Travelling to Ecuador

Dear Rahiem,

Welcome to the Ecuador forum of expat.com..

Books have been written .. about the subjects you want to learn concerning Ecuador.  This post is about one of them, well worth the $4.99 Kindle price.

During my first year living full-time in Ecuador in 2014, I read a book (via Amazon Kindle) that was packed with information and concepts that Expats would do well to read.

It is Nicholas Crowder's 100 Points to Consider Before Moving to Ecuador.  The author was/is a security expert and longtime resident of Ecuador.

One of the more than 100 points is for Expats not to invite people into your home.  Read the book to understand why.

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I do not receive any compensation for mentioning Crowder, his book or Amazon.

cccmedia

Rahiem Sirleaf wrote:

This is my first time I am thinking of visiting Ecuador, so I will like to know all about the trip and the process surrounding the trip.
Visa,accommodation,transportation,jobs,security,etc.

Ten Top Pieces of Knowledge For a First Trip to Ecuador

[Focusing on arrival information .. and personal security and safety]


10.  Expats from most countries, if arriving by air, can expect to receive a 90-day passport stamp.  This is not technically a visa.  There is a process to renew for additional time.

9.  Bring airport wheels or a cart.  Do not trust your baggage to homeless strangers who seek to assist arriving passengers with luggage (though most are friendly and harmless).

8.  Stay at a recommended hotel or hostel, not at a randomly-chosen lodging site picked at an Internet site.

7.  If visiting the capital, Quito, lodgings in or around Mariscal sector are likely to be on level ground.  Places in El Centro, aka Centro Histórico, tend to be hilly, unless you are at a fancy hotel near the presidential palace.

6.  Quito, Cuenca and some other Andean places are at high altitudes.  Parts of Quito are almost at two miles elevation.  Drink liquids, take it easy for a couple of days and monitor your breathing.

5.  Don't expect to visit everywhere even if you have a couple of weeks.  Pick, say, two places out of this list...  Quito, Cuenca, Vilcabamba, Cotocachi, the Pacific Coast (e.g. Bahía de Caráquez).

4.  Be careful around strangers at tourist hot spots.  Don't give eye contact to 'desconocidos' on the street.  Be wary of the English-speaking guy who accosts you and needs fifty dollars because his passport has disappeared -- he's scamming.  Offer to accompany him to an embassy and he will disappear himself.

3.  Do not accept food or pamphlets on the street.  Some pamphlets have edges laced with toxic substances.

2.  Be on guard even more than usual at night or on public transit any time of day.  Skilled pickpockets know how to lift a cell phone or a camera, sometimes using a confederate who creates a spill or disturbance.

And the number-one piece of knowledge for newby Expats in Ecuador...

1.  Train yourself to be hyper-alert.

Bonus tips...

Carry only a copy of your passport to most places unless you are going to an agency, bank or office where the original document may be required.  And do not carry more than one credit or debit card on your person at one time, unless doing intercity travel.

  -- cccmedia

If arriving in Guayaquil, use the Big G as a gateway to the coast (the city is considered a port but is not on the Pacific Ocean).

Except for some upscale neighborhoods such as Samborondón, Guayaquil is dirty, dangerous and hot -- none of that cooler, fresh air found in the Andean cities.

Fewer than one percent of Expats should consider Guayaquil a destination for residency unless an international company has stationed them there or they must meet their romantic partner there.

Get to the coast or the highland cities ASAP.

cccmedia