I’m currently in Quito, Ecuador, where it’s only taken me one full day to confirm that most prices are pretty much where they were last time I was here a few years ago. (See Travel Prices in Ecuador.)

The fact they use the U.S. dollar as their currency helps, but there’s also low inflation and the country grows a lot of its own food. All the fruit pictured at the top was selling for $1 a pound or less in the market.

Gasoline is heavily subsidized, which helps keep the costs of transportation down.

There’s one big change though that everyone is talking about: the price of alcohol. It has roughly doubled this year for anything imported.

Theories abound as to whether this was a sin tax to bring down consumption and raise revenues or just a way to keep more money in the country. The bottom line though is that imported brands—which is almost all of them—now often cost more than you would pay in your own country. This includes wine from Chile and Argentina, which is universally a great deal across the rest of the continent.

Ecuador has a wealth of tomatoes and sugar cane, so you’d think they could do some decent vodka and rum at least, but no go yet.

For now, there are few solutions. Bring in duty free bottles. Drink local brands (usually lousy). Drink beer.

That last one is probably the best choice as the beer is decent and it’s made in-country. No import taxes.

A few weeks back Transitions Abroad posted this article of mine: Real Estate in Latin America.

In my humble opinion this is the best region to put your money into if you’re going to buy a house, condo, or piece of land anytime soon, especially if you’re old enough (and have enough verifiable income) to take advantage of the incentives some countries throw at you. In some cases you only have to be 45 and be able to prove you can earn $1,000 a month from outside their country—pretty easy if you’re a freelancer, a business owner, or a pensioner. And apart from a few bubble zones (Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, northern Pacific Costa Rica for a start), the prices are really attractive.

I just came back from Ecuador, where the prices on some of the real estate ads were almost laughable. Like a 90-acre farm outside Cuenca with a 3-bedroom house and a caretaker’s cottage for $90,000. Another was 128 acres with a fruit orchard and a spring-fed stream for $68,000. For another $32K you could build a nice house with a great view. I saw 2-bedroom condos advertised in nice parts of Quito for under $60,000—one was on the 18th floor with a panoramic view from the balcony. These weren’t isolated cases either. See that photo at the top from Cuenca? Renovated lofts in that building start at $45,000.

Anyway, check out the article for details on where the best deals are and why it makes sense. There are resources at the end to follow up on specifics.

Ecuador has been in all three editions of The World’s Cheapest Destinations book and is a backpacker favorite for good reason. You can do and see a whole lot in a country that’s pretty compact and the weather is quite pleasant year round in many areas. I just spent a great two weeks there and it was fantastic all around. You can spend a small fortune in Ecuador if you want (see the previous post on the Galapagos), but you don’t have to. This is one of the best values in the whole hemisphere.

Ecuador is the kind of place where you can walk out of your hotel with $10 in your pocket and go get a haircut, take a taxi ride or a few buses, eat a filling meal, and have a beer or two. You’ll come back with change still jingling in your pocket.

Here are some sample costs for travelers in Ecuador. (All in U.S. dollars, which is what they use also.)

Taxi from the airport to Quito Old Town – $8
Taxi from Quito Old Town to airport – $5.50
Quito Trolley bus ride – 25 cents
Gondola ride in Quito to 4,100 meters altitude and back – $8

Hour of internet access – 50 cents to $1
Phone call to U.S. from a cabina – 10 to 20 cents a minute

Beer in a bar or restaurant – 75 cents to $2.50 (the latter often a liter bottle)
Soda in a bar or restaurant – $1 to 1.50
Meal of the day lunch – $1.50 to $3.50 (three courses and usually something to drink)
Pizza slice with a soda $1.50, pizza slice with a beer $1.80
Giant helping of french fries with a hot dog on top – $1-$1.50

Haircut in a salon – $2.50
One hour massage in a salon – $10-$15
Admission to most museums and sites – $1 to $3.50

Wool hat or pair of wool gloves in Otavalo market – $1.50-$2
Leather purse that would cost you $200 at home – $30-$50

Hostel bed in Quito – $7-$13
Basic Quito hotel room with private bath, maid service, bkfst., hot water – $15 to $35
3-star equivalent hotel – $30 to $75 (cheaper outside the cities)

Overnight bus Quito to Cuenca – $9-$12
Return internal flight Quito to Cuenca – $110-$138
Return internal flight Quito to Galapagos – $320-$380 (residents pay less)

Biggest rip-off: Mailing a postcard – $2 (USA) to $2.25 (UK)

Related posts:
Cheapest places to live: Ecuador
Travel prices in Honduras
Travel prices in Hungary
Czech Price Check
Travel prices in Peru
A buck or less in Mexico City