There’s a certain type of traveller who gets off the plane in a new country armed with nothing but a credit card and blind faith in contactless payments. And then there’s the rest of us, wondering how much cash is too much, too little, or completely unnecessary, and how the credit card traveller has the balls to take his approach. We found on our travels that the truth is, the cash vs card debate when travelling isn’t clear cut. It changes city by city, sometimes street by st

Hotel – Hotel Ninfa (Puerto Ayora) Hotel Ninfa was OK. Actually, probably better than OK. It’s a budget hotel, and for a budget option it did very well in terms of comfort, facilities, and price. One minor issue: beetles would occasionally come under the door. However, whatever they’d sprayed around the doorway meant those were the insects’ final few minutes of life. The bar was quiet and reasonably priced. The pool was small and deep — perfect for cooling off after a hot day

Like Madrid, Quito was simply an overnight airport stop. We booked the Holiday Inn Quito Airport  on points, mainly because it offered a shuttle bus. Immigration was painfully slow — one of those queues that barely seems to move. By the time we finally emerged, we were exhausted. Thankfully, the shuttle was waiting right outside, which felt like a small but significant win. In hindsight, we probably should have chosen the Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport , which was walkin