Places to Visit in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, America

Places to Visit in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, America

Esmeraldas is a city belonging to the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador between 00°58′07″ N latitude and 79°39′37″ W longitude. It is the administrative centre of both Esmeraldas Canton and Esmeraldas Province and is home to an international seaport.

The port of Esmeraldas plays a major role in the economy of Esmeraldas with export of agricultural and lumber resources to foreign countries. The industries support the Esmeraldas’s economy includes chemicals and oil, manufacturing and timber.

Other than business activities, Esmeraldas is also widely renowned for its beaches, virgin forests, traditional music, cuisine and dance. Beach volleyball is a very popular sport in Esmeraldas.

Geography of Esmeraldas:

Esmeraldas is a coastal city situated at the entrance of the Esmeraldas River, about 310 km northwest of Quito, the capital of Ecuador at an altitude of 15 meters, covering an area of 15.216 sq. km.

How to reach Esmeraldas?

Esmeraldas has a small airport, named General Rivadeneira Airport which is an international airport offering flights to Cali in Columbia and major cities of the country, Quito and Guayaquil, all these three services are catered by TAME.

Esmeraldas is also reachable by boat to the neighboring countries.

Esmeraldas also has good connectivity with nearby cities through well maintained roads by both luxury and general buses and there is daily bus service offered by many travel companies from Quito.

Food and Shopping in Esmeraldas:

The best options to purchase souvenirs in Esmeraldas include:

Cayapa basket market
Tolita Artefacts
Más por Menos supermarket

Restaurants are plenty and here is the list of major food corners in Esmeraldas:

Balcón del Pacífico
Las Redes
La Marimba Internacional
Chifa Restaurante Asiático
Los Alamos

Things to do in Esmeraldas:

Swimming
Shopping
Village tour
Archeological sites

Places of interest in Esmeraldas:

Las Palmas Beach:

Las Palmas Beach is one of the major beaches of Esmeraldas offering different water sport activities including swimming, surfing and kayaking. Tourists can also play beach volleyball here.

Atacames:

Atacames is a beach town located within the Esmeraldas province, around 30 km away from Esmeraldas city. It is known for surfing and nightlife activities and also houses most of the star rated hotels of the province. It can be accessed by bus from Esmeraldas.

Muisne:

Located around 80 km from Esmeraldas, Muisne is a coastal town situated on the northern tip of Isla de Muisne semi-island and many spectacular beaches of Isla de Muisne are nestled on the western side of the island attracting both domestic and international tourists.

Other places of interest near Esmeraldas include:

Cumilinche Beach
D Cameron Mompiche
Playa Tonsupa
General Rivadeneira Airport
Virgin forests
La Tolita archaeological zone
Saami
Quinindé

Best time to visit Esmeraldas:

Throughout the year is best to visit Esmeraldas, especially summer months are ideal for beach exploration.

Accommodation options in Esmeraldas:

There are several reputed hotels in Esmeraldas providing excellent accommodation facilities to the tourists visiting the city from time to time. Some of the tourist favor facilities offered by Esmeraldas hotels are laundry, private rooms, cable TV, free internet, hot water, doctor on call, spa, different recreational activities and swimming pool. The major hotels in Esmeraldas are listed below: