Money in Ecuador

Ecuador uses the United States dollar, and has done since 2000. There is no exchange rate to check and no conversion to do in your head. For a traveler from the United States this is unusual enough to be worth saying twice: the notes in your wallet at home are the notes you will spend.

What that does and does not mean

It means no currency exchange, no rate anxiety and no arithmetic. It does not mean prices match anything at home. Ecuador is inexpensive by North American standards in most of the country and markedly less so in the Galapagos, where almost everything arrives by boat or plane.

It also means the coins are a mix. United States coins circulate alongside Ecuadorian centavo coins of the same sizes and values. Both are legal and both are used interchangeably.

⚠ Small notes are the real currency

The practical problem in Ecuador is not money, it is change. Taxi drivers, market stalls, buses and small restaurants will often be unable to break a fifty and frequently not a twenty. Withdraw in amounts that produce small notes, break large ones at supermarkets, hotels and pharmacies while you can, and keep a working float of ones and fives.

Worn, torn or heavily marked United States notes are sometimes refused, which visitors find surprising. Check what a machine gives you before you walk away from it.

Cards, machines and what to expect

• Cards are accepted in hotels, larger restaurants and established tour operators in the cities, Cuenca, and the main Galapagos towns. Assume cash everywhere else.
• Markets are cash. The artisan market at Otavalo, the food markets, the bus fares and most guides and drivers are all cash.
• Use machines inside a bank, a shopping center or a hotel lobby during the day rather than one on the street at night. The travel safety guide explains why.
• Tell your bank you are traveling. A card frozen on a Friday in a cash economy is a long weekend.

Tipping

Better restaurants add a service charge to the bill, and a small amount on top of that is normal rather than expected. Elsewhere, rounding up is usual. Guides and drivers, particularly on a multi-day trip or in the Galapagos, are customarily tipped, and your operator will tell you what is normal for the trip you have booked. Taxi fares are agreed rather than metered in much of the country, so settle the number before you set off and there is nothing to add at the end.

Bargaining

At the artisan markets bargaining is expected and is conducted pleasantly. It is not expected in shops, restaurants or anywhere with a price on the item. A good rule is that if the seller made the thing, a conversation about the price is part of the transaction; if they did not, it is not.

For the cost of the things themselves, see the food guide and the transport guide.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Ecuador travel advice: the standing warning that the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of Ecuador, the Coastal Region province list, the twenty kilometer strip along the Colombian border, and the state of emergency declared on 15 September 2026 for sixty days in eight provinces including Pichincha. Accessed 17 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Ecuador entry requirements: the criminal record certificate required to enter by land or river from Peru or Colombia, legalized with the Hague Apostille and translated into Spanish, the SIMIEC check offered in its place, the statement that there are no restrictions in place for anyone flying into Ecuador, a passport valid at least six months beyond arrival, and ninety days without a visa in any twelve month period. Accessed 17 September 2026.