I did a post on travel prices in Ecuador a few years back and for a whole range of items, prices haven’t really changed much. One of the main reasons Ecuador converted to a US dollar-based economy a decade and a half ago is to tame inflation. It has worked, bigtime. “We don’t even know what inflation looks like anymore,” said one hotel owner to me on my visit there this month. “The only things that go up are imports and whatever the government decides to raise taxes on.”
I have commented on the most prominent of the items that go in that last category: alcoholic beverages in Ecuador . Basically anything alcoholic that is imported has a massive tax now that effectively doubles its retail price over what it would be in the USA, so only domestic items like beer and cheap rum are priced at a point where even middle class people can afford them. Everything else costs more than you would pay in Dubai.
But that’s the odd category out in a country that is competes with Bolivia as the cheapest place to travel in South America (and edges that country out because of far lower visa fees). And it’s not cheap in a Paraguay kind of way. It’s a fantastic bargain because there is so much to see and do here. Thanks to climates that can go from beachfront tropical to snowy mountaintops to the Amazon jungle, changing your weather is as easy as getting on a bus.
Here’s what it’ll cost you these days to travel in Ecuador, as of late 2013.
Food and Drink Prices in Ecuador
I don’t often tweet my lunch, but I did when I got a three-course lunch for with pineapple juice for $2 in Cuenca, two blocks from the main plaza. They had free Wi-fi, so I couldn’t resist. This was a great deal, but you don’t have to walk very far in Ecuador to find a big lunch for $3 or less and street snacks are super-cheap.
Street snacks (corn pancakes, empanadas, nuts, humitas) – 20 – 50 cents
Set meal of the day: $2 – $6 (the latter a cloth napkin kind of place)
2-liter soda: $1
Soda/coffee in restaurant: 50 cents to $1.50
Beer in restaurant: $1 – $2.50
6-pack of domestic beer in store: $4 – $5
Glass of wine in restaurant: $5 – $12
Ice cream in shop: $1 – $1.50
Ice cream novelty from store: 40 cents – $1.25
Juice at juice stand: 40 – 75 cents
Pizza slice with a soda $1.50
Giant helping of french fries with a hot dog on top – $1-$1.50
Rolls from a bakery: 10-15 for $1
Seasonal fruit/vegetables: 50 cents to $1.25 a kilo
Transportation Costs in Ecuador
Gasoline is around $2 a gallon here, while diesel is barely half that, so transportation is cheap. Check out that photo above for the prices from the airport in Cuenca!
Taxi in cities: $1.75 – $6
Hour+ taxi ride from Quito airport to center: $22 – $33
Local bus ride: 25 cents
Overnight intercity bus ride $8 – $12 (around a dollar an hour)
Short intercity bus ride: $1.50 – $5
One-way flight from Quito to Cuenca: $77
Hostel and Hotel Prices in Ecuador:
Hostel bed in Quito or Cuenca – $7 – $15 per person
Basic double hotel room with private bath, maid service, bkfst., hot water – $10 to $40
3-star equivalent hotel double – $24 to $75 (cheaper outside the cities)
National park cabin – $5 per person
Other traveler prices in Ecuador:
Internet access: 40 – 60 cents/hour
International phone calls: 5 – 35 cents/hour
Claro or Movistar Sim card: $4 – $5
B&W/color copies – 2 cents/7 cents
Roses – 25 cents each
Flower bouquets – $1.50 – $5
Haircut in a barbershop or salon – $2 – $3.50
One hour massage in a salon – $10-$15
Half-hour “health massage” in a health food store: $2 – $4
Admission to most museums and sites – $1 to $3.50
Hand-woven wool or alpaca scarf that took days to make: $15 – $20
Full day at water park: $10
