Relax in Montanita, Ecuador

I’m currently sitting in my hostel just outside of Montanita. For the past week my daily schedule has consisted of:

9am: Get up, eat freshly cooked surprise breakfast made by a latino man named Juan.

10am – 12pm: Blog, Facebook, Reddit on my computer, chat with other guests leisurely enjoying breakfast.

1pm – 3pm: Walk across the road, lay on the beach, swim, read, work on my tan.

4pm: Walk back to hostel have shower, find a hammock, relax.

7pm: Walk along the beach and find some freshly made fish tacos, empanada, spanish omlette for approximately $6USD.

9pm: Sit at the bar with a mojito or a glass of wine, discuss destination recommendations with fellow travelers.

Repeat next day.

Montanita beach is a great stretch of sand and surf.

It’s low-season here in Montanita, Ecuador but in my opinion that just adds to the chilled out vibe of the place. Known as one of the best surf beaches in the world, travelers of all types stop in to Montanita to surf, party and rest. Many never leave.

The ‘town’ consists of approximately 6 blocks of shops, food stands, hostels and bars that are open almost 24 hours and I’ve been told in high-season are brimming with people.

Fruit and cocktail stands are open daily in Cocktail Alley and serve delicious banana, strawberry and nutella pancakes for $3.

I’m happy to not be staying directly in town. The 10min walk along the beach from the busy, loud Montanita streets out to La Punta (The Point) is a really nice location to stay. Easily close enough to walk into town, but far enough away to feel relaxed and not bothered by the daily town craziness.

Passionfruit mojitos being made by a 12 year bartender.

When I arrived a few days ago, I thought I would be very ready to move on once the week was over. Not doing a lot each day other than relaxing on the beach, has been a great start to my travels and helped me get over the inevitable jet lag. But now that my week is coming to an end, I don’t actually want to leave. I am so relaxed here and have very quickly fallen into the laid-back lifestyle of those who inhabit Montanita. The hostel is great, the food is cheap, the cocktails are strong and the people are awesome.

So whilst I need to move on to Quito in a couple of days, I will be keeping Montanita on my list to come back to sometime in the next few months. It’s the perfect place to take a week or month away from the world to rest, recover and enjoy.

It’s a nice walk along Montanita beach.

Getting here

I traveled to Montanita from Guayaquil. From the main Guayaquil bus terminal you can buy a $6USD CLP bus ticket. There are usually at least 3 services daily at 11am, 1pm and 2pm. The ticket counter is located on the ground level of the bus station down one of the corridors on the opposite side to the main entrance. The bus departure bay is located up on level 3.