Visiting Baños with kids is fun! This city in Ecuador is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador, which is why there is plenty to do for families with kids in this city. You have all kinds of outdoor activities that you can do in this city and in addition, you can also relax in the hot baths of the city. In this blog, we list the best children’s activities in Baños.
Best travel time Baños with kids
You can visit the city of Baños with kids all year round. The temperature is around 15 to 20 degrees all year round. This is partly due to the mild climate that prevails in this place and that the place is located at an altitude of 1820 meters. You also have to deal with rain all year in Baños, but there are periods when the chances of rain are a little less.
The dry season in Baños is from June to September and from December to February. Because most of the activities are outdoors, it’s nice if it doesn’t rain all day, though, making these months the best travel time to visit Baños with kids.
Transportation to and in Baños
The city of Baños is easily accessible from other cities in Ecuador. From the capital Quito, you can reach the city by bus in about 3.5 hours. From Guayaquil, it is about 5.5 hours away by bus. Bus transportation may not be ideal with kids, so renting a car may be an option. Most families with kids then rent a car at the Quito airport and explore the rest of Ecuador’s destinations from there.
You can easily rent a car at the Quito airport through the organization Sunny Cars. Sunny Cars has good terms regarding insurance, deductible and free rental car cancellation. Check online for more information about renting a car at the Quito airport.
The city itself is great for walking and most activities can be done on an organized tour. You can also possibly take a cab in town to travel to the various activities in the region.
Children’s activities Baños
#1 Center of the city
When taking a city break to Baños with kids, it’s fun to take a tour of the city center. Baños is a tourist-oriented city, and you will find a lot of cafes and restaurants in town, where you can grab a bite to eat and a drink. A visit to the city’s cathedral (Nuestra Señora de Agua Santa) is not to be missed. You can see this cathedral inside.
Although Baños does not have a lot of sights in the center of town, there is street art to be found in the center of town. We always enjoy seeing this art form in a city.
If you want to see the city from a great height, you can take a walk from the city center to the statue of the Virgin. This hike takes about half an hour, but of course you will be going up the mountain in the process. This can be a bit too heavy with (small) kids, which is why it’s better to take the cab up a bit and walk the last bit yourself to the statue.
From the viewpoint you have a very nice overview of the city. Of course, you can then choose to walk down with kids and not use a cab for the way back.
#2 Rafting
One of the most fun activities to do in Baños with kids is to go rafting in the region. You can go rafting in the region with basically kids of all ages, as there is not really an age limit with some of the organizations. You can raft on different sections of the Pastaza River and they differ in how violent the river is.
Therefore, with kids, it is fine to raft on the part of the river with the lowest level in terms of water speed. These tours take about half a day and the drive from downtown Baños to the river is about 40 minutes. During this route you will encounter several waterfalls, making it quite a scenic drive to the river as well.
We always find this a very fun activity to do with our daughter, which is why rafting in Baños is also a perfect children’s activity! You can book a raft tour in advance online, but you can also book a tour in the city itself at an agency.
#3 Ruta de las Cascadas
In the Baños area you have many waterfalls lying around that you can visit with the family. The most beautiful waterfall in the region is El Pailón del Diablo waterfall. You drive here in half an hour by car and you pay a small fee as entrance fee. You then walk up all kinds of stairs and suspension bridges to the waterfall.
Make sure kids have good shoes on when hiking one of the two trails to the waterfall. In fact, the path toward the waterfall may be quite slippery.
Another waterfall you can visit is the waterfall El Manto de La Novia. Especially the route to the waterfall is very fun to do with kids. In fact, you go up to the waterfall by a kind of cable car in a small tank and the middle of this ride is stopped, so you can take a good picture of the waterfall. Especially with kids, this is a fun activity to do in Baños.
Because there are so many waterfalls in the area, it is also possible to ride a route by car, baby carriage or bicycle. La Ruta de Las Cascadas passes dozens of waterfalls, making it fun to visit. Some tourists do this route by bike, but then you do ride some stretches along the highway, which can be dangerous, especially with kids.
It is better to take this route by car or cab then. Agree with a cab how much it costs to visit some of the falls and then what the price is. It is also possible to drive past the waterfalls in Baños on an organized tour. You then ride in a double-decker bus past the various waterfalls.
#4 Casa de Arbol
One of the most famous activities you can do with the family in Baños is Casa De Arbol. Casa de Arbol means the tree house and at this tree house you have two big swings where you can swing with a beautiful view. Casa de Arbol is located in the mountains at an altitude of 2640 meters.
So this swing is not in the center, but you can get there just fine by local bus. This local bus takes about 50 minutes and the route to these swings is beautiful. You pay a dollar entrance fee and then you can swing here and take fun photos. It also includes a small museum but it is not very much. By the way, you can also book an organized tour to Casa de Arbol.
#5 Ziplining
You can do several tours in the Baños area with activities such as ziplining and canoying. You can look for this in the village itself at a tour agency and book the activities that way. This can be quickly arranged in Baños. For example, you have several ziplines you can do with kids while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Most organizations allow kids as young as 8 years old to go down the zipline.
In addition to ziplining, you can do family canyoning in Baños. This activity is for kids ages 10 and up. You can book a tour in Baños and then take a van in the morning to Casahurco which is about a 40-minute drive from Baños. You have an area here with all the waterfalls where you go abseiling from the different waterfalls.
You will also jump from a great height into the water and in 2 hours you will cover an entire route through the area. In doing so, you get to wear a swim suit and a helmet, and this activity is obviously pretty spectacular to do with older kids in Baños.
Other children’s activities Baños
You can do a number of things in Baños with the family in addition to the children’s activities described above. We briefly list these children’s outings in Baños below.
#7 Day tour to the jungle: you can also take a day trip to the jungle from Baños with an organized tour. On this tour, you will hike through the jungle, swim at a waterfall and take a guided canoe trip through the jungle. Look online for this organized tour of the jungle.
#8 Dinosaurios Park: you can go to a dinosaur park in the city of Baños with kids. This theme park is all about dinosaurs and you have several large dinos that you can see here. There are also several interactive exhibits, where kids can learn more about dinosaurs. You pay a few dollars entrance fee for this park and it can be a nice diversion from the other activities you do in Baños with the family.
#9 Eco Zoo San Martin: You can also go to the zoo in Baños with kids. It’s not a super big zoo, but you can have a great time here for several hours. Zoo admission is also only a few dollars. Keep in mind that there are a lot of stairs in the zoo, so it is not an ideal place for a baby carriage.
#10 Hot water baths: Baños is known for its hot water baths. You have them everywhere in the city, and of course it’s nice to relax in such a warm bath with the kids at the end of an activity-filled day. Baños is located at the foot of the Tungurahua volcano and therefore the water is heated by the volcano.
A nice complex to go to are the El Salado hot springs. You pay a small entrance fee here, and kids can get in for half price.
Family-friendly restaurant Baños
Baños is a city, where you have plenty of restaurants and therefore you can eat in Baños with kids just fine. Of course you have many restaurants where you can eat typical dishes from Ecuador, but with kids it is also nice to eat something different once in a while. We list some of these options below.
Sher E Punjab: If you like Indian food as a family, this restaurant is a good option in Baños. The online reviews of this restaurant are very good! You get large portions here, making it great to share dishes with the kids. If there is food left over, you can possibly take it back to your accommodation. The price-quality ratio of this restaurant is very good.
Swiss Bistro Baños: At this Swiss restaurant, you can eat a delicious cheese fondue with cheeses from Switzerland. You also have several European dishes at this restaurant that you can eat here with kids.
Leoni Pizzería: If you want a quick pizza with the family, this restaurant comes highly recommended. The restaurant has different types of pizza and despite you are not very cozy in this restaurant, it can be a great option if you want a quick meal with the family.
Family-friendly hotel Baños
You can stay in Baños with kids just fine. You have plenty of nice family-friendly accommodations in Baños that you can book. We list some of these family-friendly accommodations in Baños below. Click on the blue link for more information.
Budget accommodation: Casa del Peregrino Santo Thomas
Mid-range accommodation: Casa del Balcon
Luxury accommodation: Sangay Spa Hotel
Also check out the entire list of family-friendly accommodations in Baños.
