Ecuador (is it safe?)
 

Hi,

We're thinking of hiring a bike for a few weeks sometime this year, is Ecuador safe at the moment? (Aus gov travel site says no, chance of kidnap, drug cartels, internal conflict etc etc, ). Has anyone travelled there recently?
Also any tips on best time of year, must see sights, expensive, motorcycle hire company etc would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I was there July- September last year. We had no troubles at all. The country was having organized crime problems on the coast so the President declared a "State of Emergency" to combat that. That really killed tourism.

I don't think the problems they are or were having was't directed at tourists.

I haven’t been to Ecuador specifically, but have generally found the maps for the US State and UK Foreign Office for travel advisories to be a good source to understand risks while traveling to places I’m not familiar with. In both cases they list pretty detailed locations to avoid and why.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ecuador
US: https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...-advisory.html

Hey

My 2c.

If you have to transit through somewhere with a warning it makes sense.
Going to a place with a “no go” warning directly makes less sense.

DFAT is highly regarded so I would go with their advice. They know of emerging threats better than travellers.

Plenty of safe places to go.

hi
i traveled ecuador nov24-febr.25 by car and motorcycle,not really different from other south american countries.no problems at all.
especially the east and the highland pretty safe.