	CASA QUINDE en El Monasterio de Cusín San Pablo del Lago, Imbabura, Ecuador Ideally located home for a short holiday vacation or a longer term rental/exchange...

CASA QUINDE

en El Monasterio de Cusín

San Pablo del Lago, Imbabura, Ecuador

Ideally located home for a short holiday vacation or a longer term rental/exchange...

Map of Northern Highlands

How to get to Casa Quinde

Home

About Casa Quinde

Our Rates

Availability & Reservations

Activities

How to Get Here & Map

Photos

Links

Our Driver

By far, the easiest, fastest and safest way to get to and from Casa Quinde is to make arrangements with us to have our driver pick you up from either the airport or your hotel in his private van. You are assured of having a safe ride with plenty of room for your party and your luggage, and you can make the trip on your own schedule. His fee to or from Quito, paid directly to him, is US$60 each way for a direct trip; if you need to have him pick you up elsewhere, or if you make stops (e.g. for groceries) his fee will of course vary.

The trip from Quito center is about 2 hours; and from the airport, which is in the northern part of the city, it is approximately 90 minutes. Of course both of these times are influenced by how heavy the traffic may be when you are making your trip.

Drive Yourself

Car Rental is a viable option for some people and the major companies are represented in Quito.

Driving in Ecuador presents numerous challenges, especially to drivers used to the driving conventions and road conditions more commonly found in North America or Britain. Ecuadorians, in general, tend to throw caution to the wind while they are driving. Ecuadorian roads, in general, are not safe roads. (This includes the Pan American Highway - which is very well maintained North of Quito, but still has only two lanes and is heavily travelled.) All roads in Ecuador are shared with pedestrians, including children and animals, as well as a variety of wheeled vehicles; in variety of sizes and states of repair; moving (or possibly, not moving) at a variety of speeds. It is not unusual to suddenly be faced with a group of vehicles (almost always including at least one bus) coming toward you, three or four abreast on a two lane, two way road.

There are certain risks for us as foreign drivers that we, personally, choose not to accept. Consequently, we do not drive and instead hire taxis or private cars with drivers we know to be quite safe and very reasonably priced. That said, we know many ex-pats who drive in Ecuador, many of whom have done so for years with little or no problem.

If you drive yourself, there is parking reserved for house guests' cars in a secure parking area within the walls of El Monasterio de Cusín. (Parking next to Casa Quinde is permitted only for the purposes of loading and unloading passengers and luggage.)

Buses

Public transportation in Ecuador can get you just about anywhere... or at least very close. Buses are very inexpensive (about US$3 from Quito to Gonzáles Suárez and another US$0.25 or less from there to the stop for Hacienda Cusín, two blocks from El Monasterio's gate).

Buses are also an adventure, but one that carries a certain amount of risk due to the nature of the roads, the bus drivers and their vehicles. With the exception of the bus between San Pablo del Lago and Otavalo, in the interests of comfort, time, and health/safety (especially health & safety!) most of our guests prefer, by far, to use a driver or a taxi.

Taxis

Taxis in Ecuador are also quite inexpensive (by North American standards) and usually provide a much higher level of safety. You should be able to negotiate with most taxi drivers in Quito to bring you to Casa Quinde for about US$50 - US$60. They should know how to find Hacienda Cusín in San Pablo del Lago. Alternatively, a seat in a five or six passenger community taxi, such as Taxi Lagos, is around US$10 from Quito to Hacienda Cusín. Taxi Lagos operates on a regular schedule from their base in Quito and will pick you up from any address in the city.

If you have any questions or would like further information and/or more photographs, please do not hesitate to contact us for a prompt response.