Puerto Cayo is a mellow right point break in a small fishing port. The wave offers fun, workable walls for intermediate surfers during NW swell events, with a quiet village atmosphere.
Model forecast for swell, wind and tide.
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Water temp
24°C
Wetsuit
Boardshorts / Rashguard
Difficulty
4/10
Crowd level
2/10
Access: Small fishing port. Easy access.
Puerto Cayo is a point break in Manabi, Ecuador, that mostly breaks right.
Puerto Cayo picks up swell from the WNW round to the NNW, and it's best when it's coming straight out of the NW. It starts working at around 0.9m and handles up to about 1.8m, with the sweet spot around 1.3 to 1.6m. Period matters too: aim for 14s or longer, as anything under 10s tends to be weak. These are the numbers our scoring uses, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.
An ESE wind is dead offshore at Puerto Cayo, and anything from the E round to the SE keeps it clean. The morning is typically the best window, roughly 6am to 11am. Light winds from other directions can still be fine; strong offshores can make it hard to get into waves.
Puerto Cayo is at its best around mid tide, roughly 0.4m to 1.5m on the local chart.
The most reliable run of swell at Puerto Cayo comes Dec to Apr. There's a second window in May to Jun and Nov too. Best December-April with NW swells.
The water at Puerto Cayo averages around 24°C, so boardshorts or a rashguard will do. It shifts a few degrees through the year, so check the season before you pack.
It's more of an intermediate wave, rated 4/10 for difficulty, so newer surfers are best off sticking to the smaller days. The lineup is usually quiet (crowd 2/10). Rocky point.
The nearest airport on our list is MEC, then it's roughly a 1.5-hour drive. Small fishing port. Easy access.
The closest breaks we track are Rio Chico (2.6 km), Las Tunas (35 km) and Ayampe (37 km), handy when Puerto Cayo isn't working. We track 7 spots around Manabi in total.
Peak: Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Secondary: May, Jun, Nov
Best December-April with NW swells.
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