Tipping in Ecuador

At better restaurants, a 10% service charge is often added to the bill, alongside the sales tax. That stands in for a tip, so you do not need to add more. Check the bill so you know whether it is there.

At casual eateries, set-menu almuerzo spots and markets, there is usually no service charge and no tip is expected.

A convenient quirk for US visitors: Ecuador uses the US dollar as its official currency (it adopted the dollar in 2000). So any tip is simply in dollars, with no exchange rate or conversion to work out.

For genuinely good service where no service charge applied, leaving a little extra, rounding up or roughly 10%, is a welcome gesture. Keep small bills and coins, which are handy for tips.

For taxis, rounding up is a courtesy but not a rule; agree the fare or use the meter first. Hotel porters, a dollar or two a bag is a kind gesture. Leave any extra in cash, in dollars. For the wider picture, see cash or card in Ecuador and the Ecuador money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Ecuador

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do US citizens need a visa for Ecuador?Short answer: no visa for a normal visit, and entry is easy. The costs that catch people are not at the border but on the way to the Galapagos. Here is what you need, and what to budget.
• Do I need cash in Ecuador, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards cover the cities, but you will want dollars in hand for the everyday and rural side, and cash is essential in the Galapagos. Here is how to pay, and how to carry money safely.
• Taxis and ride apps in Ecuador, done safelyGetting around Ecuador is cheap, but hailing a taxi off the street carries a real safety risk in the big cities. Here is which apps to use, how to handle the airport, and the habits that keep it simple.
• Common money scams in Ecuador, and what they cost youEcuador packs an extraordinary amount into a small country and most visits pass without any of this. But we are not going to tell you a few habits defuse it, because the main way money leaves a foreign visitor here is not an overcharge. It is a taxi you flagged down in the street, or a drink you did not watch being poured. That changes the advice: it is about not entering the situation, and about carrying less so there is less to take. Note that this page covers money; the US State Department has Ecuador at a raised advisory level with a kidnapping indicator, and parts of the country carry separate warnings, so read the full advisory before you plan a route.
• Staying connected in Ecuador.Mainland Ecuador is straightforward: decent coverage in the corridor where everyone travels, gaps in the Amazon. The part that catches people is the Galapagos, which for your phone is somewhere else entirely.
• What does getting sick in Ecuador cost a visitor?Ecuador's medical map is honest about itself: capable private hospitals in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, and thin coverage exactly where its most famous trips happen. On the islands and in the Oriente, the serious case flies to the mainland, and that flight is the bill that matters.