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I haven’t had the chance to visit Baños yet, but two of my friends both say La Floresta was a great place to stay. And of course you can always look at TripAdvisor to see which hotels get good recommendations there.

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Hi Steve,

Just like back home, expats have varied opinions about the candidates here in Ecuador and I haven’t seen overwhelming support or disdain for any of the front runners. Any changes or effects on the country will just have to wait to be seen until we find out who our new President will be, but no one is expecting any dramatic changes and no candidates have expressed a dislike of expats in general. I don’t think any of us are concerned about being unwelcome here. Regardless of who wins, I suspect there will be some peaceful protests, but again, no one is expecting any unrest or trouble.

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Yes. The 90 days on your tourist visa is good for a 12-month period. So if you were to arrive here March 1 and stay for 14 days you could return and use your remaining 76 days anytime before March 1, 2018.

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You would have similar recourse to that in the United States. You could file a police report and hire an attorney to get your money back. But, to successfully recover your funds you would need good documentation. It would be best if you had a receipt from the landlord as well as written or e-mail confirmation that the funds were being sent as a deposit on lodging.

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I’ve not heard of Renan Gonzalez and I didn’t turn up anything on her when I searched the internet either. I would be leery about sending money to anyone you don’t know.

When we came to Ecuador five years ago, we arranged to rent a house before we arrived and were not asked to pay anything until we showed up at the door. Personally, I wouldn’t agree to send any money in advance and would look at finding a different apartment if that turns out to be a deal-breaker.

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That’s good advice Dave, for anyone traveling to any place on the globe. The majority of folks here (and everywhere else I’ve travelled) are honest and respectable, but there are always a few who will take advantage if they can. Vigilance is important.

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Hi Brian,

Right now you can come to Ecuador on a tourist visa and you will automatically be allowed 90 days in the country. After you arrive you can apply for a 12-IX visa which allows you an additional 180 days from the time of issue. You can also apply for this at your local consulate in North America before coming down if you wish.

The immigration laws and visa requirements are always a moving target here and in fact a new law has been passed (but not yet put into effect) that may change what is required. To obtain the 180-day and/or a permanent visa, at a minimum you can count on needing an apostilled birth certificate, an FBI background report, a valid passport, two passport-sized photos, and all applicable forms.

Your best option, especially with potential changes coming, is to contact your nearest Ecuadorean consulate or an immigration attorney to be sure you are in compliance with the most current requirements.

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Hi Randy. How exciting to be planning your first Ecuador trip! It’s great that you already have some contacts here in the country, but I’m always happy to help too.

I do love the highland climate and you’re right in that we have few insects here. You’ll get an idea of what it’s like when you’re in Quito. As for finding acreage with your requirements, I’d look at the Chota Valley near the city of Ibarra. It’s a little lower in elevation than I am here in Cotacachi so it’s about five degrees warmer on average, but still not what I would classify as hot. You’d be about 30 to 45 minutes from Ibarra where there is good medical care, shopping centers, a movie theater, restaurants, etc. The area is also great for farming and there are many sugar cane plantations in the area.

There are few expats in that area, but the closer you get to expat-heavy areas, the higher the price of land tends to be. The one catch is that in rural areas, you’re unlikely to find anything that resembles a real estate office. Your best bet is to ask the locals about land for sale – trust me, they ALL know someone who is selling something. 🙂

There are other great areas in Ecuador with good land prices, but many of them tend to be farther away from major cities.

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Like Jim, I also use only bottled water while traveling as a precautionary measure. I have been to each of those locations and never had a problem with food or drink in any of them – but my body is also acclimated to Ecuador and not much phases me anymore. For someone on a vacation/exploratory trip I would advise using extra caution just to be on the safe side.

Most places are just fine and have good health standards, but if you have any doubts about a restaurant just leave and go elsewhere. I would avoid the street food for now and all juices in small towns as it’s possible they are made with unfiltered water. If you buy your own fruits and vegetables for eating at home, they’re very easy to clean with just a bit of white vinegar and filtered water.

Enjoy your trip!

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Tom, are you looking for someone to tell you what your house is worth currently or are you looking for someone to assess the damage and give you an estimate for repairs?

If you’re looking for an actual appraiser, I would start by contacting banks who give mortgages. Banco Pichincha or Banco Guayaquil would be good places to look. If appraisers actually exist here (and I’m not positive they do), the banks would use them before lending money for a mortgage and they would be able to refer you to someone.

If you want someone to check out the damage and structural integrity of the house, you’ll want to find a structural engineer. Any architect should be able to give you a referral there.

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I don’t drive here, so I’ve never used a Garmin, but it seems to work fine for friends who do. I don’t know how accurate it would be on little country roads, but it should be perfectly fine for getting through cities and on major highways.

You can buy a sim card for your phone here, but I’m not sure if you can purchase data for a short period of time or if you need to purchase a plan. Either way I wouldn’t recommend going that route. Cell service can be spotty in parts of the country and phone data can also be slow. It wouldn’t be something I’d want to rely on to get me from point A to point B in a new country.

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Hi Dale,

I’m not quite certain what you’re asking here. Are you inquiring how to make an appointment with a lawyer or other professional here in Ecuador? If so, it’s much the same as in North America. You should be able to call or e-mail their office requesting an appointment and they’ll let you know what times they have available.

I think I might be on the wrong track as to what you want though. If so, would you please clarify your question?

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Hi Ed,

You’ll really need to learn at least some basic Spanish if you want to live happily in Ecuador. In areas with a large expat population (like Cuenca or Vilcabamba) you’ll have plenty of English speakers to converse with. But still, you’ll need to be able to communicate on some level with taxi drivers, store owners, and your neighbors. Many expats live here without ever becoming fluent, but honestly the more Spanish you know, the richer your experience will be.

If you just don’t want to learn any Spanish, then I think an English-speaking nation would be your best bet for relocation.

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Hi Stanley,

Can I ask who your audience for this presentation will be? That will help us get a better idea of what you might want to include.

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I think your plan sounds fine as long as you are comfortable driving in a foreign country. Ecuador’s roads and drivers are not as crazy as many places, but the driving style is a bit different than the U.S. and some road rules are taken as more of a suggestion.

Your time frame and schedule looks completely doable, especially if you do have your own vehicle. You can rent a car to drive to Vilcabamba from Cuenca or you can easily take a bus. The driving distance between the two places is about four hours.

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