2016 Update: So guys, I´m just going to add on to my original post, comments/suggestions/observations etc. Feel free to ask questions and def hit me up if you come for a visit.
Cities and places of interest
-Quito: the capital with a population of about 2 million. Situated within the mountains, the city is very stretched out, with nice views and plenty of things to see nearby. It is not always easy to navigate in here, but then again the general tourist limits himself to the Mariscal (nightlife area) or the old town. I lived here, so much of my info is based on life in Quito. Many of the people here are ugly, but due to the size you can still find plenty of hot girls who concentrate in a variety of places, f.i. the Mariscal, Cumabaya, La ronda, … Take a walk around the old town during daytime and you will think Quito houses some of the ugliest people in the world. Go out at night in Cumbaya or other of the upclass places and you will soon realize that there is more than enough potential to be found.
Quito is still the only worthy city to visit in my opinion in the Andes region of Ecuador. What I said before is true, it is easy to mistake Quito for an ugly city or for a city with no girls depending where you go or where you stay. In general, don´t go the south of the city as it´s poor and more dangerous. The best area to stay at is the area around the Carolina park, it is the modern area and plenty of things to do in daytime (the park is amazing and surrounded by 3 shopping malls, many events are held here). This is also the diplomatic area so more foreigners here and in general more interesting girls. From here during daytime take a visit to the old time as its nice to see during the day. Visit the teleferico, the cathedral…). At night there is not that much to do near the Carolina so you go to the following places:
1.the Mariscal or Foch (Bungalow is still the easiest and best place to pick up, especially Wednesdays on ladies night, good also that it´s very cheap, spacey and a mix of people from everywhere; NO bar is ok, if you like a more grimey hip hop environment you can check Attic (or if you want to buy drugs these are the places); the bars on the actual Foch square are overpriced and not worth it, some decent restaurants as well around).
2.Calle Republica (or nearby area): bit more up class with popular discos such as ´love´, ´lola´, ´hashtag´ or a bit further out ´bipolar´. If you like a more luxury environment go to Love, if you like dark skinned girls check Bipolar. In general these clubs will have the best girls in Quito, but you pay more here than the clubs in Foch. Entrance of 10-15$, drinks are pricier. Decent male-female ratios.
3.Cumbaya: this is the upclass living area of Quito and it has some bars and clubs as well. I never really go because its outside the center, but if you like to mix with rich people here would be the place
4.Valle de los chillos: Don´t really know about it, it´s basically another city almost but considered a district of Quito, you can find everything here as well, not as rich as Cumbaya but still upclass people.
5.La Ronda: this is the nightlife area of the old town: it´s cool to check out and have dinner and some canelazos (local drinks) or for a night of beers with friends or a date with a girl. To hunt it is not so good because girls here in general are not that attractive. More bars, some clubs but they are small.
-Guayaquil: the biggest city of the country, a coastal city with tropical temperatures. I don’t know the city well, but as always at the coast, everything is a bit more ‘caliente’; the girls, but also the criminality.
Guayaquil is a strange place, it reminds me a bit of Southern US cities with their huge lanes and massive shopping centers and the overall hot and humid weather. There is not much to see or do though, just shopping I guess. In general I don´t think it’s a good place to visit. It´s significantly more dangerous than Quito, you need a car to get around, people are not overly friendly… In nightlife you can find hot girls, in daytime it´s a lot harder, even in the malls there is not an abundance of talent. One thing you can do is walk the pier which is ok and enjoy the seafood. The biggest football clubs Emelec and Barcelona are also here if you are into that. City center is pretty shitty. I´d stay near the shopping mall del Sol, but in general better to just avoid the city as a whole. This is unless you have high class contacts here, the richest people live in Guayaquil and they have their hub of cool parties and luxury mansions I´m sure, but you won´t see these types while walking around as a tourist.
-Cuenca: the ‘prettiest’ city, where many an American retiree come to spend their last days. Well organized, picturesque and safe. However I don’t think it is all that good for RooshV members, as the girls here are not so pretty and it is not the liveliest city.
I stand by what I wrote earlier. Amazing how organized this city is in comparison to the rest of the country, but hey girls are ugly here so why bother going no? Maybe if you want to visit ´Las cajas´ national park which is nice or the Ingapirca Inca site. Or to head to the valley of the Villacabamba town, where supposedly the oldest people in the world live. Cuenca is not bad for 2-3 days but no more than that.
-Riobamba/Ambato/Santo Domingo/Ibarra, Tulcan, Otovalo…: typical inland medium sized cities. Life is not bad here, but don’t expect anything spectacular. You can go out, there’s shopping malls, enough variety to not get too bored, but they don’t have the attraction of the big cities.
Yeah better to just avoid, unless you want to visit nearby nature sites or want to have the feeling to be one of the few foreigners in a medium sized city. Ibarra is the coolest to visit nearby places (Volcanoes and lakes), Santo Domingo has ok girls, Otovalo has the biggest market for handcraft stuff. These places are good for a 1-2 day trip if they are on your route.
-Manta: cool city at the coast, also medium sized, but with the more relaxed mentality of the coast and more genetic mixes of the girls. If you want to spend some relaxing time, eating well and spending little, enjoying the pretty girls, this city is definitely a good option. Nearby small city ‘Chone’ is rumoured to have the prettiest girls of the country.
Hit extremely hard by the earthquake, so probably nothing is the same anymore. The province of Manabí has beautiful beaches, great seafood and pretty girls, it will also be extremely cheap right now because all tourists/expats have fled the place. So, if you don´t mind a bit of poverty and are not afraid of earthquakes I´d say check it out. Also now would be the time to invest here, a nice piece of land with beach is now at its low price and this province used to be one of the tourism hubs of the country. It will get back up again.
-Esmeraldas: the poorest province, home to the majority of the black population of Ecuador. The province has a bad reputation in pretty much everything: underdeveloped, dangerous, etc. However if you like curvy girls, the place can be very good for you. Atacames is a beach resort where people of Quito go to party in the weekends for instance. The most Northern city of San Lorenzo should probably best be avoided. Lots of trafficking, drugs and violence and besides huge mangroves not much to see. If you want to get into Colombia illegally this is the place to be though.
For parties check Tonsupa/Atacames, these are small beach party towns and it´s very cheap to stay here. In Esmeraldas head to the Las Palmas area, all the rest is shit. In the south of the province Mompiche is really cool if you like a hippy vibe on the beach. Overall Esmeraldas is really different. I like it, others don´t. The North of the province is more dangerous and very poor. Also home to some of the biggest mangroves in the world. If you are travelling on the cheap, have experience in 3th world type place and want a lazy place with hot girls, Esmeraldas is your best bet.
-Montanitas: the biggest party hotspot of the country. Basically what Atacames is to Quito, Montanitas is to Guayaquil, the weekend party spot with nice beaches and many nightclubs. Here you will also find the highest concentration of tourists, many from Argentina by the way. Lots of potheads and surfers as well. Generally a cool place to check out, but I think it can get boring quick.
-Puyo/Tena: from here most people enter the amazon. Small cities with a lot of indigenous factors, nice to check out, but don’t expect big parties here.
Only use these cities as bases to check the Amazon out, even worse than these two are Lago Agrio and Coca, shitty cities with ugly people and nothing to do. Macas is similar but a bit nicer in climate. I´d rather stay in a town with the indigenous than in these places.
Cost of living
Ecuador is cheap, really cheap even. In a small city you can find an apartment in a decent area for about 150-300$, in Quito/Guayaquil more like 400$-600$ and for a nice suite in a topspot you’ll pay up to 500$-700$. Hostels will be around 5-10$/night, a cheap hotel in a nightlife area about 20$ (you’ll pay some 10$ more for bringing a girl back). Anything decent, which you can find on tripadvisor etc. will be from 40$ and up in the big cities.
A lunch is 2$-5$ and this includes a soup (generally with chicken or fish), a small meal and a small desert + a fresh fruit juice. You will be full after this and the price is nothing to complain for. Dinner is more expensive, 5-8$ in a cheap place and on average perhaps 9-10$. Fastfood is available in the big cities; Mc donalds, KFC, Burger King, etc. but Ecuador has many better and healthier options.
Entry to clubs is generally in the cheaper clubs around 3-6$ (sometimes with a drink included), in the higher class areas 15$ with no drink included. Beer is not that cheap in comparison, maybe 2-3$ in bar, which is almost the same for a Cuba Libra or Vodka orange (3-5$). A real cocktail will be about 7-9$ but often they have 2 for 1 deals.
Important to notice: local girls generally never pay, so don’t expect anything when you ask them out.
After the earthquakes and the low oil price, Ecuador is in crisis and is not receiving a lot of tourists, this makes that a lot of apartments in nicer areas are available and the prices are negotiable (Airbnb). You can get nice deals now if you stay for a while.
Food
I wouldn’t say their cuisine is really good, but one big advantage is that you can eat healthy for relatively cheap. A paleo diet for instance with good quality meat and fish can be followed here, without burning a hole in your pocket. In addition they have really all the fruits you can image for no money. A big milkshake of whatever you like for 1,5$ can be found everywhere. There´s also so many interesting things you can eat on the street that are cheap and healthy: chochos, choclo con queso, empanadas, arrepas, fruit salads, juices, …)
Many natural cures or traditional medicine are also very easy to find and very cheap. I for instance starting drinking cactus juice. On amazon it was 25-30$/l, here it was 3,5$ and probably better quality as well. Coconut milk/cacao is also local and cheap. Seafood is abundant and once again for no money. A encebollado (fish soup) for 2$ or a ceviche (shrimp or fish soup sort off with lemon and tomato) for 5$. For me one of the best parts of living in Ecuador. Never worry about the food bill.
Transport
-Buses are very cheap, but not very good quality. Generally you pay a bit more than 1$ per hour of travelling, but places seemingly nearby on a map can become quite awful rides due to badly maintained buses which stop in every village and can’t generate speed on a uphill highway. Many lethal accidents as well on the mountain roads.
-Taxis: Very cheap in the small cities (1,5$ for a 5-10m ride), in Quito/Guayaquil maybe 2-3$ for 10m, still cheap. Drunk driving is easily avoided like this.
-Trains: there’s some in the Andes, haven’t tried them but they are mainly focused on tourists and more expensive. Interesting maybe for the scenery.
-Flights: flights are ok within the country. You can find intercity flights under a 100$ two ways with TAME, Avianca and LAN. For flying across borders they become very expensive though, one of the big weaknesses of Latin America! Best bet from Colombia is Bogota-Quito connection with VivaColombia or Cali-Esmeraldas with TAME.
Danger/Safety
Ecuador has a fairly bad reputation. For me it’s difficult to say anything about this, because although I lived in some pretty bad areas, only once they tried to violently rob me here, which in my opinion is fairly normal for a one year stay. Pickpockets in busses etc. do happen a lot, so definitely watch out for that. Overall I would say Ecuador is not too dangerous and you should not worry about it too much. When I arrived people continuously told me to not go to several areas and I always did, without big problems. Perhaps I was lucky… or perhaps the people have a culture of fear here. Guayaquil and Esmeraldas are reputed to be the most dangerous. Crimes worse than violent robberies are rare though, kidnappings happen only rarely.
It´s fine, just don´t carry too much money on you and watch out for scopolamine with taxi drivers or skanky girls. Safer than Colombia, except maybe Guayaquil and Esmeraldas which are on a similar level.
The people in general
I found the people in Ecuador to be great. Most are very modest, good people, willing to help out or to assist you in any way. Arrogance is almost non-existent here. Envy is more common, but nothing to really worry about. I feel that generally a lot of people still somewhat look up to gringos/extranjeros, so you will be quite popular here. Racism exists mostly towards the blacks from Esmeraldas but also towards Colombians, which are perceived as criminals and prostitutes by Ecuadorians. People tend to be reasonably social, not in a forceful way, but just polite. They will make small chat and if you approach someone on the street, you will get a normal answer.
Ecuadorian women/dating
Now we arrive at the more interesting parts. Ecuadorian woman, a theme of controversy on the forum, and here is why. The women from the mountains are generally ugly; flat asses, short, strange faces, … nothing to write home about. So if you go to the inland cities or the villages you won’t find too much resembling general accepted beauty. However, immigration and mainly the mixes with Colombia and black people from Esmeraldas have made Ecuador well worth my while.
In general in Ecuador you have almost zero competition. The guys are not very physically blessed and all women agree on this. On top of that they tend to be quite macho and possessive with their women, which they dislike. Many Ecuadorian girls thus do not just see you as an interesting foreigner with a better quality of life, but also as a welcome alternative to their own men: physically and mentally. Physically you will be on average taller, better build and with a nicer facial build. If you happen to be blond, green/blue eyes, etc. you will kill it here. Mentally they will see you as a liberal man, who is easy-going and up for adventure, exciting and more open-minded/intelligent.
Then take into account this fact, along with the existence of very pretty mixed woman, the body of a black girl with the face of an indigenous girl for instance. The Colombian influx and realize that you are most likely eligible to go directly for the top 5% of women. These woman resemble what you see in posts of Medellin/Cali. There are not that many of them, but they are there and they are available.
If you live at the coast or in Quito, you will enter a club and an abundance of these high quality and willing girls will be available for you, especially if you have some game on top of that as well. The Ecuadorian guys will be outplayed.
Still true: best girls are from Esmeraldas/Manabí or Venezuelan/Colombian chicks in Quito. Especially the Venezuelan influx these days is a nice addition. As many other forum members I do agree that their mentality is overall shitty; girls have a high sense of entitlement here. Flaking is also common.
What kind of game works in Ecuador?
Generally the type of game that should work in every healthy society. That of men of value. Men with a good job, intelligent, decent looking and well behaved can do well here. Only rarely did I find the need to aggressively neg or ignore girls (with the hottest I guess). In general, just show up, be nice to friends and family, don’t be too weird and the girls are yours. Peacocking you never see here, so no idea if it would work, I don’t think it will be that important, you are probably better off with some nice dress clothes.
Social validation is off course important, but I guess that that is universal. As a foreigner people will 'know' about your sooner than you think, you can play that to your advantage.
Many girls here are Christian, but this doesn't seem to withhold them from sleeping around. Sometimes a girl told me she had to be back at a certain hour for her family, but I wouldn't say this is more common than in western world.
Internet game: I used mainly badoo which is used everywhere and Tinder, only in the bigger cities.
Badoo completely died out in the big cities, in smaller cities its ok. Tinder is best in big cities and upcoming in smaller ones. The cupid sites are shit.
It is not so common to invite a girl here for a first date at your apartment, frame it well. Coffee bars are popular these days. After a night of drinking it´s not so hard to bring someone back, but it depends a bit on the class of the girls. Girls in the Foch are easier.
Nightlife game can be a bit harder if you are not too balsy, because most clubs are not made for going out solo or approaching single girls. Girls in most cases will go out in groups in which some guys pay the bill. This way they tend to stick to the group, so you would have to aggressively enter. Guys in general are not aggressive though, so in many cases they would not mind too much as long as it is not their girlfriend.
I, myself am not too big on day game but in the big cities you have plenty of parks and malls. In the smaller cities this is an issue.
Dancing is very important!! If you can dance, you are a lucky man. Unfortunately I am a shitty dancer (although I do try, which is important). At times I refused to dance salsa or merengue with a girl and this will leave them completely in shock. People here see no reason why anyone would not want to dance. You embarrass the girl in front of her friends/family when you refuse to dance. They do not understand that for a European/american, salsa is something very new and strange and that choreographed dancing is not something we see as cool. This had led to many awkward situations for me. Unfortunately, since everyone already knows how to dance from childhood, not many people are good teachers either. For me personally, Latin music is pretty shitty, I feel absolutely nothing for it, but even then, I hope to one day become a good salsa dancer. It is just that much of a plus in these countries.
Drinking I found to be a lot less than in Europe, North America. People in general just don’t have the money to get completely shitfaced 2 times a week. Girls in this regard will be thankful for you buying drinks and will also get drunk quicker. Drugs are also quite rare. There might be a lot of trafficking, but not too many people using, although they are dirt cheap.
Other things to do in Ecuador
-Climb a volcano (Cotopaxi, Chimborazo are well recommended, but there are dozens which are spectacular)
-Go to the amazon (Cuyabeno is cheaper and equally as good as Yasuni)
-Visit ancient inca ruins (Don´t go if you´ve been to Macchu Picchu already)
-Visit indigenous communities and learn from their culture and habits (for me a must do)
-Go to the Galapagos ( a bit expensive though) (just book the flight, nothing else and there you negotiate everything on the spot, take advantage of the fewer tourists now)
-Go surfing in one of the many beach towns (Best is Montanita or Mompiche for surfing)
-Visit Banos for all kinds of adventure sports, Mindo as well (Banos is a must visit, a small town with many things to do and many things to see, decent nightlife as well, only 3 hours from Quito, lots of adventure tourism, sports, beautiful scenery etc. ; Mindo is cool as well, a small town in the middle of a jungle environment with some bars/restaurants etc. You can do nice hikes here as well, only about 2 hours from Quito).
-Participate in a cabalgata or horse ride (Pululahua is cool for horse riding)
-Go visit some of the many incredible waterfalls (Nariz del diablo near Banos is the most popular)
-Go horseriding in the Andes (Chimborazo area)
-Take a spiritual trip and take Ayahuasca (see thread-33936...=ayahuasca)
-Go see the whales bread at the coastside (Near Puerto Lopez in Manabí or occasionally near Atacames)
Cities and places of interest
-Quito: the capital with a population of about 2 million. Situated within the mountains, the city is very stretched out, with nice views and plenty of things to see nearby. It is not always easy to navigate in here, but then again the general tourist limits himself to the Mariscal (nightlife area) or the old town. I lived here, so much of my info is based on life in Quito. Many of the people here are ugly, but due to the size you can still find plenty of hot girls who concentrate in a variety of places, f.i. the Mariscal, Cumabaya, La ronda, … Take a walk around the old town during daytime and you will think Quito houses some of the ugliest people in the world. Go out at night in Cumbaya or other of the upclass places and you will soon realize that there is more than enough potential to be found.
Quito is still the only worthy city to visit in my opinion in the Andes region of Ecuador. What I said before is true, it is easy to mistake Quito for an ugly city or for a city with no girls depending where you go or where you stay. In general, don´t go the south of the city as it´s poor and more dangerous. The best area to stay at is the area around the Carolina park, it is the modern area and plenty of things to do in daytime (the park is amazing and surrounded by 3 shopping malls, many events are held here). This is also the diplomatic area so more foreigners here and in general more interesting girls. From here during daytime take a visit to the old time as its nice to see during the day. Visit the teleferico, the cathedral…). At night there is not that much to do near the Carolina so you go to the following places:
1.the Mariscal or Foch (Bungalow is still the easiest and best place to pick up, especially Wednesdays on ladies night, good also that it´s very cheap, spacey and a mix of people from everywhere; NO bar is ok, if you like a more grimey hip hop environment you can check Attic (or if you want to buy drugs these are the places); the bars on the actual Foch square are overpriced and not worth it, some decent restaurants as well around).
2.Calle Republica (or nearby area): bit more up class with popular discos such as ´love´, ´lola´, ´hashtag´ or a bit further out ´bipolar´. If you like a more luxury environment go to Love, if you like dark skinned girls check Bipolar. In general these clubs will have the best girls in Quito, but you pay more here than the clubs in Foch. Entrance of 10-15$, drinks are pricier. Decent male-female ratios.
3.Cumbaya: this is the upclass living area of Quito and it has some bars and clubs as well. I never really go because its outside the center, but if you like to mix with rich people here would be the place
4.Valle de los chillos: Don´t really know about it, it´s basically another city almost but considered a district of Quito, you can find everything here as well, not as rich as Cumbaya but still upclass people.
5.La Ronda: this is the nightlife area of the old town: it´s cool to check out and have dinner and some canelazos (local drinks) or for a night of beers with friends or a date with a girl. To hunt it is not so good because girls here in general are not that attractive. More bars, some clubs but they are small.
-Guayaquil: the biggest city of the country, a coastal city with tropical temperatures. I don’t know the city well, but as always at the coast, everything is a bit more ‘caliente’; the girls, but also the criminality.
Guayaquil is a strange place, it reminds me a bit of Southern US cities with their huge lanes and massive shopping centers and the overall hot and humid weather. There is not much to see or do though, just shopping I guess. In general I don´t think it’s a good place to visit. It´s significantly more dangerous than Quito, you need a car to get around, people are not overly friendly… In nightlife you can find hot girls, in daytime it´s a lot harder, even in the malls there is not an abundance of talent. One thing you can do is walk the pier which is ok and enjoy the seafood. The biggest football clubs Emelec and Barcelona are also here if you are into that. City center is pretty shitty. I´d stay near the shopping mall del Sol, but in general better to just avoid the city as a whole. This is unless you have high class contacts here, the richest people live in Guayaquil and they have their hub of cool parties and luxury mansions I´m sure, but you won´t see these types while walking around as a tourist.
-Cuenca: the ‘prettiest’ city, where many an American retiree come to spend their last days. Well organized, picturesque and safe. However I don’t think it is all that good for RooshV members, as the girls here are not so pretty and it is not the liveliest city.
I stand by what I wrote earlier. Amazing how organized this city is in comparison to the rest of the country, but hey girls are ugly here so why bother going no? Maybe if you want to visit ´Las cajas´ national park which is nice or the Ingapirca Inca site. Or to head to the valley of the Villacabamba town, where supposedly the oldest people in the world live. Cuenca is not bad for 2-3 days but no more than that.
-Riobamba/Ambato/Santo Domingo/Ibarra, Tulcan, Otovalo…: typical inland medium sized cities. Life is not bad here, but don’t expect anything spectacular. You can go out, there’s shopping malls, enough variety to not get too bored, but they don’t have the attraction of the big cities.
Yeah better to just avoid, unless you want to visit nearby nature sites or want to have the feeling to be one of the few foreigners in a medium sized city. Ibarra is the coolest to visit nearby places (Volcanoes and lakes), Santo Domingo has ok girls, Otovalo has the biggest market for handcraft stuff. These places are good for a 1-2 day trip if they are on your route.
-Manta: cool city at the coast, also medium sized, but with the more relaxed mentality of the coast and more genetic mixes of the girls. If you want to spend some relaxing time, eating well and spending little, enjoying the pretty girls, this city is definitely a good option. Nearby small city ‘Chone’ is rumoured to have the prettiest girls of the country.
Hit extremely hard by the earthquake, so probably nothing is the same anymore. The province of Manabí has beautiful beaches, great seafood and pretty girls, it will also be extremely cheap right now because all tourists/expats have fled the place. So, if you don´t mind a bit of poverty and are not afraid of earthquakes I´d say check it out. Also now would be the time to invest here, a nice piece of land with beach is now at its low price and this province used to be one of the tourism hubs of the country. It will get back up again.
-Esmeraldas: the poorest province, home to the majority of the black population of Ecuador. The province has a bad reputation in pretty much everything: underdeveloped, dangerous, etc. However if you like curvy girls, the place can be very good for you. Atacames is a beach resort where people of Quito go to party in the weekends for instance. The most Northern city of San Lorenzo should probably best be avoided. Lots of trafficking, drugs and violence and besides huge mangroves not much to see. If you want to get into Colombia illegally this is the place to be though.
For parties check Tonsupa/Atacames, these are small beach party towns and it´s very cheap to stay here. In Esmeraldas head to the Las Palmas area, all the rest is shit. In the south of the province Mompiche is really cool if you like a hippy vibe on the beach. Overall Esmeraldas is really different. I like it, others don´t. The North of the province is more dangerous and very poor. Also home to some of the biggest mangroves in the world. If you are travelling on the cheap, have experience in 3th world type place and want a lazy place with hot girls, Esmeraldas is your best bet.
-Montanitas: the biggest party hotspot of the country. Basically what Atacames is to Quito, Montanitas is to Guayaquil, the weekend party spot with nice beaches and many nightclubs. Here you will also find the highest concentration of tourists, many from Argentina by the way. Lots of potheads and surfers as well. Generally a cool place to check out, but I think it can get boring quick.
-Puyo/Tena: from here most people enter the amazon. Small cities with a lot of indigenous factors, nice to check out, but don’t expect big parties here.
Only use these cities as bases to check the Amazon out, even worse than these two are Lago Agrio and Coca, shitty cities with ugly people and nothing to do. Macas is similar but a bit nicer in climate. I´d rather stay in a town with the indigenous than in these places.
Cost of living
Ecuador is cheap, really cheap even. In a small city you can find an apartment in a decent area for about 150-300$, in Quito/Guayaquil more like 400$-600$ and for a nice suite in a topspot you’ll pay up to 500$-700$. Hostels will be around 5-10$/night, a cheap hotel in a nightlife area about 20$ (you’ll pay some 10$ more for bringing a girl back). Anything decent, which you can find on tripadvisor etc. will be from 40$ and up in the big cities.
A lunch is 2$-5$ and this includes a soup (generally with chicken or fish), a small meal and a small desert + a fresh fruit juice. You will be full after this and the price is nothing to complain for. Dinner is more expensive, 5-8$ in a cheap place and on average perhaps 9-10$. Fastfood is available in the big cities; Mc donalds, KFC, Burger King, etc. but Ecuador has many better and healthier options.
Entry to clubs is generally in the cheaper clubs around 3-6$ (sometimes with a drink included), in the higher class areas 15$ with no drink included. Beer is not that cheap in comparison, maybe 2-3$ in bar, which is almost the same for a Cuba Libra or Vodka orange (3-5$). A real cocktail will be about 7-9$ but often they have 2 for 1 deals.
Important to notice: local girls generally never pay, so don’t expect anything when you ask them out.
After the earthquakes and the low oil price, Ecuador is in crisis and is not receiving a lot of tourists, this makes that a lot of apartments in nicer areas are available and the prices are negotiable (Airbnb). You can get nice deals now if you stay for a while.
Food
I wouldn’t say their cuisine is really good, but one big advantage is that you can eat healthy for relatively cheap. A paleo diet for instance with good quality meat and fish can be followed here, without burning a hole in your pocket. In addition they have really all the fruits you can image for no money. A big milkshake of whatever you like for 1,5$ can be found everywhere. There´s also so many interesting things you can eat on the street that are cheap and healthy: chochos, choclo con queso, empanadas, arrepas, fruit salads, juices, …)
Many natural cures or traditional medicine are also very easy to find and very cheap. I for instance starting drinking cactus juice. On amazon it was 25-30$/l, here it was 3,5$ and probably better quality as well. Coconut milk/cacao is also local and cheap. Seafood is abundant and once again for no money. A encebollado (fish soup) for 2$ or a ceviche (shrimp or fish soup sort off with lemon and tomato) for 5$. For me one of the best parts of living in Ecuador. Never worry about the food bill.
Transport
-Buses are very cheap, but not very good quality. Generally you pay a bit more than 1$ per hour of travelling, but places seemingly nearby on a map can become quite awful rides due to badly maintained buses which stop in every village and can’t generate speed on a uphill highway. Many lethal accidents as well on the mountain roads.
-Taxis: Very cheap in the small cities (1,5$ for a 5-10m ride), in Quito/Guayaquil maybe 2-3$ for 10m, still cheap. Drunk driving is easily avoided like this.
-Trains: there’s some in the Andes, haven’t tried them but they are mainly focused on tourists and more expensive. Interesting maybe for the scenery.
-Flights: flights are ok within the country. You can find intercity flights under a 100$ two ways with TAME, Avianca and LAN. For flying across borders they become very expensive though, one of the big weaknesses of Latin America! Best bet from Colombia is Bogota-Quito connection with VivaColombia or Cali-Esmeraldas with TAME.
Danger/Safety
Ecuador has a fairly bad reputation. For me it’s difficult to say anything about this, because although I lived in some pretty bad areas, only once they tried to violently rob me here, which in my opinion is fairly normal for a one year stay. Pickpockets in busses etc. do happen a lot, so definitely watch out for that. Overall I would say Ecuador is not too dangerous and you should not worry about it too much. When I arrived people continuously told me to not go to several areas and I always did, without big problems. Perhaps I was lucky… or perhaps the people have a culture of fear here. Guayaquil and Esmeraldas are reputed to be the most dangerous. Crimes worse than violent robberies are rare though, kidnappings happen only rarely.
It´s fine, just don´t carry too much money on you and watch out for scopolamine with taxi drivers or skanky girls. Safer than Colombia, except maybe Guayaquil and Esmeraldas which are on a similar level.
The people in general
I found the people in Ecuador to be great. Most are very modest, good people, willing to help out or to assist you in any way. Arrogance is almost non-existent here. Envy is more common, but nothing to really worry about. I feel that generally a lot of people still somewhat look up to gringos/extranjeros, so you will be quite popular here. Racism exists mostly towards the blacks from Esmeraldas but also towards Colombians, which are perceived as criminals and prostitutes by Ecuadorians. People tend to be reasonably social, not in a forceful way, but just polite. They will make small chat and if you approach someone on the street, you will get a normal answer.
Ecuadorian women/dating
Now we arrive at the more interesting parts. Ecuadorian woman, a theme of controversy on the forum, and here is why. The women from the mountains are generally ugly; flat asses, short, strange faces, … nothing to write home about. So if you go to the inland cities or the villages you won’t find too much resembling general accepted beauty. However, immigration and mainly the mixes with Colombia and black people from Esmeraldas have made Ecuador well worth my while.
In general in Ecuador you have almost zero competition. The guys are not very physically blessed and all women agree on this. On top of that they tend to be quite macho and possessive with their women, which they dislike. Many Ecuadorian girls thus do not just see you as an interesting foreigner with a better quality of life, but also as a welcome alternative to their own men: physically and mentally. Physically you will be on average taller, better build and with a nicer facial build. If you happen to be blond, green/blue eyes, etc. you will kill it here. Mentally they will see you as a liberal man, who is easy-going and up for adventure, exciting and more open-minded/intelligent.
Then take into account this fact, along with the existence of very pretty mixed woman, the body of a black girl with the face of an indigenous girl for instance. The Colombian influx and realize that you are most likely eligible to go directly for the top 5% of women. These woman resemble what you see in posts of Medellin/Cali. There are not that many of them, but they are there and they are available.
If you live at the coast or in Quito, you will enter a club and an abundance of these high quality and willing girls will be available for you, especially if you have some game on top of that as well. The Ecuadorian guys will be outplayed.
Still true: best girls are from Esmeraldas/Manabí or Venezuelan/Colombian chicks in Quito. Especially the Venezuelan influx these days is a nice addition. As many other forum members I do agree that their mentality is overall shitty; girls have a high sense of entitlement here. Flaking is also common.
What kind of game works in Ecuador?
Generally the type of game that should work in every healthy society. That of men of value. Men with a good job, intelligent, decent looking and well behaved can do well here. Only rarely did I find the need to aggressively neg or ignore girls (with the hottest I guess). In general, just show up, be nice to friends and family, don’t be too weird and the girls are yours. Peacocking you never see here, so no idea if it would work, I don’t think it will be that important, you are probably better off with some nice dress clothes.
Social validation is off course important, but I guess that that is universal. As a foreigner people will 'know' about your sooner than you think, you can play that to your advantage.
Many girls here are Christian, but this doesn't seem to withhold them from sleeping around. Sometimes a girl told me she had to be back at a certain hour for her family, but I wouldn't say this is more common than in western world.
Internet game: I used mainly badoo which is used everywhere and Tinder, only in the bigger cities.
Badoo completely died out in the big cities, in smaller cities its ok. Tinder is best in big cities and upcoming in smaller ones. The cupid sites are shit.
It is not so common to invite a girl here for a first date at your apartment, frame it well. Coffee bars are popular these days. After a night of drinking it´s not so hard to bring someone back, but it depends a bit on the class of the girls. Girls in the Foch are easier.
Nightlife game can be a bit harder if you are not too balsy, because most clubs are not made for going out solo or approaching single girls. Girls in most cases will go out in groups in which some guys pay the bill. This way they tend to stick to the group, so you would have to aggressively enter. Guys in general are not aggressive though, so in many cases they would not mind too much as long as it is not their girlfriend.
I, myself am not too big on day game but in the big cities you have plenty of parks and malls. In the smaller cities this is an issue.
Dancing is very important!! If you can dance, you are a lucky man. Unfortunately I am a shitty dancer (although I do try, which is important). At times I refused to dance salsa or merengue with a girl and this will leave them completely in shock. People here see no reason why anyone would not want to dance. You embarrass the girl in front of her friends/family when you refuse to dance. They do not understand that for a European/american, salsa is something very new and strange and that choreographed dancing is not something we see as cool. This had led to many awkward situations for me. Unfortunately, since everyone already knows how to dance from childhood, not many people are good teachers either. For me personally, Latin music is pretty shitty, I feel absolutely nothing for it, but even then, I hope to one day become a good salsa dancer. It is just that much of a plus in these countries.
Drinking I found to be a lot less than in Europe, North America. People in general just don’t have the money to get completely shitfaced 2 times a week. Girls in this regard will be thankful for you buying drinks and will also get drunk quicker. Drugs are also quite rare. There might be a lot of trafficking, but not too many people using, although they are dirt cheap.
Other things to do in Ecuador
-Climb a volcano (Cotopaxi, Chimborazo are well recommended, but there are dozens which are spectacular)
-Go to the amazon (Cuyabeno is cheaper and equally as good as Yasuni)
-Visit ancient inca ruins (Don´t go if you´ve been to Macchu Picchu already)
-Visit indigenous communities and learn from their culture and habits (for me a must do)
-Go to the Galapagos ( a bit expensive though) (just book the flight, nothing else and there you negotiate everything on the spot, take advantage of the fewer tourists now)
-Go surfing in one of the many beach towns (Best is Montanita or Mompiche for surfing)
-Visit Banos for all kinds of adventure sports, Mindo as well (Banos is a must visit, a small town with many things to do and many things to see, decent nightlife as well, only 3 hours from Quito, lots of adventure tourism, sports, beautiful scenery etc. ; Mindo is cool as well, a small town in the middle of a jungle environment with some bars/restaurants etc. You can do nice hikes here as well, only about 2 hours from Quito).
-Participate in a cabalgata or horse ride (Pululahua is cool for horse riding)
-Go visit some of the many incredible waterfalls (Nariz del diablo near Banos is the most popular)
-Go horseriding in the Andes (Chimborazo area)
-Take a spiritual trip and take Ayahuasca (see thread-33936...=ayahuasca)
-Go see the whales bread at the coastside (Near Puerto Lopez in Manabí or occasionally near Atacames)
