Travel Information - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 34

The climate in the Galápagos is similar, with a warm, rainy season
from January to April. The rest of the year is cooler and dryer, but
again with the ocean mist. The roughest sailing months are August,
September and October.
In the Northern Sierras , the cooler, rainy season begins by October.
The coldest months are January throughMay, with a steady increase
in rainfall fromFebruary to April. It is actually a bit chilly during this
time, at least for an equatorial country. You'll need a sweater and
rain jacket. It rained for eight continuous days during one of my re-
cent visits to Quito, although the locals said that was unusual. June
through September are the warmest and driest months in the North-
ern Highlands. Farther south, the dry season is more or less fromAu-
gust through January.
In the Oriente , the wet season runs from May through September,
though heavy rains can fall year-round. And remember, in the jungle
it's either warm and wet or warm and wetter. Surprisingly, the
Oriente is not usually as hot as one might expect in the Amazon.
Getting Here
By Air
Most foreigners arrive via Quito at the Mariscal Sucre
International Airport (UIO/SEQU), which is the major
tourist hub and gateway city. The other major interna-
tional hub is Guayaquil , though this city is more busi-
ness- than tourist-oriented. From the US, major airlines serving
Ecuador are American Airlines , which uses Miami as the gateway
city, and Continental , which flies through Houston. Some Latin
American-based airlines may offer better rates by traveling through
their associated countries, including TACA and Copa , based in Cen-
tral America, and SAETA , the Ecuadorian airline. European-based
airlines that travel to Quito include KLM , Lufthansa and Iberia .
Online discount travel websites, as well as airline websites, usually
offer better deals than calling the airlines directly or using a travel
agent, though travel agents can help to insure that everything is han-
dled properly, including services other than air. Round-trip fares av-
erage $850 frommajor US hubs, though prices can range from about
$600-$1,600.