After days of getting ourselves semi-acclimated to the 9000+’ elevation of Quito, we made the 10 hour plus winding downhill bus-ride to Puerto Lopez. I’m always a fan of coastal towns, so from the start, I was charmed. Don’t think that means it was all roses, however, and in this guide I’ll share with you the good, bad, and face-palm moments.
Contents
Getting There
Assuming you’re in one of the major cities in Ecuador (without your own car), you’re going to have to take a bus to Puerto Lopez. From Quito you have two options. Take the day bus from Carlos Aray that leaves from the south bus terminal, Quitumbe, at 10:10am and arrives at 8:30pm (theorhetically), or take the night bus from either Carlos Aray or Reina del Camino and arrive sometime around 6am. We chose the day bus and found that while it had a toilet (yay!) it was broken so we had to scramble to use the pay toilets at the bus stops. You’ll only get the chance to hop off when the bus comes to an actual bus station, but when it does, you should have time to run in.
Face Palm – Next time ask if it has a WORKING toilet and never assume it will.
Another caution to the day bus- ours was down to 4 passengers when we reached Manta, about 2 hours ahead of our scheduled arrival in Puerto Lopez. Our bus driver, who’s maniacal driving had convinced us he was late for an important date already, chose to pay a local line $5 to take us the rest of the way. It slowed us down and we ended up arriving almost an hour later than we had planned.
Getting Around
The moto-taxis or Tuk Tuks in Puerto Lopez are great. They’ll take you everywhere within the city limits for around $1 and will find a way to fit your luggage in. Make sure to ask ahead of time, and you might be able to negotiate if they quote more than that. Honestly though, the walk from one end of town to the other is no more than 30 minutes, even if you’re stopping to enjoy the view or visit a shop.
Where to Stay
Puerto Lopez had everything from higher end Hosterias to budget Hostels and private homes to rent via platforms like AirBNB. Below are a few of our recommendations.
Hosteria Mandala, at the north end of the beach is a beautiful location with ornate carved wood decor, and free breakfast. For around $80/night (give or take) you can stay in one of the cabins at this lovely ecotourism resort.
If you’re looking for a similar bungalow feel at a hostel price, consider the Hostel Viejamar. Your dorm is housed in a small bungalow. Privates are around $30 and dorm beds start around $11/person. You’ll get free breakfast and internet, a nice cooking area, pool, and of course great access to the beach and tours.
We stayed at an AirBNB, which I am happy to recommend. It was called Casa Mosaica (or Beautiful Place Close to the Beach) and was attended by a local man named Geovany who was incredibly helpful and friendly. We had a lovely porch with a table and chairs to have our morning coffee and breakfast, which I made inside on the cooktop with all of the needed cooking equipment provided. Inside was the kitchen, a queen size bed, a twin bed, and the bathroom complete with hot water. WiFi was reliable and we were even able to buy a water cooler size jug of clean water from Geovany for $1.50.
What to Do
The big activities that everyone talks about, and which make Puerto Lopez a tourist destination, are touring la Isla de la Plata (read about why it is worth visiting here) which includes snorkeling and Humpback whale watching and a visit to Machalilla Park to Los Failes Playa and Aguas Blancas village.
Isla de la Plata – In short, Isla de la Plata is definitely worth the day trip, especially in the mating season (April-August/September). You’ll see mating birds, watch humpbacks frolicking, and if you’re lucky like my husband, you might see the giant Manta Rays while snorkeling.
Los Frailes – Los Frailes is a beautiful beach, which is set apart from Puerto Lopez far enough to seem to always have the sun shining. To get there you need to take a bus or taxi from Puerto Lopez to the park gate and then it is another almost 2 miles in (we walked, to save money and then were so hot and tired that we paid $4 for an umbrella (cost of a TukTuk in should be $2-3)
If you’re looking for a bus, get to the bus station on the north end of town and hop any one that is going toward Manta, just confirm that they will be passing the entrance to Parque National de Machalilla.
If you wait for a bus in town you might be waiting for a while. After 35 minutes we finally gave up and took a taxi.
Aguas Blancas – The entrance to Aguas Blancas is closer to Puerto Lopez than Los Frailes. If you’re doing the two in one day, you might want to go to the beach and then catch a short taxi ride to Aguas Blancas, or wait for the bus to come by (should be every 20 min or so). If you’re dropped off at the entrance, you’ll face another walk of about 3km tothe Museum. Once you’re there though, its only $5 for a museum tour, guided walk and entrance to the lagoon which includes showers and a changing area!
Low key amazing things not to miss in Puerto Lopez include the morning fish market and fresh grilled comida in the evenings.
Fish Market – If you’re out around 7am you can watch the pescaderos with their daily catch. Every day the birds and vendors come to come in to see what they can get off of the boats. You’ll see some amazing feeding frenzies by the frigate birds and seagulls as they fight over the guts tossed aside by the fishermen before they weigh in their catch. Then the fish is sold either to the restaurants for the day’s special, or directly to the consumer. You can buy camerones or calamari and ask one of the restaurants to cook it up for you on the spot for a small charge. I also loved the fresh hot tortillas de maiz con queso. Tortilla to me should be flat, but these look like small buns and are made from corn, filled with cheese, and cooked to a chewy perfection. Buy one for 25 cents and eat it on its own or pick up a hot cup of mococho (an absolutely delicious porridge-like food made from corn, milk, butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
The Frigate birds went nuts for the day’s catch!
Evenings
In the evening, the little bars on the beach will all run specials on drinks and if you’re looking for a delicious and economic dinner, stop at one of the restaurants with a grill going out front for some fresh grilled fish, chicken, or steak complete with rice and some other side for around $4.00.
Super Insider Secrets
OK, now for the stuff you can only get here. We have 5 big Puerto Lopez tips for you.
- If you’re going to stop for a meal/drink/juice, etc, try to spread out your stops and get the WiFi password for each restaurant you go to. Within a day or two you’ll have WiFi coverage up and down the main street.
- You might be able to talk the tours down in price. We got Cercapes Tours down to $35pp for our Isla de la Plata tours and if you have a big group you might even be able to get it a little lower.
- The best lavanderia is BurbuClean (av. Garcia Moreno y Calle Lascano, WhatsApp 0980857473). She only charges $5.50 for up to 50 items and she is very considerate with your clothes, even those with special instructions.
- Need a massage? There is a massage therapy office in Puerto Lopez and massages are only $12/hour for a full body, but make sure to call ahead for an appointment. Its called fisiopoint alemana and the number is 098 2839596.
- Get your workout on the sand. Towards the southern end of the beach is a small workout area withpull-up bars, bench press bars made with cement weights, a tire to flip, and ropes. They were doing some improvements to this area while we were there, so if you find that the area has changed, let us know in the comments
There it is in a nutshell. Puerto Lopez, the laidback beachtown that is never too overrun with tourists, even during the busy season. It’s well worth the visit.
Let us know what your favorite part of Puerto Lopez was, or any of your own insider secrets. THANKS!
KTN
Thanks for the advice on Puerto Lopez! Part of my big summer trip this June/July will be a week long coastal road trip in Ecuador with my husband. Puerto Lopez sounds like the perfect low-key spot to base ourselves for a few days of adventures. Any favorite spots to eat there?
Hi Jackie! I’m so sorry I somehow missed this comment for so long. Enjoy your trip to Ecuador! Be careful on the roads, and always assume the other drivers might not follow all of the rules. We definitely didn’t experience a lot of cars stopping at stop signs. As for great restaurants, I honestly can’t remember any specific one. My favorite meals were ones where we had meat that was being freshly roasted out on the street corners. In the evenings the restaurants spill out onto the streets and you can get some really good, fresh grilled fish or other meat. Early in the morning, you can also find your way to the fish market, where the fishermen are bringing in their catch, and watch them weigh out and sell it. There are vendors around selling the morocho, which is a warm spiced corn pudding, and other pastries.
At lunch time, most of the restaurants along the strip serve cevice with fried plantains or similar. Puerto Lopez is very nice coastal town with a chill vibe. I hope you really enjoy it! If you’re considering taking a boat ride out to Isla de la Plata, check out our other post about our visit there. We were there several months later in the year than you will be, so the animals will be in different stages of their mating than what we saw, but I’m sure it would still be worth going, or maybe even better!
One final thing, there is a cafe at the far north end of the beach called Cafe Madame http://www.cafemadame.com, that serves smoothies and organic foods. Safe travels!!
Thanks for the tips Justin! We stayed at the Victoria Hugo Hotel. I agree when getting a tour. We negotiated ours down quite a bit and got some great video of the whales jumping out of the water. Highly recommend Ancora restaurant! Piece full hidden gem. Must visit!
I want the massage and $4 dinner.
Wait for the post on Cuzco! We had lunch for $3.10 (both of us combined) today at the market and found massages for 20 soles ($6) that we’re definitely getting after the Inca Trail!