Quito - Post Report Question and Answers
Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?
Yes, there are several preschool options. Most children attend the preschool at Academia Cotopaxi, which is only part of the day. Nannies fill in most of the childcare needs. Another option is Mundo de Papel, which is very close to the embassy and offers both part and full-day care and preschool. We sent our child to Mundo de Papel and I think it cost about $350/month and $90/month for transport door-to-door. We were very happy with the care there. It took us a bit to get used to the spontaneous day trips and parent events with very little advance notice, which is common at all the schools here. - Apr 2026
Preschools are available and very good. Cotopaxi has a bilingual preschool, Imagine, that is wonderful. I know people are very happy at Mundo de Papel, which is all Spanish speaking and very close to the embassy. - Apr 2025
There are preschools around. I don't know any daycare options but most people who had that need hired a nanny. The schools provide after-school activities. - Jul 2023
Tons of preschools are available. The Embassy has two favorites mainly because of their proximity, both of which get rave reviews from parents. There are daycares as well with similarly happy parents. Imagine, a bilingual program, is on the same campus as Academia Cotopaxi and is the most expensive. I think it is around $300/child for the month. You can also pay more for before- and after-care as well as transportation. Paraiso Infantil is a couple blocks from the Embassy and is Spanish only. It is a little less expensive than Imagine and also a wonderful environment. - Jul 2019
Lots of preschool options in English and Spanish. Preschool parents seem very happy with their schools. - Jul 2018
AC offers an amazing preschool but there are several around the city. They are all expensive. Day care isn't common as people hire help. There are after-school programs at both AC and AAI but late bus transportation isn't always available. - Sep 2016
Nannies are inexpensive, and there are lots of decent preschools. We considered sending our daughter to Ki Kiri Kids, a farm in Cumbaya that doubles as a preschool. - Aug 2015
Many embassy families have a spouse who stays at home or works part time, with a nanny. - Jan 2009
