Manta is Ecuador's main Pacific port and the third largest city in the country, with around 250,000 inhabitants spread across the Manabí coast. It's a working port city first and a resort second, which gives it a rougher, more authentic energy than the beach towns further south.
The city traces its origins to the Manta civilisation, the pre-Columbian people who settled this stretch of coast thousands of years ago and traded as far north as Mexico. Their ceramics and artefacts — some dating to 3,500 BC — fill the Museo Centro Cultural Manta on the Malecón, a worthwhile hour for anyone interested in Ecuador's deep history before the Inca.
The beaches are the main draw for visitors. Playa Murciélago is the liveliest, backed by the Malecón Escénico with its restaurants, bars, and weekend crowds. Playa Tarqui, on the eastern side, is where the fishermen come in each morning to sell the catch directly from the boats — an early start is rewarded with the most vivid scene in the city. The water is cooler than the Caribbean, pushed by the Humboldt Current, but warm enough for swimming most of the year.
A day trip to Montecristi, 10 km south, is almost obligatory. This small inland town is where Ecuador's finest Panama hats are woven — the hats that are made here, not in Panama, and that take weeks to produce. A good one costs serious money, and rightly so.