Atacames's nightlife is all on the beach — a continuous strip of thatched open-air bars where the distinctions between restaurant, bar, and dance floor blur comfortably into each other. The scene runs seven days a week in high season and dies almost completely on weekday evenings in the low season.
The signature drink is the coco loco: white rum, coconut water, lime, and ice, served in a hollowed coconut or a large plastic cup depending on the establishment. Cold Pilsener beer from the industrial brewery in Guayaquil is universally available and universally cold. Cocktails are cheap and strong. The music — cumbia, salsa, vallenato, and latterly reggaeton — starts around sunset and continues until the last paying customer leaves.
For something calmer, the few cafes on the main street one block back from the beach open early for espresso and the local pan de yuca, and close by early evening.