To Reserve
Our reservations are informal. To reserve, just E-mail us, letting us know an approximate date of arrival and length of stay. Advise us of the study program you re interested in and a basic idea of your current Spanish level so we can prepare for your lesson plans. Let us know what additional information you or we might require. Unlike most Spanish schools there are no advance payments or reservation fees before your arrival at Canoa. Once you've verified the exact date for arrival, let us know.
Arriving
Most students arrive to Quito, Ecuador on a late afternoon or evening flight. This requires overnighting in Quito and taking a bus the following day. Transportation costs before arriving at Canoa including all taxis, buses, and boats should run about $20. The registered taxi service at the airport is reliable, and you can buy your ticket after custums but before leaving the terminal building. Cost in Quito for many hostels is $5-8, or up to $20 for a comfortable budget hotel room. Many budget hotels offer airport pickup and can be reserved online. A good sample listing of some can be found at the website: ecuadorexplorer.com
The following day, take a taxi to the main bus terminal in Quitumbe (in south Quito about 45 minutes in taxi from downtown), or one of the private office/terminals in the Mariscal area, and buy your ticket to Bahia de Caraquez or San Vicente (cost around $10). Taxis are available from Bahia or San Vicente to Canoa. Detailed information on bus schedules and local arrival instructions can be found on our FAQS page. The Sundown Inn is located on the beach 2 kilometers before arriving at the town center of Canoa, right before the Y intersection of the main road into town and the new highway town bypass under construction.
Payments
Partial payments, normally half the value of your program, can be made on arrival or the following day if you prefer not to travel from Quito with too much cash. Local ATMs (in San Vicente and Bahia) accept international credit and debit cards. Afterwards, you pay as you go and can run a tab for any additional refreshments you may purchase at the inn. Travelers checks are not accepted due to poor policies of local banks in regards to their acceptance and payment. Be aware that local banks in the Bahia area do not even accept travelers checks directly from foreigners. Cash them in Quito if you must bring them.
MasterCard, Visa, and other cards accepted through PayPal are now acceptable forms of payment, but are charged an additional 5% rate due to the costs incurred by us to use these services. Should you decide to pay using this service, the button below takes you to the PayPal link. Please do not make any payment using this link until the correct payment amount has been verified by us either directly in Canoa, or by E-mail. Also please let us know in advance if this payment option will be used, to prepare us for the delay between internet payment date and eventual money transfer to our Canoa account.