Quito City Tour Double Decker Bus

My family and I would highly recommend this tour. The Hop on Hop off double decker Quito bus was a great way to see major Quito land marks. The guides gave great information in both English and Spanish. Our favorite stop was the basilica, so beautiful. Some things to know, if you struggle with walking you will not be able to get down to the Basilica, very steep steps down, maybe 100 or a very steep street, and you have to come back up. So our mom and dad decided at that point to just stay on the bus and ride. They still enjoyed their experience. We must have been a little behind to start because we skipped the Plaza Foch, bummer because we wanted to stop and get coffee and food. Thankfully we were able to find queso empanadas and naranjilla juice at a cafe on the second floor across from the main market. That building had a bathroom for 25 cents. The market was great, they had a full band performing. The San Francisco historic center is very busy and lots of unsavory characters harassing women. We ducked into a beautiful building with lots of delicious looking restaurants, we ended up eating ice cream at a Paccari restaurant, perfect. They also had nice clean bathrooms there for customers. Ultimately the tour takes you to the Paneccilo, the tallest aluminum statue in the world and overlooks Quito, amazing views. Great overall experience. We started at the 11 pickup at Unidas and finished there at 4:30. We got off at every stop except plaza Foch.

OKish! Hard to understand guide’s accent. Even harder when the guide has music playing in the background! Headphones with recorded information would be better!

The initial instructions were a little confusing, but were soon sorted and corrected. The tour includes the ability to hop off and catch the next bus in one hour, 2 hours, etc. so time your visits well. Provides a good way to visit most tourist areas easily.

Great way to see different parts of the city. Good info from tour guides. It was cheaper to book directly through tour company than Trip Advisor or others. There was more info on the tour company’s website - routes, times at the stops. It wasn’t clear if we could start on at any stop. I assumed we could since other hop on hop off busses allowed it. I messages them & didn’t hear back until the day after we finished. So we took a chance, I was correct, you can start anywhere.

Exciting ride through narrow streets within inches of pedestrians. The driver was safe even on precipitous hill climbs. The route hits the most likely spots for stops to enjoy the city and catch the next bus in an hour.

Great way to see the city in a low commitment, choose your own adventure kind of way.

The bus is a good way to get to know more about ‘Quito colonial” and sightseeing. They explained important and interesting facts about Quito traditions and how it was built. The 30 minutes stop in panecillo was a good one to see the city from above plus you can hop off and hop on following the schedule for the next bus. In that way you can take your time seeing a particular place that you will like to see more

Enjoyed every stop. We had a great time.

We often take the Hop-on, Hop-off as a ‘sampler’ when visiting a new destination. We are then able to decide which areas deserve more time. At minimum, it’s inexpensive transportation and we won’t get lost. For Quito, with many areas known to be unsafe, it’s a necessity. The guides were friendly, but don’t rely on their bilingual skills to offer more than basic information. Our recommendation is to take advantage of both the 2.5 hour city tour and, if you want to stand on the equator, the Middle of the Earth tour. Each was enjoyable. To get to the pick up point take the Metro Subway. It is the cleanest and safest subway we’ve ever been on and got us there far more quickly than a taxi. NYC, London, Paris, Rome, and DC subways should take note. Just make sure you’re back to your hotel before dark (6pm year round) as the tourist police go home for the night.

Great way to see an overview of the city of Quito, and avoid hours of climbing very steep streets in the hot sun! We were happy with what we got to see and the opportunities to get off in different areas, however we didn't hop off because didn't want to wait an hour to hop back on - this was just an issue of not having enough time. If we had the time to explore, that would have been a good way to do so. Only negative takeaway was that it was impossible to make out what the tour guide was saying - (even though she provided English translations). It all just sounded like a garbled mess because of the audio system. We picked up words here and there, but mostly couldn't make out what she was saying.

Very good tour and well worth the price. We started with the 1:00 pm bus, and probably would have preferred an earlier start. We only got off at the Mercado, the Basilica, and Panecillo. We spent much more time at the Basilica than we had expected. It was awesome! Make sure you go around to the front and take the tour up the towers. Spectacular views! On the ride up to Panecillo sit on the left side of the bus and you'll get great views.

The 2 hour tour of Quito was an excellent experience! The price of $15 a person was affordable for us. The tour guide is knowledgeable about the history of Quito. The tour helped us determine where we wanted to visit for longer times during our visit. You can get off and on the busses if you decide you want to spend more time in one place. We rode on the top of the double decker bus and when it rained they would be closed and opened when there was no rain. We did stop at the statue of the Virgin Mary which overlooks Quito for 20 minutes.

Wonderful way to see the city highlights

Friendly ticket agent (speaks English) where the tour starts and friendly tour guide that will point out places along the way in Spanish and English. Lots of good stops. Historic district and the Penicillo statute on the hill were my favorite. I got a discount by booking with them directly online. I am going to book more tours with them.

A day on a double-decker hop-on-hop-off tour bus allowed me to explore various parts of Quito. I could conveniently hop on and off the bus whenever I wanted to delve deeper into a specific location. It was an exhilarating and enjoyable day. Vanessa, the tour guide, even offered to take me on the metro with her since she was heading in the same direction after her shift was over.

Excellent 2+ hour bus tour with an English speaking guide; covering the top sites in Quito. A perfect introduction to the city.

A great way to tour Quito if you want flexibility. The stops were well thought out.

We had walked from the basilica to the Plaza Grande the day before that we were exhausted to visit San Francisco. So we took this bus the next day and were pleased that we could just go to the church and later go see El Panecillo in the same trip.

The bus was clean, there was an English and Spanish-speaking guide. It gave us a great overview of the city even though we did not get off the bus. At stop 6 there was a 30 minute walk around with very nice and plenty to see you do.

Very nice tour with an enthusiastic tour guide.

Excellent route. The city is beautiful. Stop at the Basilica and go up the towers, the view is amazing!!

We were unable to cancel or reschedule our trip due to no phone service while staying in a remote location and a holiday falling on the only other day we could reschedule to and no tours that day. What an absolute waste of money with no flexibility from the host.

A great way to see Quito! You can hop off and explore all the different neighbourhoods. Start early and take all day to see everything.

Wonderful way to get to know the city. Always recommend a Hop On Hop Off for whatever city you travel to!! Even with being trapped in a torential downpour, we thoroughly enjoyed this adventure!!

It was great, especially riding up top in the sunshine. Definitely use it as soon as it starts to be able to enjoy all the stops. San Francisco was definitely worth it. Be sure to get back on in time to get the bus back to where you started, if that is where you want to end up. It would be good if the buses ran every half hour instead of every hour. Friendly staff.

Thi was a great way to see Quito for the first time! The tour guide was so friendly and informative I think her name was Diana. The city has so much charm and I felt very safe as a solo female traveler. Would recommend in a heartbeat next time I will do more tours with them.

Irene was an excellent tour guide. She provided lots of information, entertainment, tips and motivation for the more challenging activities. Thanks Irene for a great experience!

Only historical centre is interesting. The whole route towards parc Carolina is a waste of time. Won’t advice this trip.

Good duration, varied landmarks, a safe bet on a rainy day. The guide was good and spoke in English and Soanish

Excellent guide and wonderful way to explore Quito. The drive up to look out point makes the entire trip worth it, both economically and logistically.

Such a great way to get to know historical places from Quito, I’m born in Quito and left the country when I was a kid and I felt amazed by the beauty of our country The persons that guides you true the tour were very knowledgeable and they speak both Spanish an English I will definitely recommend this tour and most of all I’m doing it again! Thank you

It was a nice tour around the city, going around key areas of the city. It's great for your first day in the city. I would say go on the first slots so you can hop on and off where you want.

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.

Staff were super nice and friendly. But it was a basic tour, I got off at one of the stops and never got back on. I finish exploring the city on my own. I have nothing negative to say and would recommend it but it just wasn't for me.

Easy to access & showed up on time. We started our tour mid way thru & got off st every stop to look around & 1 hour was perfect. Drivers were very capable & guides were super friendly. A great way to get around & get your bearings when you arrive in a new city

Great service. Guide was very informative. Bus driver was great going through holiday traffic. Wonder Day

Excellent experience with very professional guides. Stops were the main highlights with decent enough break time between eaxh.

I've been on several hop on hop off buses, and this was not among the best. The route was not that interesting, and we were forced to disembark twice: the first time, which is mentioned in the itinerary, offered a pretty panoramic view but was overly long, as there was little to do other than run a gauntlet of vendors selling things I didn't want. The second time, which is not mentioned in the itinerary, for me consisted of wandering around a mall for 45 minutes until the bus was ready to leave again. Overall, it was fun at times to be driven around the city, but the whole experience was overly long, and the mandatory disembarkations a bit of a drag.

My husband Gurdev and I (Juginder) are from Singapore and visiting Quito, Ecuador for a holiday. We had the most wonderful experience on the hop-on hop-off bus tour — made extra special by our amazing guide, Veronica, and the kind, thoughtful bus driver. Both of them went far beyond what was expected to make our day smooth, comfortable, and truly memorable. When we arrived at the bus booth, our tour was scheduled for 4 PM. Veronica noticed it was only 2:30 PM and kindly suggested that we join the 3 PM tour so we wouldn’t have to wait. When we asked about washrooms, she didn’t just give directions — she personally walked us to the nearby mall to make sure we found them. Afterwards, we mentioned we wanted to get some fries from KFC before the tour. Veronica knew language might be a challenge since most staff spoke Spanish, so she placed the order for us herself and walked back with us to the bus. During the tour, she was engaging, clear, and attentive, checking in on us often to ensure we were comfortable. At the end of the tour, both Veronica and the driver went out of their way to help us get a cab to an Indian restaurant we wanted to visit for dinner. We were deeply touched by their kindness, care, and genuine hospitality. We feel truly blessed to have met such wonderful, compassionate people — thank you, Veronica and our lovely driver, for making our Quito experience unforgettable!

This is a great way to see the much of the city. I appreciated that you can get off at a particular stop and then take another bus to the next place to see.

Driver and tour guide were outstanding. Hit the majority of the hot spots in Quito. Would do it again if given the chance.

Walking tour of old Quito. Saw some beautiful things but would have liked more information about the architecture. Nice history told. And I enjoyed the local food. Group was very large which limited the learning.

Everyone should know that the double decker bus is Red. It may or may not be the same one you started with. Our tour guide was phenomenal. Thank you so much. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Make sure you start out early and spend time at the Sanfransico plaza. The have alot of great eateries.

I really enjoyed with my family! The view of Quito is amazing from the top , and the bus is well guided and secure. The stops were very precise and the time was exactly as the brochure!

Perfect outing for our family of 5 ranging from ages 12-77. Guides and drivers were informative, efficient and exceptional at negotiating small streets. We loved the 30 minute stop for site seeing and a snack. A beautiful city and would do the same tour again!

Our tour guide Erica was packed with historical information that helped you love the local culture. And driver John was a magician maneuvering the bus in and out of tight places. Erica was able to speck To the multilingual group we had in board. Breathtaking views and informative. Much more than I anticipated.

Nice way to explore the city , it takes you to the home main city attractions convenient to do things on your own pace, English speaking guides

We had an excellent tour with Erika—professional, knowledgeable, and full of positive energy. She made the entire experience smooth and enjoyable, answering every question with clarity and offering insights that made a real difference. Her attention to detail and friendly approach made us feel confident and informed every step of the way. Truly a top-notch experience!

We had a very easy time getting on and of the bus. It enabled us to easy move around Quito to key areas with educational information while travelling