The short answer: Yes. Ecuador is safe.
The long answer: Continue reading.
South America. A place where they love football and crime. During the day they kick around balls on fields made of gravel, and at night the knives come out and you’ll be robbed of all personal belongings, if not kidnapped. Right?
Haha no, not really. They do love football and you’ll see kids playing it on all surfaces, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know anyone who had belongings stolen in South America, including myself, but it isn’t the way I joked about in the previous paragraph. And this certainly isn’t Ecuador.
During my 2 months in Ecuador where I travelled the North, South, and West using public buses and taxis I only ever felt somewhat in danger in one place, the largest city, Guayaquil.
Stay safe while on the road. Follow my 21 basic travel safety guidelines.
I’ll explain this in a second but throughout the rest of the country the thought of being in any physical danger or in a place where I might get robbed never even crossed my mind. During my time there, I didn’t meet anyone who has a “getting robbed in Ecuador” story. I can’t say the same for Colombia, Peru, or Brazil.
I’m Canadian. The Canadian Government gives travel advice for every country. I stopped trusting their travel advisories a few years ago but I like to check in from time to time to see what monsters they’ve made out of the people that I’m meeting.
If you look at Canada’s advisory for Ecuador, as of now in January 2022 they say to ‘Exercise a high degree of caution in Ecuador due to high levels of crime.’ I couldn’t disagree with the latter part of that sentence more.
If you read the Safety and Security tab of that webpage you would probably be under the impression that there are criminals lurking around every corner. And you certainly wouldn’t be rushing to visit the country.
Obviously, anything can happen anywhere and it’s always important to exercise caution, but there’s an element of risk no matter where you are – Ecuador is no different.
I found Ecuadorians, particularly those living in the central mountainous region, to be some of the most tranquil people that I’ve ever met. From Quito and Otavalo in the North through to Cuenca, Loja, and Vilcabamba in the South, life in the Ecuadorian Andes is generally quiet and peaceful. There is a strong indigenous culture in the Andes mountains that radiates calmness and tranquility.
Plan your full Ecuador travel itinerary.
The one place where I could sense insecurity in the air was Guayaquil. Admittedly, this was fed more by words I’d heard about the city than my actual experiences. In Ecuador, you can’t mention Guayaquil without someone talking about how dangerous it is.
I never saw anything dangerous in Guayaquil, but I was warned many a time to not go out at night. The city has also had some gruesome prison riots recently.
One day while I was walking through the downtown area in the middle of the day, a taxi driver pulled up alongside me. I assumed he just wanted to give me a ride somewhere and brushed him off. He continued along talking/yelling at me so I lent him my ear. He basically told me that the area I was walking in was dangerous and that I should be careful.
That was the middle of the day in the centre of the city!
I thanked him and, though I was already being vigilant due to the notoriety of Guayaquil, heightened my awareness of my surroundings.
Nothing really screamed danger about what I saw in Guayaquil but sometimes you just have to heed the advice of people that know places better than you do. I stayed two nights in Guayaquil and then was on my way.
I know with certainty that there are some nice areas of the city that are safe and fun to visit. I just don’t know where they are. If I’m ever back there I’d love to experience these parts of the city. If you have some advice for me, please let me know!
Aside from this city, Ecuador felt completely safe.
Top 10 Ecuador Foods that you have to try!
Where is Ecuador Unsafe?
The Government of Canada’s advisories warn against travel along the northern border with Colombia and in the provinces of Esmeraldas (northwest) and Sucumbíos (northwest). They also mention minefields near the southeastern border with Peru.
The minefields, well just now is the first I’m hearing about those so I can’t really comment on it other than that it isn’t a serious consideration in Ecuador. Nobody mentioned anything to me about it, whereas safety in Guayaquil I heard quite a lot about. Somewhat ironically, you don’t see anything about Guayaquil in the government advisory.
I’ve read about potential unrest in the northern border region but nothing from Ecuadorians or people that travelled there. I know people who crossed that land border and I never heard tell of any potential dangers.
So that’s pretty well it.
Oh, Quito. Any big city is going to have some opportunistic people. Quito is no different. I never felt unsafe in Quito and would walk around at night quite often. Other travellers I met felt that the city was unsafe but that was just a feeling they had, no concrete examples or reasons for that. I thought Quito was safe and quiet for a city of its size.
General rule of thumb in any big city: wear your bags on the front of your body where you can see it.
But I’ll let you be the judge. Go enjoy Ecuador. It’s a beautiful, tranquil country that does not deserve the unsafe label that my government has given them.
As they say, the most dangerous thing in Ecuador is the sun. It’s powerful at altitude and at the equator. It got the best of me on a hike in Otavalo. It had me down and out for a few days. Protect yourself from the sun and enjoy exploring this beautiful country.
Safe travels!
Leave a reply