If you're moving to Ecuador immediately, like in the next 90 days, (you're packing your bags, you have your tickets , etc.), you're in a different scenario then someone coming a year from now.

For those who are moving quickly, you need a passport. We have an audio just for passports on this site.

The second thing you want is to pack 2 suitcases per person, up to 50 lbs. each plus 1 carry-on for each person. After Aug. 31, 2009 the summer embargo ends, meaning that you can now pack 3 - 70lbs suitcases for an additional charge.

Shipping here in Ecuador is very expensive so the more personal items you can bring with you the better.

So, if you're bringing 3 - 70 lb suitcases per person, you also get a carry-on for up to 40lbs. and a personal item, like a purse or a laptop computer. The point is to bring as much as you can.

The other thing I think you should pack is Gold. Bring as much gold as you can. It will depend on the airline as to how much you can carry on with you. Gold is really not considered money, but if they do consider it as money, it would be the face value of what the coin says. If it's worth 1,000 an oz. but it says it's $50.00 then it would be read as a value of $50.00. On the plane I believe your allowed to bring up to $10,000 dollars. If you brought 2 oz of gold with a face value of $50.00 each, then you could bring $9,900 dollars in cash.

If you decide to bring gold or silver or both, you can put them in a brown paper bag, put it in your carry-on and don't let it out of your sight. If they do extra security checking, then make sure you're in front of them when they are doing the search. Sometimes they may check both bags at once with 2 different people in two different cubicles. I did not let them do that. I told them that one could check one and when that person was finished then the other person could check my other bag. But I was to be present in each search.

I told them I didn't have a problem with them checking anything that I was bringing on board but they were not going to search my belongings without me watching. The lady said it was against their rules, that they cannot both check in the same cubicle. So I had one person check one bag and when she was done the other person checked the other bag and they did it right in front of me. Again, I was not going to allow them to check my things without me being there.

When your at the airport all day and they are telling you over the intercom to hold on to your bag, don't let it out of your sight, etc., and then they want to check my bag out of my sight, that just isn't going to happen. I refuse to allow it and I don't trust them anymore then they trusting me. I won't let them set me up.

I was about to ask for a supervisor and come to find out one of the ladies was one, so they did what I asked and they searched my bags in front of me and we had a nice conversation. I did have 10 oz of gold in my bag. They were starting to wipe down my bag, this was extra security.

Just for your info, if you have 4 letter S's on our ticket, you're going to get extra benefit of being searched. So, they take this little towelette and they wipe in your bag, run it through a machine to see if there are any illegal chemicals that you have (like bombs, guns, etc.). If they are going to do that, I would suggest that you ask for the towelette to be ran through their machine to make sure there is nothing on it first because they can set you up. They won't put it through the machine unless you request it.

The gold in the brown paper bag had already been x-rayed so I am sure they knew it was there because they would have seen it. I did have the 4 S's on my ticket so I was going to be searched and it wasn't due to the gold, they had already tagged me back at the boarding desk. But they do have the prerogative you're to do it on the spot and if they do, PAY ATTENTION, they can set you up. They can put stuff in your bag if you're not watching. The rules they make for me and you need to be the same for them as well.

One of the ladies picked up the bag with the gold and just moved it over to the other side of my bag. I am sure they knew what it was but after the static I had with her in the beginning, she wasn't about to open it up. This happened about 15 months ago (today being Aug. 18, 2009).

I think it's very important to prepare yourself and again, pay attention. Bring as much as you can. Bring gold, money and if the US dollar isn't worth anything, bring Swiss franks or what ever, but you will need to have some monies on you.

The next thing I would do is bring a water filter of some type. We brought a Berkey water filter that you can find on line. If you are small in size, I would suggest you bring a minimum of clothes. If you have a shoe size of 10 or over, then bring extras. Clothes here are cheap but hard to find for bigger sized people. If your smaller, then pack light with clothes and pack things of more value in your suitcases.

To have things shipped here is very expensive due to the tax. They are trying to encourage people here to start their own companies and use the resources here to build this country up (Ecuador) to export rather then import. It's a good idea but it's rough times for everybody right now.

On the plane, there are no imports so bring it. If you are using a container, it can be sent here with no tax if you do it right. There is an audio for containers on this site also.

So, you will need your passport and drivers license, (getting a 6 months tour visa is a great idea, it's called a 10-9), bring any other important papers you may have, like if you're planning on moving here because you're retired, or you're planning on setting up a company, birth certificates, etc.

I would recommend that you get all the documents stamped with an Apostille, which makes your documents notarized, then you go to the county and have them stamp the documents to prove the notary was in good standing at the time of their stamping. You then take the documents to the Secretary of State and have them stamp it with an Apostille also.

It's all a part of the Hague Convention, which now makes your papers internationally approved. Think of it as an international notary. Our son did not have a birth certificate or a social security number so we had other hoops to jump through but it was the Apostille that did it for us. There is another audio of things to bring and not to bring for example, tools are very expensive here, so bringing them is a good thing in a container, not a suitcase as it will add up the pounds very quickly.