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Travellers walking the Malecón 2000 by the river in Guayaquil

Easy days & services

Guayaquil between flights

A connection in Guayaquil? A local friend meets you at the airport, sees your bags stored and gives you the city: two hours of river and painted stairs, or a whole day with market breakfast, a local lunch and the craft market, back in time for boarding.

The story

The best hours of your layover

Guayaquil is where most Galápagos trips change planes, and most travellers see it only through the terminal glass. Allyson ran airport layover tours of four, five and eight hours for years; now she shapes each one around your flights, from a quick look at the river to a full day of food and stories.

  1. Arrivals

    A friendly face and somewhere for your bags

    Your guide meets you at arrivals with a short briefing and helps you leave your luggage in storage at the airport, so you walk the city with just a daypack. The private car is waiting outside with the air conditioning on, and the plan is already set around the time you need to be back.

    A local guide welcoming travellers at the arrivals hall of Guayaquil airport
  2. + 30 min

    Breakfast with fruit from every region

    On the longer layovers, the first stop is a local market for breakfast: fruit from the coast, the Andes and the Amazon cut in front of you, fresh juice and something warm from the counter. Your guide names each fruit and you try the ones you have never heard of. Flight times decide whether it fits.

    Travellers having a fruit breakfast at a market counter in Guayaquil
  3. + 1 h 30

    Iguanas, plazas and the river

    Downtown: land iguanas in Parque Seminario by the cathedral, Plaza de la Administración and La Fragua de Vulcano, then the Malecón 2000 to La Rotonda and a chocolate or wine stop on Calle Panamá. With only two hours, this is where the express version heads straight for the river and Las Peñas.

    Iguanas in Parque Seminario in front of the cathedral
  4. Midday

    A local lunch and the craft market

    With a full day, there is time to sit down for a traditional lunch at a place your guide picks, ride the Aerovía cable car over the river and browse the handicrafts market for toquilla straw hats and handmade crafts to take home. Lunch and shopping are paid on the day, and your guide knows which stalls are worth your time.

    Travellers trying on toquilla straw hats at a handicrafts market
  5. Before boarding

    Las Peñas, then back to the gate

    The painted stairs of Las Peñas and the river view from Puerto Santa Ana, the last photos of the day, then the car back to the airport. Your bags come out of storage, you check in with time to spare and board having already met Ecuador, not just its airport.

    The painted houses and stairs of Las Peñas

Your day

Where the bird takes you

  1. Airport meet and briefingBags into airport storage
  2. Market breakfastFruit from every region, flight times permitting
  3. Cathedral and Parque SeminarioThe iguanas
  4. Plaza de la Administración and La Fragua de Vulcano
  5. Malecón 2000 to La Rotonda
  6. Calle PanamáChocolate or wine
  7. Traditional lunchOn longer layovers
  8. Aerovía and Cerro Santa AnaWhen it runs
  9. Handicrafts marketOn longer layovers
  10. Las Peñas and Puerto Santa Ana
  11. Back to the airportWith time to check in
culturefoodhistoryUp to 3 hours

What’s taken care of

  • Airport meet and return timed to your flights
  • Private guide in English or Spanish
  • Private air-conditioned car or SUV with driver
  • Help storing your bags at the airport

Good to know

  • Send your flight numbers and we plan backwards from boarding time
  • Two or three hours: riverfront, iguanas and Las Peñas; five to eight: breakfast, lunch and the craft market too
  • Meals, Aerovía tickets and shopping are paid on the day
  • Going on to the islands for days? Leave the big suitcase with us instead
  • Offered on request, as the earlier platform listings are retired

About prices

Every experience is shaped around your group, so we talk first and then send you a proposal made for you. No fixed packages.

Real reviews

Travellers on this experience

4 reviews mention this experience; all are quoted as written, from the platform where they were left.

What a wonderful tour! Allyson was a pleasure and so knowledgeable about the food, culture, and history of beautiful Guayaquil! I requested a custom tour that was food-centric and Allyson was quick to accommodate. We visited a local food market, Mercado de sauces, (unbelievable ceviche!), did a chocolate tasting with Artist/artisan chocolatier Patricia Leon (incredible, unique experience!), and toured the parks and river walk of Guayaquil. I highly recommend Allyson and cannot wait to return to Ecuador!

Mark F. · United States

ToursByLocalsVerified on toursbylocals.com ↗
Allyson was a great guide. Did a city tour during our layover in Guayaquil. She showed us great places in the city in the short time we had here. She made the day great. She is very knowledgeable and fun to be around. Great vibes. Will highly recommend her to anyone visiting Guayaquil. Will definitely book with her again next time I come back to explore more places in this great city.

Mauricio M. · United States

ToursByLocalsVerified on toursbylocals.com ↗
On time pick up from our hotel. Tour around the highlights of the city. Guide was very knowledgeable and personable but the city itself is just not that scenic.

Trevor R. · United States

ToursByLocalsVerified on toursbylocals.com ↗
Wir hatten einen sehr schönen Tag mit Allyson. Bereits im Vorfeld war Allyson sehr kommunikativ und der Ausflug selbst war bestens organisiert. Vielen Dank Allyson gerne wieder.

Klaus W. · Germany

ToursByLocalsVerified on toursbylocals.com ↗
This was a great day! I was the only one on the tour and my guide Alison, and her friend Mikela, did a superb job. For the dry forest we visited the Cerro Blanco private reserve where Alison had engaged a wonderful local guide who's knowledge of all things was exceptional. Later a visit to various parts of Guayaquil gave me a good incite into this city's "vibe". A truly enjoyable day with two charming and knowledgeable young ladies. Highly recommended!

Roger · Australia

GetYourGuideVerified booking on getyourguide.com ↗
Alyson is an excellent guide. Her English is top notch & knowledge of the city & the country’s history is masterful. In addition she is a very nice person that we enjoyed interacting with.

Stephen E. · United States

ToursByLocalsVerified on toursbylocals.com ↗
61 reviews across ToursByLocals, Tripadvisor, Google Maps, Viator and GetYourGuide.Open the five passports →

Mix and match

Pairs beautifully with

As long as your island days
Easy days & servicesYour bags, safe while you’re in the GalápagosIsland flights and boats ask you to pack small, and your city clothes will never leave the suitcase there. Leave the big bag with a local friend in Guayaquil, fly light, and find it waiting when you land back on the mainland.
6 to 7 hours (farm only: 5 to 6.5)
Guayaquil, your wayThe cacao journey: a family farm and the cityWalk a family cacao farm near Milagro, open a pod, make your own chocolate bar and eat lunch at the farm while it sets. Then Guayaquil’s landmarks on the way back, or the whole day in the countryside.
4 to 5 hours
Guayaquil, your wayGuayaquil by the mouthful: Sauces 9 market and city flavoursBreakfast the way Guayaquil eats it, in a neighbourhood market: fruit, bolón de verde, ceviche or encebollado and a stall of Andean healing herbs. Then coffee with the iguanas, chocolate on Calle Panamá and lunch by the river.

A combination

The Galápagos gateway

Land in Guayaquil, see the city while your bags wait with us, fly to the islands light, and come back to a cacao farm before you go home.

  1. Guayaquil between flights
  2. Your bags, safe while you’re in the Galápagos
  3. The Galápagos, with a friend from the mainland
  4. The cacao journey: a family farm and the city

Shall we plan it?

Tell Allyson your dates and who’s coming. She replies personally, usually the same day, with ideas and questions; the proposal comes after.

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