Surfing Waves

Hey guys,

next week I have the possibility to pass one week of holidays in Ecuador. I'd like to go/learn surfing but it's difficult for me (as a beginner) to evaluate the different many beaches that I could go to.

Currently, I think that a beach break is what I should look for and I've found that there will be only south swells during this season. But as a beginner, I do not know if I actually need a southern-facing beach to make use of these south swells or if it's ok to be on a different beach. When people say that Playas (south-west facing) is the best place to surf during this season, this will most probably hold true for experienced surfers. Is it also true for me as a beginner?

For me, it's most easy to reach the beaches in the north. From what I've read I would like to go to Mompiche. But Mompiche has a point break and the beach is opened to the north. For experienced surfers, this seems to be a bad spot right now but could it be a good place to learn for me?

So I hope that you can give me some advice how to find the perfect place to learn surfing during this time. And if I've understood something wrong, please correct me.

Best regards

Find a surf school - they will provide boards and wetsuits and instructions and will take you to a suitable beach. Just launching into a beach by yourself without understanding beaches is dangerous.

Also, the best beach is the one that is suitable on the day; all that stuff about swell direction and beach direction will give an indication of the wave size and power and will let a local know which beach has the best chance of working; but will (a) change from day to day and (b) the actual waves at a particular beach might be huge or tiny - you just have to go and see

How about Montañita?