LUCIANOMILHOMEM
30 Dec 2025
Traducción al español:
Mi experiencia fue muy positiva. Merece destacarse el servicio del guía Albert Condor, que, además de ser rápido y eficiente, hace lo posible e incluso lo imposible para ayudar a los clientes. Prácticamente organizó todos mis paseos, y todos ellos fueron excelentes. ¡Albert no tiene nunca pereza! ¡Es un verdadero profesional!
Whenever Hubby and I arrive in a new city, the first adventure we embark on (whenever available) is the local hop-on, hop-off tour bus. This approach gets us grounded from the start regarding the layout of the land and also provides us with information about the area's must-see attractions.
Since our hotel in the historic district was only 4 blocks from San Francisco Square, we hopped aboard the bus at the ticket booth on the south side of the plaza, next door to La Capillita Restaurant. The young lady selling tickets was very pleasant and helpful, and she spoke excellent English. We paid $30 USD for two tickets on the 10:55 a.m. bus. (No senior discount was available.) The boarding pass must be retained for the entire day if you intend to get off the bus at any of the stops and reboard later.
The first stop after San Francisco Square was El Panecillo Hill on the west end of Quito, upon which is perched the tallest aluminum statue in the world. This is one of two lengthy pitstops on the bus route. The driver asks all passengers to disembark here, and we were allotted half an hour-ish to take photos of the monument, explore a mini-museum in the base of the statue, and visit a few street-market style booths where locals sell souvenir merchandise.
The first half of the tour was delightful. The tour guide spoke both Spanish and very fluent English, and he spoke slowly enough that we could understand exactly what he was describing along the route. The bus was new and very clean, and the entire vehicle was painted with a lovely holiday mural.
Next, we continued riding and listening to the guide narrate the route until the bus arrived at the second lengthy pitstop on United Nations Boulevard, a park located kitty-corner to the Quicentro Mall. Again all passengers are required to disembark and are allotted 40 minutes to explore. If you aren't back to the bus in the specified time, you simply hop on the next bus, which is supposed to board here at ten minutes to the hour.
We did not return to the bus for the rest of the original circle trip. Instead we caught the bus an hour later. And this half of the journey was far less pleasant. First, the driver boarded us ten minutes late, although the bus sat there for 20 minutes before we were allowed on. It follows that he also departed ten minutes late, at 2:10 instead of 2:00. This bus ride was not nearly as comfortable or interesting as the first.
The bus was very old and dirty, including the windows. The upper deck was designed so that, if you sit in the front row, you're covered by the retractable cloth roof (as are the 2nd and 3rd rows). There is no air circulation, so you start to feel like you're suffocating on warmer days. We moved from the front seat of the bus to the very back to breathe.
The tour guide for the second leg of the trip was not nearly as fluent in English. She spoke with a very thick accent and spoke so quickly that we couldn't understand 3/4 of what she was saying, except that she repeated the phrase "of course, my friends" dozens upon dozens of times during the time we rode with her, which was longer than normal due to being snarled up endlessly in rush hour traffic jams. The guide's voice was also very shrill. We started to wish we'd had a set of earplugs.
In summary, this tour can be excellent or a big disappointment depending on luck. If you board one of the newer buses in the fleet, staffed with a tour guide who is easily understandable, you'll enjoy the experience. Otherwise ...
The Quito Tour Bus company should seriously consider installing an automated tour narrative system on its fleet, which we've experienced on many hop-on, hop-off buses worldwide. Each passenger is handed a pair of earbuds at boarding, and you plug the buds into a language module on the back of the seat directly in front of you. Select one of a dozen languages and - presto! The tour is narrated clearly in the language of the passengers' choice.