Walk the Malecón 2000 from La Rotonda north to Las Peñas, then climb the 444 numbered steps of Cerro Santa Ana to the lighthouse for the view over the Guayas. Spend an hour with the iguanas in Parque Seminario beside the cathedral, give a morning to the Parque Histórico across the river, ride the Aerovía to Durán, and end the day over crab in Urdesa.
Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city and its port, a hot, humid river town on the west bank of the Guayas. Most travellers pass through on the way to the Galápagos. Give it a day or two and the riverfront, the hill of Las Peñas and the crab houses repay the stop.
About 2.5 km of gardens, monuments and river views along the Guayas, from the Mercado Sur to Las Peñas. Walk it early or after five, when the heat drops and families come out, and finish at the north end below Cerro Santa Ana.
The oldest quarter of the city, painted wooden houses stacked up a hill above the river. Climb the 444 numbered steps past cafés and bars to the lighthouse and the chapel at the top, and stay on the numbered stairway.
A small square park where iguanas, some over a metre long, wander the lawns and doze in the trees around the equestrian statue of Bolívar. The neo-Gothic cathedral stands across the street, so see both together.
Old Guayaquil rebuilt across the Daule: wooden town houses moved here and restored, a cacao hacienda and a wildlife zone of native species. The best single place to understand the city that burned and was rebuilt.
The 1938 monument to the meeting of Bolívar and San Martín here in July 1822, the two liberators shaking hands under a colonnade on the river. Walk inland from it along Avenida 9 de Octubre, the city's main boulevard.
The city's museum since 1908, covering pre-Columbian cultures, the colonial port and independence. The Shuar tsantsas, shrunken heads held since the early 20th century, are what most people remember.
Around 8,000 archaeological pieces from the coastal cultures, some dating to 3000 BC, displayed in the Villa Rosa Herlinda, a heritage mansion. It is the clearest account in the city of who lived here before the Spanish.
The cable car opened in December 2020 to link Guayaquil with Durán across the Guayas, with three stations on the Guayaquil side. Ride it as a commuter does and you get the best moving view of the river and the old centre.
Guayaquil eats crab with a wooden mallet, a bib and a cold beer, and Urdesa holds the best-known crab houses. Order the cangrejo criollo or the crab in garlic or coconut sauce, and go in a group.
Some 6,000 hectares of tropical dry forest on the city's western edge, one of the last of its kind on the coast and home to the endangered great green macaw. Trails run from the visitor centre into the hills.
Anthropology and contemporary art at the north end of the Malecón, with a large Manteño collection. Repairs have closed it for long spells, so check first.
Colonial religious art and painting in a downtown building near Plaza de la Administración. Free, with ID at the door.
Photographs, scores and personal objects of the city's great pasillo singer, with a history of Ecuadorian radio.
Two football club museums under one roof in the old shipyard building, for the city's fierce derby.
Exhibitions, a cinema and a programme of talks and concerts on Avenida 9 de Octubre.
The city's best-known crab house, with branches in Urdesa and Samborondón. Order the crab in garlic or encocado.
Ceviche, encebollado and menestra served in an old wooden house with shutters and period furniture.
Encebollado, bolón and encocados at a casual downtown picantería on General Córdova.
The Grand Hotel Guayaquil's restaurant, a reliable stop for Ecuadorian classics a block from the cathedral.
A small bar at the foot of the Cerro Santa Ana steps that packs out on live-music nights.
A jazz club opened in 2025 in a stone cave-like room, where the bar La Paleta used to be.
A newer terrace bar on the Puerto Santa Ana waterfront, for a drink over the Guayas.
Ecuador's home-grown café chain, with good cakes and a branch in most neighbourhoods.
Native plants and orchids on the slopes of Cerro Colorado in the north of the city.
A very large city park in the north, with sports fields, lakes and paths along the Daule.
The second riverfront, on the Estero Salado tidal arm, with walkways and restaurants.
A protected island of mangroves opposite the city. The footbridge from Guayaquil has been shut since a ship struck it in November 2025, so check access.
The largest square in the centre, on Avenida 9 de Octubre, around the independence column.
Over a hundred stalls of Panama hats, tagua carvings, textiles and ceramics from all three regions.
The sprawling street market south of the centre for clothes, electronics and everything else. Keep valuables out of sight.
The largest mall near the airport, air-conditioned and useful for anything you forgot.
The painted hillside quarter at the end of the Malecón, quiet by day and lively at night.
The grid between the Malecón and Parque Centenario, with the museums, the cathedral and the big hotels.
The regenerated shipyard north of Las Peñas, with riverside towers, museums and bars.
Leafy streets of restaurants and bars around Víctor Emilio Estrada. Where the city eats out.
Malls, gated suburbs and newer hotels across the Daule, comfortable but car-dependent.
Boat trips through the mangrove estuary to see a resident colony of bottlenose dolphins.
An ecological reserve of mangroves and dry hills south of the city, with canoe trips.
Lakes and páramo above 3,000 metres on the road to Cuenca, a long but dramatic day.
Two days of water fights and beach trips. Much of the city heads to the coast.
Holy Week processions downtown, and fanesca, the Lenten grain soup, on every menu.
Bolívar was born on 24 July 1783, and the date opens the city's July celebrations.
The founding of Guayaquil, with a student parade, floats on 9 de Octubre and dance at La Rotonda.
The city's big food fair at the Centro de Convenciones, where huecas compete for the top prize.
The 1820 independence, marked with parades, concerts and a local holiday.
Families visit the Cementerio General and drink colada morada with guaguas de pan.
Hundreds of artisans sell papier-mâché effigies on calle 6 de Marzo, burned at midnight on 31 December.
The main gateway for the coast and the Galápagos, about 5 km north of downtown. A taxi to the centre takes around 20 minutes.
The long-distance bus station beside the airport, with frequent buses to the coast, Cuenca and the rest of the country.
Bus rapid transit on dedicated lanes, four trunk lines through the centre. Fares run 40 to 45 cents, paid by card.
The cable car from the Malecón to Durán across the Guayas, opened in December 2020. Service pauses when debris drifts on the river.
Tuna, yuca and pickled onion soup, the city's breakfast cure.
Boiled mangrove crab cracked at the table with a mallet.
A fist of mashed fried plantain with cheese or pork.
Rice, lentil or bean stew and grilled beef.
Shrimp in lime and tomato, with popcorn and chifles.
Seafood or crab stewed in coconut milk.
Goat stewed in naranjilla and beer, served with rice.
Tripe and potato in a peanut sauce.
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