If you are looking for things to do in Vilcabamba, Ecuador with kids, this tiny mountain town ended up being one of the most unique places we visited during our time traveling through Ecuador. We spent seven days here with our two kids, and while that was enough time to settle in and experience the town, we easily could have stayed longer. Vilcabamba is small, incredibly walkable, surrounded by mountains, and known for its wellness culture. There is very little traffic or chaos, and most days revolved around simple things: walking into El Centro, playing by the river, finding somewhere good to eat, swimming, or just letting the kids have a little more freedom to explore.
What surprised us most was how well Vilcabamba worked with kids. This is not a destination packed with traditional family attractions, and that ended up being part of what we loved about it. There is a large international and expat community, a huge focus on healthy food and taking care of yourself, and a slower pace that made everyday life feel easy. In this guide, I am sharing everything we learned from our week in Vilcabamba, including how to get there, where we stayed, the best things we did with our kids, where we ate and grocery shopped, how to get around, and what it is actually like spending time here as a family.
How to Get to Vilcabamba, Ecuador
We got to Vilcabamba by public bus from Loja, and like most of our bus travel throughout Ecuador, it was incredibly straightforward.
We had originally come from Cuenca and spent a couple of days in Loja before continuing south to Vilcabamba. Loja is the closest major city to Vilcabamba and will be the gateway into town for most families. The bus ride from Loja to Vilcabamba takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes, and there are frequent buses running between the two throughout the day.
One thing we learned while traveling through Ecuador is that you generally do not need to purchase bus tickets far in advance. Most of the time, we simply arrived at the bus terminal, went to the ticket counter, purchased our tickets, and got on the next available bus. The buses were consistently prompt, inexpensive, and one of the easiest ways for us to travel around Ecuador with kids.
The harder part is figuring out the bus schedules ahead of time.
We found that schedules were not always easy to find accurately online, so we started doing something that made traveling between cities much easier. Whenever we arrived at a new bus terminal, we would walk over to the departure area and take pictures of the signs showing the different destinations and departure times. That way, when we were ready to leave the city, we already had a general idea of when buses were running and where we needed to go.
If you are flying into this part of Ecuador, you can also fly into Loja’s airport and then continue to Vilcabamba by bus or private transportation. For families who do not want to navigate the public bus system, hiring a private transfer or taxi is another option.
But if you are already traveling through Ecuador, I would absolutely consider taking the bus. We used buses throughout the country with our kids and found them to be affordable, reliable, and much easier than we expected before arriving.
How Long to Stay in Vilcabamba With Kids
We spent seven days in Vilcabamba, and while that was enough time to experience the town without feeling rushed, we honestly could have stayed longer.
Vilcabamba is not somewhere you come because there is a massive list of attractions you need to check off. It is almost the opposite. The reason we enjoyed it so much was because there was not that much we had to do. We could walk into El Centro, spend an afternoon at the river, go swimming, find somewhere good to eat, or just wander around town without needing much of a plan.
If you are moving quickly through Ecuador, I think three or four days would give you enough time to experience Vilcabamba. But if you are traveling with kids and have the flexibility, I would give yourself at least a week.
Seven days allowed us to slow down enough to actually enjoy what makes Vilcabamba different. By the end of our stay, we understood why so many people come here intending to visit and end up staying much longer.
For our family, a week felt like a good amount of time. But Vilcabamba was definitely one of the places in Ecuador where we left wishing we had given ourselves a little more.
Where to Stay in Vilcabamba With Kids
We stayed about a block from El Centro, and for our family, staying directly in town was absolutely the right choice.
Vilcabamba is tiny. You can walk across most of town in just a few minutes, so if you stay somewhere near the center, you can easily walk to restaurants, cafés, grocery stores, produce markets, the river, and the main square. We rarely had to think about transportation for our everyday life, which always makes traveling with kids easier.
There are also some beautiful resorts and larger homes farther up into the mountains surrounding Vilcabamba. If you are coming here specifically for peace, nature, or a wellness retreat, staying outside of town could be a great option. The tradeoff is that you will probably need to take a taxi or other transportation every time you want to come into town.
With kids, we liked having everything right outside our door.
We could walk into El Centro at night, grab food without planning transportation, pick up groceries when we needed them, and easily head back to our place if the kids were tired. Since Vilcabamba itself is already incredibly quiet and laid-back, we never felt like we needed to stay outside of town to escape the noise or chaos.
If we came back, I would choose the same general area again. Find somewhere within a few blocks of El Centro and you will be able to experience most of Vilcabamba on foot.
Things to Do in Vilcabamba With Kids
Vilcabamba is not packed with traditional kid attractions, and honestly, that was one of the things we liked most about it.
Our days here were simple. We played in the river, spent time in El Centro, went swimming, ate really good food, and had plenty of time where the kids could just run around and play. There are also hiking trails throughout the mountains, wellness activities, massages, and resorts where you can spend a slower afternoon.
These were some of our favorite things to do in Vilcabamba with kids.
Spend an Afternoon Playing in the River
One of our favorite afternoons in Vilcabamba cost us absolutely nothing.
There is a river that runs through the area northeast of town along Sendero Rumihuilco, a trail. We walked down from town and spent the afternoon playing in the water with the girls. There were shallow areas where they could splash and explore, rocks to climb around, and plenty of space to just hang out beside the river.
This was exactly the activity our kids love.
We did not need to book anything or have a plan. We brought what we needed, found a good spot along the river, and let them play. Vilcabamba is surrounded by mountains and greenery, so even something as simple as spending a few hours by the water felt like an experience.
If you are visiting with younger kids, obviously keep an eye on the water level and current, especially after rain. But when conditions are good, this is an easy way to spend a slower afternoon outside.
Hang Out in El Centro
El Centro is really the center of everyday life in Vilcabamba, and we ended up here constantly.
There is not a traditional playground in town, but the central square essentially becomes the gathering place for families. Our kids could run around, feed the pigeons, watch what was happening around the plaza, and play with other kids.
On weekend evenings, the area becomes much livelier.
One night, there were these completely decked-out little electric cars covered in lights that the kids could drive around the plaza. Of course, our girls had to do it, and they had an absolute blast.
This was also where we noticed how much of a community Vilcabamba has. You will see local Ecuadorian families alongside expat families, and there were plenty of kids around for our girls to interact with.
Sometimes with family travel, the places our kids enjoy most are not actual attractions. El Centro was one of those places.
Spend the Day at Izhcayluma
One of our favorite days in Vilcabamba was spent at Izhcayluma, a beautiful eco-wellness resort in the mountains above town.
We were able to spend time at the resort, and it was such an easy day with the kids. We swam in the pool, walked around the property, played board games outside at one of the tables, and basically just enjoyed being somewhere incredibly peaceful for the afternoon.
The property itself is beautiful, with mountain views and lots of outdoor space, and our kids had plenty of room to move around.
One thing to keep in mind is that Izhcayluma is a wellness-focused property and sometimes hosts retreats. There was actually a silent retreat happening while we were there. The retreat participants were mostly in a separate part of the property, so it did not affect our day, but we were conscious of keeping the kids respectful of what was happening around us.
If you visit with kids, I would just check with the resort beforehand about day access and whether there are any retreats or events happening during your visit.
Go Swimming at the Public Pool
If your kids love swimming, there is also a public pool in Vilcabamba that makes for another easy activity.
We really appreciated having activities like this available because not every day needed to become a major excursion. You can spend the morning walking around town, grab lunch, and let the kids swim for a couple of hours in the afternoon.
That slower pace is really what Vilcabamba does best.
Get a Massage or Enjoy the Wellness Culture
Vilcabamba is known for wellness, and you will notice it almost immediately.
There are massage therapists, wellness centers, yoga, retreats, healthy restaurants, juice shops, and businesses centered around taking care of your body. Obviously, getting a massage is not necessarily a kids’ activity, but if you are traveling with another adult, this is an easy place to trade off kid duty and actually take advantage of some of what Vilcabamba is known for.
For us, the wellness culture was less about scheduling a bunch of treatments and more about the overall feeling of the town. Healthy food was easy to find, being outside was part of everyday life, and everything moved at a much slower pace.
Where to Eat in Vilcabamba With Kids
One of the things that surprised us most about Vilcabamba was how good the food was.
For such a small town, there was a huge variety of restaurants, and the wellness culture definitely carries over into the food. There were healthy options everywhere, fresh juices were easy to find, and we had some of the best meals of our entire time in Ecuador here.
These were the places we ate in Vilcabamba with kids.
Mexibamba
Mexibamba was one of our favorite meals in Vilcabamba.
It is a health-inspired Mexican restaurant, and we ordered one of the biggest and probably healthiest burritos we have ever eaten. It was massive, packed with fresh ingredients, and actually tasted as good as it looked.
This restaurant really represents Vilcabamba. You are getting familiar food, but with much more of a health-conscious focus than you might expect in such a small town.
The portions were also large enough to share, which always works well for us when eating out with kids.
Vilcabamba Juice Factory
If you are going to a town known for wellness, you obviously need to get a juice.
Vilcabamba Juice Factory had a huge selection of fresh juices and health-focused drinks, and it was an easy stop while we were walking around town.
Fresh juices are already incredibly common throughout Ecuador, but Vilcabamba takes the health and wellness side of food to another level. This was a great place to stop for something fresh without needing to turn it into an entire meal.
Beverly Hills Café
We went to Beverly Hills Café for breakfast one morning and had a simple Ecuadorian-style breakfast outside overlooking the main square.
The location is probably one of the best parts about eating here with kids. You can sit outside right next to El Centro, eat breakfast, drink coffee, and watch everything happening around the plaza.
It was not a complicated or fancy meal. It was just good food in a really convenient location, which is sometimes exactly what you need when traveling with kids.
United Falafel Org
United Falafel Org was one of the nicer meals we had in Vilcabamba.
It serves Turkish and Middle Eastern-style food, including kebabs and falafel, and the quality was excellent. It is located right around the center of town, so you are paying a little more for both the food and the convenient location.
Compared with some of the local Ecuadorian restaurants, it was definitely on the more expensive side. But the portions were generous, the food was high quality, and we felt like we got plenty for what we paid.
If you want something different after eating Ecuadorian food for several weeks, this is a great option.
Restaurante Catherine
Restaurante Catherine was our local hole-in-the-wall find.
This place always seemed to have people eating there, which is usually a pretty good sign, so eventually we tried it ourselves. We ended up eating here twice because the food was that good.
The meals were very Ecuadorian, the prices were reasonable, and our kids absolutely devoured their food.
There was nothing fancy about it, and that was exactly why we liked it. If you want an inexpensive local meal rather than one of the more wellness-focused or international restaurants around Vilcabamba, this is the type of place I would look for.
Grocery Shopping and Markets in Vilcabamba
If you are staying in Vilcabamba for more than a few days, grocery shopping is surprisingly easy for such a small town.
There are several small grocery stores and produce shops scattered around the center, and we were able to find pretty much everything we needed. What stood out to us was how many health-conscious foods were available. We could easily find things like Greek yogurt, honey, nuts, and other foods that can sometimes be harder to find when traveling through smaller towns.
There are two main markets around the center of Vilcabamba that were our favorite places to shop. There are also several smaller produce shops just a couple of streets away from the main square where you can pick up fresh fruits and vegetables. Everything is close enough that we could simply walk around town and buy what we needed without having to make a major grocery run.
There is also a supermarket near the bus station. It was convenient for basic groceries, but we found that the smaller markets closer to the center actually had a better selection of some of the foods we were looking for, especially the more health-focused items.
Prices were reasonable across Vilcabamba, and we never felt like the town’s large expat population made everyday groceries prohibitively expensive.
That expat influence is definitely noticeable, though. Vilcabamba has attracted people from all over the world because of its wellness culture, including a large number of European expats and retirees. You can see that reflected in what is available in the grocery stores and markets.
For our family, it made cooking at home incredibly easy. We could buy local produce while still finding many of the foods we normally eat, which is always a huge plus when we are staying somewhere longer than a couple of nights.
Getting Around Vilcabamba With Kids
Getting around Vilcabamba with kids is incredibly easy because the town is so small.
We walked almost everywhere. From where we stayed near El Centro, we could walk to restaurants, grocery stores, produce markets, the main square, and most of the places we visited within just a few minutes. There was very little traffic compared with larger cities in Ecuador, which also made walking around with the kids feel much more manageable.
For anywhere farther outside of town, you can easily hire one of the local truck taxis. These are pickup trucks that operate as taxis throughout Vilcabamba and the surrounding mountains, and rides around the area generally only cost a couple of dollars, and can be picked up at El Centro. This is especially helpful if you are staying at one of the resorts or homes higher in the mountains where walking into town every time may not be realistic.
You also do not need to worry about exchanging money before arriving. Ecuador uses the US dollar, and we primarily used cash for buses, taxis, markets, and smaller purchases throughout the country. I would keep smaller bills with you, especially when paying for inexpensive rides or buying things from smaller local businesses.
We never felt like we needed a rental car in Vilcabamba. Unless you are planning to stay farther into the mountains or explore extensively outside of town, walking combined with the occasional truck taxi is more than enough for getting around with kids.
What It’s Like Visiting Vilcabamba With Kids
Vilcabamba is quiet, slow, and completely different from many of the other places we visited in Ecuador.
There is very little hustle or bustle here. You are not dealing with constant traffic, crowded sidewalks, or a long list of attractions you feel like you need to get through. The entire town seems to revolve more around taking care of yourself, spending time outside, eating well, and actually interacting with the people around you.
That slower pace worked incredibly well for our family.
Because there were fewer cars and everything was so compact, we felt like our kids could have a little more freedom here. We could walk into El Centro, let them run around the square, feed the pigeons, or play with other kids without feeling like we constantly had to navigate the chaos of a larger city.
Vilcabamba also has a large expat community for such a small town. There are people here from all over the world, including many Europeans, along with retirees who have moved to the area because of its wellness culture and slower lifestyle. There were also expat families and kids mixed in with local Ecuadorian families, especially around El Centro.
The wellness culture is probably one of the biggest things that makes Vilcabamba feel different.
You see it in the restaurants, grocery stores, juice shops, massage and wellness businesses, resorts, and just the overall lifestyle. Healthy food was incredibly easy to find, people spent a lot of time outside, and there was much less of that constant feeling that everyone needed to be somewhere.
Vilcabamba is also surrounded by mountains, so even when you are staying directly in town, nature never feels very far away. We could spend one afternoon playing in the river, another swimming at a resort in the mountains, and another doing almost nothing besides walking around town and eating good food.
For us, that was the appeal of Vilcabamba with kids.
It was not about keeping them entertained every second. It was about being somewhere where everyday life was easy, they had room to move, and we could all slow down for a week.
What to Pack for Vilcabamba With Kids
Vilcabamba sits in the mountains of southern Ecuador, so I would definitely pack layers even if the weather forecast looks warm.
During the middle of the day, it could be warm enough for shorts and T-shirts, especially when the sun was out. But mornings and evenings were noticeably cooler, and we regularly needed long sleeves and pants. Having a light jacket or sweatshirt for everyone made it easy to adjust throughout the day.
If you are planning to spend time at the river, public pool, or one of the resorts around Vilcabamba, bring swimsuits and sandals or water shoes. I would also bring comfortable walking shoes because you will likely walk almost everywhere in town, and good hiking shoes if you plan to explore any of the trails in the surrounding mountains.
For Vilcabamba with kids, I would pack:
- Light jacket or sweatshirt
- Long sleeves and pants
- Shorts and T-shirts
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Hiking shoes if you plan to hit the trails
- Swimsuits
- Sandals or water shoes
- Sunscreen
- Hats
- Reusable water bottles
- Small backpack for hikes or river days
The biggest thing is just being prepared for the temperature to change throughout the day. We did not need any specialized gear for Vilcabamba itself, but having layers meant we could leave in the morning, stay out through the afternoon, and still be comfortable once the temperature dropped again in the evening.
Is Vilcabamba Worth Visiting With Kids?
Absolutely.
Vilcabamba ended up being one of the coolest and most unique towns we visited during our time in Ecuador. It is not somewhere I would recommend because there are dozens of things to do with kids. I would recommend it because of what it feels like to actually be there with kids.
Everything is slower. There is very little traffic or chaos, you can walk almost everywhere, the mountains surround you, and our kids had more freedom to simply run around and be kids. We could spend an afternoon playing in the river, walk into El Centro and feed the pigeons, go swimming, or head up into the mountains and spend the day at Izhcayluma without needing some massive itinerary.
We also loved how much the wellness culture influenced everyday life. Healthy, high-quality food was easy to find, fresh juices were everywhere, grocery stores carried many of the foods we normally look for, and taking care of yourself just seemed to be part of the culture here.
For our family, Vilcabamba was exactly the kind of place that reminded us why we like traveling slowly.
You do not come here to race through a list of attractions. You come here to settle in for a few days, enjoy the mountains, eat really good food, spend time outside, and experience a completely different pace of life.
We stayed for seven days, and if we were traveling through southern Ecuador again, Vilcabamba is absolutely somewhere we would return to.
Final Thoughts on Vilcabamba, Ecuador With Kids
After spending a week in Vilcabamba, this little mountain town ended up being one of our favorite stops in Ecuador.
There is not a massive list of attractions here, and that is exactly what makes it special. Our days were spent walking into El Centro, eating incredibly good food, playing in the river, swimming, wandering through the markets, and enjoying how easy it was to simply exist here as a family. Everything was close, getting around was simple, and we never felt like we needed to fill every day with activities to make our time worthwhile.
Vilcabamba also felt different from anywhere else we visited in Ecuador. The combination of Ecuadorian culture, a large international community, mountain scenery, and such a strong focus on health and wellness gives this tiny town its own personality. We could buy fresh produce and healthy groceries, walk almost everywhere we needed to go, spend time outside every day, and let our kids have a little more freedom than we could in a larger city.
If you are building an Ecuador family travel itinerary, I would absolutely add Vilcabamba, especially if you are already traveling through southern Ecuador. Give yourself more than a night or two if you can. Slow down, spend time in the center, get out into the mountains, eat the food, and experience Vilcabamba for what it is rather than trying to turn it into another sightseeing stop.
For us, seven days gave us enough time to understand why people come to Vilcabamba and end up staying much longer.
And we left wishing we had, too.
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