🛫 The Single Terminal — Compact & Efficient

Airlines: LATAM Ecuador (the dominant carrier and oneworld partner), Avianca Ecuador, JetSmart, Sky Airline, Aeroméxico, Copa, American, Delta, JetBlue, Iberia, KLM (seasonal), plus Spirit’s former routes now operated by JetBlue, Avianca and Volaris El Salvador.

Layout: Single concourse with 8 contact gates plus 4 remote stands for short-haul regional ops. Walk time check-in to furthest gate: 5–8 minutes. International and domestic share the same security checkpoint; segregation happens only at the gate level. Pre-Galápagos passengers go through the special INGALA Transit Control Card check at a dedicated counter before boarding.

🌏 Galápagos Connections — The Special Workflow

Going to Galápagos involves an extra layer. Before boarding, you must: (1) buy and check your INGALA Transit Control Card at the dedicated counter (~US$20, cash only or card); (2) pass through Galápagos-specific biosecurity luggage screening (no fresh fruit, plant matter, raw meat allowed onto the islands); (3) present your card and stamped passport at the gate. Most travellers connect via GYE because GYE-Galápagos is shorter (~1.5 hours) than UIO-Galápagos (~2.5 hours), and GYE flights are typically cheaper.

Park fee: Pay on arrival at Galápagos airport (Baltra GPS or San Cristóbal SCY). US$200 cash for adult foreign tourists as of mid-2024 (doubled from US$100); US$100 for those under 12. Andean Community nationals (CO/PE/BO) pay US$100. Cash only on arrival; no card on the islands. Bring exact change in small bills.

90-Day Visa-Free Stamp · Extendable

EU/UK/US/CA/AU/NZ get up to 90 days on arrival; the officer enters days granted on the stamp. Stays can be extended once for another 90 days at a Migración office for ~US$140; up to 180 days per calendar year. Mexican and Cuban passports do require a visa for Ecuador — arrange before travel. Overstaying carries fines on exit. For long-stay digital nomads, the ‘Rentista’ visa is the path.

USD Currency Since 2000 · No FX

Ecuador dollarised in 2000 after a banking crisis collapsed the Sucre. USD is the legal-tender currency; small coins (centavos de dólar, the local cent equivalents) circulate alongside US coins. No FX needed coming from the US; bring your existing dollars. Cards work in tourist Ecuador (Guayaquil tourist core, Cuenca, Quito, Otavalo); cash matters in markets, food carts, smaller restaurants in non-tourist neighbourhoods, and the entire Galápagos islands once you’re past the cards-OK hotels.

Galápagos Park Fee Doubled in 2024

As of 1 August 2024, the Galápagos National Park entrance fee doubled from US$100 to US$200 for adult foreign tourists (12+); US$100 for under-12; US$100 for Andean Community nationals (Colombia, Peru, Bolivia). Pay cash only on arrival at GPS or SCY — no card. Plus US$20 for the INGALA Transit Control Card paid at GYE/UIO before boarding. Total add-on for a Galápagos trip: US$220 minimum on top of the flight cost.

⭐ Official Airport Taxis — Cheapest of Any LATAM Capital

GYE runs licensed taxi desks immediately past Customs in the Arrivals hall. Pay at the desk, get a slip, dispatcher hands you off to the next car. The price is fixed by destination zone — no haggling, no meter surprises. Yellow cars only, all licensed by the Comisión de Tránsito. All accept card.

📱 Uber, InDriver, Cabify & DiDi — Cheaper, Fully Legal

Uber, InDriver, Cabify and DiDi all operate at GYE. Pickups happen at a Level 1 designated app zone, signposted “Aplicaciones”. Uber is fully legal in Ecuador. Apps are typically 30–50% cheaper than the official desk for the same trip; the price difference is small in absolute USD (~US$2–4) but real.

🚌 Metrovía BRT — Skip It With Luggage

Metrovía is Guayaquil’s BRT system, with a station ~400m walk from the GYE arrivals hall (Terminal Terrestre). It runs to the city for US$0.30 per ride. Skip it. No luggage racks, gets crowded at peak hours, and the 400m walk to the station with luggage is genuinely unpleasant in 32°C humidity. The US$3–5 saving over Uber is meaningless on a vacation budget. Metrovía is a great way to explore the city on day 2; it’s a poor airport-transfer choice.

✈️ Connecting to Galápagos, Quito or Cuenca

Most Galápagos-bound travellers connect through GYE. LATAM and Avianca operate daily GYE-GPS (Baltra) and GYE-SCY (San Cristóbal); ~1.5 hours each. Allow 90 minutes for international-to-Galápagos transfer at GYE: clear immigration, exit, walk to domestic check-in, INGALA card purchase, biosecurity screening, normal security. GYE-UIO Quito: hourly LATAM/Avianca, ~50 minutes flight. GYE-CUE Cuenca: 4 daily LATAM/Avianca.

✨ Plaza Premium Lounge GYE (international airside, Priority Pass)

Encebollado is Ecuador’s national fish soup — a tomato-onion broth with chunks of albacore, yuca, lime, onion and chiffronaded coriander, eaten with a side of fried plantain chips and aji sauce. La Cuchara at the GYE airport food court does it for ~US$5–8 a bowl. The McDonald’s and Starbucks are at the same food court; skip them — you can have those anywhere. Encebollado is famously the best hangover cure in Latin America.

Ecuador grows excellent specialty coffee in the highlands — the Pichincha and Manabí regions produce fine cup quality. Sweet & Coffee at the GYE central food court does proper Ecuadorian single-origin (try the Pichincha or Manabí single-origin) for ~US$3–5. The smaller Café Galletti kiosk in the international concourse is where serious enthusiasts go — certified specialty arabica, ~US$5–8. Skip the airport Starbucks.

Ecuador is one of the world’s great fine-cacao origins — the ‘Cacao Nacional’ varietal is rare and prized. Pacari single-origin chocolate (US$5–12 per bar at duty-free, ~30% cheaper than US import) is the export-gift default; Repu­blica del Cacao is the second-best Ecuadorian chocolate brand. “Panama Hats” are actually Ecuadorian — woven in Cuenca and Montecristi for centuries, the Panama name is from canal-era exports; GYE duty-free sells nice ones for US$25–200 depending on weave grade (Montecristi superfino is the splurge tier). Zhumir aguardiente (sugarcane spirit, US$8–15 a litre) is the local pisco-equivalent. Avoid airport-priced Otavalo textiles — Otavalo Saturday market is 70% cheaper.

Pilsener and Club are Ecuador’s two ubiquitous national beers; both are clean lager-style, US$1.50–3 a bottle airside vs ~US$0.80 in supermarkets. Try one before you leave — you won’t find them in your home country. The duty-free also sells Pilsener Light by the 6-pack (~US$8–10) for the carry-on home.

A Galápagos trip from GYE involves three mandatory add-ons beyond the flight: (1) INGALA Transit Control Card US$20 paid at GYE/UIO before boarding; (2) Galápagos National Park entrance fee US$200 for adult foreign tourists (12+, doubled mid-2024 from US$100), US$100 for under-12, US$100 for Andean Community nationals, paid CASH ONLY on arrival at GPS or SCY; (3) Inter-island ferry fees if hopping between islands (~US$30 each leg). Total mandatory add-ons: US$220 minimum. Bring cash USD in mixed-denomination bills.

Spirit Airlines collapsed in May 2026 and no longer operates any flights, including FLL/MIA – GYE. JetBlue absorbed FLL–GYE; Avianca and American picked up MIA–GYE; Volaris El Salvador serves the budget end. Old Spirit GYE tickets are essentially worthless — check your travel insurance for airline-insolvency coverage. Allow 1–2 weeks for refund processing through the bankruptcy estate.

Guayaquil sits on the Pacific coast at sea level: 26–33°C daytime year-round, 23–26°C overnight, humidity 70–90%. The wet season (December–April) brings heavy intermittent showers but also the warmest weather. The dry season (May–November) is cooler with clear sunny days and the famous garúa coastal mist on cool mornings. Schedule airport runs at 06:00–09:00 or after 18:00 if your luggage is heavy; midday is brutal. Air conditioning is universal in Guayaquil hotels and buses but not always reliable in older taxis — ask before getting in.

Ecuador tap water is not safe to drink, including airport washroom taps. Bottled water airside runs US$2–4 for 500 ml. Plaza Premium and the Sala VIP Avianca have free filtered-water dispensers. Hot drinks (coffee, tea) are safe because boiling kills bacteria. In Guayaquil, the same rule applies. For Galápagos: all hotels and lodges provide bottled or filtered water; ice in tourist hotels is generally safe but ask if uncertain.

For Guayaquil and tourist Ecuador: Airalo, Holafly, GigSky and Saily all work fine — ~US$10–20 for 5–10 GB / 14 days. For travel beyond — Cuenca, Otavalo, Banos, the Amazon — buy a local SIM. Claro has the best Ecuadorian rural coverage; Movistar is second. The Claro kiosk at GYE arrivals takes a passport and 8 minutes; ask for the “Plan Turista” bundle (~US$15–25 for 30 days unlimited domestic data). Galápagos has limited cellular coverage in remote areas; expect data drops on uninhabited islands.

Guayaquil’s tourist core — Las Peñas, Centro / Malecón 2000, Urdesa, Samborondón — remains generally safe with active military and tourist police presence post-2024. The Malecón 2000 waterfront and the Las Peñas colonial district are walkable in daytime; both have police presence. The single biggest rule: do not hail street taxis; use Uber, InDriver, Cabify or DiDi only. Avoid all of: Suburbio, Trinitaria, Guasmo, Mapasingue Oeste, El Fortin. For solo Galápagos travel: extremely safe, both islands and live-aboard boats are tourist-saturated and well-monitored. The airport itself is among Latin America’s safest mid-sized airports.

Ecuador uses USD as its currency, so no FX is needed coming from the US. Cards work in tourist Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca and most Galápagos hotels; cash matters in markets, food carts, smaller restaurants in non-tourist neighbourhoods, the entire Amazon, and on-the-island Galápagos shopping (most island hotels accept card, but vendors often don’t). Withdraw US$200–400 at a Banco Pichincha or Banco del Pacífico ATM at the airport — both have reasonable rates. Bring small denominations (US$5, US$10, US$20) — US$50 and US$100 bills are hard to break and sometimes refused due to counterfeit concerns. Tipping: 10% in restaurants, 10% on tours, US$1 per bag for porters.