U.S. Updates Ecuador Travel Advisory With Coastal Area Warnings

The United States has updated its travel advisory for Ecuador, keeping the country at Level 2, or “exercise increased caution,” while applying stronger warnings to specific provinces and cities. Primicias reported the update on August 24, 2026, at 11:23 p.m.

The countrywide level did not change

The U.S. Department of State continues to cite risks associated with crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping. The update does not move Ecuador into a higher overall category. Instead, it draws a sharper map inside the country, with some places under Level 3 reconsider-travel guidance and others under Level 4 do-not-travel guidance.

Washington recommends reconsidering travel to Manabi, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo, and Sucumbios. The same advice applies to areas north of Guayaquil, south of Esmeraldas, and sectors of El Oro and Los Rios that remain under a state of exception because of insecurity.

That distinction matters for expats and visitors who move between regions. A person can live in a city where the national advisory remains Level 2 and still travel through a province or corridor with a materially different warning. The countrywide label is not a substitute for checking the destination-specific map.

Several areas are under the highest warning

The report says the do-not-travel recommendation covers Nueva Prosperina and Pascuales in Guayaquil, as well as areas south of Portete de Tarqui. It also names Duran in Guayas; Huaquillas and Arenillas in El Oro; and Quevedo, Quinsaloma, and Pueblo Viejo in Los Rios.

For Esmeraldas, the warning covers the city and areas north of it, including the zone reaching the Colombian border and east toward Carchi. The Department of State separately says travelers should reconsider trips to all of Manabi and Santa Elena because of crime and terrorism concerns.

These are official travel-risk classifications, not a claim that every resident or traveler in a listed place will experience a crime. They are also not a general prohibition on travel to Ecuador. The practical value is in using the map to make more specific decisions about routes, lodging, work trips, and weekend travel.

What This Means for Expats

For U.S. citizens in Ecuador, the advisory recommends following local news, avoiding demonstrations and crowds, and maintaining an emergency plan. Those steps are useful even when traveling within a Level 2 country, particularly during periods of unrest or rapidly changing security conditions.

Residents should keep their emergency contacts current, share travel plans when heading to a higher-risk area, and check both the U.S. advisory and local reporting before setting out. The advisory is a planning tool, not a daily forecast of crime. Its most important update is the geographic detail: risk is not uniform across Ecuador.

The useful habit is to separate the official classification from personal assumptions about a place. That keeps planning concrete: check the destination, choose the route, and decide what contingency is appropriate for the trip rather than applying one label to every part of Ecuador.

Source: Primicias