Top Ecuador hotels
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Quito is at ca. 2800 meters above sea level, and this is just the beginning. Places like Quilotoa, Cuicocha, Cotopaxi are on a even higher level. Even if you are reasonably fit, you will notice that the altitude makes physical activities more exhausting; sometimes I had the impression that 1 hour high altitude hiking in Ecuador equals 2 hours hiking in Germany. So try to adjust to the height slowly, and know your limits.
I was a little paranoid after reading the warnings in guide books and internet forums that Ecuador - mainly the cities - can be dangerous, given that this was my first time in Latin America. In the end, I had a perfectly good time here, with not one bad or dangerous event along the way. Still, a few recommendations that are based on reliable hearsay from Ecuadorians, hotel staff, and fellow travelers: Security is mainly a concern in the big cities - Quito and Guayacil - some towns along the Pacific Coast, and the border area with Columbia. Less so in the countryside along the main tourist routes (apart from opportunistic pick-pocketing), although in more remote areas hikers have been mugged on isolated paths. Especially Guayaquil has a bad reputation even among the locals (one taxi-driver simply made a throat-cutting gesture when he mentioned Guayaquil). Quito seemed perfectly safe to...
Reading all these comments I am amazed and shocked. I am a Canadian living in Guayaquil, the subject of many comments, and have done so incident free for over a year now. Many times I have had the opportunity to run into tourists from many parts of the world and frankly I do not know what is going through their minds. First off, they dress as if they are on Safari hereby standing out as if they have a neon "sucker" sign above them, 2) many walk around as if they are in Disneyland (you can get robbed there too) with $1000 cameras hanging around their neck, blackberries in hand totally oblivious to the world. It has nothing to do with poverty, or the people, it has to do with opportunity...I dare any of them to walk in NY, LA, Chicago etc. as they do here and NOT get robbed there too. More than once I stopped tourist and warned them to put away the BB, or the camera and 8 times out of ten...
As everywhere in not-that-rich-countries be aware of pickpockets and possible robberies. Walking up the hill to Virgin Mary statue in Quito through a really poor area you probably shouldn't do at all or at least not by yourself.
There is a hard to detect powdered drug that people use to trap tourists. Don't accept any cards or advertisements on the street as they can contain the drug. It will make you willing to go along with anything (such as handing over all your valuables) and you will forget everything. And as always, be extremely careful with your drinks.
Do not let anyone talk to you about their winning money at the LOTO~!I speak Spanish but am from Canada. This poor looking Ecuadorian comes up to me and ask me to read this letter as he says he does not read or write? You read the letter about his boss writing to the lawyer that says my worker does not read or write he has won 200,000.dollars at the national Loto, but just give him 1000. and you and I will split the rest of the earnings. So as a foreigner you know that this poor farmer is going to be fleeced... so you want to defend him right? so you offer to help him find the address and go with him to the lawyer.... Someone else shows up and reinforces that he needs help! Of course they work as a team but you dont know that and they start to debate that if we go together to the lawyer, which this new guy says you dont need as Loto winnings are given directly to whomever has the winning...
The story of my lost luggage triggered off a lot of different narrations from other travelers. Everybody had some bad experienced to tell. Some had been robbed of their bags during a bus ride others had lost things left in the room, and a little more... scary but very common, unfortunately, many had been robbed of their necklace, or cameras in the street while they were walking. They just snatch them from your neck as you are walking even during daylight, and even among thousands of other passers by. They are so quick and so bold that they give you no time to realize what has happened. Most victims seemed a little freaked out. But, I have a question to ask them. Why on earth do they come to such a poor country, with a notorious reputation of theft and robbery wearing this provocative gold chains around their neck?? I don't get it. People are so poor that they have no scruples about it....
How do you feel about it? Losing your luggage upon arriving. Well, I'll tell you ..It's a bit of a shock. Especially because you can't buy all the things you need until your luggage is declared lost for ever. So you have to wait for 21 before you get compensated. The worst is that Avianca wouldn't pay me even then, using some unacceptable excuses, such as having lost a lot of luggage. Is this an excuse? On the contrary it shows how badly organised they are. And why didn't they do something about that? I have heard this unhappy incident is just very common with this company. A couple of weeks after my loss I saw it on the news...All the luggage of the flights from Madrid had been lost or found torn open and robbed!Finally after too many calls and a lot of harassment from my side, and after I had found a nice lady working for them in another town who tried her best, did I get my money. It...
A lot of Ecuador is at a high elevation. Quito is close to 2800 m (~9000 ft), which is far above the elevation which most people are used to living. If you head to the highlands of Ecuador, even Quito, give yourself some time to adjust. Don't rush out to hike right away; you might find climbing stairs a bit winding. But don't worry, your body will adapt. In the meantime, go a little slower, and enjoy the scenery until you acclimate to the oxygen in the air. And have a great trip.
I had no problems in Ecuador at all. The only problem I heard of was a friend who's personal debit card details were swipped when she used her card to oped the door to enter the cash machine room. Otherwise if youve been to Mexico City you will find Ecuador far less intimidating. Obviously take the usual precausions with cash etc. Its a lovely country. Im sure youll enjoy it.
Four Points by Sheraton Quito Quito
6 Reviews and 82 Opinions I knew this hotel as the Sheraton Quito, but I suppose that it was, at least at one time, a Four...
Hotel Victoria Cuenca
1 Review and 46 Opinions I arrived without a reservation at the end of a long and exhausting day (see my Alausi page). The...
Samari Spa Resort Baños
33 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Ecuador attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Ecuador sightseeing.
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Q: Hello I leave in Ecuador next month and i'm looking a spanish school, located in the Pacific Coast. I know there is a school in...
A: Hello Enrico You're right, Montanita is such a touristic place. I understand you want to avoid it. Last year, I have spent one month in a spanish school in Sua, near...
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