Getting around Ecuador by train and driver?

September 23, 2015 1:43 PM

I grew up and learned to drive in Ecuador. Noooo thank you, not doing that again. However, I've never hired a driver. And I've never taken the new luxury train that seems to exist. Have you?

The fiance and I are thinking about a winter reprieve in Ecuador. As mentioned, I grew up there and have no problem finding things to do/places to stay/etc.

I AM unsure about how to physically get to these places. Hiring a driver and car is the best option, it seems. But I have questions:

* Will the driver take you from, say Quito to Otavalo?

* If so, does the driver take you to Otavalo, drop you off, and go back to their home in Quito for the night? And then do it all over again in the morning to pick you up? Or do you get a hotel room for them? (Which seems a little crazy, but that's four hours roundtrip!)

* Can you spontaneously say, "Hey driver! Can you hang a left? I really want to see my childhood home!" Or does it need to be preplanned, down to the minute?

The second part of my question about this amazing train. It didn't exist when I lived there, but holy cow, I want to do that.

One question:

* This timetable is confusing the crap out of me. It SEEMS like the farthest north the train goes is Imbabura. But it looks like if you leave from Imbabura or Ambato, the only place you can go is Salinas. Which is really far. And if you look at Quito, it looks like the only place you can go is Tambillo. We really want to go from Imbabura to Quito. Is this possible?

posted by functionequalsform to Travel & Transportation around Ecuador (2 answers total)

I can't speak to Ecuador or hiring a driver from direct experience, but 2 years ago we went to Peru and rented a car and drove ourselves north from Lima to Chicama and it was fairly terrifying. When traveling in South and Central America we have met people, usually surfers in our case, who have hired car and driver/surf guide to get around, and found that scenario to be a lot better and more relaxing. I think next time I would consider doing that. We have generally had good luck driving ourselves in Latin America (Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico) with minimal trouble (it helps that I speak lots of Spanish), but after our Peru experience (bad weather, scary semis, unforgiving landscapes, long distances), I think I'm over it and would seriously consider a guide in future.

This blog post talks about hiring a driver Ecuador in particular (with a recommendation for a specific driver) - if you scroll all the way down to the bottom you can see daily costs from what appears to be 2013 with a 2014 update - these are combined rates for the car and the driver, and they seem to be pretty close to just the car rental price. They imply that you will pay for food and lodging for the driver as well.
posted by vunder at 2:03 PM on September 23, 2015

I've had some weird trips to Ecuador. What seemed to work best was looking for an older driver and telling them exactly what you need. That's a pretty good fare. I wouldn't offer the hotel unless they ask. They might know somebody. Feeding the driver on the first leg at a place of driver's choice is a good idea.

Can't help with the train, but the new airport in Quito is so less terrifying than the old one.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:17 PM on September 23, 2015