I was doing volunteer work in Quito during the month of June and got to go out a fair amount. There's already been some info on the city posted here and here but I'll try and add my own impressions.
Lodging
I can't give any specific recommendations since I stayed with a host family but the going rate for hostels seems to be $7-$10 a night. If you're going to be staying in a hostel I'd recommend getting on hostelworld.com and looking for something close to the Mariscal/Plaza Foch area (intersection of Reina Victoria and Mariscal Foch streets). Regardless of the type of accommodations you get it's a good idea to stay within walking distance of Plaza Foch if you plan on bringing girls back. I lived about 20 minutes to the north by taxi and it completely fucked my logistics.
Food
Dirt cheap if you eat at normal Ecuadorian restaurants (i.e. not fast food, not in big shopping malls, not in the Mariscal district--these will be close to American prices). Expect to pay $1.50-$2.50 for lunch at your average hole in the wall, but be careful about eating fresh vegetables since they wash them in tap water. A couple people in my program got food poisoning from eating salad. If you like other Latin American cuisine you'll enjoy Ecuadorian food. They like their roasted chicken, fried fish fillets, and pan de yuca. If you like eating exotic shit, there's a restaurant near Plaza Foch called Mama Clorinda's that serves cuy (roast guinea pig), an Ecuadorian delicacy. I loved it and thought it tasted like chicken but more savory, but I also have a sick sense of humor and don't mind a dead little critter that still looks like a guinea pig sitting on my plate.
Game and Ecuadorian girls
I would call Ecuadorian girls decidedly average by South American standards. There aren't many stunning beauties like you'll find in Brazil or Argentina, but they're far superior to what you'll find in a place like Bolivia. Their attractiveness honestly exceeded what I had expected based on previous reports. Sure there aren't that many bombshells but a great many Ecuadorian girls are fuckable to very cute, especially if you're a fan of the Latina ass (yes, I am an ass man). At the very least they offer a welcome reprieve from the ever-enlarging cattle I commonly see here in the US.
In a month's time I did not get this flag so take everything I'm about to say next with a grain of salt. My experience with girls in Quito was that they are very easy to get the kiss from but quite difficult to escalate beyond that. I made out all but one or two nights I went out in Quito (probably 10-15 times) but for the life of me could not convince any of these girls to take me home, come to my homestay, or get a hostel room. This really shocked me as I was expecting them to be similar to the Chilean girls that I've gamed extensively, who aren't averse to going home with you as long as they like you, even if it's to a love motel. The pickup culture seems more similar to Brazil where aggressiveness is readily rewarded with tongue but you need to do serious work to move things to the bedroom after that. Getting your lodging situation straight seems to be key--I'm convinced that if I had more favorable housing logistics I could have pulled a few of these girls. Being sleazy and trying to take her to a hostel or weasel your way into her place doesn't seem to work (I tried both).
As for early game material, the game I run on Chilean girls worked pretty well at generating attraction. If you've ever dated South American women there's minimal adjustment required at least to get to the makeout (Bang Colombia has a good discussion for those who are new to gaming Latin American chicks). I almost always open in English but end up switching to Spanish very quickly because few people there speak English. If your Spanish skills are limited you may be in trouble since you'll have a hard time finding a girl who speaks your language (although I did run into a few). Your best bet in this case is probably to seek out the venues where all the Gringos hang out since natives there are more likely to be English-speaking (see the next section).
Dancing, as in all Latin cultures, plays big. If you are a good dancer this can be the foundation of your game. If not, at the very least indulge a girl for a few songs after you've talked for a while and use that time to touch and escalate. I don't consider myself an exceptional dancer but my most common scenario getting the kiss was either during or immediately after a dance.
Once again, this is coming from a guy who didn't get laid in a month in Quito so take it for what it's worth. Maybe somebody else has the secret formula for making Ecuatorianas jump on your dick.
Venues
To paraphrase what someone else posted in another Quito thread, the drill here is very simple. You go to the Mariscal/Plaza Foch area, find out where the party's at, and go there. Everything's closed on Sunday but you can party on Monday-Saturday, with Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday being the biggest nights. All of these places are in Mariscal.
Bungalow 6: "Ladies night" on Wednesdays always draws a big crowd. This is the only place I've found on Wednesday that is consistently popping. You'll find a good number of Gringos here but plenty of Ecuadorians as well. I liked this place for the top 40/hip-hip dance area on the first floor, good-sized bar area on the second floor, and abundance of chill rooms with couches and pillows (great for taking chicks to make out). It's fairly natural to open a chick at the bar and then go downstairs to dance, or open on the dance floor and then go upstairs to get a drink before going to a couch to make out. Sometimes they charge a $5 cover that comes with a drink included.
NoBar: Loud club that's all dance floor--90% of the area is used for dancing and the other 10% is people ordering their drink. Good for early in the week since it usually fills up regardless of the day. I saw a higher concentration of Gringos here than anywhere else so if you don't speak Spanish very well this might be your best bet.
Chupitos: This is a Jager/shot bar just off the plaza. I didn't find the girls here to be that remarkable, but it's notable for 2 reasons: it has the cheapest beer of anywhere I've seen in Mariscal, and it's actually an American-style bar where people stand up and mingle. If you've ever visited South America and you usually hit on girls in bars, you know what I'm talking about and why you should cherish it whenever you find a place like this. Enjoy the serenity of spitting game without going hoarse by the end of the night from yelling to make yourself heard.
K-Y Lounge: This place is also right off the plaza and they hire people to stand in the plaza and try to persuade you to come to their "open bar" that's supposedly free for girls and $5 for guys. It's a scam and the only thing it comes with is a drink that they predetermine and don't tell you about until you enter the building. If you get so much as a water you have to pay for it. There was almost nobody there when I went and no girls that passed my boner test. Avoid.
Finn McCool's: Irish pub, basically an expat bar. It's a decent dive bar where people are usually shitfaced. I can't say anything particularly negative about it as long as you want to talk to Gringos all night.
There's also one other bar that I can't remember the name of but really liked. From Plaza Foch you head towards the casino and take a left when you get there, and it's on the right in the middle of the next block. There's a good mix there between areas for talking and dancing, and if it's crowded they open up a large back area with a big projection screen. I saw lots of cuties here so it might be worth checking out. The crowd is pretty heavily Ecuadorian so Spanish skills are highly recommended.
That's all the data I can think of at the moment. I hope this is helpful to anyone considering traveling to Ecuador. All in all, I had a blast there even though I didn't get the flag (get out of Quito and check out places like Baños, Cotopaxi, or the Amazon!). Hit me up if you have a question I haven't covered and I'll do my best to answer.
Lodging
I can't give any specific recommendations since I stayed with a host family but the going rate for hostels seems to be $7-$10 a night. If you're going to be staying in a hostel I'd recommend getting on hostelworld.com and looking for something close to the Mariscal/Plaza Foch area (intersection of Reina Victoria and Mariscal Foch streets). Regardless of the type of accommodations you get it's a good idea to stay within walking distance of Plaza Foch if you plan on bringing girls back. I lived about 20 minutes to the north by taxi and it completely fucked my logistics.
Food
Dirt cheap if you eat at normal Ecuadorian restaurants (i.e. not fast food, not in big shopping malls, not in the Mariscal district--these will be close to American prices). Expect to pay $1.50-$2.50 for lunch at your average hole in the wall, but be careful about eating fresh vegetables since they wash them in tap water. A couple people in my program got food poisoning from eating salad. If you like other Latin American cuisine you'll enjoy Ecuadorian food. They like their roasted chicken, fried fish fillets, and pan de yuca. If you like eating exotic shit, there's a restaurant near Plaza Foch called Mama Clorinda's that serves cuy (roast guinea pig), an Ecuadorian delicacy. I loved it and thought it tasted like chicken but more savory, but I also have a sick sense of humor and don't mind a dead little critter that still looks like a guinea pig sitting on my plate.
Game and Ecuadorian girls
I would call Ecuadorian girls decidedly average by South American standards. There aren't many stunning beauties like you'll find in Brazil or Argentina, but they're far superior to what you'll find in a place like Bolivia. Their attractiveness honestly exceeded what I had expected based on previous reports. Sure there aren't that many bombshells but a great many Ecuadorian girls are fuckable to very cute, especially if you're a fan of the Latina ass (yes, I am an ass man). At the very least they offer a welcome reprieve from the ever-enlarging cattle I commonly see here in the US.
In a month's time I did not get this flag so take everything I'm about to say next with a grain of salt. My experience with girls in Quito was that they are very easy to get the kiss from but quite difficult to escalate beyond that. I made out all but one or two nights I went out in Quito (probably 10-15 times) but for the life of me could not convince any of these girls to take me home, come to my homestay, or get a hostel room. This really shocked me as I was expecting them to be similar to the Chilean girls that I've gamed extensively, who aren't averse to going home with you as long as they like you, even if it's to a love motel. The pickup culture seems more similar to Brazil where aggressiveness is readily rewarded with tongue but you need to do serious work to move things to the bedroom after that. Getting your lodging situation straight seems to be key--I'm convinced that if I had more favorable housing logistics I could have pulled a few of these girls. Being sleazy and trying to take her to a hostel or weasel your way into her place doesn't seem to work (I tried both).
As for early game material, the game I run on Chilean girls worked pretty well at generating attraction. If you've ever dated South American women there's minimal adjustment required at least to get to the makeout (Bang Colombia has a good discussion for those who are new to gaming Latin American chicks). I almost always open in English but end up switching to Spanish very quickly because few people there speak English. If your Spanish skills are limited you may be in trouble since you'll have a hard time finding a girl who speaks your language (although I did run into a few). Your best bet in this case is probably to seek out the venues where all the Gringos hang out since natives there are more likely to be English-speaking (see the next section).
Dancing, as in all Latin cultures, plays big. If you are a good dancer this can be the foundation of your game. If not, at the very least indulge a girl for a few songs after you've talked for a while and use that time to touch and escalate. I don't consider myself an exceptional dancer but my most common scenario getting the kiss was either during or immediately after a dance.
Once again, this is coming from a guy who didn't get laid in a month in Quito so take it for what it's worth. Maybe somebody else has the secret formula for making Ecuatorianas jump on your dick.
Venues
To paraphrase what someone else posted in another Quito thread, the drill here is very simple. You go to the Mariscal/Plaza Foch area, find out where the party's at, and go there. Everything's closed on Sunday but you can party on Monday-Saturday, with Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday being the biggest nights. All of these places are in Mariscal.
Bungalow 6: "Ladies night" on Wednesdays always draws a big crowd. This is the only place I've found on Wednesday that is consistently popping. You'll find a good number of Gringos here but plenty of Ecuadorians as well. I liked this place for the top 40/hip-hip dance area on the first floor, good-sized bar area on the second floor, and abundance of chill rooms with couches and pillows (great for taking chicks to make out). It's fairly natural to open a chick at the bar and then go downstairs to dance, or open on the dance floor and then go upstairs to get a drink before going to a couch to make out. Sometimes they charge a $5 cover that comes with a drink included.
NoBar: Loud club that's all dance floor--90% of the area is used for dancing and the other 10% is people ordering their drink. Good for early in the week since it usually fills up regardless of the day. I saw a higher concentration of Gringos here than anywhere else so if you don't speak Spanish very well this might be your best bet.
Chupitos: This is a Jager/shot bar just off the plaza. I didn't find the girls here to be that remarkable, but it's notable for 2 reasons: it has the cheapest beer of anywhere I've seen in Mariscal, and it's actually an American-style bar where people stand up and mingle. If you've ever visited South America and you usually hit on girls in bars, you know what I'm talking about and why you should cherish it whenever you find a place like this. Enjoy the serenity of spitting game without going hoarse by the end of the night from yelling to make yourself heard.
K-Y Lounge: This place is also right off the plaza and they hire people to stand in the plaza and try to persuade you to come to their "open bar" that's supposedly free for girls and $5 for guys. It's a scam and the only thing it comes with is a drink that they predetermine and don't tell you about until you enter the building. If you get so much as a water you have to pay for it. There was almost nobody there when I went and no girls that passed my boner test. Avoid.
Finn McCool's: Irish pub, basically an expat bar. It's a decent dive bar where people are usually shitfaced. I can't say anything particularly negative about it as long as you want to talk to Gringos all night.
There's also one other bar that I can't remember the name of but really liked. From Plaza Foch you head towards the casino and take a left when you get there, and it's on the right in the middle of the next block. There's a good mix there between areas for talking and dancing, and if it's crowded they open up a large back area with a big projection screen. I saw lots of cuties here so it might be worth checking out. The crowd is pretty heavily Ecuadorian so Spanish skills are highly recommended.
That's all the data I can think of at the moment. I hope this is helpful to anyone considering traveling to Ecuador. All in all, I had a blast there even though I didn't get the flag (get out of Quito and check out places like Baños, Cotopaxi, or the Amazon!). Hit me up if you have a question I haven't covered and I'll do my best to answer.
