Staying Home Sucks, home
Atardecer en Montañita
Montanita. Photo: Mikaelashamrock, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Montanita

Surf spot · Ecuador

Is it worth the trip?

60Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 73 out of 100

Swell
4 ft12 ssoft
Energy
364kJ
Wind
ENE 1 kn
Temp
27°C

Wed 4 · 55 out of 100

Swell
3 ft13 scrumbling
Energy
198kJ
Wind
WSW 1 kn
Temp
27°C

Thu 5 · 73 out of 100

Swell
3 ft12 ssoft
Energy
295kJ
Wind
E 5 kn
Temp
27°C

Fri 6 · 65 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 ssoft
Energy
199kJ
Wind
SE 4 kn
Temp
27°C

Sat 7 · 29 out of 100

Swell
2 ft14 scrumbling
Energy
105kJ
Wind
SSW 4 kn
Temp
28°C

Sun 8 · 42 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 scrumbling
Energy
147kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
28°C

Mon 9 · 44 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 ssoft
Energy
148kJ
Wind
S 1 kn
Temp
27°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 284, good
  2. Tue 373, good
  3. Wed 455, fair
  4. Thu 573, good
  5. Fri 665, good
  6. Sat 729, too small
  7. Sun 842, too small
  8. Mon 944, too small
  9. Tue 1030, too small
  10. Wed 1124, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–10 ftof swell
  • Water 24 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best Feb–Apr6 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Montanita does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Montanita, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov84, good4 ft12 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)437kJwind from the east-south-east, 3 knots, offshore28°C
Tue 3Nov73, good4 ft12 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)364kJwind from the east-north-east, 1 knot, offshore27°C
Wed 4Nov55, fair3 ft13 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)198kJwind from the west-south-west, 1 knot27°C
Thu 5Nov73, good3 ft12 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)295kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore27°C
Fri 6Nov65, good3 ft11 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)199kJwind from the south-east, 4 knots27°C
Sat 7Nov29, too small2 ft14 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)105kJwind from the south-south-west, 4 knots28°C
Sun 8Nov42, too small2 ft12 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)147kJwind from the west, 4 knots28°C
Mon 9Nov44, too small3 ft11 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)148kJwind from the south, 1 knot27°C
Tue 10Nov30, too small2 ft10 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)92kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots28°C
Wed 11Nov24, too small2 ft14 smushy4 ft at break (est.)128kJwind from the west-north-west, 8 knots28°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 03:09 −0.6 mHigh 09:13 +0.7 mLow 15:33 −0.8 mHigh 22:06 +0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:29 −0.6 mHigh 10:34 +0.6 mLow 16:50 −0.7 mHigh 23:18 +0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 05:44 −0.7 mHigh 11:52 +0.7 mLow 18:02 −0.7 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.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Montanita

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces W (260°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (80°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 700 m out (1 in 69). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 23°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually February, March and April, with about 6 good days in 7; in July, about 3. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Montañita, 1.6 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 24°C: no wetsuit. 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).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$785–US$1,480 each

about US$785–US$1,480 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to MEC, estimated from distance and season, changing at PTY, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$362–US$751
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$67–US$114
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$134–US$221
Food7 days eating outabout US$154–US$282
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$67–US$107
Totalabout US$785–US$1,480

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Montañita

about 5 min by car · 139 places to stay

about US$47/nightcountry average

See 139 places to stay in Montañita · Booking.com

About Montañita 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 16h

About 16h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → MEC, changing at Tocumen International Airport (PTY), then 2h by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.