tren ecuador

This was the most amazing trip! From Quito, high up in the Andes, down to the Equatorial coastal city of Guayaquil. Steam and Diesel engines. Wonderful carriages and charming helpful crew. The journey is slow so one can appreciate the constantly changing landscape. The descent down La Nariz del Diablo is one of the most incredible railway engineering feats in the world. This is Ecuador's wonderful secret. This trip is not to be missed!!!!

Ecuador is an amazing country!! You would think that being on Equator it would be very hot. Big mistake. 80% of the population lives in the mountains - 9,000 feet and above where temperatures all days - 70 to 80 F, evenings and nights - 40 to 55 F. Do not forget warm clothing!! Until I bought an Alpaca Sweater I was very uncomfortable. Some hotels offer water bottles and send the attendant to start up the fire place. Once you get off the mountains - Amazon region - it is hot, but it was only 2 days!! Quito- capital is modern city with a lot of attractions and things to see - Equator line and museum/park around it, churches, restaurants, colorful markets, central square that is very live and crowded in the evening. Gate 1 company provided excellent guides, hotels, food and entertainment. We hiked, kayaked, went on the canoes, visited tribes in Amazon, went on the raft on one of the Amazon tributaries, visited coffee and coca plantation, visited one of the roses plantation where they produce and ship over 100,000 roses of more than 300 varieties to USA, Europe and Russia. Gate 1 guide took us to local artists and craftsman even Ice cream making shop with free ice cream! You can purchase beautiful things out of wool and Alpaca for a very reasonable price. Everything is negotiable and you can use American $$ - this is Ecuador's official currency. Gate 1 message "More of the world for less" is true and thank you Gate 1 for the trip plus we made many great friends.

We did the 4 day/3 night Tren Crucero from Quito to Guayaquil, and it was an amazing experience. The train is very comfortable and the staff is fantastic. The guides and engineers absolutely love this train and sharing their knowledge and everything their country has to offer. Thanks to Isabel, Yoyi, and Anabel we are completely in love with Ecuador! All the haciendas we stayed at were superb, with the exception of the 3rd night, which was still good; however, due to the hostel-style rooms (you still get your own room of course), it caused people to hang out in the communal rooms more, which produced one of the most memorable evenings of the trip for many. Don't get me wrong, this place was clean and the property was gorgeous, just the rooms were a bit Spartan compared to how they spoiled us the other nights. I still loved it!!! The food stops were great and memorable the whole trip, and you basically have all you can eat local snacks and fruit the entire train ride between stops. Some of my most memorable moments were the lunch stop at Hacienda La Danesa, the rose plantation, and the first evening's hacienda stay (thank you Yoyi!!!) However, the most rewarding experiences from this spectacular tour for me were the beautiful, waving children the entire trip and the life-long friends I know we have made on this journey, both guests and staff. Thank you for making it such an unforgettable experience, and I will see some of you soon!!! I highly, highly, highly recommend this adventure!!!

Obviously more popular to do the train first and then the bus. Will probably give you better Cotopaxii views in clear morning weathersWe didn`t have that opprotunity as we booked late, and it was sold out, so we did it the other way around. Cotopaxi was hidden in the clouds, we could see glimpses of it only from the train. However saw it briefly in the morning from the bus. The good thing about this option was that there was a lot of space. We bought the upgraded service which was only a few cents extra, and had a whole carriage toghether with only 6-8 other people. Got some snacks as wellWe enjoyed both the bus trip and the train ride - got to see the landscape and the villages, farms and towns we passed. However I did not like the part between the bus trip and the train rideHowever the socalled hike at the station El Boliche is nothing like a hike, and not very interesting at all. You walk a couple of hundred meters , mostly surrounded by not native pine trees, and do not see much of interest. The museum was closed, and the socalled Station shop consist of a few tshirts and caps for sale. The cafeteria was openWe had our lunch at Tipolli hosteria. it was quite a chaotic meal - a number of waiters carried in dishes appearently without a plan, and without clearing the table before next dish. Not a very tasty meal either. If you feel the same and are still hungry, rush in to station cafe whne trhe train stops at Tambillo station and buy their fresh made and very delicious empanadas. Delicious!Next to the hosteria was some "entertainment" consisiting of various domestic animals - One of them consisted of teasing a wther till he became angry and ran after the person doing it. They even hit him. Animal abuse in my opinion

We did the four days/3 nights trip from Guayaguil to Quito.The tour was well organised, with many stops. A bus is driving the same route and brings you to places were the train not can come. The busses brings you and luggage to the hotels.The trip is uniique and very comfortable. 2 nights in historic haciendas one night in a hostel in a remote area. This hotel was not so good. Food is included and we had one lunch on board of the train, this was very good. The train brings you alone the vulcano route to a high of 3800 m.The devils noise was a highlight.

My husband had read about this trip and we were very much looking forward to this tour. We boarded the train @ 7:30am in Quito for a 4day, 3 nite trip to Guayaguil on our way to The Galápagos Islands. The Tren Crucero journey is a unique trip. You get to see a lot of inland Ecuador including snow capped volcanoes, little villages and markets and on the last day, the incredible Devils Nose, an engineering feat, where the train zigzags down the side of a steep mountain dropping some 200 meters with a series of switch back maneuvers. The train portion was very nice.....great crews, lots of snacks (and one day lunch on board) and even great cappuccinos! Plus different cars to hang around and view sites.At nite, before sunset, we arrived at our designated stations and were shuttled to our accommodations. The hacienda.the first nite ( near Lasso station) was a very lovely place....Halo Verde, where rooms were very luxurious and comfortable....dinner was exquisite (we added a bottle of wine that was available for purchase). At our table were the haciendas owners who we enjoyed a topical conversation about history and politics in Ecuador......a very special evening.Our 2nd night's accommodation was near Riobamba station at a more hotelish property called Andaluza......an above average multi roomed place, with dinner in hotel dining room.....it was fine, nothing special.Our final night's stay was the Huigra station in a small village where our accommodation was less than average....and dinner not worth noting.I'm sure in this small area, accommodations are scarce.On the fourth day, we stopped at a cacao plantation and then had lunch @ La Danesa, a very lovely property w/a nice lunch. They have only been added as a stop recently, but was one of the more memorable places we visited....again because the people were so gracious. Our travel companions were a fun group of 15, international and interesting.....the other 30 plus passengers were "gifted students" who are given this trip in a government subsidized program. They were generally well behaved and we were separated in transportation situations and @ our 1st nite accommodations. However the other nites we were all housed and fed @ same places. I think we felt more like chaperones than luxury train patrons. Transportation to a hotel was provided @ end of train in Guayaquil. You arrive @ 5 PM, you might consider a cab, as our transfer took 2 hours on the bus, as we were the last couples dropped off.This is certainly a unique trip and if u plan to do it, check on number of students traveling w/u....perhaps if u speak Spanish, traveling with them would be a learning experience, but since we didn't, it felt like we were, at many times, invited on a school field trip instead of a luxury train trip.

Being in a train for some people from other countries could be something normal but this train has history and also the rutes that this train go trough is what it amaze even more. Highlly reccomended and even more if you are in Quito you should take the Volcanoes Rute.

we had this planned last minute but loved every minute of it. beautiful landscapes and the stops in some little village was great, dance included :)

The most routes are very cheap 10$.You will have a nice view. But you should book in advance !!!!!!

As an individual traveler wanting to book this train the "sales" department of this company does answer the phone only at random, Their internet information is not correct, their internet booking device is not working properly or not at all, they did not answer my mails. So you loose hours and hours to get a seat. Once passed this labyrinth, they ask you to arrive at the train station for no reason at all one and half hours before departure. The boarding procedure is ridiculously administrative. With all respect to the constant efforts of the organizers involved, it would be faster and less time consuming, less people intensive and much less hassle to fly to the moon.The train ride to Salinas as such is by all means worth the ticket of about 15 US$, depending where you finally buy it. Spotless clean train station and train compartments, friendly hosts and hostesses - but too much boring tourist information on the train. Why do they think I would like to hear all this data with no chance to turn it off?Once you have left Ibarra you will be passing through am exceptionally beautiful countryside and following the adventuresome track. Well, not everybody has traveled on the "Swiss Räthische Bahn" regularly.A total disaster is the folkloric dance presentation at Salins train station, The "guided tour" through the slums of Salinas and the services available at the sugar cane village is without any pleasure. Why are the locals in Salis unable to offer/sell/present Salinas as a place of interest? They could make much more visitors happy and make a lot more of money if somebody at "Trainecuador" would grasp the situation and teach the locals the basic requirements of quality tourism. Many families could make a decent living if..."Trainecuador" makes you waste 5 hours at this godforsaken place till they let you on the return train. I decided to call a taxi to return to Ibarra by car. Nevertheless; I sincerely appreciate all the friendly and helpful staff and compliment the owners of this train for the excellent basic idea. Ecuador, I love life! . Rainer G. Spengler. .

Trains in Ecuador are being restored as tourist attractions. There are a variety of excursions and they have good itineraries including lunch at a farm.

The trip takes an entire day, but it's a day well spent. Our tour guide, Andrés, was fantastic. The trip offers something for everyone, from folkloric dancing to spectacular views and a short hike. The ticket office went out of their way to accommodate our group, with little notice. You should book this trip in advance to ensure you get the day/time you want.

My family and I took this trains several times in different routes. My kids couldn't enjoy it more, Ecuador has great landscapes and this is an excellent way to take a look at them. The Nariz del Diablo is one of the bests. In each train you have a well educated tour guide, who generally speaks English and of course Spanish. The offer you an snack in the middle of the trip. I truly recommend this tours.

Highly recommended, you have the chance to visit an small Ecuadorian town , Alausi, an also one of the most impressive railways.

We took the Quito to Guayaquil train (4 days / 3 nights) and enjoyed it immensely. The attention from the guides, waiters and all concerned was first class. The train was fantastic, it had 2 carriages with allocated seating plus a carriage for drinks & snacks plus 2 more carriages with comfortables sofas plus an open viewing carriage at the rear. It included various trips every day in bus plus overnight accommodation. All meals plus non-alcoholic beverages were included. The where great snacks with traditional themes nice a day plus a multitude of snacks through out the train. This is a bucket list experience.