Ecuador

Let me elaborate. Ecuador is the 2nd safest country in South America and it is at the same level of the US in terms of safety. If you are afraid of going there, you basically shouldn’t leave Europe in the first place.

thanks lads, I'm usually good at not standing out even in shady places but I was afraid how that will be with my gf

No worries, are you staying at a hostel? If so. Your greater risk comes from other first world travelers who could possibly steal your shit or harass your gf if you don’t take measures. I’ve been to Ecuador and it is packed with backpackers from Europe and North America, so you won’t stand out that much

probably only near Cotopaxi and maybe Banos, rest should be airbnbs

the tourist areas are probably the safest parts because they are protected so that people feel like coming back and giving more money. like northern quito(mitad del mundo), montañita and stuff.
however you'll probably be landing in guayaquil which is more dangerous. don't take your phone out, technology is sold at a huge markup in latam and you can be mugged or pickpocketed. my mom had a situation where a lady tried to steal her watch from off of her and my cousin had a knife pulled on him in the back of the bus and was mugged for his phone so definitely try to not do that. Anyways watch out for petty stuff like that.
use a disposable camera and buy a flipphone (international data must be expensive anyways)
that's all my advice.
t. i have a birth certificate from ecuador

Ecuadooooooooooooooooor is cute.

hmm, I'm a bit concerned since I do travel photography and also some vlogging. So I'll be walking around with my camera bag that includes some (semi) expensive gear. Will I stand out more if I attach a lock to it?

Hmm, I say lock it. And try to vlog in hotel rooms, inside your car* or in tourist areas. Definitely don't go out in the street with a selfie stick or anything like that. Unless you're at a big international tourist attraction.

*Oh yeah, you should definitely have vehicle accommodations. There's like one train in the country and you can't rely on buses too much.

oh well, both of us don't have a driver's license. I think the only bus ride we need to take tho is from Banos to Guayaquil

>oh well, both of us don't have a driver's license.

>taking the bus in a third world country as an obvious foreigner
No offense hawara, but are just really uninformed or genuinely dumb