For those that might be considering a trip to any of the destinations we visited, I thought I'd give a bit of helpful information.
BEFORE YOU GO:
There are no travel restrictions currently to Ecuador. There are also no visa requirements from the United States For us, just a passport and a suitcase is all we needed. Speaking of suitcases, because of the transient nature of this trip (moving every 2 or 3 days), Christy and I decided to try only to pack a carry-on bag for the whole trip (see below). The Plugs in Ecuador in each place we visited were compatible with US plugs, so we did not need the currency/plug converters that we brought. Ecuador's official currency is the US Dollar, so no pesky money exchange or apps to figure out the price of things in US Dollars. You should not consolidate your cash into too many $100 bills. I usually do because they're easier to carry, but I remember walking around on the Galapagos with a pocket full of hundreds, unable to buy water because nobody had change and the local merchants had a $20 minimum for credit card purchases! Even after a $60 dinner one restaurant couldn't make change and I had to use a credit card. So consider breaking down big bills and know that ATMs are often scarce (or non-operational).
SAFETY
There are currently pretty ominous travel advisories about Ecuador. In fact, shortly before we traveled there, there were armed protests against the government. Being on an organized tour helped since they could monitor the latest advisories as compared to where we were traveling. But all in all, I never felt unsafe. Of course, we never engaged in what I would consider high-risk activities such as wandering too far, being out late at night, being rude, or not paying attention to our surroundings. We travel to Mexico quite a bit and felt the warnings and the dangers were pretty on par. If you stay in the "tourist areas" and travel smart, you won't have any problems. We saw many local police (which locals had varying opinions of), state police and/or soldiers most places we went. We never saw any crime or violence. The cities were relatively clean and there were very few homeless. We were never approached by someone begging for money, and even the vendors were not overly aggressive.
PACKING:
We had never traveled for any length of time before with only a carry-on (this trip was 12 days!) and in fact we are historically poor packers, taking much more than we need. This required some pre-planning to get the right bag, and clothes that were suitable for the trip, packable, and lightweight. In the end, this is what my carry-on suitcase looked like:
Our strategy was to pack for 7-8 days, planning to do laundry once. I brought single-load packs of detergent and dryer sheets in case any of our hotels had a laundry room (they did not, although most offered the service for a fee). We also brought several single-packs of "sink packets" of detergent, which allows you to do a quick wash in a hotel sink.
In the end, we DID use the sink packets. Since I also brought a length of thin braided rope and a couple clips, we could create a drying line in our room. It worked pretty well. It didn't really infuse that nice Tide scent, but it DID take out the rather unpleasant scent that they did have! As it turned out, on the Galapagos there were many places that did laundry cheaply so we availed ourselves to that as well and came home with some clean clothes. It was $2.25 a kilo, so we handed them a big bag of dirty clothes and they gave us back clean, neatly folded clothes for $4.50!
Back to packing. As I mentioned I brought a line and clips for drying, if you plan on doing laundry in your room. I brought a travel pack of each disinfectant wipes and cleaning wipes (for face, etc.). Never used either but people's tolerances are different. I also brough a light coat that I never used. Rain is unpredictable but it's always warm, so maybe just a light rain coat or poncho in case it rains. It never really rained hard on us when we were out. Bug spray is a must; I only used it walking through the Amazon but Christy used it fairly frequently. Bugs were not a huge problem, even in the Amazon. Sunscreen (remember volumes if you are only carrying-on) was essential. I also packed some Imodium and pepto, along with some motrin, just in case anything came up, although much like in Mexico there were pharmacies everywhere. And don't forget your binoculars!
Other than that, lightweight breathable clothes, comfortable walking shoes, and a hat to help with the sun.
EATING AND DRINKING
The water advisories are similar to some of the more rural places in Mexico; that is don't drink the water if it's untreated. In a couple of the hotels they told us not to drink the water from the tap, but each floor and the lobby always had a large water cooler to fill your bottles. Of course, they have all the standard non-water drinks there like Gatorade, all sodas, juices, etc. I bought a half-liter of diet coke at one store for 64 cents!
The food is good, and cheap!. You can get a good lunch for 5 or 6 dollars. A big mac meal deal is $6.50, and you can get a couple hotdogs or a hamburger, fries and a drink for about $5. That being said, it is NOT Mexican food. We never saw a taco, enchilada, etc. They did have a lot of empanadas, stews with rice, and seafood. Trout seems to be omnipresent for some reason. All very good and very fresh.
As it turned out, we spent far more on tipping our guides, drivers, etc. than we did on our food.
HOTELS
In the large cities, there are large hotels. In the more remote cities and on the Galapagos they are more, well, rustic. Our first two did not have air conditioning which was rough, but thankfully our last two did. If you have the option, always check if the room you want to book has air conditioning. Their in-house dining options also varied greatly. They ALL had their charm though so if you manage your expectations, you'll find that the hotels become part of the experience. The more remote hotels forbid flushing of toilet paper down the toilets and instead had a small can nearby to deposit the paper. Rather inimical to our way of thinking in the States, but not dissimilar to traveling to many other countries.
CONCLUSION
In all, the trip was entirely fantastic. As I mentioned in a previous post, the travel company we used was Exoticca and I would have no problem recommending them. They took care of all the details, guides, transfers, flights, and tours and we really felt they gave us a complete (if not sometimes hectic!) experience. Ecuador was great and its people warm and friendly. They took pride in their service whether in hotels or restaurants, and were always helpful. Ecuador, the Amazon and the Galapagos may not be on the top of your list of travel destinations, but consider at least moving it up a couple notches; you won't be disappointed.
Thanks for letting us share our trip with you.
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