Practical information about Cuenca
Getting there & away
Bus
Located about 1.5km from downtown, Cuenca’s bus terminal ( 284 3888; Av España) is served by dozens of different bus companies, many with two or three buses every hour.
There are daily buses to Ingapirca, Jima, and Gualaceo, Chordeleg and Sígsig. Buses to Parque Nacional Cajas leave from the Transporte Occidental stop, west of the center.
There are two routes to Guayaquil, the shorter one via Parque Nacional Cajas and Molleturo ($8, 3½ to four hours), and the longer one via La Troncal and Cañar ($8, 5½ hours). Buses leave hourly for Machala ($4.50, four hours); a few continue to Huaquillas ($8, seven hours).
Buses for Azogues ($0.60, 45 minutes) leave every 15 minutes, many continuing to Cañar ($1.50, 1½ hours) and Alausí ($4, four hours).
For Quito ($10, 10 to 12 hours), there are buses about every hour. There’s several departures each day to Riobamba ($6, six hours), Ambato ($7, seven hours) and Latacunga ($9, 8½ hours).
There are buses every hour from 6am to 10pm to Loja ($7, five hours) via Saraguro ($5, 3½ hours).
For the southern Oriente, daily buses go to Macas via Guarumales ($8.50, eight hours) or via Limón ($8.50, 10 hours). There are two daily departures (at 11am and 2pm) with Cooperativa 16 de Agosto ( 283 2703) to Gualaquiza ($7, six hours) along the rough and scenic road via Sígsig.
Car
For car rental, try Localiza (airport 280 3198/3; España 286 3902, 286 0174; España 1485 near Granada), which has a branch at the airport and another some 400m northeast of the airport.
Air
Cuenca’s Aeropuerto Mariscal Lamar ( 286 2203; Av España) is conveniently located 2km from the heart of town.
TAME (airport 286 2400; downtown 288 9097, 288 9581; Astudillo 2-22; 8:30am-1pm & 2-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 9:30am-12:30pm Sat) flies daily to Quito ($63) and Guayaquil ($49). Icaro ( 281 1450; Milenium Plaza, Astudillo s/n; 10am-8pm Mon-Sat, to 7pm Sun) flies to both destinations for the same price.
Getting around
Taxis cost about $2 between downtown and either the airport or the bus terminal. From the front of the bus terminal, buses depart regularly to downtown ($0.25). To get to the bus terminal from downtown, use the bus stop on Padre Aguirre, near the flower market. Most buses are marked ‘Terminal.’
Local buses for Turi ($0.25), 4km south of the center, go along Avenida Solano.
Money & costs
Banco de Guayaquil (Mariscal Sucre near Borrero) Bank with ATM; changes traveler’s checks.
BancodelPacífico (cnr Gran Colombia & Tarqui) Bank with ATM.
BancodelPichincha (cnr Solano& 12 de Abril) Bank with ATM; changes traveler’s checks.
Vaz Corp ( 283 3434; cnr Gran Colombia & Luís Cordero; 8:30am-1pm & 2:30-5:45pm Mon-Fri, 9am-12:45pm Sat) Changes traveler’s checks and foreign currency.
Health & safety
Medical services
The following are excellent clinics and have some English-speaking staff. Consultations cost about $20.
ClínicaHospitalMonte Sinai ( 288 5595; Miguel Cordero 6-111)
Clínica Santa Inés ( 281 7888; Daniel Córdova 2-113)
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