This page is designed to connect you to the kind of information on Ecuador that will make your visit, move, or investment much easier.  In our experience, it is always easier to get to know a country if we prepare ourselves ahead of our visit.  The following information on Ecuador will help you do that.

Click here if you need Travel Safety information.

You will be amazed how much richer your experience of traveling to Ecuador will be if you equip yourself with some basic information before you travel.

There are literally thousands of sites on the web that will help you do this. One of the best links we have found is provided by the U.S. Government and is created and updated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA site provides good background information on Ecuador.  Simply select Ecuador or any other country in the world.  Click here to visit the CIA website with great information on Ecuador.

Are you looking for history? Click here for a 40-page article covering the complete history of Ecuador.

Ecuador Weather

The first piece of information everyone wants to know about is Ecuador weather.  A great misunderstanding exists about Ecuador climate, due to the fact that the equator runs right through the middle of the country.  Most think that Ecuador is hot and humid.  While this can be the case in a some locations, there are many more parts of Ecuador where the weather can be downright chilly and of course, it gets cold in the mountains. 

Where Gary and Linda live, in Cotacachi, about an hour and a half north of Quito in the Andes mountains, there are many days where they leave the house with a jacket or sweater, because even if it is warm, the minute the sun goes under a cloud, the temperature drops.

Santo domingo is a sub-tropical region along the foothills of the Andes Mountains.  Although pineapples, papayas, and bananas flourish in this tropical climate, neither heat nor air conditioning is required because of the comfortable weather.  However, few gringos live in this rapidly growing city.  

To get minute-by-minute details of weather activity, click on this Yahoo link.

Another nice site is www.wunderground.com, which gives five-day forecasts for many cities in Ecuador, as well as some background weather information. 

We hear often in Ecuador how the climate is changing.  For example, August and September are supposed to be the dry season, but for two weeks during that period of time, the rains came back almost every day.  A taxi driver said it best, “el clima esta loco!”

Global warming may be the culprit and we all contribute to it by our use of carbon fuels.  Does reading information on Ecuador make you want to be a more responsible global citizen? Check out this website, www.climatecare.org, for a really innovative way you can be a part of the solution through carbon offsetting.

Offsetting means paying someone to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere on your behalf.  In that way we can pay for the damage we are causing and the money helps to fund transition to a lower-carbon world.

After you get the Ecuador weather your next stop will be to check the Ecuador news.  It is a good idea to plan to spend a few minutes every day for at least two or three weeks before your trip reading some of the current information on Ecuador.  Google News Ecuador is a good place to start, to find an overview of what's happening in the country.

This link gives you daily headlines of the events shaping Ecuador's political, economic, and human landscape. 

To the left is a photo of Ecuador's president Rafael Correa on his visit to Cotacachi, taken by Gary.

You will be amazed how much richer your experience of traveling to Ecuador will be if you equip yourself with some basic information before
you travel.

The U.S. State Department provides another excellent site paid for by the U.S. Government.  It is more oriented towards travel information.  We suggest that anyone planning a trip to Ecuador, or most any country in the world, review this site before traveling.  It provides a very current and very good perspective of what is happening in Ecuador and what you need to know about traveling here.  One word of caution, this site is somewhat oriented towards the overly cautious, perhaps even fearful, so don't take everything they say as the gospel truth.  

Click here to visit the U.S. State Department information on Ecuador webpage.

For specific travel safety information in preparation for your trip to Ecuador, click here to visit the Pro-Ecuador Travel Safety Web page.
 

One of the very best Ecuadorian business information websites is created by the private non-profit Corporation of Export and Investment Promotion - CORPEI created on June 9, 1997, through the Law of Foreign Trade and Investment.  CORPEI provides its own patrimony and funds, and is recognized by the State as the Official Entity for the Promotion of Exports and Investment in Ecuador.

CORPEI has the following Service Units: 
- Investment Promotion
- Export Promotion
- Foreign Commercial Network
- Trade Information

Mission of CORPEI

The stated mission of CORPEI is to promote exports and investments in the productive sectors through the provision of quality technical services, contributing to the enhanced image and the competitive development of the country.

This is an excellent website and is highly recommended for anyone interested in investing in Ecuador.  www.EcuadorInvest.org

Click here to download a good article about the Ecuador law regarding Foreign Trade and Investment.

Another good site is Ecuadorexports.com.  Their stated intention is to be the world's top resource for Ecuador business, economy, trade, products and services; by the looks of it they are well on their way.

At this site you can put in a request for a quotation and find a supplier of virtually anything Ecuador exports.  You can also get information about how to start a business in Ecuador, including a good review of the various types of corporate entities that can be formed.  This is a must view site if you want to do business in Ecuador.

If you're new to importing Ecuadorian products, check out their guides, such as how to import from Ecuador, or the service sections to find service providers in Ecuador.

Click here for a detailed review of the step by step process of buying goods for export, financing (the Ecuadorian Government may finance up to $5,000,000), documents, shipping, duties, customs, etc.  

Additional Information on Ecuador:

Ecuador Facts
http://www.thebestofecuador.com

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