El Faro
Surf spot · Ecuador
Is it worth the trip?
57Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 4 ft swell at 12 s
Tue 3 · 48 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 smushy
- Energy
- 323kJ
- Wind
- SW 8 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Wed 4 · 44 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 smushy
- Energy
- 439kJ
- Wind
- SSW 10 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Thu 5 · 71 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft12 smushy
- Energy
- 413kJ
- Wind
- S 6 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 36 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft14 smushy
- Energy
- 154kJ
- Wind
- SSW 6 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Sat 7 · 34 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft12 smushy
- Energy
- 125kJ
- Wind
- SE 6 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Sun 8 · 64 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 ssoft
- Energy
- 230kJ
- Wind
- SSE 4 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Mon 9 · 65 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 ssoft
- Energy
- 218kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 250, fair
- Tue 358, fair
- Wed 441, poor
- Thu 566, good
- Fri 635, too small
- Sat 732, too small
- Sun 867, good
- Mon 965, good
- Tue 1028, too small
The spot in six facts
- Faces Stakes swell from the S
- Offshore: Nwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 22 °C2 mm shorty
- Best Feb–Mar6 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 50, fair | 5 ft12 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 705kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 6 knots | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 58, fair | 4 ft11 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 323kJ | wind from the south-west, 8 knots | 27°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 41, poor | 4 ft11 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 439kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 10 knots | 27°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 66, good | 4 ft12 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 413kJ | wind from the south, 6 knots | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 35, too small | 2 ft14 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 154kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 6 knots | 27°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 32, too small | 2 ft12 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 125kJ | wind from the south-east, 6 knots | 29°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 67, good | 3 ft11 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 230kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 4 knots | 28°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 65, good | 3 ft11 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 218kJ | wind from the south-east, 3 knots | 29°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 28, too small | 2 ft15 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 98kJ | wind from the south-east, 4 knots | 28°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovLow 03:07 −0.4 mHigh 09:07 +0.4 mLow 15:26 −0.5 mHigh 22:03 +0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:29 −0.4 mHigh 10:32 +0.4 mLow 16:44 −0.5 mHigh 23:15 +0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 05:43 −0.5 mHigh 11:49 +0.4 mLow 17:55 −0.5 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Feb–Mar
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr4of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
El Faro on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About El Faro
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces S (180°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (0°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 850 m out (1 in 85). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in March, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually February and March, with about 6 good days in 7; in July, August and September, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Puerto Villamil, 1.9 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Where to stay: Puerto Villamil
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about 5 min by car · 45 places to stay
about US$47/nightcountry average
About Puerto Villamil its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$47 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there
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An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.