INFORMATION ABOUT PLANNING TRAVELS TO ECUADOR

Here you can find important information for planning your journey to Ecuador classified into the following categories: travel

Arrival and entry - Embassies - Health tips - Currency - Climate / travel period - Clothing - Safety - Literature tips

ARRIVAL AND ENTRY

Flights from USA, Canada, UK and Europe are offered by the following airlines:

Iberia -> London via Madrid to Quito / Frankfurt via Madrid to Quito
KLM -> London via Amsterdam to Quito / Frankfurt via Amsterdam to Quito
Continental Airlines -> via Newark or Houston to Quito
American Airlines -> via Miami to Quito

Visa requirements:

For citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe staying as tourists in Ecuador for no longer than 3 months there is no visa requirement.
For entering the country you need a valid passport. The tourist visa you get at the airport, allowing a stay of 60 or 90 days, can be extended 3 times for respectively another 30 days.
Non-tourists, such as interns, students, employees, have to apply for the specific visa in their respective country.

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EMBASSIES

Embassy of the Ecuadorian Republic:
in Canada:
50 O'Connor ST No 316
Ottawa
ON K1P 6L2
Phone: 613-563 8206
e-mail: mecuacan@sprint.ca

in Spain:
Calle Velásquez No. 114-2° derecha
Madrid
Phone: 1-562 5436
e-mail: embajada@mecuador.se

in the United Kingdom:
Flat 3B, 3 Hans Crescent
Knightsbridge, London
SW1X 0LS
Phone: 020-7584 1367
e-mail: embajada@ecuador.freeserve.co.uk

in the United States of America:
2535 15th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 234-7200
e-mail: mecuawaa@pop.erols.com

Embassies in Ecuador:
Canada:
Quito
Av. 6 de Diciembre 2816 y Paul Rivet
Edf. Josueth González, Of. 4-N
Phone: (593-2) 2506162
e-mail: quito@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Spain:
Quito
La Pinta 455 y Av. Amazonas
Phone: (593-2) 2564373
e-mail: embespec@uio.satnet.net

United Kingdom:
Quito
Av. Naciones Unidas y Rep. de El Salvador
Conj. Citiplaza, floor 12 y 14
Phone: (593-2) 2970800
e-mail: britembq@interactive.net.ec

United States of America:
Quito
Av. 12 de Octubre y Patria
Phone: (593-2) 2562890

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HEALTH TIPS

Vaccinations:
From 1 March 2008 on a yellow fever vaccination is obligatory for all visitors in the Ecuadorian rainforest. At airports and bus terminals in several spots in the rainforest you will find control points checking vaccination cards of travellers.

Principally recommendable is an up to date protection against tetanus, diphtheria, polio and hepatitis A and B. Furthermore, vaccination against yellow fever when travelling to the coastal province of Esmeraldas are advised.
If your journey leads you to the coastal regions or into the Amazon area, you should consider taking a malaria prophylaxis. Before dawn, it is effective to rub the skin with insect repellent, like Autan or Zedan, and to wear light, long-sleeve clothes in the evenings. During the nights one is best protected by a mosquito net.

General precautions:
To eat moderately, to salt well and to drink a lot. Have analysed your urine if it gets dark. Don't eat mayonnaise, tatar or ice-cream except in luxury and upper-range hotels and renounce raw salads, ice cubes, raw milk and tap water. The most important precaution rule is: "cook it, fry it, peel it or forget it"!
However, if you should experience stomach or intestine troubles then a lot of fluid and salt, as well as Oral Rehydration Salts in ready-made sachets can help and are available in any pharmacy.

Sun block:
The intensity of the sunbeams at the equator is particularly high. Therefore, your luggage should not lack sun lotion with a high protection factor, a sun hat and effective sunglasses.

Altitude sickness:
Due to the high altitude of Quito (2.800m) you might feel within the 6 to 12 hours after landing in the first few days an adverse effect of the general state of health, such as headaches, a faster heartbeat, an intensified respiration, loss of appetite, nausea or sleeping disorders.
For the extreme heights in Ecuador here some guidelines: try to avoid smoking and alcohol, rest on the first day, drink coca-tea (mate de coca) and inhale oxygen for 5 - 10 minutes when having a very strong headache. To counter altitude sickness, doctors recommend DIAMOX. Untrained mountaineers are best advised to consult an expert before departing. The occurrence of the acute altitude sickness depends on the individual disposition, the starting altitude, the ascending pace and the level of body effort. An increased water supply and a physical ease can be of help.

Hospitals and doctors:
Especially in the private health sector, there are excellent doctors and almost all travel health insurances finance far reaching treatments. Private clinics mostly offer a good medical ambulance or in-patient treatment on European level. The public province hospitals and health centres are often logistically poorly equipped and should therefore only be used as a place to go for first physicals or emergencies.

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CURRENCY

National currency in Ecuador is the US Dollar since 2000, replacing the previous Sucre.
Exchange rate March 2007:
1 Euro = US$ 1,33
1 Pound Sterling = US$ 1,94.

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CLIMATE / TRAVEL PERIOD

Due to the equatorial position no great fluctuations in temperature exist during the course of the year. Instead of a four seasons climate one differentiates only between periods with more or less precipitation.
During the day, various temperature fluctuations can be found particularly in the valleys of the highlands. After cool and mostly sunny mornings, temperatures rise by midday. Evenings are often quite cool. It is not rarely that it rains in the afternoons, from November to May above all.

In the Amazon basin and the northern coastal lowlands one can find a hot and humid climate. On the coast the amount of rainfall decreases from North to South. The driest months are June to November, where the weather is often hazy and the water is colder than in the first months of the year. The best swimming weather, therefore, one can experience from December to May.

On the Galápagos Islands the year is divided into two seasons by the ocean currents: the first half of the year is mostly sunny, the water temperature lies at about 23 degrees Celsius but there can be occasional heavy tropical rain showers.
The second half is the so-called Galápagos arid period, where it is at times hazy and the water, influenced by the Humboldt Current, is colder.

Suitable for whale-watching are the Galápagos Islands as well as the coastal regions of Ecuador in the months of June until September. Then, the huge humpback whales come from the Arctic Sea in the more tropical waters of Ecuador for the annual courtship behaviour and calving.

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CLOTHING

Due to the different climate regions it is suitable to wear summer as well as warmer clothes. The nights can often get quite cold. As one can get surprised by sudden rain showers it is advisable to carry a rain jacket. Furthermore note that the Ecuadorians are well-dressed when going out.

For more information about clothing and equipment needed in every region, please look under Destinations or make a click on one region.

Highlands - Coast - Rainforest - Galápagos

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SAFETY

Tourists should always show a certain degree of caution and discretion, as well as they should act according to the respective situation. In bigger cities it is advisable to highly pay attention to one's valuable belongings, especially in public places where there is a great number of tourists. At the dawn of night one should not walk alone through the streets but take a low-priced taxi.

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LITERATURE TIPS

Here you can find a selection of up to date travel literature and interesting novels from and about Ecuador.

Travel Guidebooks:

	Let´s go 2003: Peru, Ecuador & Bolivia - Megan Brumigam et al - Description - Let´s go Publications, 736 pages, 2002 ISBN: 0312305885		Lonely Planet: Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands - Rob Rachowiecki, Danny Palmerlee - Description - Lonely Planet Publications, 415 pages, 2003 ISBN: 1740594649
	Rough Guide to Ecuador - Harry Ades, Melissa Graham - Description - Rough Guides Limited, 592 pages, 2003 ISBN: 1843531097		Footprint Ecuador and the Galápagos Handbook - Daisy & Robert Kunstaetter - Description - Footprint Handbooks, 504 pages, 2003 ISBN: 1903471524
	Moon Handbooks: Ecuador & Galápagos Islands - Julian Smith - Description - Avalon Travel Publishing, 448 pages, 2001 ISBN: 1566913381		Hunter Travel Guide: Ecuador & Galápagos Islands - Peter Krahenbuhl - Description - Hunter Publishing, 480 pages, 2003 ISBN:1588433463
	Ecuador: Climbing & Hiking - Rob Rachowiecki, Mark Thurber - Description - Bradt Travel Guides, 288 pages, 2004 ISBN: 1841620750		The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide - Robert S. Ridgely, Paul J. Greenfield Comstock Publishing, 816 pages, 2001 ISBN: 0801487218

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Ecuadorian literature:

	The Panama Hat Trail - Tom Miller, Tony Hillerman - Description - National Geographic, 288 pages, 2001 ISBN: 0792263863		Maiz y Coca Cola: Adventures, Scrapes & Shamanism in the Amazon & Andes - Description - Replica Books, 360 pages, 2000 ISBN: 0738817694
	The old man who read love stories - Luis Sepulveda, Peter Bush - Description - Harvest Books, 144 pages, 1995 ISBN: 0156002728		Valverde´s gold: in search of the last great Inca treasure - Mark Honigsbaum - Description - Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 368 pages, 2004 ISBN: 0374191700
	Green Fires: Assault on Eden: A novel of the Ecuadorian Rainforest - Marnie Mueller - Description - Curbstone Press, 318 pages, 1994 ISBN: 1880684160		Origin of species - Charles Darwin - Description - Penguin Books, 480 pages, 1982 ISBN: 0140432051
	The voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin - Description - Penguin Books, 448 pages, 1989 ISBN: 014043268x		Plundering Paradise: The hand of man on the Galápagos Islands - Michael D'Orso - Description - Perennial, 368 pages, 2003 ISBN: 0060955767