Are there no boat to travel from Miami to Ecuador instead of Flying?

A boat to Ecuador is not so easy...but you can go to Ecuador BY LAND if you want....starting in Mexico, working your way down to Panama by bus ...then in Panama catch a sail boat for around $250usd for a 3 day trip to Cartagena Colombia...from there you can easily drop down into Ecuador by bus...  whole trip, minimum 2 weeks... 

hope that helps, Domenick
ecuadorrealestate.org

Air travel is the cheapest way to cross the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia on your way to South America from north. You can fly from Miami to Quito for less than $400, you'll never beat that pricewise.
If you feel adventurous, I have a safe and confirmed route from Panama to Quito by land/boat, if anybody is interested (I'm not operating the route).

I did the research thanks for your responses.  Looks like we'll fly after all.  Can anyone suggest a great airlines.  I did see where we could fly one way the two of us for 355usd before taxes.

Also I'm going to search through the posts here to find out if we don't want to pay $50 per each extra suitcase how we would ship them over.

Thanks for your posts!
Monica

Check the website for LAN airline.  lan.com  They sometimes have specials from Miami.  Remember that you need a round trip ticket in order to enter Ecuador (or even get on the plane for that matter).  Baggage rules are listed, which vary by class. Two checked bags plus carry-on and laptop for free.

I just arrived in Ecuador on Friday and customs did not require a return trip ticket. They are mainly concerned that you have a pasport and that you abide by the 90 day rule unless you plan on trying to stay longer and even that is not difficult to do. Customs in the three countries I have visited asked the same thing and to state your purpose for the visit.

Well we plan on staying so what is the response going to be to customs or TSA?  I have a special circumstance because I'm not a citizen of US I'm a mexican citizen.  So I'm going to ask the consulates office what I need to do to get a year visa before going because I heard that it takes longer to process once we get there.  So what are the different airlines you suggest.  Someone here suggested IAN so far.  I heard on Ecuador Central that there was an airline that let them bring three bags each plus two carry ons without additional costs.  I have a cat too we will be bringing and will carry him on.  I'm flying out of Miami so far unless we are in a different state by the time we fly out.  Thanks everyone for all your help!

Anything but not AA. They'll probably charge you for taking your wallet with you.

Not that I know of, but you could try hitching on sail boats through the caribbean from Miami to Venezuela...then by bus from there...I have heard of this being done but not sure cause I havent done it myself...

I have flown American Air extensively and have found them to be quite efficient, friendly and prompt. International flights have no baggage fees for the first 2 at 50 pounds and you are allowed one carry on and a personal item. My understanding is you can take up to 5 bags, but have to pay fees. On this last trip (November), I called them as I wanted to take a new television as a gift to someone and asked about fees etc. The told me and then told me that I could not take any type of boxed items to Ecuador (arriving into Quito) at this time of the year. I thought that great info as I would have showed up at the airport only to have my boxed new TV not allowed, then what would I have done....so I have found them to be quite helpful. Just my .02 cents, hope you don't want change....;-)

Larry

Does anyone know how to get around the "return ticket" problem. I would like to travel to Ecuador, stay a while then go to Peru, and then to several other South American countries maybe over a year's total time before returning to the United States.
   The way I understand it is that you cannot purchase an air lines ticket and have the return portion dated longer than 90 days from the original flight. Do I just throw away the return ticket and purchase a new one from my final destination.
   I guess this would not work either because if the return ticket was only for 90 days it would be invalid when I tried to enter countries after a 90 day period.
   If anyone has traveled through multiple countries for an extended period of time, and has knowledge of this. I would appreciate any advice they can offer.

Thank you Ralph

You can travel South America by bus, there are some russian people who do it on regular basis. Buses (according to them) are safe(no assalt reported), reliable(strict schedule), comfortable(good seats and toilet on board) and on some of them have food served.
There are buses from Ecuador to Lima, from Lima to Santago, from Santago to the coast and to Argentina and Uruguay.
Bonus - you dont have to pay $42 fee flying out of Ecuador.

http://el-petrolero.livejournal.com/60024.html
this is post about bus ride from Argentina to Uruguay
Picture of food served on the bus (dinner -breakfast)
Bus has two floors, on each floor - there is cofee machine.

I'm in the same position...I need to travel with elderly pets, and don't want to fly them. If you do find something, please share!! (I am in Florida too)

Traveling with older pets is a difficult issue.  If they are used to car travel (so noises and shifts of their crate is not traumatic); if they have healthy kidneys so they do not dehydrate; if you travel in short increments (Miami to Quito is just 4 hours of flight time -- Miami to Guayaquil 4 1/2 hours) and you travel when it is cool on the tarmac at take off; and your pets can handle updating their innoculations plus the extras they will need to come here -- it is a good call to chance it.  That being said, do have a vet on stand by when you get here -- Poochie, my boxer, got two chest colds when he got here and a tummy upset that had him off his food for a few days.  As a big dog he could handle that, a little breed might have a bigger problem so knowing you have vet care on call is good for peace of mind.  And vet care here is both as modern as the USA and much much less expensive (say $5 for an injection, maybe $10 for a visit?) One thing I would suggest -- do not sedate your pet before take off -- most dogs do much better with new experiences if they are not woozy.  The other hint is withold food after their last potty break, but do not withold water.  If you are being met at the airport have your driver/fried arrive with a bottle of drinking water -- if you arrive on your own there are lots of food places in the arrival terminal and they all see bottled drinking water.  Oh and from personal experience -- the police do NOT like doggies peeing just outside the terminal, find some grass (yeah Poochie peed right by the door when he came out -- guess he was welcoming himself to Guayaquil!)

Susan (and Poochie the intrepid traveling boxer!)

I found a one way cruise from Ft. L to Lima (with two stops in Ecuador) for $700…but it leaves too soon for me: 7 Dec. If I had at least a couple weeks to prepare, I'd have gone for it.

Hola, quería saber si encontraron información al respecto para viajes en bote entre Ecuador (Manta o Guayaquil) a Miami. Estoy investigando para viajar con mi gato, pero es persa y no los admiten en las aerolíneas, por el alto riesgo a morir en el vuelo por la forma del cráneo con narices chatas que causan problemas respiratorios en los cambios de altura. En fin, estoy buscando otras opciones para llegar a Miami desde Guayaquil con mi gato. Son dos meses que estaría allá y no puedo dejarlo así no mas. Si alguien tiene información que pueda compartir, estaría muy agradecido. Saludos.

jkingmurddoc wrote:

Hola, quería saber si encontraron información al respecto para viajes en bote entre Ecuador (Manta o Guayaquil) a Miami. Estoy investigando para viajar con mi gato, pero es persa y no los admiten en las aerolíneas, por el alto riesgo a morir en el vuelo por la forma del cráneo con narices chatas que causan problemas respiratorios en los cambios de altura. En fin, estoy buscando otras opciones para llegar a Miami desde Guayaquil con mi gato. Son dos meses que estaría allá y no puedo dejarlo así no mas. Si alguien tiene información que pueda compartir, estaría muy agradecido. Saludos.

Hi, I've been trying to search a way to get to Miami from Guayaquil (or Manta) by boat. I'm travelling with my persian cat, but this breed is not allowed in the airlines, due to risk of death. I cant leave it here, since I will stay in Mia for about two months. If you have information you can share with me, I'd appreciate it a lot! Thanks in advance. Jorge

Some cruises dock in Manta, Ecuador.

Rather than manually searching for them, it is easier to just look at this site: http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises … uador.html

Can you give us more details on how to contact the ship line?  THX!!!!

Ronwatral wrote:

Can you give us more details on how to contact the ship line?  THX!!!!

The cruise ships usually have a season from November to March, with the ships going from Florida or California to South America, then doing various cruises around South America and then coming back to the USA or elsewhere in March.  If you get off a cruise ship with all of your luggage and do not get back on the ship, you may be construed as being in Ecuador illegally, would have to go through customs, get your passport stamped.  It would appear the next cruise ship leaving the USA and stopping in Ecuador would be in October at the earliest.

Yup.. you can't just get off the cruise in Ecuador if it has more stops unless you got official approval well in advance. You must contact them well ahead of time before the cruise even starts and get approval. It's complicated and they may try to circle-jerk you so that you give up and not complicate matters for them. You just have to keep calling and talking to a billion different people until eventually they write you a letter that confirms that you can early disembark. I suggest not ever taking their word for it and making sure you get the documentation with your name on it and their logos on it saying you can get off early at your location. Some cruise-lines may not even allow it, so make sure you sort all of these b4 you book the cruise otherwise you may be forced to cruise all the way to the end destination such as Chile or where-ever else they go to.

THX! Time of year is not a problem.  Appreciate it.  Can you recommend a specific line or tell us which to avoid? What about taking tow dogs, lessthan 35 lbs with us?

By "they", do you mean the cruise line or the EC embassy?   THX!!!  What about taking two dogs with us as we plan on staying for at least a year, renting in Salinas and looking for a house to buy.?

cwatral wrote:

What about taking two dogs with us as we plan on staying for at least a year, renting in Salinas and looking for a house to buy.?

Would have to convince cruise line they are trained working dogs and you need to use them.

They= the cruiseline

Sometimes the people behind the phone are lazy and will tell you that you can't do it or just try to circle jerk you until you give up. Just keeping talking to people. I would ask them all your questions such as about pets. If it was me I would call every other day for awhlie so that you can talk to different reps and make sure that the answers are consistent across them.

THX

I have not tried it, so no guarantee, but I have heard that you can tell customs it's your intention to travel by land to Columbia, Peru, wherever, then fly to your next destination.  Don't know if that works, but I can't imagine that many backpackers don't do exactly that.  Good luck.

I got around the return ticket problem by purchasing a refundable return ticket at the last moment and then canceling the ticked the same day just after I got through immigration and customs. I didn't have to pay any fee or penalty because I canceled within 24 hours of the purchase.

I have always wondered that same question! If you find out let me know! In 2012 we took a re positioning cruise from San Francisco to Chile. From there we flew to Ecuador, however the ship did stop in Manta, but Princess cruises said we couldn't disembark there.

I would love to know the land route . I do not want to fly

countryboyauto wrote:

I would love to know the land route . I do not want to fly

Dear Country Boy,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of expat.com ....

Given the title of this thread, you apparently would like to travel from the southern United States to Ecuador by land route.

The most problematic part is getting from Central America to Colombia in South America.

If one looks at a map of the hemisphere, it appears that there must be a land route between Panama and Colombia. 

However, the extreme southeastern part of Panama is unpaved, unsafe and apparently populated by dangerous guerrillas, snakes and crocodiles.  This twilight zone is known as the Darien Gap.

No civilized Expat would attempt to cross into Colombia by land using this 'route'.

cccmedia

However, per Wikipedia, there is ferry service from somewhere near the Panama side of the Panama-Colombia border .. to a port town named Capurganá (kah-poor-gah-NAH), Colombia.  Another website, www.aswesawit.com viz. Crossing the Darien Gap: Here's How to Do It, indicates the ferry service has been discontinued .. and discusses other options for crossing.

cccmedia

I've driven from the US to Ecuador twice, as ccmedia says the issue is the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia where the Panamerica stops.

Now it IS possible to get to Colombia without flying but it isn't easy.

1) you can take a yacht for a few days sailing with a stop in the San Blas islands. Look into the boat as you could end up spending 4 days laying on deck of a tiny boat roasting alive, or get something a bit more comfortable.

2) You can go through the Darien via Turbo but it is a mish mash of buses / boats (think dug out tree trunks with a motor) And the area can be dangerous. You'd need to speak with people at each stage of the way about known activity in the area from drug cartels, guerillas, general banditry. 

Whether (2) is even an option in these Covid times I don't know, I doubt the local people will be happy for someone from the US to turn up, they will probably just not let you pass for infection fears, but in normal times it is possible but whether you should would very much depend on you. If you are likely to stand out then it becomes more dangerous as you become more of a target - this is a very much lawless area. It will also be very uncomfortable.

Other option is a quick flight from Panama City to Cartagena, flight time is about 40 minutes IIRC

cccmedia wrote:

However, per Wikipedia, there is ferry service from somewhere near the Panama side of the Panama-Colombia border .. to a port town named Capurganá (kah-poor-gah-NAH), Colombia.

I know there was a ferry briefly for maybe 6months or a year in 2013 ish, then it had issues and stopped.

Is there a new ferry, I wasn't aware but haven't looked into it at all in recent years, or perhaps is referencing the old ferry?

cccmedia wrote:

No civilized Expat would attempt to cross into Colombia by land using this 'route'.

If you are young and dumb and fancy an adventure and don't mind an arduous, uncomfortable nightmare journey in malarial jungles - go for it. Otherwise ccmedia is 100% correct

user159 wrote:

I've driven from the US to Ecuador twice, as ccmedia says the issue is the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia where the Panamerica stops.

Now it IS possible to get to Colombia without flying but it isn't easy.

159, are you saying you drove your car all the way to Ecuador (and back)?

Did you find a boat that accepted your car for the Panama to Colombia leg?

cccmedia

I had a Canadian friend who shipped her car from Toronto to Cartegena and then drove into Ecuador.    So I imagine you could travel by ship on a cargo vessel to Colombia.  There will also be cruise ships in 2021 that will depart Miami and going through the Panama Canal heading for Manta or Guyaquil but will be expensive.  What is the issue about flying?

cccmedia wrote:

user159 wrote:

I've driven from the US to Ecuador twice, as ccmedia says the issue is the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia where the Panamerica stops.

Now it IS possible to get to Colombia without flying but it isn't easy.

159, are you saying you drove your car all the way to Ecuador (and back)?

Did you find a boat that accepted your car for the Panama to Colombia leg?

cccmedia

Both trips were one way. 

Shipped vehicle both times in a container. Panama side straight forward. Colombian side, less so. Not complicated per se, but requires time and patience - lots and lots of patience

Lindaecuador wrote:

So I imagine you could travel by ship on a cargo vessel to Colombia.

Very very very unlikely this will be possible. Cargo ships do not take passengers