Planning to visit

Hello,

Welcome to the Expat.com.  My name is Vinny, I'm living in Cuenca and I really like it.
Ecuador has many diferent places to live, depending what you looking for. Sun and beaches, quiet towns or big cities, be close to nature or populated areas.
Ecuador is a small country but full of choices.

Let me know what're you looking for.

Vinny

Thanks for the reply Vinny,
We both like the beach, golf, and smaller towns/villages. But for our first visit, perhaps a larger city would be better to use as a base for exploration. Is it possible to rent a small car for the month for a reasonable amount? I speak a little Spanish, probably enough to get by. I think May is just before the "High Season" is this correct. Where or how should we go about locating an apartment/condo to rent for the month we will be there?

For the coast, May is at the start of low season. Temporada (Season) is from All Saints Day and Dia des Disfuntos/All Souls Day (Nov 1 and 2) through Christmas and New Years -- which is High Season -- into Carnival/Carnaval which is the 2 weeks preceeding Ash Wednesday (falling on Februuary 22 this year) through Semana Santa (Holy week) and culminating in Easter (April 8).  There is a Mini Season June through September when we have whale watching with the humpbacks off shore mating and birthing and it is when the Cuencanos and Quitoenos come to the shore since their children have off from school June & July (coastal schools have off January and February).

Month of May should have good vacancy in the condos to grab a month, and Salinas is large enough to get around by taxi.  Driving is a bit difficult here and renting a car needs to be done at the airports (previously some hotels assisted in car rental but ir became overburdensome).  Taxis and buses are cheap and plentiful and the risk of taxxi hijacking drops once out of the city of Guayaquil and Quito where it is still rampant even (or esepcially) amongst yellow cabs.  When in a large city always take a cab vetted by your hotel or your hotel's van or driver service.

Your least expensive rate for a condo will come from arranging a hostal for your first few days in Salinas and walking the condos to see what is available and dealing doirectly with the owners.  If you speak little Spanish you will want to hire someone to assist you.  Note that all contracts must be in Spanish to be legal and you will be held to it whether youunderstand it or not -- so be comfortable with whom you use to assist you.  And while many people will claim you need not have any quallifications to be a realtor in this country, that is tacitly false.  The Corredores de Bienes Raices is tthe real estate professional certificate and licensure in this country.  Always demand the professional's official number and verify it.  There are very few gringos who have taken the time for the year long course to qualify for the exam and pass it and of course it is all in Spanish.  On the Santa Elena Peninsula  there is only one: Amy L. Prisco (alprissco@gmail.com)  It is truly caveat emptor here and many hair-raising stories of hundreds of thousands of dollars lost and embezzled often times by fellow gringos.

Hello Wejon,

I looked in some info about rent-a-car in Cuenca.
For a week, illimited miles, automatic car it cost around $800.
I'm looking for other rates, I will let you know.
Notice automatic cars are not common here.

If you're planning visit Cuenca and rent here, you can find furnished apartments for a price range of $500-$800.
Unfurnished are cheaper.
There's several real state agents in Cuenca but I recommend book a hotel or hostal for a few days and then look for an apartment, you can contact a real state or you can find good deals in the newspapers.


Regards
Vinny

Yes -- one of the new skills learned here in Ecuador is driving a stick ...it's just like learning to dance ...if you are a guy learning to dance like a lady...it's exactly the same as automatic, only backwards and in high heels LOL.

But it is possible!  For a fact they no longer put a public service announcement out when I start up my car "Gringa on the Road ...get your chidlren and live stock inside!"  now they just whisper it and run away!

Susan

@ Susan: 

I used to drive manual long time ago and it wasn't difficult for me to use to it again.
If someday I go to Salinas area  I will stop in your hideaway place to say hello.

@Wejon: I have another rate for a manual Hyunday Accent for 15 days with unlimited miles, insurance included $1300.

Regards
Vinny

We're looking into an apartment in Banos. Does anyone know anything about this town?
Thanks,
Don

Well, in Ecuadotr we have 2 towns named Baños, one is located close to Ambato and the second one is very close to Cuenca.

The first one is the most important so I think you're looking for info about this one.

Is a very turistic place for national and international tourists. The weather is sub tropical and is close to the rainforest. It has many waterfalls, rivers and adventure sports.
Is close to the Tungurahua volcano, is an active volcano and it makes big noises and smoke from time to time.

I don't know how easy is to find an apartment there but there's many hotels and hostals.

Vinny

Hi, my name is Carlene and my husband and I currently live in Everett, Washington. Last year we purchased a condo on the beach (complex is called Spondylus 2)in the south coastal town of Salinas. We have friends from here that are retired and live on the north coast of Ecuador in Canoa which is across the bay from Bahia.

On our first visit to Ecuador in 2010 we stayed with our friends in Canoa then flew to Cuenca for a few days. From there we went to Guayaquil and on to Salinas to view properties in and around the Salinas area. We enjoy the beach where there is usually a breeze so decided we wanted to live on the water vs in the bigger cities.

However, we really liked staying in and exploring Cuenca but prefer a smaller town lifestyle. We were just in Salinas in December and met many expats that live there and enjoy it very much. It can get busy during high season mid Dec-March so that is probably when we will do some traveling to other parts of Ecuador.

We will be retiring & moving to Salinas in 2012 and have found that taxis or buses are the best form of transportation for us.

Let me know other questions you may have and I will see how I can help : )