How to get to ecuador cheaply??? so expensive compare to costa rica

Hi,

We recently flew from here in Jacksonville, FL to ECU.
Flew American Airlines to Miami, then from there to Quito, ECU..a four hour flight.  one hour to MIA.  LAN/ECUADOR to UIO.
Great flight..Boeing 767..leather seats, friendly flight attendants and a full course meal.

Our cost total?  $745 p/p.  Check with Expedia or Priceline. Also, Kayak or Orbitz might do. Ecuador has three great airlines. And now going out of Quito to Cuenca is "CuencaAirlines.  New.  From MIA to ECU there is Aerogal, Tame and Lan.

Try checking flights after midnight or around 2-3am..as the airlines are trying to fill their seats and the prices are lower. Take this from a former American Airlines Flight Attendant who knows how they schedule flights.

Good luck.  Cuenca is beautiful, charming, friendly and inexpensive. We found a 4 bedroom, 4 bath apt overlooking the city for $450/month.  Even in Boise, you can't get that inexpensive. lol

Carole Walter in Jacksonville, FL

We are moving there the last of October.  Selling everything here..even the car. Taxi rides are only $1.50 most anywhere.

This is really good advise about the flights. I find traveling with a husband in tow (who doesn't travel much) requires a lot more thought!.. We are anxious for our first visit to Cuenca.

rakututu wrote:

why so expensive to get to ecuador 1250 vs costa rica - 718?

i've been tracking this pheno for months now.. why so expensive?
does anyone know a cheap way to get to ecuador?  i want to go to banos or cotachi with my cat.
like others have stated costa rica and panama are overdone and i am ready to immerse in spanish and dig on their crazy hats!!
so please!!!  how to get to ecuador affordably?

Air fares are always unpredictable. I suggest to price out boise-Miami. Then Miami to Quito, see if that works. Btw, prices are generally higher from June-Sept to Ecuador. Low season is Feb/May and Oct/Nov. Prices vary from country, it's not dependent on distance, it's more about routes and availability.

I used to get 400 fares from NY to Buenos Aires. Also, check for flights on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Your best bet, since you are in a location where flights are just more expensive, period, is to get to a hub, and fly from there.

Barring that, I'd recommend that you find the cheapest fare from Boise to wherever the cheapest international flight is located, and book fares separately. There's no guarantee that your flight will leave on time, or even at all, though. So I also recommend, since the cost of airfare is critical to you, and it appears that you can't afford a re-booking charge if you miss your flight to Quito, that you plan for a night in the city where you'll be taking the international flight (a hostel?) and give yourself a safety net of time.

Does that all make sense? So, for example, either get to Seattle or Portland, and then fly from there to, say, LAX, and find the cheapest flight to Quito. The cheapest combination of flights may be from Miami, who knows?

The hubs to look for our flights to ecuador from either New York/New Jersey (either Kennedy or Newark) or from Miami.

I also think LAN is the best airline to book -- best flight and they were wonderful with my dog when I brought him down June of 08. 

Also agree to look at fares on Tuesday and Wednesday for both directions and the fares go up for Christmas & new years as well as a week before Ash Wednesday (February or March) for Carnaval until after Easter (March or April).

I tried to look at lan airways but could find no ENGLISH?

When you open the site LAN.com scroll down to United States (English) to open in English.

that web page is disabled

Go to LANECUADOR.COM.  Or you can go to google.com and type in Cheap fares to Cuenca or wherever you are going.  Actually, we went thru CheapoAir.com and got tickets reasonably priced. From Jacksonville, FL to Miami on American, then after a 4 hour wait, we took LAN/Ecuador to Quito..stayed overnight and took the flight to Cuenca, still on LAN. Price:  Cheaper than flying to California from here.  $745. R/T.  And on Lan out of Miami, you can get free wine or Champagne..and a full course dinner.
You might also check Expedia or Kayak.com. AND, a bit of advice. I am a former Flight Attendant and I know how planes schedule their flights.  If you go onto a site as mentioned above, do it around midnight, or even better yet, try getting a flight at two or three AM. The airlines are wanting to sell their seats and will give you a cheaper price.  Priceline is good; or even going into the airline site itself is a sure bet. But remember, do it after the clock strikes 12 midnight!

I just checked with COPA Airlines and they are offering flights to Quito and then to Cuenca for $780/RT.  Not too bad.  I paid $680 from here to Los Angeles in February. And got changed twice to another airline.  Fun, Fun, Fun.
Carole in JAX

I just want to thank everyone for the great information.  I've also been looking at ticket prices and getting sticker shock.  It's really great of you all to respond with such detailed information.  Thank you !!

is ther a cheap way to get to Ecuador from costa rica? the airplane fares seem very expensive to me.

As others have noted, the problem may be that you are flying from Boise. (No offense -- I used to visit there often on business and I loved it).

I have two US home bases -- Phoenix and Chicago. There is a substantial price difference in flights from the two cities to Ecuador -- usually about $300 roundtrip more from Phoenix. I would imagine Boise would be worse.

Airfare prices, like anything else, are driven in large part by competition. Chicago has more airlines (including Avianca, which I used and liked) flying to Ecuador than Phoenix does, which probably accounts for the price differential.

What would it cost you to get to Denver or Salt Lake?

The easy way to get to Ecuador is by plane. Then you have the option to travel to Panama, find a ferry to cross to Colombia and then by bus get to Ecuador.

I think it will take like 3 days to get to Quito.

Vinny

vinny66 wrote:

The easy way to get to Ecuador is by plane. Then you have the option to travel to Panama, find a ferry to cross to Colombia and then by bus get to Ecuador.

I think it will take like 3 days to get to Quito.

Vinny

Is there a ferry from Panama to Colombia or are you just kidding about the three day trip?

1st leave Boise! Just not the center for any flight options. 2nd get to Chicago or NYC where the flight selections are far greater and competitive.
3rd thing to remember is while you're paying more to get to Ecuador consider the cost of living differences between CR & Ecuador roughly 50-75% more to live there.
So, while you're paying more up front to get here, you'll recoup that transit money in 3-6 months with living costs where they are.

I've been laying out a similar trip, and international flights straight into Ecuador are high from everywhere. So don't fly straight into Ecuador. Fly from Panama City to Medellin on VivaColombia for $97US. You can TicaBus to Panama City for about $70 from San Jose on what I see to remember was a 26-hour trip, or you can fly. Once in Medellin, you can fly into Ecuador, which will still be expensive, or fly to Pasto, which is closer to the border, and bus across the line. Or you can take the first-class bus all the way from Medellin. Cheapest fast way would be San Jose-Panama City-Medellin-Pasto all on planes, then bus across the border into Ecuador. How much you value bus travel over air travel, or vice versa, will weigh heavily in your choice among the options. And yeah, there are ferries, at least a few of which are never heard from again. But this kind of trip just begs for you to read up on the art of structuring your air travel schedule to take full advantage of open-jaw reservations and subsequent free one-way tickets.

novato1953 wrote:

I've been laying out a similar trip, and international flights straight into Ecuador are high from everywhere. So don't fly straight into Ecuador. Fly from Panama City to Medellin on VivaColombia for $97US. You can TicaBus to Panama City for about $70 from San Jose on what I see to remember was a 26-hour trip, or you can fly. Once in Medellin, you can fly into Ecuador, which will still be expensive, or fly to Pasto, which is closer to the border, and bus across the line. Or you can take the first-class bus all the way from Medellin. Cheapest fast way would be San Jose-Panama City-Medellin-Pasto all on planes, then bus across the border into Ecuador. How much you value bus travel over air travel, or vice versa, will weigh heavily in your choice among the options. And yeah, there are ferries, at least a few of which are never heard from again. But this kind of trip just begs for you to read up on the art of structuring your air travel schedule to take full advantage of open-jaw reservations and subsequent free one-way tickets.

Well, as novato1953 wrote, I hear about this ferries like two years ago but no clue if still works.

I'm considering 2-3 day trip by road inclding one flight from Panama to Bogota.

Vinny

So I guess the ferry is not such a great option.  If you can fly into Pasto you must be able to fly into EC from there. Expensive ? Have any idea how long a bus ride might be to say Quito or Cuenca from Pasto?

A bus from Quito to Cuenca is like 8 hours if you travel at night, no stops. If you travel by day it will be like 10 hours.
From the border to Quito could be the same time but I don't know for sure.

Vinny

Airfare between Ecuador and the U.S. is possible for $434 round-trip, according to EC entrepreneur/real-estate blogger/hotelier Dom Buonamici.

In a mass emailing to his www.ecuadorrealestate.org subscribers, Dom has put together a Quito - Bogotá, Colombia - Miami itinerary using two airlines.

The Quito - Bogotá R-T legs with VivaColombia airlines total $185, and the Bogotá - Miami portions with Spirit Air total $249.

Dom priced the travel starting in Quito, but he apparently believes the same low pricing is possible starting in Miami.

Check rates and availability at www.cheapoair.com ... The IATA airport codes are UIO, BOG and MIA.

cccmedia in Quito

This post is old, but still - I have the same problems as others have written about earlier. I've bought a flight ticket from Norway to Costa Rica for 443 USD. It takes 16 hours. Now I'm looking for a flight from CR to Ecuador in february, but it seems like the price is 500-600 USD if you want to travel less than 20 hours... Now I probably end up with a just as expensive ticket and a similar flight time.

Flying out of San José?

Flying into Quito or Guayaquil?

One way or round trip?

  --  cccmedia in Quito

From San Jose to Quito, one way! I've also read about taking a bus from CR to Panama, but I think I prefer paying a bit more over a 16 hour bus ride.

Checking www.cheapoair.com for February 7th, the lowest o/w fare I see is for an early-morning departure for $479, including taxes.

Looking at many flight plans, it's evident that all the routes involve three flights, for instance, Leg 1 to El Salvador, Leg 2 to Bogotá, Leg 3 to Quito (UIO).

That 16-hour bus ride seems awful, especially since it only gets you to Panama, not Ecuador.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you for your help! That is similar to the prices I have found, and it also seems like I have to accept the fact that I'll have to visit a country or two(at least the airports) for a couple of hours. Just sucks because the two countries are close. Funny that I'll pay more to get from Costa Rica to Ecuador than from Norway to Costa Rica. And yes, I will definitely skip the bus ride.

I always use https://www.google.com/flights/ to compare flights and I have to admit it's tough to beat.

Found tickets under $600 for Toronto/Guayaquil last week for a friend.

Of course, it varies if you are flying from a big airport or not.  Boise might be the issue here.  Try to find the cheapest way to reach a bigger airport and compare price from there and see if it makes sense or not.

If you can get to an airport served by Sun Country, you might see some savings. I just looked up flights for Feb 29, 2015, and by using Sun Country from Minneapolis (MSP), through Miami & Quito, I can fly MSP to Cuenca for $363 (Total flight time 23 hrs). That is half what it would cost for January, 2016. With Jet Blue starting service in late February from Fort Lauderdale to Quito for $136, there may be a little price-war action coming up.

You have to watch Sun Country routes, though. Some of their flights passing through New York have extremely long layovers. Also they do not have baggage handling arrangements with LAN or TAME in New York, so you have to claim your luggage and check it, then go through security again...not to worry, you'll have plenty of time in NY.