'''Canoa''' is a pleasant, laid-back fishing village on the Pacific coast of Ecuador in the Manabi province. Popular with travellers and yet not over-run by them, it's an excellent place to chill-out for a few days on the beach or practice your surfing skills.
Get in
Every 30 minutes there is a bus connection with San Vincente. From here you will need to take a boat across the mouth of the Chone river to get to Bahia de Caraquez. You can either jump on the car ferry (free) or pay a small fare to go across in one of the small motor boats which leave from the jetties. From Bahia 4 busses daily leave to Quito (two in the morning (6:30AM, 9AM) and two in the evening).
There is also a bus route up the coast to Pedernales. The [http://www.ecuadorbeach.com/map.html Sundown Inn web site] has excellent maps of Canoa and the region.
Get around
It's possible to hire bikes in Canoa and enjoy a bit of cycling around the area.
See
Do
'''Surfing'''Canoa has some nice surf to learn or perfect your skills. ''Surfshop Bahaya'' (one block from the beach) rent out shortboards or longboards (no intermediates) for about $5 per halfday.
'''Parapente''' or '''paraglide''' and recently an American has setup a school Fly Canoa [http://www.flycanoa.com] which offers several courses. If you don't have time or the desire for this there are also inexpensive tandem flights available so you can get a taste of flying.
An adventure company Canoa Thrills recently opened at the Surf Shak. They organize paragliding, kayaking, surf lessons and rentals, custom swell specific surf tours up and down the coast, whale watching tours, kayaking cave tours and much more. Stop by the Surf Shak and speak with the team about booking a trip.
Beachcombing along the beautiful beach at Canoa can be quite rewarding as some beautiful tropical sea shells wash up. One annoying aspect of the popularity of the beach is that, like any popular Ecuadorian beach (attitudes among Ecuadorians to rubbish frequently flabbergast travellers) it often has a lot of rubbish on it at the end of each day. If you are staying at Hotel Bambu, they will give you one free cocktail if you fill a bag up with rubbish - you can fill a bag quite quickly and it's a free drink and a great way to keep the beach clean, so everybody wins.
Take a trip to Rio Muchacho Organic Farm. They offer 1-3 day tours with activities including horse treck to howler monkey forest and waterfall, making chocolate and coffee from the bean, making necklaces, bowls, and rings from natural materials, and lots more. They also offer volunteer programs for the farm and ecoschools. You can get more information on Rio Muchacho or other tours in Ecuador at their office in Canoa which also sells fair trade items.
Learn
'''The Canoa Spanish School''' is a great place to learn Spanish while enjoying the beach. It is located at the Sundown Inn on the beach just south of town. You can get a 4-week program with private beachfront room, all meals and 80 hours of private tutoring for around $800.
Buy
There are several tourist shops in Canoa
There is no bank or ATM, you must take the bus and ferry to Bahia. There is also a ATM in San Vicente
There were two Internet access sites in January 2007
Eat
Restaurante '''Genesis''', Javier Santos #306 (main road), has cheap and decent fish dishes.
'''Jixsy''' (where the main road meets the beach) has good prices and food, including non-fish dishes.
'''Costa Azul''' (opposite Jixsy), is recommended against. The menu lacks variety, and they couldn't manage to cook edible rice.
'''Hotel Bambu''' (see Sleep) serves excellent crèpes all day.
Pizzeria '''Sunset Beach''' (one block from Hotel Bambu) has reasonable food, but is a bit expensive.
'''The Surf Shak'''''', on the malecon, is a great North American style restaurant that offers burgers, pizza, spaghetti etc. The food is the best in the area and the prices are quite reasonable.
There is now an ATM in San Vincente
Drink
The happy hour (5:00pm till 6:30pm) in '''Hotel Bambu''' (see Sleep) is a good place to meet other travellers. The mood is very relaxed and during this time you get a "2 for 1" deal on cocktails ( 2 of the same type for the price of one).
Sleep
'''Hotel Bambu''', [http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/bambu] is right on the beach. It rent out bamboo sheds, cabins or hotel rooms or you can pitch your own tent. Besides accommodation there is a restaurant (good food, but a bit pricy) and bar. Furthermore there is a pool table, table tennis, laundry service and surfboard rental. Prices vary from $4.00 for the bamboo shed till $20.00 for a double hotel room with private bath.
'''Posada de Daniel''' is considerably further from the beach, but the bus from Pedernales goes past the door, so you may be able to persuade the driver to stop there. Groups may be able to bargain down to $6 pppn; the typical price is about $8. There is a pool table, Internet cafe, cable TV, small swimming pool, laundry service and surfboard rental.
'''Sundown Inn''', [http://www.ecuadorbeach.com/] about 2 km south of town is a great place to stay and relax ouside the noise of main town. Nice beachfront rooms with balconies for $9-12 per person, breakfast included. They also offer Spanish lessons.
'''Hosteria Canoa''', email: ecocanoa@mnb.satnet.net or canoa@hosteriacanoa.com. Has hotel style rooms with A/C as well as individual cabins with three single beds and a seprate bedroom with a queen. The nice pool is in the center of this Hosteria with the beautiful and somewhat secluded beach a short walk away. Good food, drinks and views from the upstairs restaurant.
Shaka Beach. anoa. hakahostal@gmail.com. 593 914 631 98. ttp://sites.google.com/site/shakahostal/Home. http://sites.google.com/site/shakahostal/ e-mail to: shakahostal@gmail.com, phone: +593 914 631 98, contact: Byron Bone or Daniela Lendi. Shaka Beach opened its doors in October 2008 and is just one step from the beach and the main road. Shaka Beach is a lovely place to stay and enjoy a good meal or drink. Shaka Beach is run by a young dynamic team. It is a great place to meet local surfers and listen to great music. Price vary from 5 to 15 Dollar depending on season. Amenities include hot shower and towel.
Get out