The Beach Towns of Montanita and Olón
/When researching interesting places to visit on the Ecuador coast there were many pointers directing us to Salinas less than two hours drive down the coast from the location of our eventual April 2023 discovery of the sleepy, surfer towns of Olon and Montanita. After five weeks in the country with really wonderful experiences at every turn, these funky destinations easily make our “best of” list! Affordable. Friendly. Inspiring! Perfectly affordable beach getaway destinations to relax and recharge!
We fell in love, basically instantly, with Casa Del Merman at GayMontanita House in Montanita. The room was small, the bed was small. So what, we actually slept surprisingly well every night. And after a week’s stay we circled back after the Galapagos and stayed another week! Clothing optional pool and the BEST hospitality in the country between Brian, the Florida USA-based owner, and his exceptionally cheerful and professional onsite management staff of Carina and Vo.
For US$2 we often jumped in a taxi for the 10-15 minute drive up the coast to Olon for dinner and sunsets. There are EXCEPTIONAL restaurants in that little town — smaller than Montanita — with transcendent street art that gives you goosebumps. See for yourself in the pics below.
The only mistake we made was only eating once at Mali Thai and Shusi Bar. We had an incredible Thai lunch but never quite circled back around to get there for dinner when their menu changes to sushi. We were busy developing a first name basis with the staff of the EXCEPTIONAL south indian restaurant right around the corner. What’s the saying? — Olon “punches above its class” in what you would expect in a couple of dusty streets on the coast. If we didn’t love Casa Del Merman in Montanita we might explore one of the really cute hostels in Olon so we could be closer to the thai, sushi, indian and upscale offerings at MoMo restaurant. It would not surprise us if we have yet to discover other as-good restaurants in Montanita or Olon. We’ll keep looking.
Next time we are on the coast we will try to peel ourselves away from these two coastal gems to at least check out Salinas. It won’t be easy!
