Quito: Reliable Taxi and Tour Guide

[swifs]

We will be sailing with Celebrity next spring on a Galapagos tour that begins with arrival in Quito. We are actually going to arrive one day early and Celebrity cannot honor the included transfer to the JW Marriott on that day. So our questions are:

1. We will arrive very late at night and the Marriott does not provide shuttle service. Has anyone used a taxi service that they could recommend to us for this transfer? Or have you used the Marriott concierge desk?

2. We will have one extra day in Quito before the rest of our fellow passengers arrive. Celebrity will provide a one day tour on their first full day. But can anyone recommend a tour company or private guide that could show us around, hopefully without overlapping the Celebrity tour? How do you feel about going around to the Old Town/New Town on your own- what I am reading in the guidebooks is not leaving me as comfortable about this as usual.

[travelinjudy]

Hi,

We did the Galapagos with Celebrity in April. We did not arrive early, so had the celebrity pick-up. However, people on our trip who got there early didn't have a problem using a taxi. There is info about it on the Celebrity Xpedition board.

We stayed over for an extra couple of days and went to the Old Town on our own, and it was fine--if it's a weekday. I wouldn't try it on a week-end. We walked from the Hotel for about a mile, looking around, and then caught a cab into town.

Just ask the concierge at the hotel where to have the cab stop. We also took a cab back--just be sure to have the hotel address on a piece of paper or a card. The old town is lovely, and worth spending more time than was given on the Celebrity tour. We also had a great lunch down there--at a different restaurant than Celebrity used. It was a great day in town. Enjoy!:)

[swifs]

Thanks for the information. I have to say I am relieved because a lot of my research was giving me a pretty scary picture of Quito.

[2552phxcrzr]

We went on the Xpedition a few years ago when the flight came into the airport closer to the city, so our taxi experience won't help you.

 

We were in Quito for three days before joining the Xpedition group and had a full day when we returned from the GI. On two of those days we wandered around Quito on our own (did the hop-on hop-off bus on one of those days) ... felt comfortable doing so. On the remaining two days, we hired a private guide, whom we would highly recommend. I wrote about our experience in my personal blog ... http://2totravel.blogspot.com.tr/ (in the July 2012 archive). Lincoln was very personable, spoke good English, and customized each day to meet our specifications. We went north of the city one day; and south of the city the next day. His contact information is towards the end of this post ... http://2totravel.blogspot.com.tr/2012/07/afternoon-of-naranjilla-and-roses_6.html.

[hallasm]

For transportation you have two options - Shuttle service ($50) or yellow taxi ($25)

Marriott has some corporations with VIP LINK Transfer Service - link to Vip Link

 

The airport taxis are registered and safe. The New Mariscal Sucre International Airport Cooperative is the official provider of taxi services at the airport. It operates 24/365 and may be identified by its hallmark "Taxi Servicios".

 

For your inspiration some links to my Galapagos preparations, Stay in Quito as well as Galapagos review - click on links for the reviews:

- Quito; Pre- and Post- Xpedition Cruise Tour

- traveltogalapagos.info - extensive Galapagos review

- Planning our cruise to Galapagos - tips for the planning

[SMCruiseControl]

For transportation you have two options - Shuttle service ($50) or yellow taxi ($25)

Marriott has some corporations with VIP LINK Transfer Service - link to Vip Link

 

The airport taxis are registered and safe. The New Mariscal Sucre International Airport Cooperative is the official provider of taxi services at the airport. It operates 24/365 and may be identified by its hallmark "Taxi Servicios".

 

For your inspiration some links to my Galapagos preparations, Stay in Quito as well as Galapagos review - click on links for the reviews:

- Quito; Pre- and Post- Xpedition Cruise Tour

- traveltogalapagos.info - extensive Galapagos review

- Planning our cruise to Galapagos - tips for the planning

 

We are flying in to Quito on 7/17, arriving around 10PM. Is the shuttle service to the hotel the price per person or per car? Do you have a ballpark figure of what the taxi fare should be? Do you know if they accept credit cards, dollars, or only local currency?

Thanks!

[jjferr]

We are flying in to Quito on 7/17, arriving around 10PM. Is the shuttle service to the hotel the price per person or per car? Do you have a ballpark figure of what the taxi fare should be? Do you know if they accept credit cards, dollars, or only local currency?

Thanks!

 

SMCruiseControl,

Are you on the 7/20 sailing? We are on that sailing, however, we are arriving on 7/18. We arrive in Quito at 6:30PM.

Safe travels.

[hallasm]

We are flying in to Quito on 7/17, arriving around 10PM. Is the shuttle service to the hotel the price per person or per car? Do you have a ballpark figure of what the taxi fare should be? Do you know if they accept credit cards, dollars, or only local currency?

Thanks!

Taxi is US$ 25 (cash) while a shuttle is US$ 50 (pre-paid)

The yellow airport taxis are registered and safe.