Car Rentals Ecuador
Car rentals in Ecuador do not make a lot of sense compared to using an Ecuador driver.
Ecuador car rentals are something we avoid. I have driven in Ecuador only once in fifteen years!
There are three reasons not to use Ecuador car rentals.
The first reason not to use Ecuador rental cars is safety. Ecuador drivers are lane discipline challenged and proud of it. On numerous occasions I have observed four cars, all passing one another at once, a truck on the outside being passed by a compact, being passed by a mid sized, being passed by a Mercedes! All this takes place on narrow, mountain roads.
Drivers from North America are in unfamiliar atmospheres, distracted and do not know where they are going on mostly curvy, mountainous and not always well maintained roads.
Road conditions, especially off the main highways are unpredictable especially after heavy rains. Mudslides often close or wash away roads.
This increases the odds of an accident. Heaven forbid that anyone is hurt. Even if not… a fender bender in Ecuador can create inconvenience and delay.
The second reason to avoid Ecuador car rentals is that a car with a driver works better.
On our first trip to Ecuador about 15 years ago, it was due to our driver that we discovered Cotacachi and La Mirage Garden Hotel and Spa.
What a find!
I have to give credit for this discovery to our Ecuador driver Milton . We had been given the name of another hacienda to check out for lunch…. a bad one it turns out. Milton ignored our instructions and took us directly to La Mirage instead.
Perhaps this was because he knew that La Mirage was better. Perhaps he knew that the owner of La Mirage gives drivers an excellent lunch.
Whatever the case, we are eternally grateful. We loved this 22 room hotel which sits on ten lush gardened acres surrounded by breathtaking Andean views.
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