Realistic Budget

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anonymous
anonymous

Hey all,

There are similar threads on this forum that I've read, but since some of them are old and none have exactly the same itinerary/budget, figured I'd ask in case anyone can help me figure this out! Thank you in advance for your help/advice/suggestions or even criticism!

My boyfriend and I are going to Ecuador in early March, and trying to figure out how long we can afford to stay. We're going to fly into and out of Quito, and would like to rent a car and drive out to the coast, probably to Canoa (though other suggestions are welcome) and hang on the beach for a few days. As you can tell, we want a very laid back trip.

We are trying to keep to as tight a budget as possible (under $100/day for the two of us), and realize that the addition of a rental car will probably be the biggest hit, and we may go over by a bit. From what I can tell, the cheapest car will run us about $70/day plus gas - if we're just driving to the coast, is an economy car okay? We definitely can't afford a 4x4, so I'm hoping the roads on the coast are okay...

As for hotels, we've budgeted $50/night for quito (looking at airbnb rentals, but open to other suggestions) and $30/day in Canoa for a private room on the beach. Sound about right?

My biggest question is food/drink costs. I have seen numbers all over the board. Assuming we're eating mostly at cheap restaurants and street food, is $20/day for both of us okay? Should I be budgeting more like $30-40?

Any thoughts are totally welcome and appreciated -- we haven't booked anything yet (though we'll probably book flights today), so we can easily change our itinerary around if this seems like it's not the right way to do it.

Thanks!!
Alex

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jeanfromboston2
jeanfromboston2

Be sure to check out Simon Car Rental, a good local place. We paid $33 a day plus some extra insurance which was $7 a day, for 6 days with 100 km a day. The gas is cheap there. We had the smallest car and drove up into the Andes around Chugchilan. If I did that again I might get a 4x4, but for the paved roads it was fine. They brought the car to our hotel in Quito, and we dropped it near the airport. People were very helpful, and although the office staff speaks good English, the guy who brings you your car does not.

$20 a day for two for food is tight unless it's all street food. A good sitdown dinner in a modest place in Quito with a couple of beers will be $20 for two. You can probably do OK with hotels for $50. We spent more, but didn't have to.

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willemspie
willemspie

It is possible to visit Ecuador (by public transport) on 20 $/day per person. You can find OK rooms for 20 $ for 2, and meals between 2 and 3 $.

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anonymous
anonymous

Thanks you guys for the super helpful responses! We booked our tickets...and are sort of changing things around a little to accommodate a longer stay -- two weeks! Which means we have the time to take public transportation, and hopefully save enough money to last the whole vacation.

What we didn't realize until our tickets were already booked, was that we will be in Ecuador over Carnival. At first I was excited, then I quickly realized that this makes my trip SO much more difficult to book due to the lack of available hotels or hostels, especially in the smaller towns like Canoa that we're really excited about.

Would LOVE suggestions if anyone has them for budget accommodation in Canoa and maybe also Mindo, which we're thinking about now that we have a little more time.

Also - what is Mindo like during Carnival? Too busy to be nice and relaxing?

For now, here is the planned itinerary -

Day 1 - Arrive Quito, at night. Hostel booked.
Day 2 - 4 - Explore Quito. Carnival begins on my birthday, and I'm probably covered in water and foam!
Day 5 - Bus to Canoa. (Is this a terrible idea during Carnival?)
Day 5 - 9 - Canoa. Need a place to stay.
Day 9 - Bus back to Quito
Day 10 - 12 - Mindo
Day 12 - Back to Quito.
Day 13 - Leave early in the morning.

As noted, I'm a little iffy on going to Canoa during Carnival. I feel like maybe with the holiday, we should do Mindo first, then Canoa at the end of our trip, I'm just not super excited about a long bus ride back to Quito followed immediately by a long trip home.

Would love suggestions or feedback!

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