Lori L. Says:
What can you tell me about the coast of Ecuador near Manta?
IL Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens Says:
Hi Lori,
Manta is one of coastal Ecuador’s great success stories. Always a prosperous fishing city, with an economy that revolved around the tuna industry (homage is paid with a huge tuna statue in the center of a roundabout on the seaside highway), the city has emerged as a major cargo port and beach resort in recent years, attracting increasing numbers of foreign residents.
While those from Guayaquil in the south tend to head to Salinas for weekend getaways, Manta—and its nearby beach communities—has become the Ecuador beach destination of choice for tourists and second-home buyers from Quito.
Expats, too, are finding their way here. Linda Flierl Hooks has founded an expat social group where the U.S., Canada, Russia, and Ecuador are all represented. Linda started off living in Manta, and now lives on and operates a guesthouse and restaurant (called the Donkey Den) on the beach in nearby Santa Marianita. Just a 10-minute drive from Manta, it is now one of the most popular expat gathering places in the area.
Locals and expats alike agree that Manta is on the move. According to the city’s mayor, Manta is setting its sights on nothing less than becoming South America’s largest port, and many in the shipping trade think the goal is achievable, since Manta is the closest South American port to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
If you are interested in living close to a city but not in it—and we must admit that Manta has the feel of a port or industrial city—consider the beach communities out of town. Going north toward the seaport of Bahía de Caráquez, the beaches are just as nice.
And west and south of the city, San Mateo and Santa Marianita both have nice beaches, as do the twin cities of San Jacinto/San Clemente to the north.
You can read more about Manta its surrounding—including a list of sample properties available in the region—in our comprehensive Escape to Ecuador guidebook, available on the IL Bookstore here.
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