How to Know If Ecuador Is Safe to Travel to (It Is)

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The question around if Ecuador is safe is a complicated conversation. Safety is always a nuanced and relative conversation. You have to determine what your definition of “safe” and “unsafe” is. For example, if you are from a major city, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York, you understand how cities work and may have a higher tolerance for what you deem “unsafe” within a city. However, if you are from a suburban or rural environment, you may have less of a tolerance because you have less experience being in those types of situations.

Prior to traveling to a destination, it is best to look at your country’s travel advisory page. The United States Travel Advisory page for Ecuador is a good place to start. (Just to note, Ecuador is deemed safer to travel to than Guatemala and Colombia, two popular destinations in Latin America.) In Ecuador, much of the country is completely “safe” (once again, this depends on your definition of “safe” because some cities may have issues of pick-pocketing). However, the areas that are deemed “unsafe” are going through unrest in a way that you may have never experienced, including murders, robberies, and kidnappings. When you are in a foreign country, it is best to listen to locals about how they talk about safety within their city or country. So what is the best way to experience the beauty that Ecuador has to offer? And yes! you can still visit and enjoy Ecuador!

Why do you Wonder if Ecuador Is Safe? Here is some Background Information of the Issues in the Country

Issues in Ecuador have a long history and are rooted deeply in the society. From an economic standpoint, Ecuador has had significant difficulties, including high debt and an unstable economy. Their currency became so inflated that in 2000, the country switched their currency to the U.S. dollar, which in itself caused many issues. The switch happened overnight and many people were not able to change their currency prior to the switch, causing an immediate deflation in their currency and a loss of most of their money. Today, however, they have one of the more stable economies in South America due to the stability and backing of the U.S. dollar.

Politically, Ecuador has been riddled with corruption at many different levels of the government. This has led to a distrust in the political system and the actual intentions of leaders. In these past elections, the one person that many Ecuadorians wanted as president (a former journalist who exposed the corruption of many politicians) was assassinated prior to the election and some people question the intentions of the person who did win the election because he comes from the wealthiest family in Ecuador.

The issues that are affecting the current safety of Ecuador for tourists have to do with drug trade. In January 2024, two major gang leaders escaped prison and set off a chain of terror and violence throughout the nation. In Ecuador, there are 22 narco groups that control the drug smuggling trade through the country and the president of the country wants to get rid of all of the groups to prevent the country from becoming a true narco state. This friction has led to murders and kidnappings, especially in cities that are crucial to the success of the drug trade. The ports of Ecuador are an important part of the drug trade of cocaine to the United States and Europe and are thought to be part of the Mexican drug trade pipeline as well.

What Part of Ecuador Is Safe to Visit?

The safety of Ecuador really depends on where you go within the country. The country is split into 4 different regions based on their ecosystems: the Rainforest (el Oriente), the Andes Mountains (la Sierra), the Coast (la Costa), and the Galapagos. We will walk through each region and their levels of safety for tourists.

In the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are the most popular tourist destination within Ecuador. They are highly protected by the government for environmental and sustainable efforts. Because of the isolated economy of the islands being tourism, the islands are completely safe. There are a few towns within the islands making up only 3% of the archipelago. Each town on the different islands is a small community and there is very little crime on the island.

If you are worried about your personal safety from animals (such as sharks) then you are completely safe. Make sure you visit the islands with a professional guide and stay 6 feet away from the wild animals. Sharks rarely, if ever, attack humans and most of the sharks you will swim with are not aggressive towards humans. In the water, try not to touch anything because you don’t know what will be poisonous. The naturalists (who you are required to be with) will warn you of any dangers and keep you completely safe.

If you are worried about the potential of volcanic activity then you are very safe. Yes, the Galapagos Islands have been created and have evolved due to volcanic activity below the islands. However, that activity has been very minimal since tourism has been prominent in the Galapagos Islands. The last eruption was on Wolf Island and this was the first activity in 30 years. It lasted for 3 days and did very little damage to the wildlife. (Humans pose more of a risk to the wildlife than volcanic activity.)

In the Amazon Rainforest Region

The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most isolated regions from the drug trade battle that is happening in Ecuador’s coast and only 5% of Ecuadorians live in this region. In order to visit the Amazon Rainforest, you will have a highly planned and predetermined experience through your stay in a lodge within the rainforest. Due to the protections of the land and the indigenous groups of the region, your experience here will be curated and isolated, eliminating the risk of coming into any contact with danger (besides the wildlife of the rainforest!) The only region of the Rainforest to avoid are areas near the Peruvian and Colombian borders, which are most likely not where your lodge will be.

In the Andes Mountains Region

The Sierra region of Ecuador is where the capital of the country is, Quito. Because this city is often the starting point of many people’s adventures to the Galapagos or the Rainforest, they often have questions about the amount of time they should truly be spending in the city. Quito is a major city and has similar issues to many other major cities around the world, including robberies and pick-pocketing. However, the touristy areas are safe but you should always watch your bags. It is always important to be aware of and careful with your belongings. It’s best to not wear ostentatious or flashy clothing/jewelry to not bring too much attention to yourself. It is also best to stay in the main touristy neighborhoods. You can read more about the nuances of Quito and visiting the city here. It really is worth spending a few days exploring the area!

Many restaurants in Quito do not stay open too late in the city. After dark, it is recommended to take Ubers if you are going more than a few blocks. And Ubers are very affordable in this city. In addition, you will see security guards at most restaurants, bars, hotels, condominium complexes and even within neighborhoods. This does not mean that the area that you are in is dangerous for you. Since the political unrest earlier in 2024, these private guards have hired add a sense of security within the establishments. You may also have restrictions on the guests that you can bring to your hotel or accommodations due to this additional security measure. However, these security members can be helpful for you throughout your stay and you can always ask them about the safety protocols that you should be considering in the area.

The other popular destination within the region, Cuenca, is very safe as well. It is a relatively calm and walkable city, especially within the historic center of the town. While it is best to not stay out too late, and to take the appropriate forms of transportation, crime is far from rampant here. We were told by different locals that when the unrest came up in January 2024, the city took matters into their own hand and claimed to use indigenous law to warn people from inciting violence in the city. Since then, Cuenca is considered the safest city of Ecuador and one of the safest ones in South America. In fact, this is one of the reasons many expats choose to move here (they even have a neighborhood they call “Gringoland”). You can read more about visiting Cuenca here.

From Cuenca, a popular bus route is towards Guayaquil. It is not recommended to take any bus past the Cajas National Park, which is on the way to Guayaquil. Buses are unfortunately a target for robberies near Guayaquil.

In the Coastal Region

Now this is the area to avoid when you are visiting Ecuador at the moment (2024). The political unrest has continued in parts of this region due to drug transportation at the port cities among other socio-economic issues. Crimes include civil unrest, robbery, and kidnapping. Many State Departments (such as the one from the United States) are currently saying to avoid this region, listing all the provinces on the coast as ones to avoid. When talking about tourist destinations to avoid, the city of Guayaquil is one to stay away from. While many of the crimes are targeting Ecuadorian citizens, it is still best to stay away until the situation ameliorates.

Resources for Determining if Ecuador is Safe

Your country’s State Department website should be your first resource to go to when researching the safety of a country. Here is the link to the United State’s travel advisory for Ecuador. This lists the different locations, cities, provinces to avoid completely and the ones to reconsider travel to. You can even look at the recommendations of different countries to best make your decision on where to visit. These sites are based on information from the embassies within the countries and their conversations with the local governments throughout the country.