Busing from Otavalo to Cuenca

Hi Kevin&Elaine2012 !

Welcome to Expat.com!
Meanwhile your post has been moved to the Ecuador forum for better visibility

Good luck
Armand

I've done the bus from Quito to Cuenca a few times. Otavalo to Cuenca would only be a couple hours longer.  I'm not really sure if you can get a bus directly from Otavalo to Cuenca.  You might have to get a bus to Quito first and then to Cuenca.  My parents are visiting Ecuador right now, so I imagine I'll be taking them to Otavalo within the next few weeks.  I'll check for direct-to-Cuenca buses when I'm there. 

I just went to Cuenca and back by bus with my parents who are in their 60s and they really enjoyed it. It took around 9-10 hours one way. The drive is beautiful, especially between Riobamba and Cuenca.  Flying is boring, expensive, and there's not much adventure.  Unless you have time constraints, I'd take the bus. 

My favorite cheap hotel in Cuenca is Hotel Pichincha on Juan Montaval between Marical Sucre and Bolivar.  The owner is really nice and it's $7 a person per night.  The rooms are private, but you do have to share the bathroom with one or two other rooms.  They just moved to a new building, so everything is still really clean and new.

The bus system in Ecuador is fanatastic.  It will be very long though.  Maybe break it up into sections? Pick a few spots to check out.  Maybe stop in Riobamba and take the crazy train ride part of the way? (Devils Nose) Banos is on the way south a little out of the way but worth it if you like adventure sports. Here is my blog giving you some insight on the bus system.  http://www.atruetalltale.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for your information, I appreciate it.  It sounds like the best thing to do is make a halfway stop between Otavalo and Cuenca.  I just didn't want to go back into Quito if it could be avoided.

Kind regards,

Elaine

Thank you for your info.  We have talked about splitting it up.  There are so many places that we want to see and so little time.

Kind regards,

Elaine

I just was in Otavalo. The only direct buses out of Otavalo I could see were to Quito, Ibarra, Cotacachi and to a couple other nearby towns. So you will have to go through Quito to get to Cuenca.

Buses from Otavalo go to Quito's Carcelen Terminal (north terminal).   The buses which I know of that go from Quito to Cuenca leave from the Quitumbe Terminal (south terminal) or from a few private stations in or near the Mariscal area.  This means that after arriving in Quito from Otavalo, you'll likely have to catch a couple local buses to get to the south terminal or Mariscal area if you want to continue to Cuenca.  There currently is no direct link between the two stations via public bus, but according to the EPMMOP site, they're working on it.