Help - Our Reconnaissance Visit

We did exactly that. Twice. And decided to take Ecuador off our list.

You need to be more specific with your plans, needs, and questions.

dominickkelly wrote:

Hi,

My name is Dominick, and my wife Teri and I are travelling to Quito at the end of May to spend two weeks in Ecuador, trying to assess the country (and different areas) as a possible retirement destination. The aim is to establish whether (for us) Ecuador is a serious consideration, in which case we would plan further visits before making a final decision.

Considering the size of the country, the very wide range of climates, infrastructure, and concentration of population, we are at something of a loss as to how we might get the most out of our visit, whilst still being able to go home feeling we've had a holiday.

A big challenge I know, but I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who has trodden this path before us and could offer any advice.

Many thanks,

Dom & Teri

If you are creative you can explore a bit and have a fantastic vacation.

Example:

4 days Cuenca
3 days Loja
2 days Vilcabamba
Return to Cuenca and Fly to Salinas
3 days Salinas
Return to Cuenca for remaining 2 days

You'd have explored one of the best cities in Ecuador (Cuenca), a small city (Loja), a town (Vilcabamba), and a coastal city (Salinas).

Best of luck.

vsimple wrote:

Example:

4 days Cuenca
3 days Loja
2 days Vilcabamba
Return to Cuenca and Fly to Salinas
3 days Salinas
Return to Cuenca for remaining 2 days

You'd have explored one of the best cities in Ecuador (Cuenca), a small city (Loja), a town (Vilcabamba), and a coastal city (Salinas).

Best of luck.

What, no time in you city of Quito?

Nards Barley wrote:

vsimple wrote:

Example:

4 days Cuenca
3 days Loja
2 days Vilcabamba
Return to Cuenca and Fly to Salinas
3 days Salinas
Return to Cuenca for remaining 2 days

You'd have explored one of the best cities in Ecuador (Cuenca), a small city (Loja), a town (Vilcabamba), and a coastal city (Salinas).

Best of luck.

What, no time in you city of Quito?

Good point. They can definitely base their reconnaissance in Quito and explore surrounding areas like Cotacachi, Baños, with a trip to Salinas to experience the climatic contrast. Although as a forewarning, Quito as of this time is like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to weather. Seriously right now it's bright and sunny but in a couple of hours we could very well experience a serious downpour, hail, fog, you name it. While such a contrast doesn't bother me, visitors for a week or so might be limited and put off. Yesterday, the sirens from 3-7 PM, were non-stop responding to emergencies. I spent a good hour helping a neighbor deal with flooding, it was pretty bad.

CCTV footage from Quito April 24, 2017

gardener1 wrote:

You need to be more specific with your plans, needs, and questions.

I think Cat's advice is wise.  Do you prefer the beach or the mountains?  These are the Expat-friendly areas.  The lowlands away from the ocean are too hot and breezeless much of the time.

Given the two-week limitation, an if-it's-Tuesday-this-must-be-Baños approach is a recipe for exhaustion, not familiarization.

The first place to drop from your list for Trip 1 is Loja, unless you're trying to avoid Gringo contact and Expat meetups in your living environment.

cccmedia

Thanks for your reply Gardener1. Would you mind sharing with us where you were looking to move from and why you took Ecuador off your list.
The feedback we are receiving will hopefully allow us to narrow our options before we go.
Many thanks again,
Dom

Thank you Vsimple for your advice. What would you say is the good things about Cuenca, and is it greatly different to Quito where we fly in to?
Thanks again,
Dom

Many thanks ccmedia,
We are split between the mountains and the coast. I think we would prefer to be outside a built up area but close enough to o e should we need its facilities, we'd like to integrate but also have access to some other expats.
Thanks again,
Dom

vsimple wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

vsimple wrote:

Example:

4 days Cuenca
3 days Loja
2 days Vilcabamba
Return to Cuenca and Fly to Salinas
3 days Salinas
Return to Cuenca for remaining 2 days

You'd have explored one of the best cities in Ecuador (Cuenca), a small city (Loja), a town (Vilcabamba), and a coastal city (Salinas).

Best of luck.

What, no time in you city of Quito?

Good point. They can definitely base their reconnaissance in Quito and explore surrounding areas like Cotacachi, Baños, with a trip to Salinas to experience the climatic contrast. Although as a forewarning, Quito as of this time is like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to weather. Seriously right now it's bright and sunny but in a couple of hours we could very well experience a serious downpour, hail, fog, you name it. While such a contrast doesn't bother me, visitors for a week or so might be limited and put off. Yesterday, the sirens from 3-7 PM, were non-stop responding to emergencies. I spent a good hour helping a neighbor deal with flooding, it was pretty bad.

CCTV footage from Quito April 24, 2017

They are from London, would think rain and fog would make them feel right at home.

There’s no comparison whatsoever with London, and anyone who has lived in both would know that.

Since I last wrote the last post we’ve had continuous sun with it only raining last night. I simply stated the reality that of late as in the 1st quarter of this year we’ve seen a tremendous amount of rain and it might be better for a visitor to postpone their travels a bit or travel elsewhere in the country.

There’s a reason why my living room skylights have blinds. What’s incredibly awesome is that I see some clouds forming to the west and if it rains for the week, don’t blame me. The contrast is magnificent and it's important to have activities to do throughout this contrast. If someone will just sit around for instance waiting for the sun to come out during an episode of extended rain well then that’s wasted time.

It’s a holiday today, it’s sunny, and I’m going to do some mountain biking, but you know what I’m taking my pack-able rain coat with me. 

As the say C’est la vie.