www.ecuadors.org

[Whitlaw]

Can anyone recommend a nice, clean, and fairly cheap place to stay in Banos? I'm looking for a place no more than $20 per night.

How is the situation with Tungurahua right now? I haven't heard anything so I'm assuming it's ok to go there.

How many days is good to spend in Banos? I'd definitely like to do the bike ride down to Puyo and possibly some hiking. Most of all I'd really like to just relax.

Thanks.

[Saskia]

We also stayed in Plantas y Blanco for $4.50 per person (my friend and I shared a twin room with a shared bathroom for this price) and this was about 2 weeks ago. Baños is great, we only planned to stay there for a couple of days but ended up staying a week! Try the Canyoning if you're not too scared of heights! It has been the highlight of our trip so far. We went with Rainforestur and they were a really professional company and the guides we had were great. As for the volcano there was a scare while we were there and everyone thought we would have to evacuate but the next morning things were back to normal. I wouldn't let this put you off as it's a great place and if anything's wrong they will evacuate you. You just need to be prepared. Try the thermal baths also!

[Selwin]

I think the place I stayed in was called Hostal Maria. It was $5 a night for my own room, private bathroom, and cable TV. It was really clean, had a kitchen you could use and a TV room with a lot of DVDs. But it also had a curfew, which really sucked. I would stay at least 2 days in Banos, it's such a pretty and relaxed city. When I was there I did a half day white water rafting trip which was fun, but not as wild as I hoped, and I also went paragliding. That was pricier than most other activities. There's a lot of tour operators and hostels there, so I wouldn't worry too much about finding a cheap place. Dont plan on paying more than $5 a night, I've only heard of one person paying more than that.