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Glen had a great question for any car enthusiasts:

“I have a 2002 Ford Thunderbird convertible in excellent condition and I was wondering if it would be safe to drive it down to Ecuador and what are the road conditions like?”

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Hi Gordon,
It depends on the dates your flying and your budget. Copa Airlines and Latam Airlines run quite a few flights a day into Quito. If you use a website like kayak.com or http://www.skyscanner.com, they’ll search all available flights and you can also refine your search according to what times you prefer. (and use the “flexible dates” function if your schedule allows—you’ll often find lower prices that way.)
But if you still can’t find an alternative, there are plenty of hotels near the airport at Quito. There is a new Wyndham Condor right across from the airport and if you are budget conscious, consider Quito Airport Suites: http://airporthotelquito.com. Dom, the owner, will arrange a taxi transfer for you.
I’d also suggest you not overlook Quito. It’s a fabulous city. Any hotel you choose can arrange airport transfer for you.

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Let’s get the ball rolling with a question I got in advance from Gordon. He asked:

“My first question concerns flying into Quito. It appears that all/most flights into Quito from the USA arrive around midnight. I assume our only option is to spend the first night there in a hotel/motel around the airport and then catch a bus or taxi the next morning to Cotacachi. How can we find out about specific motels at the airport? Any comments on this first leg of out trip?”

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I am going to post some questions I got in advance…I think they will be helpful to some of you….

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Some banks in Ecuador will allow you to open a savings account on a tourist visa…and Cooperativas like JEP will let you open a bank account with Passport only, but most banks require a cedula. Even with JEP though, they will want to see a utility bill or something to show you live there. And… you will not find every bank or branch in every community which is what I recommend you wait until you know where you will love. It can be very inconvenient if your bank is not in the same community as you are.

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Alan, there is a 5% exit fee on money leaving Ecuador. A work-around is to sell it to someone with a bank account in the States… just do the transfer Stateside.

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Deborah, this is old school — typing only. 🙂

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Shaun, you will have no trouble bringing your items when you come, although there are some things (electronics especially) you may be asked to be duty on — but that’s only if you get the red light and are selected for inspection. here’s a note from my fellow Ecuador Insider, Jim Santos: I have brought some kind of musical instrument or piece of recording equipment with me on every trip into Ecuador without any problems. We shipped a container when we moved, and I also included no less than 18 musical instruments, two amps, a mixing board, miss, and a 24-channel digital recorder as “personal collection” with no problems or tariffs (during our “6-month duty free” period)

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Now, let me see if I can answer your other questions: Not knowing your current situation (whether you have a house you need to sell, etc) I can’t give you a moving timeframe…but I’d guess 6 months offhand. You should wait to open a bank account until after you know where you will live. and You should find a list of attorneys in your Ecaudor Insider website. If not, email it to EcuadorInsiderQandA@InternationalLiving.com and our Insider team will find that info for you.

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Hi Kep, when you say “keeping tabs”, do you mean from afar or are you in Ecuador? If you are looking at satellite data, it appears to be ALWAYS raining in Ecuador…and I suppose it is somewhere in the country! But believe me, it does not rain every day in Cuenca. I don’t live there, of course…and I am partial to the weather here in northern Ecuador. And the rainy season is my favorite time of year!

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Charles, you might check out Simon Bolivar School (they speak at IL conferences and are owned by a friend of ours) and I think they have a school in Cuenca. Or Yanapumba comes recommended as well.

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Hi Gordon, I am looking for that document — not sure it was here on EI but if you want to post your email, I will send you something that might fit the bill. Meanwhile, here is a blog post by husband and I wrote for Huffington Post that might help you: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suzan-haskins-and-dan-prescher/traveling-over-50_b_9403496.html

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Charles, you can also send an email to Cuenca@InternationalLiving.com and ask Edd directly — I know he has been traveling the last couple of days…

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Gretchen, I’d look for a hospital in Manta. Portoviejo would probably be closer but it took the brunt of the earthquake. So Manta is probably your best choice. I am glad your building is as good as it is!!

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You can find Cotacachi rentals here: http://livingincotacachi.com/cotacachi-rentals.html

And if you use Google, just search for Cuenca Rentals, Salinas rentals, etc. –and look on Craigslist Quito.

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