Manta - Panama Hat Making Artisan Goods Beach Front Restaurant-Best Part-Day Out! - Anthony ('Toni") was waiting well ahead of time at the appointed meeting place with a clear name sign & in distinctive uniform just as detailed in the booking instructions. As a school English teacher his English was superior to the Ecuadorian norm. Coincidentally our driver also named Anthony drove the late model air-conditioned & comfortable van for our group of six cruise ship passengers very competently in the busy Manta traffic & assisted some infirm passengers. Toni strategically organized the tour so we had minimal interferance from larger ship-organized tours, gave us bottled water & other small snacks-nice touch Toni ! We started off at the Manta Fish market & after a tour of the stalls & the many marine species displayed he explained how to buy samples of fresh edible shell fish which were consumed readily by many in our group. The nearby shipbuilding/repair was also seen on our walk. Toni suggested that we stop at a convenient ATM for passengers in need of cash on the way to the Centro Civico Cuidad Alfaro Congress & Museum. We were fortunate that Toni knew that the Congress buiding would be open for viewing. It was an illuminating experience of the Parliament meeting place. The Museum is an interesting building representing the shape of a condor & enough time was spent on hearing the history of Gen. Jose Eloy Alfaro Delgardo, before seeing the first amazing demonstration of Panama hat making at one of the nearby stalls. Excellent views of the Montechristi area can be had from this elevated sight. The visit to the artisan's Panama hat makers was entertaining, informative & also a pleasant no-pressure shopping experience. All stages of the hat making process were demonstrated, hands-on hat forming & some prizes awarded to lucky audience participants. Panama hats & the like and all types, shapes & sizes were available for sale at value prices. We also visited an artisanal chocolate making facilty which again included hands-on some aspects of the chocolate making process, sampling of the attached shop's wares & very reasonably priced tourist packets of all chocolate flavours. We then had lunch at a beach side restaurant with excellent sea views with whales breaching in the distance. Although not Toni's first choice, (one restaurant was closed) it was exceptional in it's range of dishes, mainly fresh sea food-based. It had a wide range of beer & other beverages available including pisco sours that proved to be irresistable to some experts present. Lunch was a very pleasant highlight to end the tour & we thank the Tonis' for their flexibility in the time taken to enjoy it fully. We had a brief photo stop at the large "MANTA" sign on the way back to the ship. We returned with plenty of time to do further souveniring at the cruise ship terminal. A couple of us had reservations in booking tours like this type that may be too tiring - this was not the case & we found it easy going. The group unanimously remarked that the tour had been an extremely enjoyable day.

Fabulous tour. Highly recommend for any people on cruises. - Fabulous tour guide Tony. Speaks excellent English. Tony was able to answer any questions about the history of Manta and surrounds. Very knowledgeable!

Worth the money - Awesome Tour! I only had one day and I was so glad to pick this one. The guide was great, totally patient. Can't wait to make the local coffee I picked up!

Great - Great tour with a great guide!!!!!! Did not expect this tour to be as great as it was. I would not hesitate to book it again!!!!!

Great day in and around Manta. - Excellent pickup and return. Steven was everything you want in a tour guide. Very knowledgeable about the area, it's history and culture. Our day was filled with a bit of everything! Fish market was fun and hat maker a genuine experience. Group size of 5 was perfect!

Fabulous Tour to Learn About Educador through a Locals Eyes - What a terrific tour. We walked the beach front and saw the local cuisine. It was amazing to see all the people and fish. From the waterfront, we headed off through the forest to a small town to see Artisan goods in the city. It was fabulous. off to the tour of the Panama Hat factory. We enjoyed lunch which was terrific. We enjoyed this trip.

Excellent Tour - Tom's knowledge of the area, of the local people and of the wishes of his clients ensured a successful tour. We were invited to express our wishes at several points in the tour. The choice of stops and the commentary were very good. Although the choice of 'Panama' hat maker was not quite what we expected Only one active worker), we learned the process. Highly recommended.

Fantastic day out - Montecristi was very interesting. I liked the museum. The walk down to the town center had some amazing views. Service was top notch.

Brilliant experience! - My partner and I travelled to Ecuador and only had a short time in Manta. The tour was really informative and showed you part of the real history and life of Ecuador that normally would be missed. The museum was interesting and the guides were really friendly and helpful! Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Manta.

Tuna Capital of the World - I booked the Montecristi Panama Hat Tour (now known as the Panama Hat Maker, Artisan goods, Museum, Beachfront local Cuisine) with Manta Tour Guides. Manta is known as the "Tuna Capital of the World". Our first stop was at the fish and produce market and the neighboring wooden shipyard. The fish market is the base of the local economy and is where people, restaurants and stores get fresh fish caught earlier in the morning. Manta exports tuna all over the world especially to China. This is the source of tuna we purchase in cans. Other fresh fish included marlin, flat fish, oysters, and shrimp. The covered building charges a fee to rent a stall. Most of the stalls were filled here because it provided cover from the hot sun as compared to those located nearby out in the open. Within the same complex, were people selling fresh homegrown vegetables and fruit. The wooden shipyard next to the uncovered fish stalls area were being repaired and/or built. It was quite interesting to see the massive wooden skeleton of a fishing trawler being built. Before work commencing on construction, a deposit is required from the purchaser. The completed and/or repaired ships are then shuttled to the shoreline.