ECUADOR COAST GUIDE:
MONTAÑITA, AYAMPE, ISLA DE LA PLATA
I intended to spend a whole week at the coast of Ecuador and live in a cozy bungalow right at the beach of Ayampe, a small laid-back surfer town. Doing one week of just surfing, napping in a hammock by the sea and reduce the travelling pace from exploring every day to relaxing every day and learn to surf. Eventually, it turned out that the Ecuadorian coast is not so much my thing and I wouldn’t go there again, even though I had a magical snorkeling experience with turtles while hearing the sounds of humpback whales. I continued my travels after just 4 days and if you want to know why, keep reading. Here comes my coast of Ecuador guide!
The Coast of Ecuador: Overview
The area around Montañita where most people go when they visit the Ecuadorian coast, is a very touristy place known for its parties and nightlife as well as the surfing culture. Although the weather tends to be warm and humid, it’s almost year-round cloudy and rain is not uncommon. Prices are considerably higher than inland Ecuador or at the Peruvian coast. Around Montañita there are several places to visit and stay. If you are not so much into party towns, I recommend staying somewhere else. As this is the case for me, I decided to stay in Ayampe, which is a really small village around 30 min north of Montañita.
Ayampe offers several really nice places to stay and it’s rather quiet. The towns marker is a big rock “Ayampe Rock” a few hundred meters off the shore, which you will always see when you walk along the beach or surf there.
There are several places where you can rent surfboards and get surf lessons and the waves are really great and consistent, just like in Montañita. The crucial difference between the towns is really the pace of life (party vs. laid-back). Be aware that the next available ATMs are in Montañita and Puerto López, both of which are a half-hour drive away from Ayampe, so be prepared to have enough cash with you. You can find prices for each activity further below to determine your budget.
Further 15 min north you will find the town of Salango, which supposedly is another surf town, but since I haven’t been there, I cannot give you an opinion on this place. However, from what I know Ayampe is the best option in terms of having a laid-back beach vibe in this area.
30 min north of Ayampe (passing Salango) is Puerto López. This is the biggest town in this area, and it is definitely not worth staying there, since the town itself doesn’t offer a lot for tourists except for plenty restaurants and there are no surfing opportunities due to the location in a bay. However, you should go to Puerto López for another reason. From there you can take a very special trip.
Visiting Isla de la Plata & Whale Watching
Isla de la Plata, commonly referred to as “The Poor Man’s Galapagos,” is a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador, around 40 km away from Puerto López. For those who enjoy birding, this island is a hidden treasure because of the diverse fauna that can be discovered there, like the blue-footed boobies, which is a very special looking bird species with blue feet. It has only very specific breeding spots along the pacific coastline, like the Galapagos Islands and Isla de la Plata. Another special-looking bird can be observed here too: the Frigatebird with their distinctive red gular pouch, but I wasn’t lucky enough to see it. Instead, I have seen hundreds of blue-footed boobies, their distinctively different looking babies, and a hummingbird nest.
However, the chance to go whale watching is one of Isla de la Plata’s key draws. The island sits in the center of the migration path for humpback whales, making it a great place to see these magnificent animals. The whale watching season in this area is from July to October. The whales migrate to the Antarctic and stay there during the rest of the year. Apart from that, the island has a very beautiful coastline (the thumbnail of this post), and you can find colorful fish as well as turtles in the surrounding waters. When I was snorkeling there, I was able to admire five beautiful turtles closely and concurrently listen to the sounds of distant humpback whales. That was a truly magical experience.
Visiting this island is a full-day trip that will cost you around 45 $ per person and always starts in Puerto López, which is honestly the only reason to go there. Included in the price is the boat ride, lunch, a guided visit of the island (independent hiking is forbidden on the island) and snorkeling along the shore. The snorkeling gear is also included, and the boat will stop during the ride to and from the island in case humpback whales pass your way to see them in all their magnificence. It must be mentioned however that these combined tours are not dedicated whale watching tours but if you go during the season, you will more than likely encounter a few of them anyways. Dedicated whale watching tours might come closer to the whales, while you will most likely only see them from a distance at the combined tour. The reason for that is simply that there isn’t enough time. Due to the 40 km distance the boat ride takes around 1 ½ hours One-Way and since you will stop to see the whales, have lunch, hike on the island and snorkel, time is over soon. The tours usually start at 9 AM and return to Puerto López around 4:30 PM.
Visiting Playa de Los Frailes
A place I wanted to go but ended up not to see due to the notorious rain and being sick is Playa de Los Frailes. The dream beach is located 20 min north of Puerto López within the Machalilla national park to which Isla de la Plata also belongs. My idea was to rent ATVs in Puerto López and make it an independent half-day trip and I still think that’s a pretty neat idea, if you’re in the area!
Surfing
There are surf schools and board rentals in many places along the coast, but I can only tell for sure about Montañita and Ayampe. However, it isn’t a very cheap activity here. A group surfing class is around 25 $ for beginners and 35 $ for intermediates, while a private class is around 45 $. A full-day surfboard rental is around 15 $ for shortboards and 20 $ for longboards (and 7 $ or 10 $ for 2 h respectively). If you want to stay here for 5 days and rent a surfboard for this period of time, and have three surf lessons you’d end up paying around 150 $ if you buy it as a package. The waves here are really good for all levels but at times only suitable for pros when the conditions are too good. Also be aware that there is a constant sea current that pushes you north, so be careful to not stay away too far from the shore, especially when you are attempting to surf by yourself.
How to get there
To get to Puerto López / Montañita you first have to travel to either Guayaquil or Manta, which are the nearest cities. I came from Cuenca and had to take a bus to Guayaquil first (4 h, 9.20 $) and then change to a bus to Montañita (3 h, 6.70 $) that leaves every hour during the morning and more rarely during the afternoon. If you arrive during the evening in Guayaquil an overnight stay might be necessary. Between Montañita and Manta is a bus that passes every half an hour and can drop you off at any destination in between (In my case Ayampe for just 1.50 $). To get on the bus just wait next to the main road and raise your hand once the bus approaches you. Same applies to head back.
Where to stay
If you decide to go to Ayampe and you are not travelling solo I can highly recommend Palma Coco, which is organized by Joel. You can reach out to him via WhatsApp (+593 99 236 9222). They have several beach houses with a direct view on the ocean. We had a second-floor bungalow with a balcony where we could have breakfast with the ocean view and afterwards chill in a hammock (45 $ per night). Also, we had a small kitchen, which allowed us to cook our own meals. The selection in the small supermarket in Ayampe is very limited however, so you won’t be able to cook anything extraordinary. If you are looking for hostels, you will have to stay in Montañita because there are only private rooms / bungalows available outside of Montañita.
Other Coastal Places in Ecuador
The area around Montañita and Puerto López is undoubtedly the most interesting and reachable coastal part of Ecuador from a tourist’s perspective. However, there is another place I’ve heard about in northern Ecuador that is definitely off the beaten track. The place is called Mompiche and there is really not so much to do, which is why people appreciate this place so much. It’s a quiet fisherman’s village which requires at least 7 hours to reach from both Quito and Puerto López (most likely it will take longer). There are not many people and it’s really just about chilling at the beach. Personally, this is not my vibe because I always crave for fun activities and I don`t want to take on me such a long journey to just chill on a beach, but if you are looking for some peaceful place at the sea and don’t mind the travel time, Mompiche might be just perfect for you.
Personal Opinion & Comparison to Máncora in Peru
Ecuador’s coast has indeed something to offer, like amazing surfing spots and a good mix of party places as well as laid-back beach towns. My personal highlight however was the visit of Isla de la Plata and seeing humpback whales and listen to them underwater while snorkeling with turtles.
I was planning to stay in the area for an entire week to just be in one place for a while after moving around constantly and learn surfing. I did some surfing before in my life, but I never got the opportunity to do it for several consecutive days to actually learn it, which was the main intention behind the visit. Yet, I left 3 days earlier than planned and I want to explain you exactly why. The coastal region was my last stop in Ecuador, and I was about to continue my travels to Máncora in Peru, which is the basis for the upcoming comparison and also the main reason why I left earlier.
I knew the weather further south in Peru was so much better and there was so much more to do, so I didn’t want to waste more time and left for Máncora. Also, while I would visit Máncora again, I wouldn’t say the same about the Ecuadorian coast and there are several reasons for that:
WEATHER
Though I do think that Ecuador’s coast has a lot to offer, the weather is a constantly depressing grey with occasional rain, which I really can’t stand and turned out to be a crucial factor of how I kept this place in my memory. As it turns out through some talking with locals and looking into climate diagrams, this is a year-round issue at least for the cloudiness. Usually it only rains from January – April and it is supposed to be very dry for the remainder of the year (I was there in August), but I was a little unlucky as it seems. If you are looking for sun however, this is the wrong place to go, no matter the time of the year. On the other hand, Máncora is notoriously sunny and has much prettier beaches, even though only being 260 km (beeline) further south.
TRAVEL TIME
Getting to Montañita / Ayampe takes a lot of time. I could’ve taken a bus straight from Cuenca to sunny Máncora, which I enjoyed so much more (7 h bus ride) instead of taking the detour over Guayaquil to Montañita and Puerto López before getting to Máncora (20 h bus riding in total). Also, there were so many changes and an overnight stay in Guayaquil on both the outward and return journey due to the bus schedules, which swallowed even more time.
Even if you don’t plan on continuing to travel in Peru and want to get back to Ecuador, it is worth crossing the border to Peru and chill there. Assuming you are coming from Cuenca (as it was my case) it will take you just as much time to get to Montañita as to Máncora. Now you might think that is true for the driving time but what about the border crossing? Well, the border crossing can take anything from 1 h to 3 h depending on the border traffic. But if you decide to go to Montañita you will have to change buses in Guayaquil with more or less unpredictable timetables, which means you might have to wait much longer for your connection than the border crossing would take. In the worst case you might end up staying in Guayaquil, as it happened to me. Since Guayaquil is not a place worth to visit and even dangerous to walk around at night, I am sure that going straight to Máncora is either way the preferable option.
PRICE
Everything in Ecuador is more expensive than in Peru and even more so at the coast. Renting a surfboard is a whopping three times more expensive around Montañita (Ecuador) compared to Máncora (Peru). And even though the price difference is not as remarkable for other services and goods, everything in Peru is significantly cheaper than in Ecuador.
USP
USP is a term from Marketing & Management that means “Unique Selling Proposition” and refers to whether a company has something to offer that no one else can provide. However, this term can be applied to places as well. Though I thought It’d be different, it turns out that the Ecuadorian coast doesn’t have a relevant USP. Pretty much everything you can find there is also available further south in sunny Máncora for an even lower price. No matter if it’s whale watching, turtles, surfing, beach culture or food. Even the blue-footed boobies can be found on some islands south of Máncora, though they are admittedly much harder to reach. Parties are available as well in Máncora though not to the same extent as in Montañita.
CONCLUSION
Ok, I’ve roasted the coast of Ecuador enough by now. Eventually it is totally up to your preferences where you decide to go. If you are looking for a big party town like Montañita or seeing the blue-footed boobies is of particular interest to you, while you don’t mind the lack of sun and the higher prices, Ecuador’s coast might be the better choice for you. If these factors are not of particular importance and you are craving some sunshine on your skin and some care for your bank account, then Máncora is definitely the best place to go and I even got a blogpost on Máncora right here. Have Fun!
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