AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I wouldn't do that, if I had a choice. Guayaquil is a very hot, humid city that's quite uncomfortable. Quito is in the mountains and is cool and very comfortable. Guayaquil is sort of a dangerous city where Quito is a bit kinder. The same plane that stops in Guayaquil starts in Quito, so it's about an extra 1/2 hour of flight. We didn't change planes in Guayaquil - just stopped. But then, I really love Quito. And, by the way, the altitude thing is pretty minor. I call it my "Quito headache." I wake up with it the first morning, but by the time I've had two cups of coffee it's gone. What I do notice in Quito is shortness of breath a bit when walking long distances, climbing stairs, etc. But I'd rather do that than sweat profusely!

daldds Loc: NYC

Meds worked for me in Cusco; got the same stuff for Quito. Only 1 1/2 days there going and 1/2 day returning. Not enuf time to acclimate. My normal resting pulse is + 20 @ 11k feet. Aerobics while napping.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I'm glad you had a choice. I went with my sister and she simply can't take the altitude and that's why we decided to go to Guayaquil instead. One thing about Quito is that your are right, it's about a 1/2 hour flight from Quito to the airport in Guayaquil but I hear the bus ride to the airport near Quito is long and rough. So it's not just 1/2 hour flight, it's 1/2 hour flight plus at least a 1 hour bumpy bus ride.

We went to the Galapagos in November and Guayaquil wasn't hot. It was a little humid, but it wasn't more than 75-78 degrees. The streets that we walked were safe and our tour company took good care of us by picking us up at the airport, taking us to the 4 star hotel, getting us checked in, then 2 days later picking us up, helping us with our bags, checking us out, taking us back to the airport, handling all the paperwork and fees, and helping us all the way to boarding. We got first class service from Galapagos Travel company and I highly recommend them.

2mdman

Its almost an hour from Old Town (leave in the morning) and will cost $25 using a Taxi. Uber might be cheaper. I would never take a bus there.

TonyBrown

Why just go to one of the cities. You can fly to Quito then get a driver/guide to take you from there to Guayaquil through the Avenue if the Volcanos. You can then fly out to the Galapagos. Ecuador is a great country with fantastic scenery great food and friendly people. The Galapagos is amazing, but we also took the time to visit Ecuador and it was equally amazing. Our 18-300 lenses covered both trips.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

I had no trouble on the 1 day tour or by myself on the return trip to Ecuador. Have fun. Looking forward to your posts.

nsilberma Loc: San Jose, Calif.

You'll be fine in Quito with what you have. However strongly recommend a decent telephoto lens for wildlife or take/rent a SONY RX10 iii or iv for distance (24-600mm optical/ up to 2400 mm digital). I used the Tamron 150-600 mm with 1.6 crop camera for wildlife in 2015 and got great pictures.
Don't forget to visit the Equator site in Quito.

Have a great time!