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Ecuador
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'''Ecuador''' is great for [[hitchhiking]], just be careful in some places, especially at the coast. Many pick-up trucks are there. Drivers might ask for money, but if you can explain your situation you will get away with it. Many Ecuadorians are happy to pick up a foreigner. It's not the safest country to hitchhike though.
Along the [[Panamericana ]] there are several Toll-Stations [[toll booths]] ("Peajepeaje"). Take an overland bus in direction of your destination and get out at the first toll station booth (normally $0,25cts .25 - $0,50cts.50). You have a couple of seconds to ask the other drivers until you get kicked out by the [[police]], but that's normally enough time to find a ride. If you are able to explain your situation in Spanish, you might be able to stay longer. If you want to avoid this kind of "trouble" you can as well try to stop cars along the Panamericana. Along this road normally you won't get asked for money.
[[Buses ]] in Ecuador are quite cheap (usually $1$/hhr), and will usually stop anywhere. On some roads, though, there are no buses at all, in which case hitchhiking can be a good alternative, and you will be most likely picked up quickly as well, though it is takes more difficult time to find a free ride on small roads. Very often the very first car that passes will pick you up.
== Cities ==
__TOC__
* [[Aloag]]
* [[Ambato]]
* [[Baños de Agua Santa]]
* [[Cuenca]]
* [[El Coca]]
* [[Guayaquil]]
* [[Ibarra]]
* [[Latacunga]]
* [[Manta]]
* [[Montañita]]
* [[Otavalo]]
* [[Puerto Lopez]]
* [[Puyo]]
* [[Quilotoa]]
* [[Quito]]
* [[Riobamba]]
* [[Santa Elena]]
* [[Tena]]
* [[Tulcán]]
== License plates ==
''This section contains text from the Wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Ecuador Vehicle registration plates of Ecuador]. ''
The first letter indicates the province of issue. The second letter, also called the "key letter", identifies the type of [[license plate]].
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Province
! Letter
! Province
! Letter
! Province
! Letter
|-
| [[Azuay Province, Ecuador|Azuay]]
| A
| [[Galápagos Province, Ecuador|Galápagos]]
| W
| [[Pastaza Province, Ecuador|Pastaza]]
| S
|-
|[[Bolívar Province, Ecuador|Bolívar]]
| B
|[[Guayas Province, Ecuador|Guayas]]
| G
| [[Pichincha Province|Pichincha]]
| P
|-
|[[Cañar Province, Ecuador|Cañar]]
| U
|[[Imbabura Province, Ecuador|Imbabura]]
| I
|[[Orellana Province|Orellana]]
| Q
|-
|[[Carchi Province, Ecuador|Carchi]]
| C
|[[Loja Province, Ecuador|Loja]]
| L
|[[Sucumbíos Province|Sucumbíos]]
| K
|-
|[[Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador|Cotopaxi]]
| X
|[[Los Ríos Province, Ecuador|Los Ríos]]
| R
| [[Tungurahua Province|Tungurahua]]
| T
|-
|[[Chimborazo Province, Ecuador|Chimborazo]]
| H
| [[Manabí Province|Manabí]]
| M
| [[Zamora-Chinchipe Province|Zamora-Chinchipe]]
| Z
|-
| [[El Oro Province|El Oro]]
| O
| [[Morona-Santiago Province|Morona Santiago]]
| V
| [[Santa Elena Province|Santa Elena]]
| Y
|-
|[[Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador|Esmeraldas]]
| E
| [[Napo Province|Napo]]
| N
| [[Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province|Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas]]
| J
|}
The background color of the license plate varies according the key letter and identifies the type of service of the vehicle.
*If the key letter is A, Z or Q, the background color is orange and the vehicle is a [[bus]] or a [[taxi]].
*If the key letter is E, the background color is gold and the vehicle is property of the government.
*If the key letter is M, the background color is light green and the vehicle is property of a municipality.
*If the key letter is W, the background color is white-silver and the vehicle is property of the [[police]].
The rest of letters are for private, or ''particular'', vehicles. Their background color is white-silver.
== Personal Experiences ==
:''Easily the easiest country to hitch. Spent about a month hitchin around. I recommend the walk from the highway to Misahualli to see the monkeys in the square and to camp along the banks of the jungly river fork.'' -[[User:Chael777|Chael777]]
:''I never had to wait more then half and hour, at any place in Ecuador. Hitchhiking through the coast is probably the easiest. Hitchhiking around the Andes is the best. I recommend visiting cities like Loja and Cuenca.'' - [[User:fyrexia|fyrexia]]
:''Loved Ecuador, I hitchhiked from the Colombia border to Quito, over to Pernables, down to Montanita, over to Guayaquil and onwards to Peru. Never waited long, could easily sleep in the country in my hammock and got given money for lunch once, bought lunch once and given a place to stay twice. The coast is a little trickier but very doable, just aim for the pickup trucks, some might ask for money (one did) but just say you have none and it's all cool. The water in Quito is drinkable too and there is a lively couchsurfing scene, just be careful because its not as cheap as Peru or Colombia. Managed to hitchhike urban buses twice, I recommend always walking with your bag on your bag and turning around when a car approaches, especially on the coast, this type of hitchhiking works better than petrol stations and signs because Ecuadorian will pity you fast and want to help out'' - [[User:HoboSpirit|HoboSpirit]]
== Border Crossings ==
Ecuador only borders two countries: [[Peru]] to the South and East and [[Colombia]] to the North and East. In the Amazon region of Ecuador, there's some border crossings by river boat that aren't really good for hitchhiking, but might provide a great challenge.
Ecuador has one of the most chill visa policies in the world, therefore many people with "difficult" passports can also come and enjoy the country for 90 days.
=== [[Peru]] ===
All border crossings are ordered roughly from West to East. Ecuador and Perú had a border dispute as recent as 1999, so perhaps be sensitive on the issue. This is not a comprehensive list of border crossings, as there are many more, but most of these will have immigration offices to process international visitors.
'''Huaquillas to Aguas Verdes''' is probably a local border crossing between the two countries, not suitable for foreign passports. The border is the bridge over the Zarumilla river. The location of immigration offices is unknown. Please add information if you've hitched this. Perhaps take the next border crossing instead:
'''Puente Internacional Zarumilla''' is a major border crossing between roughly Ciudad Astral in Ecuador and Zarumilla in Perú. The location of the Ecuadorian customs and immigration is about 2 km from the actual border. The location of the border control on the Peruvian side is unknown. Please add info if you've hitched this!
== Gallery ==
Image:Ecuador Katja and Augustas.jpg|Free ride in the back of a a pick-up - very usual for this country.
Image:Hitchinecuador.jpg|[[User:Themodernnomad|themodernnomad]] hitchhiking in the rain in the jungle near Macaus, trusty tarp in hand
File:Eric pics 131.jpg|[[User:Eripson|Eripson]] (right) with friend Gaston hitching from Baños to Quito.
</gallery>
[[wikipedia:Ecuador]]
[[Category:Ecuador|*]]
[[Category:South America]]
[[es:Ecuador]]