Guayaquil Travel Guide
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250km (155 miles) NW of Cuenca, 420km (260 miles) SW of Quito, 966km (600 miles) east of the Galápagos
Guayaquil is the St. Louis of Ecuador: Both are important river ports and both have seen a renaissance and a drop in crime in the downtown area in the past few years. Most importantly, both are gateways to the west -- Guayaquil is the gateway to the Galápagos Islands, about 966km (600 miles) west of the city.
Most visitors to South America don't stop off in Guayaquil -- the major urban center and economic capital of Ecuador -- unless they are heading to the Galápagos or doing business here. But that is changing slowly as this up-and-coming city reinvents itself at a dizzying pace, adding tourist attractions and infrastructure, renovating its aging airport and repaving (and landscaping) entire avenues and boulevards.
Although Guayaquil was founded in 1537, you won't find the colonial architecture here that you find in Quito -- a great fire ravaged the city in 1896. More than 100 years after the great fire, the development and the huge investment in the Malecón 2000 (the city's long-neglected riverfront) is a symbol of the city's rebirth.
As recently as 1998, crime was rampant in Guayaquil; in the past few years, things have changed for the better thanks to the new dynamic mayor. The city is safer, more visitor-friendly, and the new planned neighborhoods have an abundant (and visible) tourist police presence.
