WELCOME TO BAEZA , “ dirtbag paradise”.
Historic heritage , it is the oldest city in this side of the Andes, back in the day every mission to explore the Amazon Jungle was staged out of here. 500 years old colonial town is perfectly located in the heart of the Andes mountains with 100’s of miles of quality whitewater near by . Every Kayaking mission starts here and also ends here as it is in between the UIO Airport and the Amazon Jungle.
BEST PLACE TO STAY IN BAEZA IS CASA DEL RIO. also CHACO has great options for low water season with Access To the Oyacachi and the big water canyons.
Hostal Manaba in CHaco is $10 a night with great location in town with shuttle service ready to go.
Super easy to move from Chaco to baeza in the local bus.
Casa del Rio Lodge is rite at the take out of the signature run bridge to bridge and is less than 4 minutes from Baeza Colonial and Gina’s restaurant bar . Great spot to stay close to Baeza yet next to the river.
BAEZA HIGHLIGHTS
Tzantza Cafe, best coffee in 100 miles around. French toast and avocado toast. Crafted beer and soon ice cream.
Unless is peak season don’t reserve anything, you want freedom to chase storms. plenty room to stay in Baeza but if there is rain in Tena you want to rally for sure. Tena and Baeza have great infrastructure for all kayakers needs, want to dirtbag it hard and don’t mind noise and party stay in Baeza, want a nice place to stay go to CASA DEL RIO.
Gina’s Restaurant Breakfast, lunch and dinners , Daily meal deal (merienda) and a la carte menu all day. 7am-10pm. Dirtbag’s paradise.
Pizza place down the street is really good and has an awesome happy hour special at KOPAL PIZZA.
The TOWER down the street is another great option for food. Steaks for $10 is hard to beat
Wi-Fi speed is descent if you need to work.
Laura’s convenience store around the corner has popsicles, snacks and chocobananas.
Bus Stop easy to travel to/from Tena or Quito.
ATM machine 10 minutes away in the next town over Borja.
Fruit Stand is 5 minutes away walking towards town, other restaurants and street food available at the volley court.
Baeza Nuevo, the new baeza has other hostels and restaurants for people to try.
Amanda’s Cafe has Baggels and pancakes.
Shuttles from and to the UIO airport available 24/7 under request. December and January gets super busy and is great time to check out Macas with awesome whitewater and few people, Tena is only 1.5 hrs away and Baños is 4 hrs away.
Macas, Tena and Baños, really easy places to go kayaking, with amazing rivers to paddle that need attention and local paddlers ready to go. You’ll enjoy the variety of rivers you’ll find with out traveling too far.
Santo Domingo Kayaking is epic, it won’t start until February rains on the coastal side, this comes with a little more difficult logistics but we have drivers and hostels that can take you tour around and make it a lot easier for you, just contact us about it.
STAYING in BAEZA :
RECOMMENDED : CASA DEL RIO rite next to the Bridge #2 is a great spot to stay in (take out bridge-bridge section, Put in for the Borja run). 5 minutes away from the restaurant and a chill place to stay and sleep, shuttle all day from and to town. Can walk 1.5 miles or catch the bus. This place is nice and little more reserved than the Baeza craziness when is packed there is party every night , super fun but is nice to sleep good too.
CHACO CANYON : Close to the CHACO CANYON , BON BON , MORADILLAS and the OYACACHI> it makes it a excellent location during low water and anytime. Chaco is warmer and has great options for food
There is other hostels where people stay while they find a room at Gina’s like Quinde Huaico up the street and you can rent other rooms near by in town if you staying for longer time. Next door Casa de Rodrigo also fits lots of kayakers in his facility.
WHY BAEZA? Everything you need in one place. Shuttles, Hotel, Food, Kayak rentals and other kayakers at the same place, logistically perfect for Cheese House laps, bridge to bridge, Chaco, Cosanga, Quijos, Oyacachi and it next to the bus stop to Tena and the Jondachi's put in is only 1 hour away.
BORJA : Lodging only 10 minutes from Baeza at this awesome lodge https://www.cabanastresrios.com cabins, hot tubes by the river and QUIJOS ECO LODGE https://rioquijosecolodge.com birdwatching paradise put in and take out options on both of the river lodges.
Water front cabins
ONLY FOR BALLERS , the Old Small World Adventures lodge is open to public, offers amazing attention, great food and hot tubes next to the river need to say more?
QUITO AIRPORT LODGING
You can stay in the Hostal Nevados in Pifo and catch the bus to baeza the next day.
Casa Colibri in Tababela is highly recommended.
There is lots of options near this location, the AIRPORT SUITES IS CLOSE AND HAS GOOD PRICES and they don’t mind to pick you up with your kayak make sure to let them know you have a kayak so they bring the van. They are very helpful with boats.
We recommend the Wyndham as is the closest to airport and makes logistics super easy.
BAÑOS HOSTELS: Plenty of options. Good options.
MACAS: lots of hotels available, for dirtbags the SPLENDIT HOTEL rite on town is a good spot or Hostal Casa Blanca is a nice place to stay on the heart of town, across the street from the best restaurants and bars in Macas, and just couple blocks from a big market where it will be easy to hire a trucks everyday for different missions in the Area. GO TO MACAS, RIVERS ARE AWESOME!!
TENA:
JUNGLEROOTS Safe, fun and just enough away from town to sleep good and on the way to the Jatun Yacu river with easy logistics to do laps on the upper sections (bread and butter big water everyday). Great breakfast served $15 a night and supports the local kayaking program.
Shuttles and guides ready to go for any mission rafting and kayaking .
BIG WATER CLASS III LAPS ALL DAY , easy logistics in Tena is amazing. A great option to paddle JatunYacu.
ZUMAG SISA HOSTAL is a great spot IN TOWN on walking distance to everything , great option for TENA and close to the Jatun Yaku river take out Puerto Napo. Walking distance to restaurants, has a kitchen and hammocks. Hot water and AC rooms available also. From $12 a night .
We recommend this places but if you want to go explore there is a plenty of options around.
Villa Belen and Establos de Tomas are really good spots. Yutzos Hotel has air conditioning rooms.
SANTO DOMINGO :
Contact Cody Coronado from the GREEN KAYAK SCHOOL on Facebook , is your best bet to find a good safe place to stay and get your logistics figured out. find them in Facebook and they can lead you to lodging, logistics and anything you may need in Santo Domingo. They have a great need of support for their program so consider donating or selling some gear at this spot. They will take good care of you.
Lots of lodging options down there. Send a message if you need a guide or a driver to get you around . Lots of rivers there. Great whitewater.