They then blend your selections right in front of you, and you get a plastic cup with a straw to drink it from. It was so refreshing, especially on warmer days.

6. Do a chocolate tour

Chocolate tours are a really fun way for the whole family to see the process of turning the seeds inside of a cocoa bean into the world’s favourite sweet treat. We aren’t new to chocolate tours, we had done them in Costa Rica previously – but I found the one we did in Ecuador to be different, and very worthwhile too. We were given a chocolate mask to put on our face, LOTS of chocolate to try, and some hot chocolate. My kids both loved it.

Most chocolate tours are done in Mindo, they’re offered by Mindo Maya and Yumbo’s. We went with Yumbo’s as our driver recommended it, but Mindo Maya also looked like a really nice place, and we bought some of their chocolate and coffee. You probably can’t go wrong with any chocolate tour in Ecuador.

7. Soak in hot springs

Ecuador, as a result of so many volcanoes, has many hot springs which are heated with geothermal energy. Unlike some of the hot springs we visited in Iceland like the Blue Lagoon, the ones we visited in Ecuador are 100% naturally heated by the Earth, and the only man-made part of it is the actual pool. We visited these in Baños, which has quite a few of them. Some of the hot springs are more upscale, and some are very simple! We visited Las Termas de la Virgen in downtown Baños which is very basic, and no frills. The other one we visited was Luna Volcán, which was fancier and quite expensive!

We are glad that we did both though. Keep in mind that with natural hot springs, the water has a slight odour.

8. Try Ecuadorian foods

We found Ecuadorian food to have so many options for everyone. The food isn’t generally spicy, and there lots of baked goods and tasty treats. Neither of my kids had any problem enjoying local traditional foods. Here are some of the dishes I recommend trying:

9. See lots of wildlife in their natural habitat

The best place to see wildlife, hands down, is the Galapagos Islands, but we didn’t make it there on this trip. The second best place to see wildlife would be Mindo Cloud Forest, or trekking down to the Amazon Rainforest. We did still see a lot of wildlife in Ecuador, especially birds, and the guatusa (in English called agouti.)

10. Feed wild hummingbirds

When we went to Mindo Cloud Forest, which is just west of Quito, we saw a few different places where you can feed wild hummingbirds. One of them is the Mindo Hermit Trail, and another is San Tadeo Birding. Typically, you are holding a mini hummingbird feeder in your hand, and the hummingbirds fly right to you.

Our Ecuador Itinerary with Kids

• Quito (4 nights) Quito was the first leg of our trip, and a minimum of 4 nights was necessary to adjust to the altitude
• Baños (4 nights) We went to Baños after Qutio, which is a 3 hour drive. We loved Baños, and could have easily done a 5th night there. It was easy to get around, it felt very safe, there was so much to do for kids and people of all ages, and it was absolutely beautiful
• Farm stay in the Cotopaxi area (2 nights) There are many farms in Ecuador, with cows, horses, chickens and other animals. We stayed on a cow and horse farm, and my daughters were able to learn horse care and do some horseback riding. It was an incredible experience
• Mindo (2 nights) Most people will tell you to have much more time in Mindo than just two nights, but I was happy with the two nights. By the end of our trip, we were tired and wanted some down time. I’m glad that we got to experience the cloud forest in Ecuador, and feed the hummingbirds
• Overnight stay near Quito airport. We stayed at a farm near the Quito airport called Quito Airport Suites Alpaca Farm. It was ok, I’d probably look to see if there are other options next time, but ultimately we had no major issues and I’d stay here again

I hope that my guide on Ecuador with kids has given you some starting points on how you want to spend your time in Ecuador, where you want to go and for how long. I’d been wanting to visit Ecuador since my early 20s and am so glad that I brought my kids to visit. We all loved it and are determined to come back one day. I have no doubt that you will have an amazing time!