Ecuador - Quito Intro and Budget

Where would you find a city named as one of the world's heritage sites, located at 2850 meters high above sea level, surrounded by rolling mountains, and have active snow covered volcano against its back? Quito in Ecuador is your answer.

A quick snap shot of the trip

3-day solo trip to Quito, Ecuador in March 2017

Beautiful night view of Quito, taken from Secret Garden's terrace

Estimated Cost per Person including airfare (in USD) ~ $600 

• Flights: ~400 USD
• Newark NJ (EWR) <--/--> Quito (UIO) 

• Lodging: ~40 USD
• 3 night at Secret Garden

• Tours / Attractions: ~60 USD
• Free Quito Walking Tour
• Day trip to Quilotoa
• Museum / Church visit

• Food: ~20 USD
• Central market
• Dinner at hostel Secret Garden

• Transportation: ~ 60 USD
• Taxi rides to / from Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO)

• Misc.:~20 USD
• Shopping, etc.

Quito Old Town

Safety
Quito is a big city, so it has the typical big city risks. Pick pocketing is a major concern. I was told by locals that I should not be walking around in the evening by myself and should be careful of what I carry and how I carry them with me. Although there are police around in the Old Town area, however, there are sections where streets are empty in the evening and quite frankly I didn't feel comfortable with it. It is suggested to take a taxi if you were to venture out during the evening. As usual, use all common senses, relax, enjoy, but be aware of your surroundings.  

While walking around during the day, the one thing to note about safety is the traffic. You have to watch where you are going and look both sides of the streets. The drivers most likely do see you crossing a street, but they will not slow down. It feels like they are expecting you to yield to the cars. Jaywalking is not a good idea anywhere you go, definitely not something to try in Quito. 

Transportation
There are buses and taxi around to take you to places. Quito is the capital city of Ecuador, so public transportation is readily available. There are also buses that goes from Quito to other parts of Ecuador. However, there are instances where pick pocketing happening on a bus and there are rumors about fake taxi. 

Yellow taxi and bus stop

I read online about the different colors of taxi license plate to tell which taxi is fake and which is real. However, later on I learned that it is not a good indicator. The different color plate just represents different type of vehicle. For example, white plate means personal use, orange plate means commercial use, blue plate means government, red plate means emergency. I also read that a real taxi should have a camera and a red panic button inside the car. I did see them when hostel arranged a taxi for me upon arrival. It was a white plate with a camera and a panic button inside the car. However, when I left Quito, the hostel arranged another taxi, but with an orange plate and no camera or panic button inside the car. My conclusion about taxi is try to have the hostel or some other reliable sources making the arrangement for you. It is too risky for a tourist to determine whether something is real or not. Often you won't notice if something is wrong until you are already in the car.  

Money and Currency
Since the year of 2000, Ecuador changed its official currency to US dollars due to the deflation of Sucre. Credit cards are not widely acceptable in Ecuador. There are places which will accept credit cards, but they will usually charge you a 5% surcharge. There are plenty of ATM machines for you to withdraw cash. As things are relatively inexpensive in Ecuador, you will find yourself using the small dollar bills often. Therefore, it is useful to bring a lot of singles, fives, and tens. This will save you the trouble of persuading the vendors to get changes. If you decide not to use ATM machines and decide to carry a lot of cash with you from your home country, remember to hide your money well. Never put all money in one place.   

Tips and Suggestions

• Quito is sitting at 2850 meters high above sea level, so you will most likely feel the altitude impact. You may have difficulty to sleep or have upset stomach or feel tired and dizzy. Some people are more sensitive than others. Always take it easy on the first couple days to allow yourself acclimating to altitude. Drink a lot of water will help. There are also some off-the-counter medication or you can try the coca tea. coca tea is a common use by the locals to help with altitude sickness. The locals will actually chew on the coca leaves. A lot of people think coca tea is not legal because that's what cocaine is made out of. However, cocaine is much further processed and highly concentrated, which the coca tea is nowhere near.
• If you are flying from US to Ecuador, it is very likely that you will arrive at midnight. This is unfortunately just how the airlines work. It is recommended to prearrange taxi through your hostel or hotel. It will take about 40 minutes to an hour from the airport to Quito. The cost is generally between $25 to $30 one way depending on which section of Quito you are going to.
• Ecuador has two seasons, the dry season and the wet season. I went during the wet season, so it always rained in the afternoon. Although the rain passes by soon, but the thick clouds will stay for some time. Bring umbrella and try to plan your activities in the morning.  

Mural paint that pictures how the people live in the Andes mountains