Colombia or Ecuador?
The practical differences, drawn from our own write-ups rather than from a brochure. We are not going to tell you which is better - they are different trips. What follows is what actually changes between them.
Places written up here 283 104
UNESCO listings among them 15 16
Cost level Budget Budget
Busiest month in our write-ups January August
Currency Colombian peso (COP) US dollar (USD)
Plugs and voltage A, B - 110 V A, B - 120 V
Everyday languages Spanish Spanish
Driving side right hand side right hand side
Region South America South America
Capital Bogotá Quito
Colombia
Effusive courtesy and dance in the bloodstream; regions differ like countries.
What we have written up
- Acandi turtle beaches
- Aguadas heritage town
- Ajiaco Santafereno soup
- Alto de Letras mountain climb
- Alto de Menegua monument
- Amacayacu National Park national park
All 283 places in Colombia →
Worth knowing before you go
- Tipping: a voluntary 10% servicio is asked at the bill - saying yes is normal
- Cards spread fast; cash still rules markets
- Domestic flights are cheap and often beat mountain buses
Ecuador
Four worlds in one small country - Andes, Amazon, coast and Galapagos - on US dollars.
What we have written up
- Agua Blanca archaeological site
- Alausi and the Devil's Nose railway
- Antisana Ecological Reserve national park
- Atacames beach
- Ayangue beach
- Bahia de Caraquez coastal town
Worth knowing before you go
- The US dollar is the currency
- Tipping 10% in better restaurants; small change elsewhere
- Buses are cheap and go everywhere, slowly
Counts describe this site, not the countries: "places written up here" means how many pages we have finished, and it keeps growing. Currency, plugs and languages are practical facts and change rarely; check anything visa-related with the relevant official source before you book.