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A few years back we switched to Capital One because they don’t charge ATM fees. There are several other banks with a similar policy. We’ve not had a local bank account and just use ATM withdrawals any time we need money. Works for us.

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Hi Wendy. I have lived in Latin America for 15 years and have never done this. I do have the occasional physical (had one last March) and have never tested positive for parasites.

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It’s my understanding that you can rent with your Stateside drivers license unless you are a resident for a certain period of time — and then they want a local drivers license or an international license. They asked for my local license last time I went to rent a car, and I hemmed and hawed and they let it slide. Things are pretty lax in Ecuador this way — you’ll not have any problems.

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Hi Michael, this is a conundrum as there are so MANY tour operators to the Galapagos, with prices all over the board. I started the research on this a while back, using TripAdvisor, but I was ultimately overwhelmed with all the variants that go into the decision-making.

As for boats, they run from basic to ultimate luxury, so you’ll need to have a good idea what kind of experience you’re after. I’ve heard the National Geographic tours are good — I think they’re luxury boats, but I don’t have any firsthand input for you.

You might try emailing Julieta Munoz and see what she can offer you: julieta@nuevomundoexpeditions.com

I’m uncertain about your last question, whether you are asking if it is challenging to get from Quito to Guayaquil or from one of those cities to the Galapagos. But in either case, you should not have any difficulties. Some Galapagos packages will include airfare from mainland Ecuador so you might want to keep that in mind.

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Hi Bradley, while I know the firm, I don’t know this particular attorney. And since the coast is not that near Cuenca, I’m not sure you want an attorney in Cuenca. If you do, you might email Edd at Cuenca@InternationalLiving.com — I know he uses an attorney he is happy with. Same with Jim on the coast in Salinas. He may know someone. Email him at Salinas@InternationalLiving.com

Also, not matter the attorney contact info you get from anyone out there, be sure to do your own due diligence. Just because they’ve worked for one of us doesn’t mean your situation won’t be different…

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And hello to you, Aldric, and to Diane. Let us know when you are ready to come for a visit!

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Hi Carlton, I am sorry we missed your email. As you can imagine, some expat services are legit and others…well, they may be trying hard but not ready for prime time. 🙂 I think you’ll find this forum to be a good resource. Just keep asking us questions — we are happy to help. There are also several Facebook groups with active memberships if you feel like going that route. (Just search for “Expats NAME OF COMMUNITY”… be forewarned, though, that there is a lot of conflicting and downright wrong advice given…and everybody has an opinion to share. 🙂 If you’d like to start a new thread for this subject, those of us on this forum will be happy to weigh in with our own opinions and suggestions!

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James, Ecaudor food is not spicy..they usually serve a salsa called ahi you can spice it up with.

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Thank you all for your patience. Apologies if this wasn’t a perfect situation, but we thought we’d give it a go. Thank you all for your questions. As always, you can post any questions you have here on this forum. Please start a new thread for any additional questions you may have…

The Q&A session is now over, but if you asked a question I didn’t get around to answering, email it to EcuadorInsiderQandA@InternationalLiving.com and our Insider team will do their best to answer it for you.

Have a great day!!

Suzan

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Does anyone have any final questions?

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Valeri, as to your second question: I have not seen discrimination here against the LGBT community. There are several gay couples living here in Cotacachi and I’ve met a few on expat forums who live in Cuenca and elsewhere. Only one time have I heard of any anti-gay sentiment and that came from fellow (out-of-touch) expats!!!

Latinos, by and large, enjoy a “live and let live” culture—they have far more to concern them than someone’s sexual preference. I do not think gays or lesbians will have any problems. And by the way, it is my understanding that Ecuador now is offering visas to same-sex couples, with one being allowed to come in as a dependent of the other.

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Hi Valeri, let me address your first question first… about service dogs. As far as I can tell, Ecuador does not have a service dog law.

I have seen service dogs on occasion, but they are not as widespread here as they are in the States… and of course, that may be because Ecuador is also a much smaller country.

Technically, I suppose it would be up to the business owner whether or not they would allow your dog access. Some may, but there’s no legal requirement that they do so as it appears Ecuador does not have a service dog law. I found this article from 2011:
http://www.ecuadorliving.com/2011/05/21/ecuador-esas.html I do not know if things have changed since then, but I’ll see if I can find out more…

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From Valeri:

Hi Suzan,

I have a trained, certified service dog that I would want to bring with me to Ecuador. Have you seen service dogs there? Are there Service dog laws in effect? Here in the U.S., service dogs are allowed to go anywhere their handler goes, except into surgery or other situations where sterilization is required. My SD accompanied me in the ambulance to the E.R. once. Can you also tell me the overall attitudes Ecuadorians have toward gays and lesbians? Are gays pretty much in the closet? Or is there tolerance?

Thank you!

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Answer to that: Storage units are advertised in Salinas and Guayaquil. CityBox in Guayaquil offers 2 square meters for $40 – http://citybox.com.ec/#!/precios In Cotacachi where I live, there are a few people who will personally store stuff for you. The cost is negligible. I am sure you will find the same in Cuenca. Just ask the expats you encounter…

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Here is another question we received:
Hi,
Are there storage rentals available in ex-pat towns/cities? Similar to what are in the US that once can rent by the month if they had some items to store?

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