Chilling in Montanita – Brrrr
We had been dreaming about spending some time along the coast in Ecuador relaxing, surfing, and enjoying the sun. Montanita had sounded like it might just be perfect. I had read so much about how Ecuador was an expat paradise. I knew we just had to go see it for ourselves. Maybe we would find our perfect future home!
Where, What, and Why is Montanita?
Montanita is along the Pacific Coast in Ecuador just a couple of hours from Guayaquil. Because of the amazing waves it has grown up into one of those classic backpacker surf towns. The beaches are long and wide and there are plenty of places to find your own peace and quiet even on busy weekends and holidays.
When to go?
According to Lonely Planet:
On the coast, the wet season (roughly January to May) sees sunny days with daily afternoon downpours, but it’s the best beach weather. The dry season (roughly June to December) is cooler and usually overcast.
I would strongly advise that you pay attention to that!
We went in October figuring that since Ecuador was on the equator it would be warm and sunny. Oh we were so wrong! Brrrrr….As we had packed for warm weather I froze the entire time there.
Friendly Police Officers!
The local tourists didn’t seem to notice that it was cold out and found the time to have their pictures taken with the local police officers!
Big Tip: None of the stores in Montanita sold any warm clothes, not even a long sleeve shirt, so if you think it might be cold when you get to the coast buy something warm before you get there.
All in all though, we found it to be a wonderful, relaxing place to stay. And while I was totally unhappy that I couldn’t spend any time relaxing in the warm rays of the sun on the beach, I did spend a lot of time on our hammock in front of our hotel room.
Downtown Montanita
Downtown Montanita
We chose to stay not directly in downtown Montanita as we prefer more peace and quiet. We were only about a 5 minute walk along the beach from “downtown”. The downtown area is quaint with decent open air restaurants, surf shops, souvenir shops, and some “Gen-Y hippies” selling all sorts of interesting things! We happened to be there during one of the Ecuadorian holidays and the people watching was amazing!
Todd with his balsa wood surf board
Would I Go Back?
If the sun was out, the water was warm, and we could stay at the same place – yes, yes I would. If it was cold, no, not in a heart beat! I was so sad that I was so cold the entire time we were there! Todd was stoked that he got to surf, but as I was cold dry, I knew that Shani wet in the ocean was a bad idea!
Row of Accomodations adjacent to the beach
Accommodations:
There are tons of places to stay in Montanita and when we were there it looked like they were building a lot more. There is a wide variety to suit all budgets and several of the accomodations are beach front. Our favorites were the more quiet ones that were a few minutes walk down the beach, but there were several spots to stay down town as well.
Balsa Surf Camp – Love, love, loved this place! (We have received no compensation, etc for this statement, I promise!) This place was built with love and creativity by Rasty and Julie and we felt so very welcome there. You do not have to surf to stay there. This place is not directly on the beach, but is the second row back from the beach. We realized that having a hammock on our patio and a lush garden was key to helping us relax.
Balsa Surf Camp
Bungalows at Balsa Surf Camp
Transportation:
The closest major airport is Guayaquil. You can take a direct 2 1/2 hour bus from Guayaquil to Montanita. Alternatively you can take a bus from Guayaquil and run along the Ruta del Sol hitting a few other spots. We hit Salinas first, then Montanita, and then a day trip to Puerto Lopez. Ecuador’s bus system is pretty cheap, safe, clean, nice buses and mostly efficient based on our experiences.
What’s your favorite surf town?
