Guayaquil, Ecaudor & Princess

[Steelers36]

I found no posts on South America port board when I searched "Guayaquil" and I could post there, but this is more specific to Princess, so I think here is best.

 

For those who have cruised on a S.A. tour, the port dock for Guayaquil appears to be industrial and is up a different river channel than the main river that the city fronts on.

 

Is the only way into town overland, or did I read somewhere that ship (perhaps not Princess) might drop a tender or two and run through the side channel to the main river and drop passengers around the Malecon 2000 area?

 

My second observation is that it seems a lot of people are not too keen on this stop - at least in terms of Guayaquil itself as even something they did like Malecon is wearing down. Doesn't seem much to get excited about here compared to other ports. We thought we might just hop into the city for a short look around and back to ship and it might be nice to take a tender instead of a taxi. Also free!!!

 

Thanks for your past knowledge sharing. :*

[Steelers36]

I do not believe it!!! :mad:

I cannot tell you guys how many times I have groaned or frowned to myself at the number of posters who fumble up a thread header without noticing a glaring spelling or other mistake.

 

And now I have done it myself. Do I cry or laugh??

 

It's ECUADOR, you dummy!!! :p And I probably should have put the word TENDER in the header to attract more attention. Oh well, just goes to show it's hard to judge others when one is imperfect.

[rdsqrl]

I wuoldn't baet yuorself up abuot it too much: I hear Ecaudor is a raelly nice place, too.

[Steelers36]

I wuoldn't baet yuorself up abuot it too much: I hear Ecaudor is a raelly nice place, too.

 

Yes I konw taht pleope can raed stneeencs wtih jlmubed up wrods as lnog as you hvae the fsirt and lsat lreetts croerct - and ilnduce all the lrttees of the wrod. The hmaun mnid rstroes it all - aaznimg!

[mexicobob]

Sounds like a fantastic cruise. Hope you will post details when you return.

[skynight]

When we did S.A. on Princess we docked at Manta which is not too far from the busy port of Guayaquil. We took a Princess shuttle tour which brought us to an enclosed market area. It was actually a walled in school yard that was closed for the day. Not sure about how safe it is to roam around on your own without a local guide.

[Steelers36]

When we did S.A. on Princess we docked at Manta which is not too far from the busy port of Guayaquil. We took a Princess shuttle tour which brought us to an enclosed market area. It was actually a walled in school yard that was closed for the day. Not sure about how safe it is to roam around on your own without a local guide.

 

Appreciate your info. Our cruise stops at Manta after Guayaquil, so I am hoping to hear info for that port stop. It doesn't sound like much of a place, for being a large city, but it is nice to get off the ship for a while and wander around just for a change of pace.

[bcnvcanada]

Guayaquil, is an interesting place. Our ship, ran a shuttle

from the dock. working port, mostly banana packing place to

the city a few k's away. We were told to be very careful

in the city. Armed soldiers were around tourist areas.

The river walk was interesting, and we walked up a hill to

a special house. The food from the local cafes along

the river walk was good, but then, we will eat most

anything. There were a large group of iguana's in the

park, where we were dropped off. Manta, suffered a large

earthquake, in late 2015, and a lot of the downtown was

destroyed. We took a taxi got it from the large beach hotel, up the street from port gates, much cheaper than those at the gates to Montecristo, sp

where Panama Hats are really from. Also loved the nut

carvings or animals and birds. Manta is the yellowfin

tuna capital of the world. The ships come in with their

catch which the quality fish are flown out to other places in the world.

The lesser quality is canned nearby. Great places on

the beach, near port gates for wonderful fish dishes.

Again, this is a working port, you must take a shuttle to the

gate. And of course the us dollar is their legal tender.

[Steelers36]

Thanks. Sounds like a shuttle to port exit and then taxis into town. I would be pleasantly surprised otherwise.

 

We have a tour booked at Manta, so not too worried about the city itself. I think we might see the fish market, but we are heading out to a cacao plantation and production thing.

 

I imagine we will take a cab into Guayaquil and look around. Sounds like riverfront area will be okay.

[skynight]

Appreciate your info. Our cruise stops at Manta after Guayaquil, so I am hoping to hear info for that port stop. It doesn't sound like much of a place, for being a large city, but it is nice to get off the ship for a while and wander around just for a change of pace.

Manta. From the dock you can walk to a small market area which is just off the pier. Other than that there is nothing else there. This is why we took the trip.

[Steelers36]

Thanks, sknight. I think we are doing the right thing (tour out of Manta). We can just hop a cab into town in Guayaquil if we want to check out the riverfront for a change of scene. No tours have struck our interest (considering all we are doing in other ports before and after).