Pardon the delay. I was feeding the llamas.

I’ve spent the past week in Quito and areas north and south of there, doing research for some articles, reviewing hotels, and updating the upcoming 4th edition of The World’s Cheapest Destinations. While I mentioned in the last post that most prices haven’t changed much since the last time I was here, imported goods are being taxed at a rate of 100% or more. It’s gotten much more expensive here to spend a night at a bar or replace your dead camera/laptop/phone.

Otherwise, there’s more positive news than negative, so here’s a quick rundown on official developments and word on the street for travelers in Ecuador.

New Airport for Quito

There’s a lot of bureaucracy in this country, so often things take far longer than they should have to get moving. Quito’s new airport is by most accounts finished, but it won’t open until February 2013 (at least) because, um, the roads to it aren’t finished. You can fly in, but you can’t get out in a car. Once it’s done, you’ll pay far more for a taxi to the city than now, but there’s going to be a shuttle bus service from the get-go that should be reasonable.

Get Used to This President

Rafael Correa may be pegged as a power-grabbing socialist by some international press outlets and diplomats, but he’s extremely popular these days at home, with a 70% approval rating. He could be in office until 2017. As in Nicaragua, people seem to put up with a bit of screwing the constitution to run more than the allowed number of terms if life is getting better—especially the roads. Everyone here is talking about new highways and bypasses, rural roads getting paved, and potholes getting fixed. Note to politicians: help people get to where they need to go easier and many other problems can slide.

For travelers, expect more cheap subsidized gas, better highways, and…

The Rebirth of Ecuador’s Train System

The history of Ecuador’s trains is one of fits and starts, joy and disappointment. Building train tracks through the Andes Mountains and then keeping them from being covered by landslides takes a lot of resources. In the late 19th century, some 2,500 workers died just building the Devil’s Nose section that uses two switchbacks to get down the mountain. This government is pushing hard to get the longest part—from Quito to Guayaquil—going again. It is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2013. The first priority is a luxury service that will stop for the night several places along the way. But a tourist class one will follow and will be worth the splurge I’m sure. I went on two sections of it this week and was really impressed with the operation, both the restored and brand new coaches, and the scenery. I saw track improvements going on all over the place. Watch the Tren Ecuador site (in both languages) for updates.

Ecuadoran Food Getting Its Due

I’m amazed at the number of gastronomy, coffee, and chocolate tours now being offered in this country. As with Peru a decade ago, the cuisine of Ecuador seems to be finally getting its due. It’s not all that photogenic unless a chef does some magical reconstruction, but they grow just about everything here, all year long, so the profusion of fruits, vegetables, and herbs is astounding. Much of the street food and cheap market stall fare here is nothing to write home about, so splurge a few dollars more now and then and see what the fuss is about.

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.

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

I wrote in Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune that there are several key factors that go into determining how much you spend on your travels, whether you are going for a long weekend or a year-long trip around the world. The main one, however, is where you decide to spend your time. No matter how well you plan your trip to Japan, for instance, and no matter how good an airfare deal you get, it’s going to cost you a buttload of money compared to say…Ecuador.

I have lots of respect for Budget Travel magazine and would even if they didn’t hire me now and then to write a story for them. They really highlighted this destination difference well though with the challenge they ran for two writers in the current issue. They gave both a budget of $1,200 and told them to go at least eight hours away for four nights and spend no more than $1,200. One went to Tokyo and one went to Quito. You can just imagine how that worked out but see the details here.

Basically the guy who went to Quito, Ecuador lived it up, ate well, and stayed in really nice hotels. This was his description of his last night at one of the best restaurants in town: “From the ceviche sampler to the grouper in a spicy cream sauce, everything was extraordinary. Along with champagne, dessert, half a bottle of sauvignon blanc, and tip, my total was $75.”

The guy who went to Tokyo had to be really careful with his money. He slept in a room that was 8′ by 10′ for $70 and mostly ate ramen noodles and vending machine food. “I kept my spending down by using a three-pronged method: eating at establishments that don’t employ waiters, never taking a taxi, and engaging with the locals.” He still had a good time, but it was tough making the math work.

Ramen noodle budget or eating out every meal? Capsule hotel/hostel bed or boutique hotel with soft sheets and plush toiletries? Taxis when you want or waiting for the bus? Amazingly, these two options can be the same price-wise. It just depends on where you go.