Travel health · Ecuador
Quito, the Amazon and the Galápagos, often in the same fortnight. They are three different health decisions, and the line between them is the Andes.
The short version
Most travellers to Ecuador need 4 vaccines, and six weeks is enough time to do it properly.
Leaving sooner? Most of it can still be done — we prioritise what matters for your route. Nobody gets turned away for booking late.
Recommended for essentially everyone going to Ecuador.
Food and water, and the one both sources recommend without hedging. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one and over going to Ecuador; the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present. It applies equally to a Quito café, a jungle lodge and a Galápagos boat.
Any time before you fly. One dose covers the trip; a second, six months later, covers decades.
Also food and water — and here the two sources part company. CDC recommends it for most travellers to Ecuador, especially anyone staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities and rural areas. The Government of Canada does not mention typhoid for Ecuador at all. We show you the gap rather than average it away.
At least two weeks before departure. The oral capsules take a week to finish.
Blood and bodily fluids — in practice, medical or dental care abroad, tattoos, piercings and injuries you did not plan. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers under 60 and says those 60 and over may also have it; the Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers. Many Canadians already have it from the school programme, so we check first.
The standard course runs over months. Faster schedules exist — bring your dates.
Tetanus, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, diphtheria, chickenpox. CDC asks every traveller to be current before every trip and wants all international travellers fully vaccinated against measles. The Government of Canada also flags measles for this destination and says vaccination is the best protection.
Tetanus if it has been more than ten years — which for most adults it has.
The honest answer to “am I too late?” depends on the date. Put yours in and we’ll work backwards. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Worth a conversation — the answer changes with where you’re going and what you’ll be doing.
The full list for Ecuador. Most people need the first two or three; the rest depend on where you are going and for how long.
Spread through contaminated food and water. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over going to Ecuador, and infants aged 6 to 11 months are also eligible for a dose before travel — that early dose does not count towards the routine schedule and is repeated later. The Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present.
Bacterial infection from contaminated food and water. CDC recommends it for most travellers to Ecuador, particularly those staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities and rural areas. The Government of Canada does not list typhoid for Ecuador. That is a real disagreement and we would rather you saw it: a Quito hotel and a Galápagos boat sit at one end, a month with family in a small Andean town at the other. Injection or oral capsules — the capsules take a week to finish.
Spread through blood and bodily fluids, which in travel terms means medical or dental care, tattoos, piercings and unplanned injuries. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers younger than 60 and says travellers 60 and over may also be vaccinated; the Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers, citing sexual contact, medical treatment, needles, tattooing and acupuncture. Many Canadians already have it from the school programme, so the first thing we do is look.
CDC asks travellers to be up to date on routine vaccines before every trip — chickenpox, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, influenza, measles-mumps-rubella, polio and shingles where applicable — and asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles. The Government of Canada also flags measles for this destination and says getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and others.
CDC advises all eligible travellers to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. Entry rules change; we check the current position rather than repeat last season’s.
CDC recommends it for travellers aged nine months and older going to areas below 2,300 m east of the Andes in Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua and Zamora-Chinchipe. It is generally not recommended for areas below 2,300 m west of the Andes, and it is NOT recommended for anywhere above 2,300 m, for Quito or Guayaquil, or for the Galápagos Islands. Separately, Ecuador requires it for travellers aged 1 to 60 who have spent more than 10 days in Colombia, Peru, Brazil or Bolivia, and for anyone arriving from the DRC or Uganda including layovers over 12 hours — with the dose given at least 10 days before entry. The Government of Canada states yellow fever risk is present, mentions the DRC and Uganda rule, and says vaccination is recommended depending on your itinerary. We are a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre, so if your route needs it the vaccine and the certificate happen here.
CDC notes rabid dogs are sometimes found in Ecuador and that rabies is also present in bats, and frames pre-exposure vaccination around occupational or recreational activities that raise the chance of contact with a potentially rabid animal. The Government of Canada says rabies is common in this destination, carried by dogs and wildlife including bats, and lists children, adventure travellers and cave explorers, veterinarians and wildlife workers among those at higher risk. The vaccine does not remove the need for treatment after a bite — it buys time and simplifies what you have to find, which matters more here than usual given how far some of these itineraries are from a hospital.
The two sources disagree, and plainly. CDC says chikungunya vaccination is generally not recommended for Ecuador. The Government of Canada notes a chikungunya vaccine is approved in Canada, says risk varies by season, region and elevation, and asks you to talk to a healthcare provider about how best to prevent it. When guidance splits like that it becomes a conversation about your specific trip — jungle lowlands in the wet season and a Galápagos cruise are not the same question.
Honest about the risks, and specific about what prevents each one.
The Government of Canada notes that some Ecuadorian cities and major attractions sit above 2,700 metres, that high-altitude illness ranges from mild to severe, that in extreme cases it can be fatal, and that it may require immediate medical evacuation. Quito is around 2,850 metres and you arrive by plane. CDC’s Ecuador page says nothing about altitude, which is why it is easy to miss.
Prevention A gentle first day in Quito, no alcohol on it, and drink more water than feels necessary. Know the symptoms: headache, nausea, breathlessness at rest, confusion. Descending is the treatment that always works. Altitude medication is prescribable by a pharmacist in Alberta — bring your ascent plan.
The Government of Canada calls it the most common illness affecting travellers, spread person-to-person or through contaminated food and water, with young children, older travellers and people with existing health problems at higher risk.
Prevention Its own rule of thumb is boil it, cook it, peel it or leave it. Bottled or boiled water including for teeth, ice only where you trust the kitchen, food cooked fresh and hot. Rehydration salts weigh nothing and we can send you with a standby antibiotic where appropriate.
The Government of Canada says dengue is a risk to travellers, that the mosquitoes typically bite during the day, and that there is no vaccine or medication available in Canada to prevent it. CDC lists it as a mosquito-borne risk for Ecuador.
Prevention Repellent through the day, not just at dusk. Air-conditioned or screened rooms in the lowlands.
A risk in Ecuador according to both sources. Spread mainly by mosquito bite but also sexually, and an infected pregnant woman can pass it to her unborn baby, where it can cause serious birth defects.
Prevention If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, this deserves a proper conversation before you book rather than after.
The Government of Canada lists Oropouche virus disease for Ecuador, spread by midge and mosquito bites, with no vaccine or medication available, and asks anyone pregnant or planning a pregnancy to speak to a provider about outbreak areas. Midges are small enough to pass through ordinary mosquito netting.
Prevention Fine-mesh screens or air conditioning for jungle lodges rather than netting alone, plus repellent and covered skin at dawn and dusk.
CDC notes rabid dogs are sometimes found in Ecuador and that rabies is present in bats. The Government of Canada calls rabies common here. Bats are the part people forget, and caves and lava tubes are on plenty of itineraries.
Prevention Do not touch or feed animals, and never handle a bat, alive or dead. Any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin: wash for a full fifteen minutes and seek medical advice the same day, vaccinated or not.
CDC advises against swimming in fresh water in areas with poor sanitation and names leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread in fresh water, as present in Ecuador. It also lists melioidosis, linked to contaminated fresh water, mud and soil especially after heavy rain.
Prevention Stay out of lakes, ponds and rivers, and out of floodwater. Cover cuts and grazes properly before wading anywhere.
The Government of Canada states crime rates are high in Ecuador, with violent crime including armed robbery, express kidnapping and carjacking occurring even during the day in tourist destinations, and warns about drink-spiking with scopolamine in bars and on public transport. On the roads it says accidents causing fatalities are common, rural roads are poorly maintained, and drink-driving is frequent. CDC notes motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of healthy travellers abroad.
Prevention Official taxis or ride-hailing rather than public buses, no overnight road journeys, and nothing left unattended in a bar. Carry ID — several provinces are under a state of exception with increased police and military checks.
The Government of Canada lists several monitored active volcanoes, including Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sangay and Tungurahua, notes eruptions can occur at any time and that ash fall may disrupt flights and close highways, and advises anyone with a respiratory condition to consult a physician before travelling near an active volcano. It also notes wildfires between June and September degrade air quality.
Prevention If you have asthma or COPD, bring more reliever than you think you need and keep it in your day bag. Check current volcano status before booking Cotopaxi National Park — access can be restricted without notice.
The Government of Canada says good health care is limited in availability and quality varies greatly, that public services are below Canadian standards especially in rural areas, and that private care is better but expensive and often requires payment upfront. From the Galápagos, serious conditions need medical evacuation, there is no air ambulance based on the islands, and the wait can be up to 48 hours.
Prevention Travel insurance that explicitly covers medical evacuation and hospital stays, with the policy number saved offline. Bring medication in original labelled containers in your carry-on with a copy of the prescription, and a Spanish copy of your medication list.
Prevented with tablets rather than a vaccine, and only needed for some routes — which is why the answer depends on your itinerary.
CDC puts malaria transmission below 1,500 metres in the provinces of Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Morona-Santiago, Orellana, Pastaza and Sucumbíos, with rare cases below 1,500 metres in all other provinces. There is NO transmission in the city of Quito, in Guayaquil, or on the Galápagos Islands.
For those six provinces CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. Chloroquine is not an option — resistance is present — and about 85% of cases are P. vivax with 15% P. falciparum. For the other areas where cases are rare, CDC recommends no preventive tablets at all, only insect bite precautions. The Government of Canada says there is a risk in certain areas or at certain times of year and that antimalarials may be recommended depending on itinerary and season. In practice: a Quito–Galápagos trip needs none of this, and a week at an Amazon lodge in Orellana needs a decision.
The things that prevent most travel illness are not medical.
Most itineraries here stitch together the Andes, the Amazon and the Galápagos, and CDC gives each of them a different answer. Yellow fever is recommended for areas below 2,300 m east of the Andes — Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua and Zamora-Chinchipe — and is explicitly NOT recommended for the cities of Quito or Guayaquil, for anywhere above 2,300 m, or for the Galápagos Islands. Malaria sits in six provinces below 1,500 m, with no transmission in Quito, Guayaquil or the Galápagos. Meanwhile Quito is the part where altitude matters and neither of those two applies. So the useful question at the appointment is not "what does Ecuador need" but "which parts of Ecuador are actually on your ticket, and how high is each one".
This is the one that catches people combining countries. CDC states Ecuador requires the vaccine for travellers aged 1 to 60 who have resided for more than 10 days in a yellow-fever-endemic South American country — Colombia, Peru, Brazil or Bolivia — and requires proof from all travellers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Uganda, including layovers longer than 12 hours. It says the dose must have been given at least 10 days before you enter. The Government of Canada mentions only the DRC and Uganda requirement and otherwise says vaccination is recommended depending on your itinerary. If you are flying Calgary–Quito and back, none of this applies. If you are doing Peru first, or a fortnight in Colombia before crossing, tell us the whole route — this is the kind of thing found at a check-in desk. We are a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre and issue the certificate here.
CDC puts malaria transmission below 1,500 m in Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Morona-Santiago, Orellana, Pastaza and Sucumbíos, with rare cases below 1,500 m in all other provinces. There is no transmission in Quito, in Guayaquil or on the Galápagos Islands. For the six provinces it lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine; chloroquine resistance is present, so chloroquine is not an option. For the other areas with rare cases, CDC recommends no preventive tablets at all — insect bite precautions only. That is an unusually specific piece of advice and it is worth knowing before somebody sells you a course you do not need. The Government of Canada is looser, saying there is a risk in certain areas or seasons and that antimalarials may be recommended depending on itinerary and travel season.
The Government of Canada notes that some cities and major tourist attractions in Ecuador are above 2,700 metres, that high-altitude illness ranges from mild to severe, that in extreme cases it can be fatal, and that it may require immediate medical evacuation. CDC’s Ecuador page carries no altitude section at all. Quito sits at roughly 2,850 metres and nearly everyone arrives by air, so you land at altitude rather than climbing to it. In practice that means planning a gentle first day, going easy on alcohol before you have adjusted, and knowing the symptoms — headache, nausea, breathlessness at rest, confusion. Altitude medication is prescribable by a pharmacist in Alberta; whether your particular ascent calls for it is what the appointment is for.
The Government of Canada’s overall advice for Ecuador is to exercise a high degree of caution, with regional advisories. It says to avoid all travel within 20 km of the Colombian border in Carchi (except the Panamerican Highway), Esmeraldas and Sucumbíos because of drug trafficking and criminal activity, and to avoid all travel to the Chinchipe, El Pangui, Nangaritza and Yantzaza cantons of Zamora-Chinchipe because of landmines. It advises against non-essential travel to Esmeraldas province and to parts of El Oro, Guayas and Los Ríos, including named neighbourhoods of Guayaquil, because of violent crime. For the Galápagos Islands the advice is to take normal security precautions. Several provinces are under a state of exception. Worth reading against your actual route before you book, because two of those regions overlap the jungle lodges people are looking at.
The islands need no yellow fever vaccine and have no malaria transmission, which is the good news. The Government of Canada’s warning is a different shape: serious conditions require medical evacuation from the Galápagos, there is no air ambulance based on the islands, and the wait can be up to 48 hours. It also notes medical evacuations can be extremely expensive and that good health care is limited in availability across the country. Travel insurance that genuinely covers medical evacuation is not a formality on this trip — it is the single most useful thing you can buy for it. Read the policy for the Galápagos and altitude exclusions specifically.
Most people booking a travel consult with us are sorting out a household, not just themselves. A few things are different for children.
Bring the whole household to the same consultation. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one, which usually means fewer visits and no repeated explanations. Tell us how many are travelling when you book so we set aside the time.
CDC recommends hepatitis A vaccination for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over, and infants aged 6 to 11 months are eligible for a dose before travel. That earlier dose does not count towards the routine schedule, so it is repeated later.
CDC frames its Ecuador recommendation for travellers aged nine months and older. If an Amazon leg is on the plan with a baby younger than that, it is a conversation to have before the lodge is booked rather than after — and often the simplest answer is to change which part of the country you visit.
Children get altitude illness too and are less able to describe what they are feeling. A quiet, off-colour child on the first day in Quito deserves attention rather than a nap. Plan the same gentle first day for them and know the symptoms yourself.
The Government of Canada lists children among those at higher risk of rabies exposure. Small children approach dogs, are less likely to mention a scratch, and are more often bitten on the face or hands. With rabies also present in bats here, it is worth discussing per child rather than per family.
No. CDC specifically does not recommend yellow fever vaccination for the Galápagos Islands, for Quito, for Guayaquil, or for anywhere above 2,300 metres. It recommends it for areas below 2,300 metres east of the Andes — Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua and Zamora-Chinchipe. So a Quito-and-islands trip does not need it; adding an Amazon lodge does. One catch: if you have spent more than ten days in Colombia, Peru, Brazil or Bolivia beforehand, Ecuador requires proof on entry regardless of where you are going inside it.
Yes, and this is the most commonly missed detail on the page. CDC states Ecuador requires yellow fever vaccination for travellers aged 1 to 60 who have resided more than 10 days in Colombia, Peru, Brazil or Bolivia, with the dose given at least 10 days before you enter. That is an entry rule about where you have been, not a health recommendation about where you are going. Bring the whole multi-country itinerary to the appointment — we are a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre and can issue the certificate here, but it needs those ten days.
Only for part of it. CDC puts transmission below 1,500 metres in Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Morona-Santiago, Orellana, Pastaza and Sucumbíos, and no transmission at all in Quito, Guayaquil or the Galápagos. For the rest of the country, where cases are rare, CDC recommends no preventive tablets — just insect bite precautions. If your trip is Quito, Otavalo and the islands, the honest answer is no, and we will say so.
Enough that the Government of Canada mentions it and CDC does not, which is exactly why people are caught out. Canada notes that some cities and attractions here are above 2,700 metres, that high-altitude illness can be fatal in extreme cases, and that it may require immediate medical evacuation. Quito is around 2,850 metres and you land there rather than walking up to it. Most people are fine with a gentle first day; some are not. Altitude medication is prescribable by a pharmacist in Alberta and we can sort it at the same appointment.
Because the two official sources genuinely differ. CDC recommends typhoid vaccination for most travellers to Ecuador, especially anyone staying with friends or relatives or visiting smaller cities and rural areas. The Government of Canada does not raise typhoid for Ecuador at all. We show you the disagreement rather than pick a side, then decide against your actual trip — a hotel-and-cruise fortnight and a month with family in a small town are different answers.
For many short holidays, no; for some trips, clearly yes. CDC notes rabid dogs are sometimes found in Ecuador and that rabies is present in bats, and frames the vaccine around activities that raise animal contact. The Government of Canada calls rabies common here and names children, adventure travellers and cave explorers among those at higher risk. Long stays, small children, cycling, caving or remote jungle travel move it from a footnote to a decision. Either way the plan after a bite matters more: wash it for fifteen minutes, then get medical advice the same day.
More than usual, yes. The Government of Canada notes that serious medical conditions on the islands require evacuation, that no air ambulance is based there, and that the wait can be up to 48 hours — and that evacuations can be extremely expensive. Check that your policy covers medical evacuation and hospital stays, and check the altitude wording too if Quito is on the same trip.
Nothing. The travel consultation is free — a full itinerary review, every recommended vaccine discussed, and advice for your particular trip. You pay only for the vaccines actually given.
Designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre
We are licensed to give yellow fever vaccine and issue the international certificate, here in Sunpark Plaza — you do not need to find another clinic for it. The certificate becomes valid ten days after the dose, so this is the one to book first. Whether your itinerary actually needs it is the conversation we have at the appointment.
Bring your travel dates. A pharmacist will go through what you need for Ecuador, give what can be given that day, and book anything that needs a second dose. No doctor referral, no wait list.
Written from current CDC and Government of Canada guidance, checked 31 July 2026. Advice for your particular trip comes from our pharmacist, in person.
Imagine Health Pharmacy & Travel Clinic — #4120, 15 Sunpark Plaza SE, Calgary, Alberta. In Sunpark Plaza, off Macleod Trail, serving Sundance, Midnapore, Shawnessy, Chaparral and the rest of south Calgary.
No doctor’s referral is needed. In Alberta a pharmacist can assess you, prescribe what your trip needs and give the vaccines in the same visit — so for most travellers this is one appointment, not a clinic queue and then a pharmacy.
The vaccine guidance on this page follows the official recommendations below, read and applied by a pharmacist. Where the two differ we say so rather than pick one.
Checked against both sources on 31 July 2026. Official advice changes — if your trip is months away, check again or ask us.
