Ecuador: an ideal destination to get to know from north to south

Visiting Ecuador, recognized as the country with the greatest diversity per km2 in the world, constitutes for the traveler a fascinating encounter with nature, splendid landscapes and genuine customs, which has led to it accumulating several years of recognition as "Green Leader Destination" in the Famous World Travel Awards.

The proximity between its tourist attractions is one of the fundamental advantages that this country offers, since, in a matter of hours, its visitors can enjoy the pleasant warmth of the Litoral, cross mountains, snow-capped and majestic volcanoes and descend to the Amazon Rainforest, with more than 120,000 km2 of exuberant vegetation.

Due to its location and particular geographical characteristics, it has a variety of microclimates and natural attractions that reflect its four worlds: Costa, Andes, Amazon and Galapagos Islands.

For these reasons, about 1.2 million foreigners have visited that country in the first half of this year, according to the provisional figures made public through the website of the General Coordination of Statistics and Research of the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador, evidencing thus the growing charm that exerts between the tourists of the region and the world. According to the same source, our country is ranked seventh in the ranking by nationality of tourists, with 23,600 Argentines who visited Ecuador so far in 2018.

According to the Human Mobility Law, sanctioned on January 5, 2017 by the National Assembly of Ecuador, every foreigner who visits the country must "Have a public or private health insurance for the time of their stay" (Art. 53, Inc. 7). The presidential decree that regulated that norm, indicated that this measure will come into effect as of September 10, date from which all foreigners who travel to the "country of half the world" must purchase health insurance to visit the country. territory.

ASSIST CARD, the world leader in comprehensive assistance to travelers, welcomes the decision of the Ecuadorian State and the deep interest it shows in the safety of tourists visiting its territory.

"This obligation reaches any tourist traveling to Ecuador, so it is necessary to provide coverage options that adapt to all types of budgets," said Jerónimo Pou, Country Manager of ASSIST CARD Argentina. "In this sense, ASSIST CARD offers a range of products and services that adapt to any traveler, and that are not limited to medical insurance, but offer comprehensive assistance," Pou adds.

In order to promote safe travel and responsible adventure, ASSIST CARD shares some interesting facts to take into account when traveling to this incredible country:

· Vaccine against yellow fever: when we visit Ecuador, it is best to get vaccinated against some diseases such as tetanus or malaria. However, yellow fever can be a major threat to tourists, so it is mandatory that we get vaccinated before our trip. We speak of an infectious disease usually transmitted by mosquito bites that can cause hemorrhages.

· Change dollars for cash use. Ecuador is a dollarized country, so it is convenient to change our travel bag to dollars to cover our expenses without major problem. In addition, the denomination that is used frequently does not exceed US $ 100, so it is better to have bills of at US $ 10 or US $ 20, especially if we are going to make purchases in a market. Payment by debit card has an additional charge of 6%.

· Visit your destinations by bus: distances in this country are not very long and if we have some time, we can save substantially by moving by land. travel in Ecuador not only costs on average US $ 1 or US $ 2 per hour, but vehicles have a road network, usually in very good condition.

· Clothing: due to its location the country has a pleasant temperature throughout the year. However, due to its diversity of environments it is necessary to include in the luggage both warm clothing for mountainous areas and light clothing for coastal and jungle areas.