Some call it a “little Miami,” but except for the sun, sand, and surf, it’s really nothing like Miami. On the other hand, I was here during the off-season.
During high season, I’m told, Salinas’ beaches are so crowded that virtually every inch of sand is covered by a towel, umbrella or oil-stained body. The streets are lined with cars bringing in even more sand fans, and the boardwalk is wall-to-wall with vendors selling everything from ice cream to visors and shark tooth earrings to shrimp on a stick, fresh off the grill. .
If you have a bit of an agoraphobic, then the low season, from mid-May to December, is the time to head to Salinas, the most popular beach resort on Ecuador’s Pacific coast.
About 90 miles from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, Salinas has long been a vacation destination for Ecuadorians. Gleaming high-rise condominiums line the path to the beach. Trendy seafood restaurants and trendy clubs come to life at night. (Even in low season, the night streets are packed with young people looking to see and be seen.)
However, unlike Miami, Salinas is a relatively small city. The beach is almost perfectly divided in half by a boardwalk where the docks of the Salinas Yacht Club are located. The crescent-shaped sandy bay on the north side, where the action galore takes place, is Salinas Beach. To the south is Chipipe Beach, quieter and more familiar.
Unsurprisingly, most of the activities here focus on water sports: sport fishing, whale watching, wakeboarding, jet skiing, sailing, skydiving, parasailing, and surfing. The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship was held here last spring. .
Yet despite the flurry of activity that is Salinas, it may be one of the least expensive resorts in the world. You can have a nice private room in a sweet boutique hotel just a block from the boardwalk for $30/night for a single room. A steak or seafood dinner at one of those trendy restaurants will set you back just $5 or $6. Or have fish or shrimp, cooked however you like, at the local market, more than you can eat for about $2.50.
And those condos I mentioned? I found a new one on the 8th floor with a floor to ceiling view of that beautiful crescent shaped bay. With three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a utility room, it is priced at just $130,000.
