- Home
- |
- The best travel trips
The best travel trips
Enjoy your trip in South America

Quite a few things are worth arranging while you’re still at home — lining up these details before you travel is a big part of having a smooth trip.
- Check your passport expiration; you may be denied entry into Ecuador and South America if your passport is due to expire within six months of your ticketed date of return. Get it renewed if you’ll be cutting it close.
- Make reservations well in advance, especially during peak season, for accommodations, populares restaurants, major sights, and local guides.
- Call your debit- and credit-card companies to let them know the countries you’ll be visiting, to ask about fees, and more. Get your bank’s emergency phone number in the US (but not its 800 number) to call collect if you have a problem. If you don’t know your credit card’s PIN code, ask your bank to mail it to you.
- Do your homework if you want to buy travel insurance. Check whether your existing insurance (health, homeowner’s, or renter’s) covers you and your possessions overseas.
- If you’re bringing the kids, make sure you have the right paperwork, including a passport for each, a letter of consent if only one parent is traveling, and documentation for adopted children.
- Students should get an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) for discounts throughout Europe. Hostellers who’ll be staying at least six nights in official HI hostels should get a membership card.
- If you’ll be renting a car, you’ll need a valid driver’s license. An International Driving Permit is a much better option. If you plan to use your US mobile phone or smartphone in Ecuador, contact your provider to enable international calling or to “unlock” your phone. Consider signing up for an international calling, text, and/or data plan, and be sure to confirm voice- and data-roaming fees.
- Get a proper guidebook. If traveling with one of mine, we recommend the Lonely Planet. Download any apps you might want to use on the road, such as translators, maps, and transit schedules.
- Take care of any medical needs. Visit your doctor to get a checkup, and see your dentist if you have any work that needs to be done. If you use prescription drugs, stock up before your trip. Pack along the prescription, plus one for contact lens or glasses if you wear them.
- Attend to your household needs. Cancel your newspapers, hold your mail delivery, and prepay your bills.
- Give a copy of your itinerary to family or friends. Make a list of valuables that you’re bringing (such as electronics). Include serial numbers, makes, and models, and take photos of your items to serve as a record for the police and your insurance company should anything be stolen.
- Because airline carry-on restrictions are always changing, visit the Transportation Security Administration’s website for a list of what you can bring on the plane, and for the latest security measures (including screening of electronic devices, which you may be asked to power up).
| Latest posts

The Coronavirus in Ecuador
This is a summary of COVID19 impact in Ecuador and how we

Vaccinations to Travel in South America
Summary of vaccination recommendations:All travelers should visit either their personal physician or

Ecuador one of the Best places in World for Retirement…
Expats in ecuador According to the last expats researches. Ecuador seems to be looking

-
If you’re looking for a fun trip to do whether it’s adventurous or with your family, Alex has the perfect trip for you. He is the owner, professional and speaks… read more very good English and made our 10 day tour experience an amazing trip. We traveled during COVID and felt totally safe. We got to do all the activities we planned to do and then some fun surprises as well. It was easy to get in and out of the country and Alex even helped us arrange our COVID tests to get back into the US. We customized the bucket list tour. We got to stay in some AMAZING places from a place right on the Napo River in the jungle you had to take a canoe to and an old historic horse ranch and a place surrounded by hot springs and beautiful Mountain Views. I loved the variety of places you got to stay at and see on the tour and how people of all activity levels would enjoy doing it. I recommend contacting Alex directly to book a trip so you get it at a better rate than a third party agency and you’re able to ask him questions or customize it like we did by adding some activities like a cooking class and additional time, etc. He will ensure you enjoy your experience and also has tours to the Galapagos and Columbia, etc. Highly recommend!
2/22/2021 -
The guides were all knowledgeable and warm. The itinerary gave us wonderful experiences viewing everything for which one travels to the Galapagos. Lots of animals and several good… read more chances for snorkeling.
2/21/2021 -
The great support from Guidecuador was crucial for the total success of our trip to mailand Ecuador and Galapagos in times of pandemic. They are very responsible and careful. Great… read more value for money. Highly recommended. Ps: The people from Ecuador is adopting all the pandemic security measures and we felt very safe.
1/19/2021 -
We spent three days with Alejandro while in Quito. Each day of tours was excellent. We visited the Old Town of Quito with a visit to the Equator, the… read more Mindo Cloud Forest and the Otavalo Market.
Each day Alejandro picked us up on time from our hotel and spent the full day with us sharing his knowledge and experiences within Ecuador. He is extremely knowledgeable about the history, the culture and the different regions. Our walk through the Cloud Forest demonstrated his knowledge around the plants and wildlife of the area. In Quito we received a wonderful history lesson and in Otavalo we experienced and learned about the culture of the area.
Alejandro was conscientious about COVID protocols making us feel very safe the entire time we were with him. We wore masks the entire time, hands were sanitized regularly and our shoes were even sprayed prior to entering the vehicle. He also helped us to understand how to stay safe in Quito when we weren’t with him.
From the initial contact through the payment and even a follow up call prior to our arrival, the process was professional and comprehensive. Having a private tour allowed us flexibility and we were able to adjust things according to our interests. No request was a problem and this made for 3 very enjoyable days.
GUIDEcuador is highly recommended if you are planning a visit to Ecuador.
11/27/2020 -
It was a great tour, Eddie was very knowledgeable about the city and very enthusiastic in sharing such information to make the tour more meaningful and interesting. I would recommend… read more it.
11/17/2020 -
It was a lot of fun and we will never forget the many unique moments we had on this trip. Considering that COVID affected our original travel plans for this… read more year. We had 4 days around Quito and Alex our guide showed us everywhere. Thank you and we look forward to hire you again next time.
11/16/2020 -
The hot springs are must do activity from Quito. Relaxing and restful. We took a short hike around the river where the guide explained much if the local flora and… read more wildlife.
11/14/2020 -
After searching many options, I chose GUIDEcuador to plan our 9 days in the Galapagos, island hopping and 9 days in Ecuador mountains from Guayaquil, Cuenca and Quito.. Alejentro… read more – GUIDEcuador – planned all tours, transportation and accommodations, he had it well planned and executed flawlessly. Someone was always there to pick us up to go on a group tour or take us to our accommodation or to the public water taxi on all 3 islands we visited. Back on the mainland it was a private tour that Alejentro handled personally. Alejentro was great to work with and flexible to make adjustments to our itinerary to fit our budget. He was also the perfect tour guide on our private tour.
Tip: in the Galapagos island hopping I would spend the extra money to fly between the islands rather than use the public water taxis for the over 2 hour trips. . .
3/04/2020 -
We could not have had a better experience visiting museums than with our tour guide Alejandro Jacome. Guide Ecuador. CEO . He is an extremely knowledgeable and personable guide- who… read more was very enthusiastic we had chosen the 2 museums in Quito which were his favorites as well. The museum in the “Banco Centrale “ was loaded with treasures of the pre Colombian people. Anything from pottery to jewelry to gold artifacts. We saw many items from different eras and paintings as well from more recent times. A chronology of the people’s times by centuries. We also had the opportunity to visit another museum in the same building- the Etnografica Museo. Paintings from modern times to old pottery relics, musical instruments through the ages and so much more. Children were there on a class trip to learn as well! We had time for lunch w Alejandro in a tourist area, then on to visit the museum and home of the famous Guayasmin- a prolific and powerful painter of the 20th century. His paintings are big and emotional. Some hard to look at -many are amazing and full of feeling and excitement. A visit here includes a look into his home and studio too. Anyone visiting Quito that has an interest in art should visit this museum. Alejandro has a special fondness for Guayasmin as his grandmother was a teacher at a school down the street from the artists home. Alejandro met the painter quite a few times growing up. In and out of school. He had an insight into the painter that is very unique. Alejandro is a gem- and anyone getting him as a guide will be very luck indeed.
2/19/2020