Coming down for a look see!

John you will be hard pressed to see more than Quito, Cuenca and maybe a coastal city in 10 days.  It will help you to know if you want to gravitate towards the mountains or the coast.

Welcome John & Karla,
For as small a country as Ecuador is, it has a very diverse set of climate changes. You might want to let folks know what type of area you are looking for. The ocean, rain forest, mountains, or a major city that has more of the amenities.
My criteria was I wanted a smaller city, with a temperate weather system, good medical, restaurants, music, good public transportation and the availability of indigenous style markets and modern supermarkets. I chose Cuenca. Spring like weather year round and a fabulous city you can stroll and enjoy the rivers and arts.
You can easily cover 3 or 4 cities in ten days, it's a small country, but I think you'll only get a small flavor from only 2 or 3 days per city.
Good Luck

Thanks so much for your thoughts.  We want to know about several things.  My wife is concerned about how safe it is, are there many violent crimes or is it more petty theft. Is quality medical care "really quality".  I am a rancher and got thrown from my horse about a year and a half ago and now have some back problems.

We keep reading how you can retire on $1800 to $2000 a month.  We don't want to have to scrap by if that helps.  Also, is it true that Seniors 65 and older fly to the states for half price?

I personally want to feel like I am not on vacation all the time. I am used to being very physically busy, how do you stay occupied daily?

I have a lot of questions but do not want to take to much of your time.

Thanks,

John

John,
I am from a state that has one of the most world famous clinics there is, The Mayo Clinic. Well, they are starting to refer to Ecuador as the " NEW " Mayo, with people going there for the quality health care, at reasonable costs. As you can imagine, most of the expats are getting to the age where parts are starting to fail, knees, hips, backs, lower units... um, that last one may be to TMI. Also, plastic surgery is huge. You can get quality health insurance in the  60.00 to 100 dollar range. Most of the new hospitals are state of the art. There are preventive plans from the Coopera's for under $ 3.00 per month, with very good prescription and dental plans included.
The price range you have is very doable. Mistymeaner posted a very comprehensive cost analysis a short time ago, for two, and it was well under your cap.
Cities differ on crime. In Cuenca, for the most part, you are talking what we refer to as petty crime. Camera, phone, computer theft and pick pockets are the most common. Common sense and awareness are your greatest assets.
Good Luck in Your Journey.
Neil
I'm a horseman too, and there are a ton of options if you are still interested.

jpwinters wrote:

is it true that Seniors 65 and older fly to the states for half price?

I'd like to have this confirmed as well, but my understanding is that the half-price deal only applies to Ecuadorian airlines -- and LAN flies only to NYC and Miami from Ecuador.

So, if the way I understand it is correct, it wouldn't help me much in flying to/from Chicago, because it wouldn't apply to fares on American or United, and if I were to fly to NYC, I'd still have to get from there to Chi, so no savings.

I hope I'm wrong -- please correct me if I am.

By the way, you only get the savings if you are a resident -- so you would need the pensianado visa.

Bob

You are correct Bob, my IL literature tells me the reduced fares are only for retirees on Ecuadorian airlines, must be round trip tickets.

Your trip also has to origionate in Ecuador.

Could you tell me what coastal city is popular and has a population of expats? Also, I was wondering what other city you would suggest we visit if our home base for our trip is Cuenca.

Yep,
Have a copy of your Cedula and Passport title pages, but bring originals,
(I think I had to have a copy of my Permanent Resident Visa also, which is attached to a page of the U.S. passport)
Fly Lan,
You can't use the U.S. line (800 number) to order the ticket, it has to be ordered, in person, locally,
Flight must originate in Ecuador,
and,
I believe that it is typically around 30% (it may vary some according to the fight). I received a little less than 30% in a flight to the U.S. and return around November last year. I went through an travel agent here in Loja and she didn't think I could get it because I was traveling on a U.S. passport. But, she was gracious enough to write-up the ticket request with the discount and I received a conformation number in about two days later. The discount went through without a hitch.

Ecuador is the place to be.  first you have to decide on what part of the country you want to live in.  The coast, mountains, jungle...  Then you can paln your trip around the cities and towns in that particular area. Dont forget about the Northern coast, safe, way more inexpensive, and a lot less gringos, all pluses in my book.  Here is how we moved to Ecuador in my hiliarious blog.
atruetalltale.wordpress.com

John, all residents with a cedula (national ID) at least 65 years of age are entitled to a "50% discount" on international and domestic flights originating in Ecuador. This includes AA/United/Delta. The 50% is taken off highest rate so it typically equates to about 30% of published fares and you have to purchase ticket from a local ticket office (you can't do online). The discount is only intended to be on the segment from Ecuador to your first stop out of country. So on my recent trip to DC, the discount only covered the UIO/MIA segment.

This is part of the "tecera edad" program in Ecuador available to those over 65 including special lines in banks and immigration at airports, discounts on shows, etc.

Hope this helps.