Reservations

Hi,

My bf and I are planning on traveling to Ecuador in January for 9 days. First time going to SA and wondering how far in advance hostel and tour guide reservations should be made? I traveled in Europe two years ago and was used to just finding availability automatically on the hostel's website....but this email and wait back for a reply has me wondering if I need to make all the plans while at home.

Is it normal to just make the first night's reservations and go from there while you're in the country?
Can we take a bus to say, Otavalo, and if we decide we want to stay there for the night, ask a hostel if they have room or do i need to make them in advance? Same question for tour guides.

Thanks in advance!

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.