Montañita

Tía — budget everywhere

Supermaxi — full-range, reliable

Mi Comisariato — mid-range

Mercado — cheapest produce

Best: Jun – Dec (whales Jun – Sep) · Wet: Jan – Apr

Fees: ATMs charge ~$4–5; Banco Pichincha and Banco Guayaquil are the widest networks.

Limits: Often capped around $300–500 per pull.

Best machines: Banco PichinchaBanco GuayaquilProdubanco

Vaccines: Routine, Hepatitis A, Typhoid. Yellow-fever shot for Amazon regions (not coastal Montañita). Malaria pills only for jungle lowlands.

Health: Bottled/purified water. Coastal Montañita is hot and sunny — hydrate, sunscreen, and respect the surf. Altitude matters if you combine with Quito (2,850m). Guayaquil has the nearest good hospitals to the coast.

Tap water: ❌ Don't drink the tap. Purified water is cheap and everywhere.

Safety: Ecuador has seen rising crime in some cities (notably Guayaquil), so check current advisories. Montañita itself is a small, laid-back surf-party town — the usual beach-town sense covers it: watch valuables, don't walk the beach alone very late, moderate the party. Use registered taxis or Uber/inDrive.

For most short tourist trips, citizens of the US, UK, EU/Schengen, Canada, Australia and New Zealand either enter visa-free or get a simple online authorisation (an eVisa or eTA) before flying. Typical visa-free stays run 30–90 days. Some countries want a visa arranged in advance, and a growing number ask you to fill an online arrival or eVisa form even when 'visa-free' — so always check the official portal for your exact nationality before you book.