ECUADOR OVERVIEW

Surfing in Ecuador

Straddling the equator, bordering Peru to its south and Columbia to its North, Ecuador enjoys a greater than 180 degree swell window and receives ground swells from the North and South Pacific Ocean . Wavehunters' Ecuador Surf Tours only operate 6 months of the year from November -April. The rest of the year has unfavorable onshore winds. Ecuador's waves include a variety of excellent beachbreaks like Canoa Beach, Pipelines of Puerto Cayo, and Montanita , rock reef and jetty breaks like the Salinas Peninsula on the South coast and Cabo Pasado on the North Coast, and some classic point breaks like San Mateo on the Central coast, and Suspiro and Mompiche on the North Coast, and a few even lesser known gems.

During the Northern hemisphere winter months, Ecuador receives some of its best surf from powerful North Pacific ground swells. These NW swells largely miss Mainland Mexico and Central America and hit Ecuador's north-facing beaches square. The NW swells arrive in Ecuador approximately 6 days after hitting Hawaii, and about 4 days after hitting California , however size is diminished after traveling thousands of miles to get here and also by the Continental shelf, so the waves are not especially powerful, just very fun and rippable. Great news for intermediate surfers and longboarders. The average swell has face heights from 3-6 feet. The biggest NW swells which occur perhaps 5-7 times each season for 2-3 days in duration have face heights of 6- 9 feet.

The southern hemisphere swells, especially the ones generated right off the coast of South America, can actually get much bigger than the NW swells and will reach face heights of up to 8-12 ft on the biggest swells but most of th is swell action occur too late in the season to coincide with favorable wind conditions. March and April and sometimes early May are the exceptions. Moderate SW and S swells are consistent year-round, biggest during the Austral winter months but the prevailing wind this time of year (S-SW) is coming from the same direction as the swell most of the time.

The dominant S-SW wind pattern in Ecuador , while a curse for the south-facing spots much of the year, brings perfection to Ecuador's North-facing points and reefs during N W swells. In a good year, the N swell spots will turn on 10-15 times between December and March with an average of 3-5 solid swells per month. Between swells the N facing spots can get really small, however spots that are open to a broader westerly/southwesterly swell direction will remain more consistent and rippable.

The period from January to April , which is also the rainy season, has the lightest winds with morning offshores or glass and light texture in the afternoons, and this is when its West facing and South facing beaches are most reliable for semi-clean conditions . Ecuador's most renowned waves are its long lefthand pointbreaks, however there are plenty of shorter and punchier lefts and rights throughout the country as well. In all there are upwards of 30 named breaks.

Country & Logistics:

Ecuador begins where Northern Peru leaves off. The lower 2/3 of Ecuador's coastline are a continuation of the stark Atacama desert landscape typical of Peru. Only the north coast of Ecuador from Canoa Beach northwards to Esmereldas province is tropical. If you are looking for beautiful, tropical beaches, you won't find them on the Southern or Central coast just the opposite, however Esmereldas has some incredible beaches, most notably Mompiche which is also the country's best wave, although it takes a solid NW or major SW swell to work. The South and Central coast still enjoy warm water temperatures however. Unlike most of Peru, Ecuador's coast is warmed by the northerly Panama current as opposed to the southerly Humboldt current, and has water temps in the 70s throughout most of the surfing season (low 70s in the south, and mid-upper 70s to near 80 in the north).

Although its coastline is less than a third the length of Peru's, Ecuador still has over 300 miles of coastline spanning Guayas province on the South coast, Manabi province on the Central coast, and Esmereldas province on the North coast (roughly the same distance from Pavones to Witches Rock in Costa Rica). While much of the Ecuadorian coastline is surfable, the majority of it is average-subpar and the quality waves are geographically spaced far apart, mostly with difficult access. The main "coastal" highway has a tendency to avoid the coast as much as possible (and miss nearly all of the best surf spots) , especially in the Central and Northern regions (so cruising the PCH through LA county doesn't work here). On the South coast, the best spots are located inside a military base. Given these logistical factors, surfing in Ecuador is a "wild goose chase" waiting to happen if you do not have a good surf guide at your disposal.

Wavehunters' partner in Ecuador is Canoa Surf Explorer. Canoa Surf Explorer are expert Ecuadorian surf guides with local wave and road knowledge and special tourism access to some restricted breaks like on the military base. Canoa Surf Explorer has a small fleet of new condition 4x4 vehicles and negociated deals with the best hotels on the Ecuadorian coast to make sure that you are traveling in safety, comfort and style to Ecuador's best surf. Ecuador is a developing third world country and its coastline is rugged and in most places difficult to access and navigate (although a couple areas of the coastline like Salinas and Manta and Bahia de Caraquez are surprisingly urbanized with highrise development).

Guessing where to find the best surf from day to day is just that, guessing-- better left to the surf guides who know exactly where and when to go to find you the best surf. Guayaquil and Quito are massive inland cities with upwards of 5 million residents and plenty of unmarked roads leading to trouble in all its varieties. Arriving in one of these cities without a local guide to pick you up and navigate you to the coast is like arriving in hell. On the other hand, if you know where to go, Guayaquil has some of the best nightlife in South America and Quito is a cultural mecca.

Canoa Surf Explorer will plan your trip to Ecuador based on years of collective experience and full command of all logistics pertaining to running successful surf ing tours in Ecuador. The mission is to maximize your surf time and minimize your downtime, to keep you out of harm's way and put you into the barrel or on a perfect wall.