Ready for my digital nomad guide to Quito, Ecuador? If you are a remote worker or digital nomad looking to work remotely while traveling the world- this post will help you evaluate if you want to spend a month (or more) in Quito, Ecuador. If you are just someone in my community here to follow along on my journey- this post is part of my monthly travel update series. Through this series, I get bit more personal and share my stories, experiences and highlights as I travel around the world running my online business.
Off to a rocky start in Quito
I spent the month of March 2022 in Quito, Ecuador. The largest city in Ecuador and the highest city I’ve ever lived in, with an altitude of ~2800m or ~9300ft. I had some massive struggles with altitude at the beginning and even ended up in the hospital for an afternoon with an IV in my arm.
But after a trip down to Tumbaco valley for a few days I finally managed to adjust and live a normal life at that altitude.
This month was also a return to my solo traveling roots. I spent January and February hanging out with members of Wifi Tribe– the digital nomad sorority that I joined this year. Being around community was such a wonderful, heart opening experience- but this month I felt a pull to go on my own again for a bit. It was hard at first, the loneliness hit me pretty dramatically (especially when I was lying alone in the hospital in Quito dying from the altitude).
But before long I started to make new friends in Ecuador and embrace my solo travel lifestyle once again. Solo traveling is special for me because when I travel on my own I tend to have more of those magical experiences and spontaneous encounters and to spend more time with locals.
Meeting my Spanish tutor IRL
In Quito I got to connect with my online Spanish tutor in real life. I met her in December through the online spanish education platform, Baselang- and was so happy to actually meet with her in person once I got to Quito. She showed me that classic warm and inviting LatAm hospitality and its one of the reasons I love Latin America so much. I always feel at home here wherever I go because the people are so welcoming.
She invited me over to her family’s house one morning for breakfast. Her mom cooked for me and talked excitedly and very quickly in Spanish about the classic dishes and flavors of the coastal region of Ecuador (which is where she’s from). Her Dad, although much quieter and more stoic, was also so sweet in his own way. He drove us 30 minutes out of town to one of the tourists sites Mitdad del Mundo to see the equator.
While we were there, my Spanish tutor introduced me to her favorite Ecuadorian food: Encebollado. It’s this delicious fish, onion soup. You actually put ketchup, mustard and popcorn in to the soup, which sounds absurd but is actually so yummy!
Overall impressions of Quito
To be honest, a month in Quito was plenty of time there and it is not somewhere I would ever live long term. I wanted to like it more, but it’s such a typical big city and I’ve started to realize…. I’m not a big city person.
I don’t like the sounds of cars rushing by all the time. I don’t like having to wait to cross busy streets. I don’t like industrial looking buildings. I appreciate smaller cities with more quaint character. I love green spaces and bodies of water. I love parks and flowers and mountains and trees. I love tiny little coffee shops with cozy couches. That’s the fun part abut traveling as a digital nomad- I learn more about myself and the places where I thrive and live my best life,
Digital Nomad Guide to Quito Daily Life
Every good digital nomad guide to Quito needs to include some mention of the coffee shop scene. My fav coffee shop that I went to almost everyday was Fankor in the Gonzalez Suarez neighborhood. I highly recommend this place for digital nomads. They play great music, have fantastic wifi and the entire staff speaks perfect English. They have a huge menu with tons of variety and delicious food options. They have plenty of tables where you can park it and live that laptop lifestyle all day. As a bonus, there is a brewery right next door with a great view of the mountains from it’s back patio for when you finish working for the day.
Parque Metropolitano is a perfect place to go to escape the city life. There are tons of trails to walk on. great viewpoints of the Cumbaya valley and you may even see some wild llamas if you’re lucky.
Cafe Mosaico is a great place to hang out, drink some coffee and take in some fantastic views of Quito.
The social scene is another thing you probably wonder about in a digital nomad guide to Quito. Truthfully, I was in a very hermit mood most of my time in Quito so I didn’t delve too far into the expat or digital nomad scene here. I do think there is quite a vibrant scene there are salsa and swing dance classes, language exchanges, and karaoke nights. If you are interested in getting connected with the expat scene I recommend joining the Quito Expats FB group asking about the “Expat Social Club”.
Digital Nomad Guide to Quito Experiences/ Adventures
Of course, in this digital nomad guide to Quito it’s important to talk about the fun adventure activities and sight seeing you can do in and around the city.
Basilica del Voto Nacional
Visiting the Basilica del Voto Nacional was a perfect way to start my month in Quito. I highly recommend it as on of the first things to do when you get to Quito. You get to climb all the many stairs of the Basilica and get a fun look over the city. Viewpoints are one of my fav things to do in any city. There is an adorable cafe at the top where you can drink coffee or Coca tea (or buy your own lifetime supply like I did).
Mitdad del Mundo
This is the middle of the world city and it is about 30 minutes outside of Quito. It’s now known as the “fake equator line” Apparently at some point it was thought to be the real site of 0 degree latitude (aka the equator), but has since been disproven.
But I am a #truther, a #believer. I believe it IS the real equator. There is something interesting that happens with the pull of gravity here and you can feel it. So I don’t care what science says- this is the real equator in my opinion!
The whole little city around the equator line is fantastic as well. There are so many adorable little shops where you can buy clothes and other souvenirs. You can grab some food, and walk around enjoying the gorgeous street art. You could just pop in an take a photo with the yellow equator line, but I actually really enjoyed my time here and easily spent 4 hours strolling around.
Teleferico
This place was epic. It’s a cable car that takes you high up over the city of Quito. Seriously- the elevation is no joke, you get up to 4100m. The view was incredible even though there were clouds obstructing part of it. There is a cafe at the top where you can drink some coffee (you can tell what I like doing- drinking coffee with a good view). Then there is a 15 min hike you can do to a swing with some even better views. It’s such a magical experience and hard to put into words. Definitely a must do when you are in Quito.
Termas de Papallacta
This is an incredible oasis just about an hour from the city center of Quito. The most famous pools to go to are the Termas de Papallacta Resort. You can go for the day and choose between the public pools for $8 or the spa pools for $22. I was feeling the luxury vibes so I went for the spa pool day pass and had the BEST time.
I spent the whole day here just lounging in the thermal baths and it was the most magnificent day. I went on a Wednesday which was perfect because there were no crowds. I got to spend hours fully blissed out, enjoying nature, watching hummingbird and jumping between the hottest hot pool and the cold plunge. I stayed overnight at Hosteria Thermales Papallacta, a hot springs hotel just a few minutes down the road.
I took the public bus to get out here, and I fully do NOT recommend that. It took me almost 4 hours to do something that could have been a 1 hour drive. You can hire a private car, go on a tour, or split an uber/ taxi with some friends for about $50. Honestly I think it would be worth it so you don’t waste your whole day getting there!
Cotopaxi Base Camp Hike
Cotopaxi is the most active and dangerous volcano in all of Ecuador (btw did you know that Ecuador has over 80 volcanoes! Such a tiny country and so much volcanic activity)
This was a full day trip that I booked as a guided tour with Ecuatraveling Tour Agency. It costs about $50 and includes transportation, lunch and a whole day of adventure. Totally worth every penny.
This hike is no joke because of the altitude. The base camp of Cotopaxi sits at 4800m and the glacier is at 5000m. This is over 16,000 ft for my people in the US. The summit of Cotopaxi is another~4000ft higher up than the basecamp and I did not even attempt that.
The views throughout the whole park are beautiful and the experience of being so high up felt like I was on anther planet. After reaching the glacier we got to mountain bike down hill with wild horses (unplanned but they showed up and galloped alongside us). It was a truly unforgettable experience. Then finally on the way home we had some traditional Ecuadorian food while surrounded by a petting zoo of llamas and baby goats- very strange but wonderful.
Although it was more of a hermit, inward focused kind of month, I still got to do some incredible adventures and really appreciated my time in Quito Ecuador. I think I’m finally starting to get a hang of this whole digital nomad lifestyle and learning how to structure my days and weeks as I work remotely and travel the world.
Hope you enjoyed my digital nomad guide to Quito and reading about my monthly travel updates! Let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else you’d like to know about as I travel.
