Q: What is the best way to travel from Lima, Peru to Vilcabamba, Ecuador?
Response: Just spent a little time in Vilcabamba, Ecuador this past April. We stayed with a new friend through the Couchsurfing program, and he had friends from Lima arrive the following night. They came by bus, and apparently make the trip often. We have not made that exact journey ourselves, but bus is the method our friend chooses when going to Lima and what his friend’s choose when coming to Vilcabamba.
A note about flying in – we did that from Guayaquil: The airport is an hour and a half from Vilcabamba, out in a field in the middle of nowhere farm country outside a town called Catamayo. Although I would think they exist, I did not see a bus or option for one from the airport to the town of Catamayo.
Here are your options:
(1) Take a 45 minute taxi ride from the airport in Catamayo to a company called Ruta de Taxi located at Once de Mayo (11th of May -name of the street) in Loja ($20). You will then get in a shared taxi for another 45 minute ride (nice drive) to a central drop off location in Vilcabamba, about 2 blocks from town square / central park. The shared taxi was $1.75 total vs $15 if you wanted a normal, private taxi. The company “Ruta de Taxi” runs back and forth all day. You may just have to wait a few minutes to gather a few more passengers. We never waited more than about 2-3 minutes.
(2) If you can get from the airport to the bus stop in Catamayo, the bus would probably cost about 50 cents to get to the bus stop in Loja. we made a day trip to Loja, and from Loja took the bus back to that same drop off location in Vilcabamba for 45 cents each.