Air
La Toma airport
is 30 km
[19 miles]
west of Loja,
in the town
of Catamayo.
It takes under
an hour to
get there,
via a long
winding road
through stunning
countryside.
The road continues
through wild
hills all
the way down
to Machala,
although parts
of it are
truly tortuous.
A taxi will
take you there
for about
US$4.00*
per person
if you're
sharing the
trip. There
are also buses
to Loja for
US$1.00*.
But, this
is not recommended
if you have
heavy luggage.
The bus station
[terminal]
is located
at Av. Gran
Colombia and
Isidro Ayora
[north
of the city
centre].
TAME
[07
- 585224]
has early
morning flights
to both Quito
and Guayaquil
[US$50*
- one way]
most days
of the week.
There are
also flights
to Piura in
Peru.
Icaro:
Direct flights
available
to Quito
in a 20 passenger
craft US$53*
[one
way].
Bus
The
bus station
has an information
desk at the
entrance,
a Pacifictel
office and
several shops.
You have to
pay a tax
fee of US$0.20*
by the main
entrance.
Frequent local
buses are
available
to the centre
[10
minutes].
A taxi to
the city centre
is around
US$1.00*.
To Vilcabamba,
11/2
hours [US$1.00*],
leave from
the Terminal
Terrestre,
where the
bus from Cuenca,
41/2
hours, [US$5.00*]
gets in. There
are also minibuses
run by Vilcabambaturis.
Even faster
are the shared
taxis from
the southern
end of Aguirre.
Other destinations
include Guayaquil,
8 hours, [US$6.00*],
Macara,
5 to 6 hours
[US$5.00*]
or Huaquillas,
6 to 8 hours
[US$5.00*],
on the Peruvian
border and
Zamora,
11/2
hours [US$1.50*].
To Quito,
12 to 13 hours,
[US$9.00*].
To Machala,
7 hours, [US$4.00*].
To Saraguro,
11/2
hours, [US$1.50*].
To Zumba,
7 hours, [US$4.50*].
*Prices
are approximate
Last
updated 19th
July 2006
| |Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton||| |
| |^|to top| |
