This is an admittedly biased post I’m about to write here, because I really fell in love with this place. I left Montañita officially 4 days ago but I still haven't really moved on from this special little corner of the world.
A PLACE THAT'S HARD TO LEAVE
The plan was to come for 1-4 days, buy a surfboard, and book it up north to a more calm, less party town. If you read online or even talk to people in Ecuador, this place has a bad reputation. Listen, if you come just to party I could understand it might be kinda grimy. But if you come to SURF, then I think this is one of the most underrated surf towns that I’ve ever seen in my life (especially considering the wave is ridiculously consistent and good quality— we’re talking 35 straight days of short boarding!)
2024 UPDATE, Ecuador as a country and Montanita have had more crime since I left. Always do your research and know the current situation before you go
Instead, I stayed 10 whole weeks and am not even feeling like the same person from when I arrived and left. I say this from the perspective of someone that HAS seen a good dozen surf towns around the world, but never felt so at home as I did at this spot.
WHERE TO STAY
For one, I got really lucky checking into Esperanto Hostel, which is just far enough from the party and very close to the point break. Thanks to a beautiful terrace, high speed wifi, and a group of surfer friends that moved into the hostel, this was the best home base for my time in Montanita and didn’t have the same grungy feel as similar youth hostels. By the time I checked out, I was the longest-staying guest by a long shot.
I celebrated by 23rd in this town with my dream day-- full of warm fun sized waves, dancing to reggaeton, and really beautiful people!
SURFING
From the first day I went surfing, I was really freaking stoked. The best spots to surf in Montanita are the right point break (Punta) and the accompanying beach break which breaks left and right. The shape of the wave is amazing, and from the first day I could tell this was a wave I wanted to surf day in and day out. Which is why I stayed. When a big swell came, I had my friends that challenged me and made me paddle out in conditions that were probably the biggest of my life.
I had some gnarly wipeouts, lost leashes, went through a few really used boards but had so much fun! The mornings were nothing but glass, and you could often find me up at 6:45 AM to get my own waves before I headed back to the hostel to work remotely the rest of the day (and mind-surf the perfect waves as I watched nonstop from the terrace...)
work from home vibes
SURF SKATING
My friends and I also got to help pioneer the new skate bowl that went up at Punta Hills hotel in Montanita. Thanks to our surf skate board my girlfriends and I were able to go pretty consistently to work on our surf skate, which obviously directly translates into the sea. I can’t say I improved as much as I hoped in the skate bowl, but I’m excited to keep working on it when I go home! The vibe at the skate park was the best part of it, because it was full of local surfer bros that helped all of us really work on our form and become better, more confident skaters.
PARTYING
I know I say that this place was special because of the surfing, but the partying was super fun too! I guess I’ve never really had that quintessential, crazy party phase that most people have in high school, or college, or at 21. Partying and dancing in Montanita was the first time I really felt free to just dance and vibe, and with the lively reggaeton, cheap all-you-can-drink nights, crazy hostel parties, and the “best club in South America,” there were just as many bad hangovers as there were incredibly fun nights of dancing.
Not to say there are that many places to go, which is the running joke because a night out is just going between three venues and the Calle de Los Cocteles where you can get any cocktail in the world for $3.50. This place lights up at night on the weekends, but it also grows threefold on the weekends due to city Ecaudorians flooding in, so it’s always very peaceful when Monday comes back around and you have the town and waves back to the usual chilled crowd. (Did I mention partying isn’t just for the weekends… Mondays and Wednesdays are all-you can drink at two different hostels, so you better keep your immune system up and be ready to listen to Pepas again and again and again…)
Some of my favorite places to eat in town were the Panaderia (my friends loved the croissants so much they got a tattoo to remember them hahahah), Good Vibes Cafe, and the crepe/smoothie/pancake stalls on the first street, and Ezzios Pizza.
If you’re looking for a good surf shop, there are only a few in town which can set you up with a board rental or rashguard.
f you’re looking to buy a board… well I would strongly recommend you come with your own haha! The boards in town are hella used and painted over, so the blue and pink painted fish board I bought was constantly flaking into the sea :( A going rate for a board rental should be about $5/hour, $10 a day, or $60 a week, but the only good quality boards are beginner mid length boards. As always, I traveled with my own fins and leash to keep the costs down.
Anyways, now that I summarized Montanita on the logistical end, the reason it was such a magical chapter for me was because the people! The volunteers became my lifelong friends and everyday I woke up to a hostel full of friends. The local surfers were so welcoming and friendly!
We went to the birthday party of the world’s most famous Ecuadorian surfer, who competed in the most recent Olympics (and she’s a shredder, btw), and everyone there was part of the surf community that made us feel at home. I caught some of my biggest waves, felt challenged and scared and humbled all at the same time, really worked on my rights and lefts, and went surfing for 35 days in a row until the party and the surf really caught up to me and it was time to end this lifestyle… knowing I’ll be back real soon. Gracias por todo Montañita, hasta la próxima.
(Oh yeah, in terms of other surf towns.... I never made it there. I visited Olón a few times, which is a 40 minute walk from Montañita or a 1.50 taxi. Super cute and more chilled, but too expensive to stay there. I also hit Ayampe and Las Tunas, about 45 minutes north, but just for a daytrip for a little Montañita escape. But listen surfers, you're gonna love the punta in Montanita, so just stay there, trust me!)
