Reservations

You do not need to book a hostel/hotel room in advance. All hostels and hotels are almost always available except for exceptions like the Secret Garden Hostel.

This is true for most places in South America except for events like Carnival and big holidays where you will have trouble finding accomodations.

You should also buy your bus tickets at the bus station right before you get on the bus and can book tours the night/morning of for most except the Galapagos cruises.

hello.
I travelled in ecuador in august and september. I never did a reservation and most of the times i was alone in a dormbed (abitacion compartida).
regards, marin

Do not worry about the delay time in emails. Many places in Ecuador do not have an internet conection and use internet cafes to respond to their email.

There realy is no need to book in advance. as a matter of fact, I would recommend, after asking if a room is available, to ask to see the room before accepting. In many small hotels in South America (as well as in Europe) every room is diferent. And if the hotel is expecting to rent more rooms that day, they may hold onto the better rooms for those who wish to see them first. You can always politely say the room is nice, but do you have one that overlooks the square (wich may be noisy) or overlooks the garden, etc. This technique has gotten me discounts, rooms with more space, or rooms with incredible views in both SA and Europe.

If you stay in Otavalo on Fri for the Sat market (I would recomend this to just taking the bus in and out on Sat) I would recommend going to Luna y Sol Cafe. This is a small restaurant/bar with great live misic on friday nights. It is basicly one to two man band latin music with a socialistic/protest theme. Great music, great conversation and great food. David, the owner, is from Belgium, but most the people I met there were locals.

On Saturday eat at the market stands. Lots of local food (sometimes it's better to try the street market cuisine BEFORE asking what is in it). Lots of atmosphere.