Route Briefing: London to Quito
Few routes from London reward the journey quite like the flight to Quito. Yes, you're looking at around fourteen and a half hours in the air with a connection — typically through Madrid with Iberia, Amsterdam with KLM, or Paris with Air France — but what waits at the other end is genuinely unlike anywhere else on Earth. A UNESCO World Heritage capital sitting at roughly 2,850 metres above sea level, with one of the best-preserved colonial old towns in the Americas, and a position that makes it the natural launching pad for the Galápagos Islands. That's a compelling case for booking.
The old city itself is the heart of the experience. Baroque churches, whitewashed convents, and cobbled plazas tumble across the hillsides in a way that feels almost cinematic. La Compañía de Jesús, the elaborately decorated Jesuit church, is one of the most striking interiors in South America — genuinely jaw-dropping even if you've seen a lot of churches. The surrounding streets are alive with markets, street food, and the kind of unhurried pace that makes you want to slow down and actually look at things.
On the practical side, Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport sits outside the city, and there are bus and taxi options into the centre — agree on a fare or use a metered or app-based service to avoid being overcharged as a new arrival. Give yourself a day to acclimatise before doing anything strenuous; the altitude catches plenty of visitors off guard, and rushing straight into sightseeing or a Galápagos transfer is a recipe for headaches and fatigue.
Timing matters on this route. Peak season runs June through August and again over December and January, when fares climb and accommodation fills up. If your schedule is flexible, travelling in the shoulder months either side of those windows gives you better prices and thinner crowds without sacrificing the experience. Quito's climate is famously mild year-round thanks to its equatorial but high-altitude position, so there's no truly bad time to visit.
For the fare itself, anything under $700 roundtrip from London is a genuinely good deal — standard pricing tends to sit between $900 and $1,200 or more. Book three to six months out for the best availability, and consider flying mid-week rather than at the weekend, which can shave a meaningful amount off the ticket price. That saving goes a long way once you're on the ground in Ecuador.