Puerto López

Puerto López lies at the Pacific Coast of Ecuador. A fishing village, it is now also becoming a tourism hotspot and is most famous for being the departure point for visits to Isla de la Plata.

Understand
Once a haven for budget travellers going to Isla de la Plata, the town has become much more developed with a beach promenade, a pier for tours to the nearby islands, and lots of restaurants and hotels.

Get in
Puerto López has a new bus terminal about a mile north of town on the coastal highway. Tuc-tucs (mototaxis) charge $1 to take you to town. Information on bus schedules can be found at AndesTransit.


 * From Santa Elena buses leave many times a day, passing by Montañita.
 * From Montañita there are frequent buses ($2.50, 1 hr). Some of the buses don't have storage underneath, be prepared to put your pack in the front of the bus or on your lap.
 * To Guayaquil buses go via Jipijapa at 07:00, 09:00, 13:00, 16:00 ($4, 4 hr).
 * From Portoviejo two companies goes to Puerto Lopez, with a stop at Jipijapa and continue to Montanita ($3, 2 hr).
 * From Quito Reina del Camino and Carlos Aray provide direct service from the Quitumbe Terminal ($13).

Get around
Everything but the bus terminal is in a walking distance. Taximotos should not cost more than $1 to get around town.

See

 * Each morning (the time depends of the time of the year) the day's fishing catch is brought in the beach near the pier. A mad rush ensues with best catches being bought and carted away quite quickly. You can see sharks, swordfish, wahoo (from the tuna family), and more. Apart from fish, you will see at least frigate birds and pelicans trying to get their share of the catch.

Do




Eat
Cheap cuisine can be purchased from food carts a few blocks east of the shore -- 50¢ empanadas, for example. The shoreline is lined with restaurants which mostly serve seafood and range in price from $3.50-10. There are also three Italian restaurants in town. Finally, you can buy ceviche and sometimes sandwiches from the cabañas on the shore.

Drink
You can sit outside at one of the restaurants and drink, or you can go to one of the cabañas, which blast salsa music and reggae throughout the evenings. Fruity drinks cost between $3 and $5, while the local beer of choice, Pilsener, goes for $1.50 for 600 ml.

Go next

 * Puerto López is the closest village to Parque Nacional Machalilla. The park headquarters is one block behind the plaza in Puerto López and also features a small museum. The entrance is free of charge.
 * The serene Playa Los Frailes is 10 km north of Puerto Lopez inside Machalilla National Park. You can take the northbound bus (50 cents one way) and drop off in the entrance and walk 3 km to the park (there is a few viewpoints in the path, and you'll see two solitary beaches of the park) o you can take a mototaxi from the entrance to Los Frailes for $1 per person. Another options is taking a mototaxi from Puerto Lopez for around $6 round-trip. The entrance is free.
 * Agua Blanca is a small village and archaeological site of the Manteño people. It's named after a pre-incan sulphur-water pool in the village.
 * Salango Museum Pre-Columbian Archaeological Museum Salango Commune has an extraordinary collection of original and authentic pottery, shell spondyllus, reflecting the worldview, social structure, and the pottery of the prehistoric people of Ecuador.