Best time to visit Quito

Ecuador · Latin America

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Quito

Tap a month for its page

Sweet spot
Good
OK
Avoid
Busy

Go in Jul–Sep — these months score within a whisker of each other; 19C max, 3 rainy days. Jun is the next best.

Dry season: Jul–Aug, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.

Plan this trip

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Flights

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Where to stay

Things to do

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Things to do in Quito

Mitad del Mundo Just outside of Quito is where the measurements were first made that proved that the…
Basílica del Voto Nacional It is said to be the largest Neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas.
Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus This church is regarded by many as the most beautiful in the Americas.
Conjunto monumental San Francisco This church dates to 1537 and was devoted to St Francis…
TelefériQo It's the world's second-highest cable car.
Plaza Grande / Plaza de la Independencia Main plaza of Quito with national significance that features the monument to the…
Casa de la Cultura Shows a patchwork of local artists.

Tours and tickets in Quito

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Quito), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Month by month

No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.

Month	Max °C	Rain days	Humidity	Sun h/day	Verdict	Why
Jan	18°	18d	81%	10.0h	avoid	monsoon: 18 rainy days, 322mm
Feb	18°	20d	83%	9.7h	avoid	monsoon: 20 rainy days, 343mm
Mar	18°	24d	83%	9.4h	avoid	monsoon: 24 rainy days, 418mm
Apr	18°	18d	82%	9.7h	avoid	monsoon: 18 rainy days, 295mm
May	18°	12d	80%	10.2h	ok	18C max, 12 rainy days
Jun	18°	7d	75%	10.7h	good	18C max, 7 rainy days
Jul	19°	3d	64%	11.0h	sweet spot	19C max, 3 rainy days
Aug	20°	5d	61%	11.2h	sweet spot	20C max, 5 rainy days
Sep	21°	6d	63%	11.2h	sweet spot	21C max, 6 rainy days
Oct	20°	17d	75%	10.5h	avoid	monsoon: 17 rainy days, 199mm
Nov	18°	22d	82%	10.1h	avoid	monsoon: 22 rainy days, 333mm
Dec	18°	17d	81%	10.5h	avoid	monsoon: 17 rainy days, 295mm

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at the old town, 20 km from the airport (UIO): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest in January.

Then and now

Quito's September days now average 21.2°C, 4.3°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1981–90	15.1°	15.3°	15.5°	15.6°	16.2°	16.6°	16.7°	17.3°	16.9°	16.0°	15.8°	15.5°
2017–26	17.7°	17.6°	17.5°	17.7°	17.8°	18.0°	19.1°	20.5°	21.2°	19.6°	18.2°	18.0°
Change	+2.6°	+2.3°	+2.0°	+2.1°	+1.7°	+1.4°	+2.4°	+3.2°	+4.3°	+3.6°	+2.5°	+2.5°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Getting there

How far Quito is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Before you go

Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. UK Foreign Office: avoid all but essential travel to parts. Everything for Ecuador: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Being there

On arrival

Paying — Ecuador uses the US dollar, with its own coins alongside American ones. Bring $1 and $5 notes, as $50 and $100 bills are often refused; cards are taken mainly where tourists go, often with a commission, and you may be asked for your passport.
UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
Tipping — Not required, as bars, restaurants and hotels add a 10% service charge; in restaurants, leaving some spare change for good service is customary.

Getting around Quito

Apps — Rides: DiDi, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. DiDi and Uber work in Quito and Guayaquil, the only cities with flights to the islands; on Santa Cruz, taxis are white pick-up trucks.

Taxis and buses are everywhere and very inexpensive. There are 3 independent systems of buses, that have enclosed stations - the stops are roadside platforms, covered with entrances where you pay your fare on the way in. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Quito, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help

Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (16)

Quito in pictures

Quito as from panecillo Basilica — i

Cayambe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Plaza Grande, Quito, Ecuador, 2015 07 22, DD 86 — i

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Catedral de Quito, Quito, Ecuador, 2015 07 22, DD 78 — i

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What Quito is like

Quito's Old City is the largest in the Americas and was one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites, recognized as the largest and most intact colonial city center remaining in the Americas. It has undergone a restoration and revitalization program and boasts more than 40 churches, and 16 convents and monasteries. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing: Conjunto monumental San Francisco, Cuenca 477. Hence the city's official name: San Francisco de Quito. More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing: Explore the Old Town With its gorgeous mixture of colonial and republican/independence era architecture (late 1500s to 1800s), relaxing plazas and a stunning number of churches. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in: Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO IATA Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre) (is located on the Oyambaro plain near the town of Tababela, about 18 km (11 mi) east of Quito). More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe: As in every big city tourists should take special care in certain areas. Do not travel up El Panecillo on foot; use a taxi even during the day. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Quito, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Around Quito

Also in Ecuador

The Galápagos best Sep, Oct, Nov

Nearby

Kind of place

Quito is in Ecuador, Latin America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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