Have you used Airbnb for far flung places?

[msrisotto]

I'm looking into a bit of an adventure holiday to Ecuador/Galapagos. There are lots of companies which can plan and book everything for you, but I was wondering if I could do it cheaper myself. There look to be some really nice BnBs on Airbnb but i've never used it before.

Any experiences?

I did Airbnb in Thailand and some friends did it all over Indonesia with absolutely no problems apart from working out how to spend the money that we saved!

Great! Thanks for letting me know.

I've done it all over Asia, it's excellent!

Are there any tips or things I should know to make sure I choose good places?

Read the reviews, be prepared to pay a tad more for a Superhost

What's a superhost?

We've used it for Paris which is long haul for us and our villa in Thailand is listed. Choose places with good reviews and ask lots of questions before you commit to a booking. Ask about location, local transport, proximity to what you want to do, information about very local stuff that's off the beaten track that other tourists might not get to, how involved your host would be during your stay for advice and tips etc The whole point of AirBnB is that you are getting insider information on your location from a local, make sure you can capitalise on that if you want to.

AirBnB will not release your money to the host until 24 hours after your arrival so if the host wants payment, they have to ensure that the property is up to scratch. If anything is wrong at all, you need to let AirBnB know asap.

We've used it all over South America - but not Ecuador. Only positive experiences. I would read the reviews and the "small print" of each listing.

If you're going to Otavolo I really recommend La Luna, gorgeous rustic hostel with private rooms with log fires, overlooking a volcano.

Amazing thank you!