Where to Stay in Quito on a Budget
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Where to stay in Quito on a budget
Quito doesn’t have one obvious budget base, it has a few, and picking by trip type saves both money and hassle. Below are the areas worth knowing, with what a night actually runs in each. Whichever you pick, check rates on Booking.com first, prices swing by neighborhood and season.
| Area | Best for | Budget/night | Mid-range/night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town (Centro Histórico) | First-timers, walking to every UNESCO sight | $12-20 hostel dorm | $40-70 boutique room |
| La Mariscal | Nightlife, social hostels, cheap eats | $10-18 hostel dorm | $35-60 hotel |
| La Floresta | A quieter, arty alternative near La Mariscal | $15-25 hostel/guesthouse | $45-75 hotel |
| Cumbayá | A lower, warmer valley suburb (~2,200m) | Fewer hostels; $30+ | $60-100+ |
Old Town: the walkable budget default
Staying in the Centro Histórico puts every free UNESCO sight, Plaza Grande, La Compañía, San Francisco, within walking distance, which saves on transit costs even if the rooms themselves aren’t the cheapest in the city. Hostel dorms run roughly $12-20 a night; book ahead around Fiestas de Quito in early December, when rates spike.
La Mariscal: cheapest hostels, one safety habit
La Mariscal (“Gringolandia”) has Quito’s densest cluster of backpacker hostels and the cheapest dorm beds in the city, often $10-18 a night with breakfast included. It’s also the zone with the most reported nighttime muggings and drink-spiking incidents around Plaza Foch, safe by day, so the one non-negotiable habit here is taking a taxi or app ride back to your hostel after dark rather than walking, even a short distance.
Is Cumbayá worth staying in instead of the city center?
Only if you have a car or don’t mind taxi costs both ways. Cumbayá sits lower and warmer than central Quito, a genuine break from the altitude, but it trades away walkability to the Old Town’s sights; most budget travelers do better basing in the center and taking a day trip out to Cumbayá’s cafes instead.
Booking tips that save money
Book Old Town rooms further ahead around Fiestas de Quito (late November-6 December) and Semana Santa, both push rates up citywide. Outside those windows, Quito’s hostel and budget-hotel market is rarely fully booked, and checking a booking app with flexible dates often turns up a lower same-week rate than what’s first listed. For the currency and cash habits that affect how you pay for any of these, see our Quito travel tips .