Quito with children
Quito is an easy city to bring children to, with two caveats that nobody mentions until you are already here: it is at 2,850 metres, and small children cannot tell you that is why they are miserable. Get those two things right and the rest of it — volcanoes, hummingbirds, a country named after a line on a map — is about as good as family travel gets.
The short version
- Children get altitude sickness at roughly the same rate as adults. They are not more fragile — but under about three, they cannot describe it.
- Watch behaviour, not complaints: unusual fussiness, poor feeding, bad sleep, no appetite.
- Day one is flat and short, for everyone, and more so with children.
- Cobbles defeat pushchairs. Bring a carrier for the Old Town.
- Taxis rarely have child seats. If that matters to you, arrange transport in advance.
- Under 12s pay half the Galápagos park fee — $100 instead of $200, cash.
Altitude and children, honestly
The reassuring part first: Quito sits at moderate altitude, not extreme altitude. Hundreds of thousands of children live here perfectly normally. This is not Everest base camp and it does not need to be treated as an expedition.
The part to take seriously: the research suggests children experience acute mountain sickness at about the same rate as adults — they are not unusually vulnerable, but they are not protected either. One study of several hundred children aged nine to fourteen at 2,835 metres, almost exactly Quito's elevation, found around a quarter reporting symptoms. A sea-level control group reported nearly as many, which tells you something useful: a good part of what looks like altitude is simply the exhaustion of long-haul travel. Both are treated the same way, which is with a quiet first day.
What to watch for, by age
Babies and toddlers cannot tell you anything, so watch behaviour: unusual or prolonged crying without another explanation, feeding less than normal, vomiting, and disturbed sleep. If you are travelling with an infant, have the conversation with your paediatrician before you book — that is a proper medical question and not one for a hotel website.
Older children report much the same things adults do: headache, tiredness, no appetite, nausea, breathlessness on stairs. Ask directly rather than waiting to be told, because children often assume they are just tired.
Anyone with a recent chest or throat infection deserves extra caution at altitude. If a child has been ill in the week before you travel, mention it to your doctor.
The response is always the same: rest, fluids, no exertion, and if it is not improving or is getting worse, go lower and get medical help. Quito has excellent private clinics and we can direct you to the nearest one.
What helps most is unglamorous: arrive, do nothing much, drink water, eat something, sleep. Our full explanation is in your first 24 hours at 2,850 m, and it applies to children with the volume turned up.
The first day, with children
Assume the first afternoon is a write-off in the best sense. A courtyard, a snack, a nap, an early dinner, an early night. Everyone sleeps badly on the first night at altitude and children are no exception — expect broken sleep and do not schedule anything that depends on a good one.
Then day two is when the trip actually starts, and it will be a much better trip for it.
What works in Quito with children
- The Basílica gargoyles. Tortoises, iguanas, monkeys and armadillos instead of demons. Turn it into a spotting game from the plaza below; the tower climb is for older children with a head for heights.
- El Panecillo. A giant winged statue on a hill, a short walk, a big view, and a taxi both ways. High reward, almost no effort — which at altitude is exactly what you want.
- The markets. Buy one of every fruit nobody recognises and taste them all. This is the cheapest and most reliable hour of entertainment in the city.
- Mitad del Mundo. The equator demonstrations are theatre rather than physics — see our piece on it — but children love them, and standing with a foot in each hemisphere is a photograph they will keep.
- The TelefériQo, with a caveat: it takes you to 4,000 m in eighteen minutes. Not in the first two days, keep the visit short, and skip it entirely if anyone has been feeling the altitude.
- Plaza Grande and Plaza San Francisco. Pigeons, ice cream, space to run. Do not underestimate a square.
Day trips, ranked for families
- Mindo — the best one. You descend 1,600 m into warm air, which fixes altitude rather than testing it. Butterflies, hummingbirds at arm's length, a chocolate factory with tasting, tubing on the river, short flat trails. If you do one day trip with children, do this. Details here.
- Papallacta — the second best. Thermal pools. Children stay in warm water for hours and everybody is happy. Watch the sun, which is savage at 3,300 m, and the depth of the hotter pools.
- Otavalo — a market, colour, animals early on Saturday, and lower than Quito. Long drive, so best for older children.
- Cotopaxi — spectacular, but the climb to the refuge at 4,864 m is hard for adults and unpleasant for most children. The Limpiopungo lagoon walk at 3,800 m is flat, beautiful and entirely enough.
- Quilotoa — seven hours of driving. We would not, with young children.
The Galápagos with children
This is the payoff, and it is one of the great family destinations on earth: animals that do not run away, sea lions on the beach, tortoises the size of armchairs. A child who snorkels with a sea lion does not forget it.
Practical points:
- Under 12s pay $100 for the park fee rather than $200 — still cash, still clean bills, still no cash machine at Baltra. Budget it per child.
- Land-based beats a cruise for most families with younger children. You can have a bad afternoon and go back to a room, which you cannot do on a boat.
- Water temperature matters more with children, who lose heat faster. In the cool season, June to November, a wetsuit is not optional for a small body. See when to go.
- Crossings can be rough in the cool season. If anyone in the family is prone to seasickness, favour December to May.
- The 04:30 airport start is brutal with small children. Two nights in Quito beforehand makes it survivable; one does not.
Practicalities that catch parents out
- Child car seats are not standard in taxis. If you are used to them being legally required, this will be a shock. Arrange transport in advance if you want one, or bring your own for the airport run.
- Pushchairs and the Old Town do not mix. Cobbles, steep pavements, high kerbs, narrow doorways. A carrier is far better for anyone still small enough for one.
- The sun. Equatorial, at altitude, through cloud. Hats, high-factor sunscreen, and reapply. This is the most common thing families get wrong.
- Cold at night. It drops fast after half past six. Warm layers, every evening, all year.
- Water. Bottled or filtered, including for teeth-brushing with small children who swallow. See the practicalities page.
- Pharmacies are excellent, cheap and everywhere, with pharmacists who give practical advice. Bring your usual children's medication anyway, in original packaging.
- Nappies, formula and baby food are widely available in supermarkets in Quito. Do not carry a suitcase of them; do bring enough for the islands and the jungle, where choice is limited.
Food, with fussy passengers
Easier than you fear. Locro de papa — potato and cheese soup — is essentially the safest food in Ecuador for a cautious child. Llapingachos are cheese-filled potato cakes. Rice, chicken, plantain and fresh fruit juice appear at every meal, and the almuerzo set lunch is fast, fresh and costs a few dollars.
Portions are generous, sharing is normal, and nobody minds a child eating half an adult plate. More on all of it in what to eat in Quito.
What we do here
We are a nine-room house rather than a hotel with a kids' club, which suits some families and not others — it is quiet, there is a courtyard, and everyone at reception knows your children's names by the second morning. We have rooms that work for families and we will tell you honestly which ones do.
We serve breakfast early for dawn flights, hold luggage while you are on the islands, keep filtered water available, and can point you to a paediatric clinic in ten minutes if you need one. If you tell us the ages of your children when you book, we will tell you which day trips are worth it and which ones are four hours of car for a tired family.
Tell us their ages and we will tell you what actually works
Nine rooms in a restored 1914 house on the quiet edge of the Old Town. Book direct for our lowest rate, and send us the shape of your family — the plan changes a lot between a four-year-old and a fourteen-year-old.
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Particularly the list of what to watch for on the first night.
