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In Quito I highly recommend eating and sleeping at the Magic Bean, owned by a gringo from Alaska. $10/night/person, address: Mera and Foch. The vicinity is nicknamed "Gringoville" because of the tourist trade. As for the food, I never got sick from Magic Bean food. Another good place to eat is the Super Papa, in front of the Alston Inn Hotel. An alternate to sleeping at the 'Bean is the Youth Hostel on Pinto (next street from the 'Bean; very plain but a good flop when the 'Bean is full).
In Banos, we stayed at Hotel Plantas y Blanco ($8/person/night, breakfast - safe and yummy, excellent roof cabana). In Otavalo, try the International Youth Hostel ($5, no thrills and a bit hard to find), otherwise we stayed at Ali Shungu (a bit spendy at $35/double but super plush for the price, ex-DC gringo owners, safe but pricy food). In Coca, try Hotel El Auca ($8, safe and yummy food). Be prepared to pay with cash at all of these places.
Be aware that stomach ailments are a certainly when traveling. I take Pepto Bismo before every meal, use Immodium as back up, and carry TP in my pocket as fail safe. In the hotel I use a water filter on the tap get water to brush my teeth; in restaurants I order "aqua mineral".
If you're interested in organized ecotourism, Safari Tours is the best. We went on their Amazon jungle tour, visiting with Huanori indians (but don't call them indians -- it's insulting). This was the best part of the trip. Less reputable outfitters will rip you off, pay the native people in alcohol, and renege on the tourist taxes (used to protect the native peoples). Dave Gayton is the guy running Safari and Keri was our capable and knowledgeable jungle guide.
You must visit Otavalo! Bring a big wad of Sucres (in coins and small bills) for the excellent open air market to be found there. Remember to NEGOTIATE all prices. Americans are so used to paying the stated price, the prices are inflated in anticipation. My method of negotiation: I offer to pay half the stated price. Then the merchant shakes his head and counters my price, I counter the counter... etc, back and forth. Finally we agree on a price somewhere in the middle. If I still don't like the price, I look hurt and walk away -- the merchant runs after me and agrees to something close my price. It works! But in any case, be prepared to drop the deal if you don't like it, some merchants can get quite pushy.
In hotels, by all means get acquainted with the other guests. You'll pick up all sorts of tips on where to visit and how to get there.
Exchange a small amount of money before leaving USA (say, US$20-40 worth for taxi and incidentals) and more when you get to Quito. There are plenty of banks and "casa cambios" on Ave Rio Amazonia and at better rates than in the USA; no transaction fee is charged either. They open weekdays at 9 AM (I think). Another bad thing about exchanging money in USA is that you will get Sucres in large bills (I got mine in 50,000 Sucre bills) and many merchants cannot/will not make change. Make sure your dollars bills are in excellent condition else they won't be accepted (counterfeiters); US dollar travelers checks are actually worth a bit more than real US dollars (I don't know why).
The value of the US Dollar is very great over the Sucre: a 20,000 Sucre bill is worth about US$2 or US$3 but it's like a US$20 bill to the Ecuadorians. Current exchange rate is about 7000 Sucre to US$1.
Ten percent is usually added to the check as a tip but this is not always paid to the waiter. If your waiter provided exceptional service, then by all means give the extra tip directly to the server (don't leave on table). And oh, you have to ask for the check ("la quinta") or else the waiter will never come back.
Bring a calculator to double check all checks and bills. I discovered "math mistakes" more than once when I checked. It seems the game for some Ecuadorians is "Scam the Gringo" -- it may mean a few cents cheated but there's a principle involved. (I got scammed the first day, I discovered I bought a $7 post card after rechecking my purchases. The stated price was 15 cents.)
If you're relying on credit card, VISA is not accepted as universally as MasterCard. There is a 10% surcharge for using any credit card. There is an American Express office on Ave Amazonias near the banks and cambios.
Cash machines are known to short change. Get money from a machine when the bank is open, at least you can go into the bank for assistance. Doing something about it hours or days after the fact results in nothing.
Lastly reserve US$25 cash (or equivalent in Sucre) for the airport departure tax. They accept nothing but cash and I had to borrow from my friend.
Taxis: FIRMLY negotiate a price BEFORE getting into the cab. Don't bother using the meter, it's another scam. It costs 15,000 Sucre from Magic Bean to Terminal Terrestre. Use taxis that are a member of a cooperative, the name of which is painted on the side of the bright yellow cab. But this is not always scam-free -- our taxi driver tried to cheat us from the airport. The system works like this: you go to the taxi booth, state your destination, number of people, and buy a ticket. Our driver tried to extract a double fare by saying the ticket is for a single -- our ticket clearly indicated 2 persons. From the airport to the vicinity of the Magic Bean, the fare should be 25,000 Sucres for any number of passengers. There may be 5,000 Sucre surcharge if it's night.
City to City Buses: Using the bus will result in a vast saving in your cash reserves -- it costs about 15,000 Sucres/person (about US$2) from Quito to Cotopaxi Park gate, a 40 mile journey. We negotiated US$25 for a taxi to the same locale and US$30 to Otavalo, which is dumb now that I think about it.
It might help to buy your bus ticket the day before as it will reduce your confusion and stress. Just don't let the hawkers push you to a counter before you can investigate all of the bus companies. The Terminal Terrestre in Quito is a den of thieves and pickpockets -- maintain precautions even after you get on the bus.
Not being to communicate can be detrimental. If you don't speak Spanish, it might be helpful to take rudimentary lessons before leaving home. Community colleges or foreign language centers may offer intensive courses; you might even approach your Spanish speaking friends. You won't be an expert but you'll will at least stumble along more comfortably.
On the trip bring both a dictionary and traveler's phrase book. Lonely Planet sells an excellent one.
If planning on attending a Spanish school in Ecuador, the SAEC in Quito maintains a list of schools that received positive remarks from its members.
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Updated March 20, 1999