Traveling to Cuenca With Kids

What Traveling to Cuenca With Kids Actually Looks Like

Traveling to Cuenca with kids is one of the easiest things we have done as a family. The weather sits at spring all year, a taxi across town costs about two dollars, the sidewalks are wide enough for a stroller, and there are parks and pigeons everywhere you look. Here is how we actually got around, fed a picky four year old, and filled our days.

Cuenca is a fantastic place for families!!!  So much so, it is on our radar for a possible year abroad.  There is so much to do in Cuenca with kids and the weather is always springtime so you can do all of these activities pretty much year round.  The local people are very kind, and strangers will greet you with a smile as you pass by.  So let’s get to it!

Transportation With Littles

I did not research car seat laws here because I knew we would really only be taking taxis short distances.  As I have mentioned in other pages, we are comfortable with our kids riding in taxis without a car seat, but we understand that not everyone may be comfortable doing this.  Please do what feels right for you and your family.  There is a public bus system throughout the city as an alternative.  There is also Ecuador’s first tram system.  Unfortunately it runs on a fairly limited route, but it exists nonetheless.

To be honest, the cost of a taxi is so low that it really is hard to beat.  A ride from the city center to almost anywhere in the city most likely won’t run more than $2 USD.

Strollers in Cuenca

Cuenca is definitely stroller friendly.  This was the first trip we decided to leave the stroller at home and see how our 4 year old would hold up on long days, so we didn’t actually use a stroller here.  But as someone that has done a lot of world traveling with a stroller, I know what it is like.

The infrastructure of the city, sidewalks, roads, etc. is top notch.  You can see by these photos what to mostly expect.  There are usually very wide sidewalks and for the most part the city is relatively flat with the biggest exception being getting from the city center down to the Tomebamba River.  Access to that part of town is easy with sloped, almost switch back style sidewalks in a few spots, so you could avoid stairs if you are willing to walk a little extra.

Picky Little Eaters

It was easy to find foods for even our picky little Kaida in Cuenca.  There were many places offering western breakfast options in addition to local fare.  Pancakes, eggs and bacon seemed to be pretty common restaurant breakfast.  We found options like chicken nuggets, fries and hot dogs to be pretty popular.  The hot dogs however, do not quite look like the dogs we were used to.  They were more white or grayish in color.  You couldn’t pay me to eat it but Kaida gobbled a couple down.

There are also lots of bakeries everywhere for breads, croissants, etc.  Sweet shops selling traditional candies were abundant and lots of ice cream was eaten.  The Ecuadorian ice cream chain Tutto Freddo was a fun treat offering ice cream sundaes, milkshakes and even some boozy sundaes for mom and dad.  To read all about Tutto Freddo, visit our Where to Eat in Cuenca page.

There are small convenience store type stands/shops all over selling your basics as well as drinks and snacks.  Most had some familiar American options like Ritz crackers, Oreos, Gatorade and such.  The haul in the photo below, including the two beers on the right for dad, cost a total of $8 USD from one of these small shops.

At the large grocery store, which was comparable to a grocery store in the US, I found many familiar items for the kids.  Cereals brands we normally eat back home, Kraft Mac and Cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and more.

Activities for Kids

Go for a Horseback Ride

Kaida LOVES horses, so we decided to partake in a little horse adventure just outside town.  About a 20 minute taxi ride from the city center, is Bellavista Equestrian Center.  It had wonderful reviews online for riders of all skill levels (our level being zero, as in I don’t do horses).  While the ride ended up being a bit more than expected, the views were breathtaking, the kids had a lot of fun and our butts only hurt for about 24 hours afterwards. For more photos and a review of the full experience, check out our See & Do in Cuenca page.

Visit the Zoo

What kid doesn’t love going to the zoo?!  We try to hit a zoo on every trip.   Not only do the kids have fun seeing the animals but Dawson and I find it interesting to see the different infrastructure, set up and culture of a zoo as they tend to vary more than you might think.  The Amaru Zoológico Bioparque in Cuenca was no exception as it was our first zoo experience hiking straight up a mountain.  Literally the zoo is in a more natural habitat built right into the side of a mountain and you hike between the enclosures.  It was a pretty neat concept.

Sure it was more physical exertion than we were used to putting into a visit to the zoo, but it was worth it.  Everything from bears and lions to sloths and alligators are housed at this zoo.  You can read more about it and see more photos on our See & Do in Cuenca page.

Play at the Park

There are a lot of parks in Cuenca so we narrowed it down to visiting two of them.  The one pictured here, El Paraíso Park, is the largest of the parks and is walkable from the city center, but faster, easier, and cheap to get there by taxi.

We were there on a weekend and there were loads of vendors selling snacks and bubbles.  The kids can’t resist bubbles so we always end up buying some.  There are several different play structures located throughout the park.  There is a walking path, a lake, and even a children’s version of traffic school.  For a small fee your kid can drive a toy car around and practice the rules of the road.  Our kids didn’t partake but the kids doing it looked to be having fun.

Madre Park is the other park we visited.  Actually we came to this park a lot.  It was a short walk from our apartment and the kids loved it.  The play equipment here is made of wood structures and there were three different play structure areas.

There are also fun wood carvings throughout the park (pictured below).  There is a walking and jogging track around the park if you are looking to get in some more serious exercise, which probably isn’t a bad idea with all of the good food you will be eating here.  Just don’t forget you are at elevation, so take it slow!

Both parks we visited have lots of exercise equipment, which the kids always feel is necessary to check out and attempt to use…usually improperly.

Madre Park is also home to Cuenca’s Planetarium and it’s FREE!  That’s right, totally free.  Set your expectations accordingly, it is old and not a true planetarium, just a screen, but it’s still free and the kids enjoyed it.  The current hours are usually posted on the door.  At the time of our visit, there were two showings a day, four days a week.

An Extreme Adventure Park With a View

Parque Extremo Turi is really for the older kids or adults.  I didn’t take Kaida, then 4.  She was definitely too young to do any of the activities, plus she has zero desire to participate in anything remotely dangerous or thrilling in life.  Viona on the other hand, would have jumped out of a plane when she was 6 if we had let her.  So this was the perfect place for Viona.

Located at the top of a hill with unrivaled views of the city, it takes a bit of leg work to get there.  Literally you have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the park.  The entrance fee of a few dollars is paid at the bottom and then you make the ascent to the activities.  Several are included in the price of the nominal admission and a few are a couple extra dollars to participate.

I want to preface that it appears the safety standards here are far below what you would find in the US or maybe Europe.  In fact I don’t know that there are any safety regulations for something like this in Ecuador.  So proceed with caution and only participate at your own risk.  Viona loves the risk and as a bad mom (or a fun mom as I like to think of it), I let her do her thing!

She was pretty pumped on the cliff swing experience.  We watched an adult male do it right before her and the swing didn’t break and he didn’t die, so I figured her odds were pretty good.  She survived…

Do What Kaida Does

There are pigeons in Cuenca!!!  Which is all Kaida needs to have a good time…

Overall

Going to Cuenca with kids is a good fit for any family looking to travel.  With mild weather year round and lots of outdoor activities, you are sure to have plenty to keep your kids entertained.  The people are friendly and we always felt very safe in the city, even after dark.  If you are looking for a budget friendly destination with the kids, put Cuenca at the top of the list!

Planning a Trip to Cuenca With Kids

A few things we would tell a friend before they book.

You do not need a rental car. A taxi from the city center to almost anywhere in town runs about two dollars, so driving ourselves was never going to come out ahead. We were comfortable with the girls riding short distances without a car seat, and that is a personal call, so do what feels right for your family. There is a city bus system if you would rather not, and Ecuador’s first tram, though the tram route is still pretty limited.

Leave the stroller at home if your youngest can handle a full day on foot. Cuenca was the first trip we tried that and our four year old was fine. If you do bring one, Cuenca is a good city for it: the sidewalks are wide, the city is mostly flat, and the only real hill is the drop from the center down to the Tomebamba River. There are sloped, almost switchback style sidewalks in a few spots there, so you can skip the stairs if you do not mind walking a little farther.

Pick your park by the kind of day you are having. Madre Park was a short walk from our apartment so we ended up there over and over, and it has three separate wooden play areas, a jogging track, and the free planetarium. El Paraíso is the biggest, and you can walk it from the city center, but a taxi is faster and costs almost nothing.

Split up if your kids are split. Parque Extremo Turi is really for the older or braver one. Viona loved every second of it and I did not take Kaida, who was four at the time. The safety standards there are nowhere near what you would find at home, so go in with your eyes open and only do what you are comfortable with.

Take the elevation seriously, and save some legs for the zoo. Amaru is built into the side of a mountain and you hike between the enclosures, which is a lot more walking than a zoo usually asks of you. Go slow, bring water, and do not schedule anything ambitious for the same afternoon.

Feeding a picky eater is the easy part here. Pancakes, eggs and bacon show up on most breakfast menus, chicken nuggets and fries are everywhere, and the big grocery store carries the same cereal and boxed mac and cheese you have at home.

For the full list of what we actually did, see our things to do in Cuenca with kids page. Every restaurant, bakery and ice cream stop is on our where to eat in Cuenca with kids page, and the rest of the trip starts on our Cuenca with kids guide.