Shopping

The Mercado Artesanal (tel. 04/2306-266), on Baquerizo Moreno between calles Loja and Juan Montalvo, is the best place to buy local handicrafts. You'll find over 150 stalls and shops run by area businesspeople, as well as by the artisans themselves. Everything from tagua-nut (vegetable ivory) carvings to Otavaleño textiles to Panama hats and ceramics is available.

There's a similar, albeit much, much smaller artisans market at the southern end of the Malecón Simón Bolívar. I recommend you try to support the craft works of Pro Pueblo (tel. 04/2683-598; www.propueblo.com), a local, fair-trade cooperative of artisans from around the region. Their work is sold at shops at this artisans market and at their large collection point in the coastal village of San Antonio, as well as online.

Guayaquil is full of modern shopping malls that include the San Marino Mall (tel. 04/2083-180), Mall del Sur (tel. 04/2085-110), and Mall del Sol (tel. 04/2690-100). Each has scores of shops, a couple of department stores, a food court and independent restaurants, and a multiplex cinema. The Malecón Simón Bolívar shopping center is one of the town's newest and most frequented by visitors. It's located on the Malecón near Calle Junín.