Coffee Chocolate and Flavors of Manabi Full Day Tour from Manta

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1

  Your guide accompanies you through a working coffee farm in the hills above Manta, following the bean from plant to cup. You'll walk the plantation to see how coffee is sown, pruned and harvested, then move through the processing area to watch pulping, fermenting, drying and roasting explained step by step. At the on-site Coffee Station, a barista demonstrates several brewing methods — siphon, Moka pot, French press and Aeropress — and you'll taste the difference between blonde, medium-dark and Italian roasts side by side. Pacoche coffee is unlimited throughout the visit, and the tasting is included. Snacks and additional beverages are available for purchase.

  2 hours • Admission ticket included
• 2

  A short drive from the coffee farm brings you to the San Lorenzo Lighthouse, set on the cliffs where the Pacoche forest meets the Pacific. Your guide explains the lighthouse's role in guiding vessels along this stretch of Ecuador's coast and points out the surf breaks and headlands below. This is the panoramic stop of the day — open time to take photographs of the coastline, the cliffs and the ocean from one of the highest viewpoints in the area. Easy walking, no climbing required.

  30 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 3
  Restaurante Reencuentro

  Lunch is served at a local restaurant set within the Pacoche forest refuge, where the kitchen still cooks over a traditional wood-fired oven (horno de leña). You'll be served Tonga — the signature dish of Manabí — slow-cooked in banana leaves with peanut, green plantain and local spices. Your guide explains what sets Manabí cuisine apart from the rest of Ecuador: the ingredients, the smoke, and the techniques passed down through generations on this coast. Lunch is fully included in the tour price, with a vegetarian option available on request.

  1 hour • Admission ticket included
• 4

  In the town of Montecristi, your guide takes you into a working hat atelier where artisans weave toquilla straw into the hats the world mistakenly calls "Panama hats." You'll watch the finishing stages up close — blocking, trimming and shaping — and hear how a single fine hat can take months to complete. This craft is recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. There is time to try on different weaves and grades, and to purchase a hat fitted to you, directly from the artisans.

  1 hour • Admission ticket included
• 5

  The day closes at Samor, a small-batch chocolate maker in Manta. Your guide and the chocolatier walk you through Ecuador's cacao story — in particular the rare Nacional genotype grown on this coast, prized by chocolate makers worldwide and traced back thousands of years. You'll see how beans become bars and taste a selection of artisan chocolates, accompanied by a traditional Ecuadorian hot chocolate drink. Chocolate is available for purchase to take home.

  45 minutes • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Tags