My 16 Favorite Places in Ecuador: Stuff for Kids To Do

If you’re moving to a foreign country, then what your kids are going to do there, will probably be a concern. I was a little worried about that when we moved here. What was I going to do all day (aside from school)?

Well, here are a few great places that I love to go:

Parks in Ecuador

El Ejido Park (Parque El Ejido), Quito 

Parque El Ejido is huge! At the entrance, there is a huge arch like the one in Paris, France. Half of the park has playground equipment, including…

• A huge tube slide, it’s so long and fast! There are numerous other slides going off around it too.
• A really fast fun zip-line. Not like one of those that you go out over a crater, just a long wire and a seat, but it’s my favorite!
• Monkey bars and swings
• And the other half is a running track and miles of grass. It is really pretty! There is also a nice reptile zoo nearby. It was kind of creepy; it had dim, eerie blue lights. It kind of made me feel like I was in prehistoric times! I’m the kind of girl that likes snakes, spiders and bugs so I liked it. But if you’re scared of that kind of thing, you probably shouldn’t go there.

Parque Paraíso, Cuenca

Parque Paraíso is a very big park. It has…

• a big running track
• a lot of fun playground equipment
• a nice bit of green space
• a pond with paddle boats
• horse and buggy rides

I love going to this park with my dog Chica.

Parque de la Madre, Cuenca

Parque de la Madre is like Parque Paraíso, except smaller. It has most of the same things that Paraíso does, but they are all smaller. You can read more about my favorite parks in Cuenca.

Restaurants in Ecuador

Tutto Freddos (or Nice Cream), Cuenca and Other Places

Tutto Freddos is a very nice ice cream and pizza shop here in Cuenca. They have every kind of ice cream and pizza, it’s really good! They have locations at Mall del Rio and across from Parque Calderon. And many other places I don’t know of. 🙂

I love their pizza!!!!! My fav is Pepperoni. And my favorite ice cream is Nutella. That is a kind of hazelnut-chocolate spread that they made into an ice cream.

Café Austria, Cuenca

Café Austria is a Gringo hangout, if you don’t mind me saying that :). It’s a really nice restaurant. I love their spaghetti! I’m not really familiar with their menu, but what I know they have…

• Ice cream
• Coffee, of course
• Spaghetti
• French fries
• And more!

They also have WIFI so it’s a nice place to go to have lunch and hangout.

Frutilados, Cuenca

Frutilados is a nice quiet restaurant off of Parque Calderon. You can get…

• Ice cream
• Coffee
• Hot chocolate
• And more I can’t remember!

Read about the bird’s eye view of Parque Calderon from Frutilados.

Gelateria Pizzería La Fornace, Cuenca

This is a nice place to stop and have lunch. It has….

• Pizza of course
• Ice cream
• Salchipapas
• And more

They have really good pizza!

Pizza Hut, Most of Ecuador

I’m sure you have heard this one before! It’s in a lot of other countries too. And I don’t need to go over everything it has because everyone has either been there or heard about it. So, anyway, one of my fav pizza places!

Malls in Ecuador

Mall Del Sol, Guayaquil

I love Mall del Sol! It is really big. It is actually the biggest mall in the country! It has…

• A food court (with all the food that we gringos are used to :^))
• Mr. Books bookstore – with a nice section of English books
• A humongous toy store
• Adventure stores
• Clothing stores
• And many others

This mall is only about a 2 minute walk from the Howard Johnson and Sheraton hotels. So if you’re just visiting than you will find it easy to visit the mall.

Check out: 34 beautiful photos of Guayaquil

Mall Del Rio, Cuenca

Mall Del Rio is two floors, it’s cool! It has…

• A super market (Coral del Rio to be specific)
• A food court
• A beauty shop
• A teenage girl store called Funky Fish (which is a very strange name…)
• A jewelry store
• Clothing stores
• And more!

Mall Del Rio is not as big as Mall Del Sol, but it does have a good selection.

Millennium Plaza, Cuenca

Millennium Plaza is a nice small mall. It has two levels, top is a food court. I am a sucker for ice cream, and like most the malls here it has my fav ice cream shop, Tutto Freddos (Nice Cream)! Here are some other shops it has…

• A teenage Goth store called Pink Punk
• A number of ice cream shops
• A bunch of other stores 🙂
• Close to Parque de la Madre

Monay Shopping, Cuenca

This is a really nice mall. It is modern and pretty. Here are some things it has…

• Colonial furniture shop
• Clothing stores
• Food court
• Gaming store
• And of course, more that I can’t remember.

Keep in mind that the features on some of the malls mentioned here might be in the other ones too. I just can’t mention them all over and over again because that would just be boring!

Handicraft Market, Galapagos

The handicraft market in the Galapagos is a very nice place to spend a couple of hours. It has…

• Marble turtles
• Stuffed animals
• Jewelry
• And much more!

Resorts in Ecuador

Punta Centinela, Salinas

Punta Centinela is a beautiful vacation resort in Salinas. It has…

• A pool
• A private beach
• A lot of geckoes :^)
• And more!

It is a lovely place to go for a vacation!

Love beaches? Here’s the guide to Ecuador beaches.

Sol y Agua, Santa Isabel

This is a very nice resort in the Yunguilla valley. It has…

• A slow, twirley water slide
• A very fast, strait water slide
• A pool, of course
• Little cabins
• A snack bar
• And more!

If you go down that fast slide, you will want to cross your legs! I love going there for a day just to hang out and relax.

Red Mangrove Aventura Lodge

Traveling to the Galapagos is an amazing adventure that every kid will love. Read more about our recent Galapagos Family Adventure.

More reading: Travelers Guide to Galapagos Islands Animals

So, as you can see, if you move to Ecuador then your children will have lots to do! Thank you for reading!

Interested in other great things for kids? Ecuador for Kids – Keeping the Kids Happy