Manta's highlights & Montecristi Hats

Highlights

Leistungen

Ablauf

1. Firstly we will visit the fish market fish market, at this point we will learn how our fishermen bring the fish in to our cost and table, then we will visit the boat factory, were you will see some of the fishing boats being built.

   1 Std.

2. Boatyard, where you will have the opportunity to see how the fishing boats are being built.

   20 Min.Eintritt inbegriffen

3. We will visit a Tagua Factory, where we will learn how the tagua nuts or the vegetable ivory is processed into pieces that will be carved into nice buttons or figures.

   1 Std.Eintritt inbegriffen

4. Hat weaving demonstration: We will witness an artisan weaving, ironing, shaping, and pressing a hat, we will tell you how a hat is made from the very beginning of the process.

   30 Min.

5. We will visit, Ciudad Alfaro, a complex that was built in order to honor our ex president Eloy Alfaro, who regardless of being a wealthy man, he fought agains the inequality in 1895, and where we singned our last constitution in 2008. Then we will visit a shop, where we will be shown how we weave the Montecristi hats, and you will have time to shop and look around downtown.

   2 Std.

6. Chocolate factory. In this visit we will learn a little bit of high quality chocolate bars, an opportunity to taste the different products and bring some souvenirs with you.

   30 Min.

Stornierung

Kostenlose Stornierung bis 24 Stunden vor Beginn, mit voller Rückerstattung.

Bewertungen

Die Bewertungen stammen aus 76 Rezensionen, die unser Buchungspartner gesammelt hat. Es sind die eigenen Worte der Reisenden, in der Reihenfolge ihres Entstehens — nie umsortiert, damit das Erlebnis besser dasteht.

Angezeigt werden auf Englisch verfasste Bewertungen.

• 2Not much to see here - disappointing

  The experiences are generally underwhelming. The bus: Bus windows were filthy, inhibiting photography. Some wouldn't open & the driver had to use brute force. The seats for my wife & I were broken - they would not stay upright & at the least jolt, we ended up in the reclining position. The seat in front of us was permanently in the reclining position. The bus had no sound system so the guide had to use a portable one, but the noise of the rattling air-conditioner often drowned him out. The suspension was shot, so you felt every pothole or ripple in the road. The transmission was no better - the driver had problems with the gears. So we were constantly jerked around. We often wondered if the driver/owner even knew how to drive. On any hill, everything on wheels passed us & there was a constant joke about the likelihood of reaching the top without getting out & pushing. Itinerary The Fish Market/boat building were a waste of time, the ivory button factory was a small backyard enterprise, interesting but limited appeal. The Montechristo hats were the highlight but just a demonstration in the back of a shop. We didn't see them actually being made. The Chocolate Factory was a gimmick - our guide explained cocoa history (read direct from a wall poster) before we were released to buy chocolates at exorbitant prices. The factory tour was a glass window revealing 1 person packing what we believe may have been chocolates. The mausoleum was neglected, indicating apathy towards their history. We wouldn't recommend this particular company's offering. Bus Safety. The bus door closed as I was alighting, slamming into my elbow & it is still painful 5 days later. There were no apologies from either the driver or guide. The door failed a second time on return to the ship but fortunately there was no one exiting at the time. The bus should not have been on the road.

  Arthur_MAugust 2026über Viator

• 5Manta’s highlights tour...

  Manta’s highlights tour provides an excellent insight into the fishing industry of Manta, a hands on experience of the hand-woven “Ecuadorian” (Panama) hats and a good understanding of the history of Ecuador and Manta. The extensive +5-6 hour small group tour provided by Jay, our guide, and the driver, was outstanding. I would highly recommend this tour.

  Andrew_WAugust 2026über Viator

• 4Great Tour for Cruisers

  We had a good time. The shipyard was very interesting to see, but the fish market itself is not so great if you cannot buy anything there (like if you are on a cruise ship). Montecristi was great. The hat demo was very interesting, though the hat shop is narrow so be prepared for it to be full of people. The museum was okay. The chocolate shop had very good chocolate but there was no talk by the proprietors or demonstration or anything like it. The tour guide read from a posted board and then we bought chocolate. There could have been more here. Victor was our tour guide and he was great. Very informative, and made sure we all stayed together and got where we needed to go.

  Robert_WAugust 2026über Viator

• 5Fascinating insight to Manta

  Our tour guide Victor Cordova gave us a very interesting, amusing, extensive and enjoyable view of Ecuador, and especially of Manta, whose history he could describe in incredible detail. He was very knowledgable about its political history, traditions, small business developments and current economic status. He could answer questions about anything we could think to ask, and his English language was easily understandable. The range of sites visited gave us a wide-ranging picture of Manta today, and we learned more about the city than we had expected. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Manta for the first time.

  nevillep145August 2026über Tripadvisor

• 4We enjoyed our tour. Our...

  We enjoyed our tour. Our guide was very engaging and accommodating to those in the group who needed additional assistance.

  Lorraine_RMai 2026über Viator

• 4Manta Tour from the Sea

  A lot of time was spent walking through a fish market along the shore. Everything was caught that morning, very fresh. But we were all from a cruise ship. There was no point in any of us buying a caught fish and bringining it on-board the ship. They brought up to a factory making jewelry from a large dried seed. The material was surprisingly hard. Machine tools were required to cut the seeds to shape. It was interesting, never seen anything like this. Next, we visited a panama hat making shop. This is now an extremely rare skill. The hats were of a remarkably fine quality. But hardly anyone in our group wanted to spend the money to buy one.

  John_SApril 2026über Viator

Gut zu wissen

How it compares in Manta

• Its from-price is 30% below the median of the 9 tagesausflüge we list in Manta.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 1 of 9.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Manta

Manta is a Pacific port in Ecuador's Manabí province, with a big tuna fleet, long beaches, a lively seafront and the hat-weaving town of Montecristi.

Manta is Ecuador's main tuna port, a Pacific city in Manabí province whose harbour is full of fishing boats and whose factories can the catch. The city has a waterfront promenade and a museum of the pre-Columbian Manteño culture, whose seafaring traders sailed this coast long before the Spanish. Playa Murciélago, the city beach, is lined with seafood restaurants.

See all 23 experiences in Manta