Ayampe

Ayampe is a small relaxing surf town smushed 30 minutes between Montanita and Puerto Lopez. It’s best known for it’s surf culture and high prices… Honestly, it’s probably the most expensive town on Ecuador’s coast (accommodation wise), but for an understandable reason. If coming from it’s southern coastal brother Montanita (read about it here) you’ll immediately feel like you’re on a different planet. After chatting with the locals you’ll understand this place is pricier because being Montanita’s polar opposite is exactly what they have. And they want to keep it that way! This place is very laid back and they want to curb any would be partiers so the prices reflect appropriately. Personally, I think it’s the best thing that could happen to a person in between the craziness of Montanita and the less crazy but still busy Puerto Lopez.

How to Get There

From the South:

• Buses run regularly throughout the day up the coast. $1.50 & 30 minutes from Montanita.

From the North:

• Buses run regularly throughout the day down the coast. $1.50 & 30 minutes from Puerto Lopez.

Best of Ayampe –

There is not much to do aside from lounging around in Ayampe, but here are a few of the favorites…

• Surf – the most popular pastime for locals and travelers alike is surfing. The waves here are considered of the best offered by Ecuador.
• Dive – While most of the diving is central to Puerto Lopez there is one local dive shop in Ayampe. The popular Los Ahorcados diving site located closest to the town’s oceanfront.
• The Beach – the beach is long and usually empty. In the morning you’ll get a few locals doing yoga and in the evening you’ll get the most traffic with sunset beach walks (Still I never saw more than 10 people on the beach at a time). Keep in mind that the beach has its fair share of stones and is probably not your best option if your main intention is lounging on the sand.
• The Town – the town is small and walkable in next to no time at all. There are a few nice beach vibey places to eat and every locals you meet will be the nicest people in all of Ecuador.
• Nightlife – As you probably have concluded already there is next to no nightlife here. The town has one local bar. A nice place but depending on when you go in the year it’s highly likely that it may just be you and the bartender. 

Afterthoughts

I really enjoyed Ayampe! It was just the change of pace I was looking for coming from the busy cities inland and Montanita. I would say it’s the best place on the coast to recharge your batteries. The locals are super friendly and helpful. When I arrived two random locals helped me walk around and find a place to stay. I admit I tried to avoid them at first after growing accustomed to how everyone you walk by in Montanita tries to sell you something. But I was mistaken and felt pretty bad about the prejudgement. One of the guys was the owner of the local dive shop, great guy! If you’re looking for a beautiful place to relax and don’t care much about the nightlife then Ayampe should be on your list! 

Accommodations

Strangely, for such a small town not really popular on the typical tourist trail there are a ton of picks for stay. If traveling in the low season then you’re in luck! Ayampe is largely deserted during this time and you can use that to your bargaining advantage.

• Las Cabanas de la Iguana – (top pick). Just a block or two from the beach. A large property run by a Colombian couple. Prices are listed at $18 p/p. With the low season I easily negotiated to a private room with private bathroom for $10. Camping also available at at a listed price of $8. Full kitchen, wifi and nice common areas available.

Food

Note: Many of the restaurants will be closed for the off season.

El Parche – is a tiny eatery and hostel on the main street leading towards the beach. I only found it opened once during my low season stay. They had a small but very tasty menu for around $5 per meal.

El Paso – is another eatery/hostel also on the same street as El Parche. It has a much more extensive menu. Meals are priced around $5-8.

Supermarket – There are none in Ayampe. There are a few small shops selling basics. Fruits and veggies are drastically overpriced. The closest supermarket, TIA is 30 minutes up the road in Puerto Lopez. TIA is small but has most of what you need. For the best fruit and veggie selection at a reasonable price head over to the local mercado in Puerto Lopez.

Random Delivery – There are a few trucks that come to sell their products every day or two. One truck is all fruits and the other is GIANT shrimp. These shrimp were massive and priced at $8 per kilo. You will hear the trucks driving through the neighborhood advertising via loud speaker.

Onward Travel

North:

• Frequent buses & shared taxi run up the coast throughout the day to Puerto Lopez (30 mins) $1.50. From here you can connect toward Quito.

South:

• Frequent buses & shared taxi towards Montanita (30 mins) $1.50. From Montanita there are hourly buses to Guayaquil throughout the day $6

Safety & Extras

• Ayampe is very safe and crime is hardly noted. Even petty crime seems to skip over this place. With that being said, as always exercise your basic personal safety measures.
• There are no ATMs in Ayampe. The closest can be found in Montanita & Puerto Lopez.

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