Category: Ecuador Q&A

I see it everyday.

Folks arrive in Ecuador with stacks of $100 dollar bills only to be surprised NO ONE will take them.

Why?

Well, for many years Ecuador has had a problem with fake $100 bills floating down from Colombia. So most merchants are afraid to accept them.

Also, almost no one has change for big bills, not even $20s in Ecuador.

Even local banks will NOT change your $100 bills if you don’t have an account there.

Exchange houses are also out of the question since Ecuador uses the US dollar.

After living here for a few years now, I’ve only found one place nationwide that will reliably accept your $50 and $100 bills…

The big box supermarket stores in the major cities of Ecuador.

So before you head deep in the countryside, hit up that MI COMISARIATO, SUPERMAXI or MEGAMAXI.

Any of those as long as you buy something, even a candy bar, work just fine.

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“But I was told if I bought a first-class bus ticket i could take as many bags as I wanted under the bus free.” A friend of mine recently implored at the Quito bus station on his way to Loja.

“Nope, sorry, thats not correct.” The bus attendent flatly stated.  

He and his wife had about 20 bags.  And they had been given bad information, but it was too late, in order to avoid this issues we were recommended to get to adtmoving.com and hire their service if we needed to ship something else.  

Like many these days, they were moving to Ecuador. The local moving company Minneapolis provide high quality moving tools and services paired with our well trained local moving staff for an unparalleled experience.

Final destination: Vilcabamba.  

Touch-down point: Quito International Airport.  

You see, Ecuador only has two international airports… Quito and Guayaquil.  

Once you get your things from your home country to Quito or Guayaquil, what are your options?  

How can you move your things both cheaply and securely once in Ecuador?  

Here’s the best 6 options I know about:

1. Airline checked bags.  When connecting domestically, the local airlines only allow one checked bag of 20 kilos (44 pounds) and one carry-on of 8 kilos (17.5 pounds).  Another option can be using storage units Illawarra to keep your fragile and personal stuff safe.

After that, you have to pay $1.50 extra per kilo and maximum you are allowed only a second checked bag with TAME.  With Aerogal, you can have more checked bags but there is still the $1.50 per kilo excess fee.  

So with the airlines, for an extra 20 kilo bag you are looking at $33 to move it to your final destination in Ecuador with the help from local movers.  

For moving your household items, you can visit the following URL to find highly experienced moving professional, who can help provide you the best services for all your moving requirements – https://nzvanlines.co.nz/moving-to-new-zealand.

2. Airline Cargo.  Or just outside the airport in Quito or Guayaquil you can mail the bags through TAMEs Cargo department paying $.70 per kilo.  No limit to how many bags you can send.  They arrive the same day if sent in the morning. So that same 20 kilo bag would cost $14.  

LAN, another domestic Ecuador airline provider, does not provide cargo services except from Quito to Guayaquil or to the Galapagos.

3. SERVIENTREGA.  You could also mail that same 20 kilo bag via a nationwide service called SERVIENTREGA for $15 for the same 20 kilo bag or $17.50 for a 50 pound bag.  The difference is Servientrega delivers your goods to a specific address anywhere in Ecuador door-to-door.  And if they cant find the address you can still track the bag with a tracking number and go to the nearest office for you and pick your bag up.  The nearest SERVIENTREGA office to the Quito airport is in the next small town over about 15 minutes from the airport called PIFO.  In Guayaquil, Servientrega has offices right next to the airport heading towards the bus station.  Usually the package arrives the next day after mailing.  

4. The Ecuador Post Office.  Ecuador does have a postal service that is getting more reliable called CORREOS ECUADOR.  But you can only send packages or bags within Ecuador with a max limit of 30 pounds.  Not doable for this situation.  

5. The Local Bus Lines.  Another option would be to do like most the locals do and send your bags as cargo with the bus lines in Ecuador.  Pick a bus line with your desired destination and send it with them under the bus.  They give you a receipt and then the person you name as the recipient will need to go and pick the bags up upon arrival.  For instance, if arriving to Quito, the bus line LA LOJA with offices diagonal to the Hotel Marriot offer cargo service from Quito to Loja for $10 per bag up to 80 pounds.  The bus line Reina de Camino was the cheapest I found to ship bags from Quito to Manta for just $6 per bag up to 60 pounds.  They have their cargo offices on 18 de septiembre and Manuel Larrea near the Parque Ejido.  

The PANAMERICANA bus line with offices near COLON y AMAZONAS in Quito ship cargo to Cuenca for $8 per bag.  For many other destinations in Ecuador Id go straight to the cargo docks at the enormous Quitumbe Bus Station in South Quito.  

6. The Freight Companies.  Another interesting option would be to send your bags with the local movers or freight trucks in Quito although it is not necessarily cheaper than shipping with the bus lines.  There is CITAL on Eloy Alfaro in North Quito which goes to Loja, Zamora and other destinations in the far south of Ecuador daily from Quito… the cost is $10 per 50-60 pound bag to ship with them.  And there is ORTIZ, currently the cheapest option I know of to get numerous bags from Quito to Cuenca, at just $4 per 50-60 pound bag.  

So what did my friends do?  

They paid the $10 per bag to ship their excess bags under the bus.

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I got an interesting article from an “expert” forwarded to me this week about how great Playas, Ecuador is.

Insert YAWN here.

My response…

Are you serious? Have you actually been to Playas?

Spent significant time there? Done business there?

I have.

Trust me, there are much better options on the Ecuador coast for investors in 2014.

Sure, Playas looks good on paper… a small beach town near the big malls, hospitals and international airport of Guayaquil, the biggest city in Ecuador.

But the truth is… Playas was the place to invest… 5-6 years ago.

Not now.

Its still the crappy place it was then… but at least then it was CHEAP.

If you´re going to sell me a turd, it better be cheap!

The truth about Playas circa 2014 is that the town is still unattractive, lacks infrastructure for a comfortable expat existence same as it was 6 years ago.

The beach is not attractive comparatively to many other beaches in Ecuador. The beach is horrendously big to the point of just walking across it reminds me of crossing the Sahara desert by foot.

The water. Well, its murky. Playas is situated right where a huge dirty river delta meets the ocean. Its also a bit choppy for comfortable swimming yet the waves aren´t that nice for surfing.

The beachfront… overpriced and all developed due to all the money the wealthy Guayaquil folks have poured into the place.

I know these people. To them, all they know for beaches are Playas, Salinas and the new kid on the block, Montanita. Thats where their beach universe ends.

Nowadays, for a beachfront property in this area you are looking at a six figure investment for even a small house on a tiny lot.

I know of one 3 bedroom 2 bath place beachfront but still far from the water due to the boardwalk out front and big beach that sold for a bit over $100k. Another 2 bedroom crumbling place I know of two blocks back sold for $40k.

Go to the north or south of the city and prices go up even more as many Guayaquil folks have their beachfront villa there.

Playas is actually the same distance to Guayaquil as Salinas in travel time although on the map it looks closer. You´re still looking at 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours but the buses that service Playas are chicken buses compared to the nice air conditioned ones that service Salinas.

Unlike most coastal Ecuadorian towns Playas is so spread out you better have a car to live here!

Also, for land or property purchases the municipal in Playas is a royal pain-in-the-arse if you´ve had the displeasure (like myself) to have to work with them.

Other municipalities on the coast like in Manta, PortoViejo or even Santa Elena (Salinas) are MUCH nicer and more efficient.

The seafood is good, but so is it in about anywhere else on the coast of Ecuador.

Basic services like water, electric and Internet… iffy at best. In other words they come and go. Much better on a lot of other beaches in Ecuador.

Also, in Playas, you are REALLY far removed from everything.

Think REMOTE.

You are still an hour to an hour and a half from the next nearest town or city.

In the winter months of January, February and March it rains a lot… its humid and boy are there a lot of mosquitos. Place reminds of Guayaquil (where I lived for about a year.)

Playas also lacks the nice onshore breeze the rest of the more west facing Ecuador coast gets.

Its true the sun comes out more here than on other beaches in Ecuador but I also find it more intense, burning white skin like eggs on a skillet. Plus with the beach so wide theres no where to take cover.

As for Playas, leaving it off your beach property hunting itinerary is a good bet.

The “value” price-quality just isn´t there.

So where is a great investment on the coast right now?

Stay tuned to this newsletter and soon you´ll find out.

And to learn how to find the unpublished property deals no one else knows about, subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

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I’ve been there, man.

I still remember that day about 2 years ago.

I had a chance to buy a whole mountain with an oceanview behind the quaint little coastal town of Olon, Ecuador.

For $4,000 dollars.

But I passed.

It was rainy season.

And when my Ecuadorian friend and I started walking towards the lot, we didn’t make it cause the road was SO muddy access was impossible.

In fact, some of the cheapest lots still out there are ones that are currently not accessible.

So how much does it cost to cut or lay your own road in Ecuador?

Well, this week I talked to a friend of mine who bought a beachfront mountain himself in Ecuador and cut his own road near Jama on the north coast.

He said upon purchase of his lot he had to cut a 250 meter (820 ft) road just to access his property.

First, he had to hire a dozer with driver that for $90 a day cleared off the shrubs and top soil to make the road. The dozer worked for about 11 days. Total $990.

Then, he had to buy rocks to cover the road.

$35 per truck load. Each load brought rocks for 8 cubic yards.

For his 250 meter road he needed 200 truck loads. Total $7,000.

Then after the rocks where placed he had to hire a dozer again for 3 days to compact the rocks. Total $270.

That’s it!

He had his road and his property just doubled in value for $990+$7,000+$270= $8260!

One tip he mentioned for anyone having to cut a road in Ecuador is to make sure they make the road with a crown shape so the water runs off along the sides and not overtop it.

And to learn how to find the unpublished property deals no one else knows about, subscribe to my weekly Ecuador Insiders Newsletter below, you can unsubscribe at any time:

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