For US citizens a VISA is not required for entry into Ecuador. If you are staying longer than 90 days, or if you are not of USA nationality, check with the consulate for the applicable regulations.

Ecuador’s Embassy – Washington DC
http://www.ecuador.org
2535 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (202) 234-7200
Fax: (202) 667-3482

PASSPORT

Your passport must be valid for at least six months following your scheduled return to your state or country. You will also require at least one blank page available in your passport. This page must be labeled “VISAS” at the top (blank “Amendments and Endorsements” pages are not acceptable). If both of these requirements are not met, you may be refused admittance to a country, and consequently required by that country’s government to return to your country immediately.

We highly recommend that you carry two photocopied sets of the following:

• The personal information pages of your passport
• Your air tickets
• Traveler’s check serial numbers (if you’re carrying such checks)
• Credit cards (both sides)
• Phone and fax numbers for reporting lost credit cards
• Your travel protection plan and contact information
• Medical emergency information

Store each set of copies separately within your personal belonging and in waterproof bags.

US Dollars

• Tropical along coast.
• Cooler inland at higher elevations.
• Tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands.
• MSN Weather
• Weather Underground

Staying in Quito multiple times during the trip and up in the Andes Mountains, you will be exposed to high altitude of 9,000 ft and higher. You may feel the physical effects of high altitudes, which can include fatigue, shortness of breath, headache, and/or lack of energy or loss of appetite. For most people these symptoms are mild and pass fairly quickly.

The local people drink Coca tea as a remedy for alleviating the effects of altitude sickness. We recommend that you discuss with your doctor whether a trip to that altitude is advisable for you and if you should obtain a prescription for the prevention and treatment of altitude sickness. Bringing along Diamox or prescription for it might be a good idea. Link to recommended medication (gear and safety)

• Upon arrival to Quito international Airport you will be picked up by our EPA representative who will welcome you and transfer you to the hotel in Quito.
• At the end of the trip our EPA representative will pick you up from the Hotel and transfer you back to International Airport.

At Eco-Planet Adventure we strive to provide you with lodgings that give you a sense of the local culture, and we count on the fact that with your sense of adventure you will welcome the unusual accommodations we provide. Because we travel in small groups, we can stay in more authentic, unique accommodations than larger groups can. Lodging might be quite small, trading size and scale for authenticity and tradition. Some may even be family run, some in thatched-roof cabins and some would be under the sky in tents we provide. Be prepared to share your accommodation with your trip pals. Amenities may not be what you expect from a hotel in the USA. In the rural areas of Ecuador our lodging is limited in services. Water temperature and water pressure may vary and bed size may vary as well.

One of our adventure trip highlight is sharing our meals with local host families. This is a chance for you to meet people who call the rural Ecuadorian rainforest home, learn about their daily lives, and share a little of yourself. These interactions with the local communities offer cultural exchanges of the best kind and there is no better way to get to know new Ecuadorian friends than over a home-cooked meal.

It is customary, although not mandatory, to return your host’s generosity with a gift. Many travelers like to bring along an easy-to-pack memento of their own hometown such as colorful t-shirt, a postcard book or something for which your state or country is known for. A special attention we like to give is to the young children of the host communities, especially in those isolated rural areas deep in the jungle where it is normally a hardship for the community to provide their children with education, teachers and school supplies and /or educational toys. Think of children ages 3 to 16 if choosing to bring a gift aboard. Also keep in mind that the children do not read English and that Spanish reading ability is the communities’ priority for their children. Also note that there is no electricity what-so-ever in these communities so your choice of gift should be simple and not to include any devises that needs power connection.

BREAKFAST

• Hotel Quito, 7th floor restaurant– 3
• Baños, local café & bakery – 2
• Eco-planet jungle campground - 5

LUNCH

• Cotopaxi, box lunch – 1
• Baños white water rafting – 1
• Eco-planet jungle campground - 5

Dinner

• Eco-planet jungle campground - 5
• Quito, Farewell dinner – 1

• All land transportation within and between mainland Ecuador, River ways, and local flights between a Gateway town of the Jungle, to the Amazon rainforest communities and back.
• Accommodations for 11 nights; 3 nights in a small hotel in Quito, 3 nights in small hotels in Ecuador’s mainland, 2 nights in the jungle at ‘Eco-Planet Jungle Campground’, and 3 nights in tents or hammocks deep in the jungle in transition camp sites by the sandy River banks or the Jungle River banks.
• Meals In the Jungle – all meals. Eating from the Rainforest with a mixture of traditional cooking and a wide variety of food we find, from Fish to Plants, taking only what we need and using all of what we take.
• Mainland activities; 5 challenging sport adventures to including mountain hiking, off-road mountain biking, white water rafting, waterfall canyons repelling and Autoferro riding. Also, Volcanic mountains sightseeing and spectacular unique cultural activities.
• Jungle activities; small airplane flights to and from the jungle, river canoe rides, 6 days of X-treme challenge expeditions deep in the jungle, wildlife watching, bird watching, nocturnal hikes ,Jungle sport competitions, Interaction with local tribal communities, witness a traditional healing ceremony and cultural activities.
• Professional bilingual Trip Leader accompanies the Mainland travels and activities.
• Professional bilingual Rainforest-naturalist guide accompanies the Jungle Expedition.
• Baggage and gear porters and a local cook accompany the Jungle Expedition.
• Camping equipment including tents, hammocks and kitchen gear.
• Mountain bikes, white water rafting and repelling gears.
• All admission fees for included sightseeing and included mainland sport activities.
• SPOT – Satellite messenger, rescue alert, and tracking devise - carried by our guide.
• Satellite phone – carried by our guide.
• Gratuities for included meals.
• Airport transfers, if arriving / departing per itinerary.
• 5% frequent Traveler ‘adventurer credit’ toward your next EPA Expedition.

• Round trip International flight to Quito.
• International Air taxes.
• Some meals. See itinerary for details. - link here to itinerary
• Gratuities for Trip Leader, Naturalist guide, drivers, transportation carriers, Amazon porters & cook and local campground staff.
• Bottled beverages.
• Personal camping gear such as sleeping bags, roll-up or self-inflated sleeping pads, etc. Refer to our ‘What to pack’ personal gear list.- link here to W.T.P
• Laundry and items of a personal nature.
• Excursions and activities not described in the included itinerary.
• Insurance of any type.
• Cost of hospitalization and evacuation.
• Personal expenses.

All gratuities on our trip are optional, and the amounts you give are strictly your own decision. Here are some guidelines for tipping the people who help make your trip enjoyable, based on what past travelers have done.

Your Mainland Trip leader will tip hotel porters and waiters (for included meals), sport activities operators and sightseeing guides.

• It is customary to express a personal ‘thank-you’ to your EPA Trip leader at the end of the trip and to your Jungle naturalist guide at the end of your stay at the Amazon Jungle.
• During your trip you would be mobilized to locations by various motor vehicles and transportation means such as Minibus, Party bus, small airplane and Canoes. Tipping these operators is customary.
• Tipping the jungle campground staff and the jungle expedition porters and cook would be a much appreciated gesture to the local community. It can be given to the jungle Naturalist guide on jungle departure day.
• Our recommendations for gratuities are as follow:
• Mainland Trip Leader: U.S. $7 to $10 per adventurer, per day
• Jungle naturalist guide: U.S. $7 to $10 per adventurer, per day
• Motor vehicles driver: U.S. $4 per adventurer for each full day trip
• U.S. $3 per adventurer for each half day trip
• Private pilot: U.S. $5 per adventurer, back from the jungle flight
• Jungle campground staff: U.S $10 per adventurer, per day for the staff as whole.

We recommend you carry coins of small denominations to facilitate tipping. All tips above are quoted in U.S. dollars. Tips can be converted and paid in local coins currency or in U.S dollars.