Kiteboard/Kitesurfing at Santa Marianita

Santa Marianita is also known by locals as Playa Bonita (the beautiful beach). It's is a small fishing village about 20 minutes south of Manta. The beach is  300 meters wide and 4 km long. A sandy beach, it is a perfect location with plenty of space for learning, launching and landing, and there is often a surf-able shore break with waves from 1 to 1.5-2 meters high for intermediate & expert kiters There is a couple of restaurants  at the launching area where riders gather. The amazing thing about Santa Marianita is that it is never crowed!

The best time for kiting is May to December with over 80% of the days excellent kiting conditions. Kiting is still available January to May, but the good kite-able days drops to about 50%. February - March are normally the worst months. The very long windy season, from May to January, has an average speed between 18 and 25 knots.

Santa Marianita is excellent for all levels of Kiting. You will see kiters doing freestyle, wave and bump and jumps. It is a sandy bottom, with a great along shore consistent breeze, that makes kiting a pleasure almost every day for its 6 month season. The predominant wind is a south-westerly (i.e. along/side shore). There are no hazards on the beach. The wind strength is 5-6 (Bf), and is consistent all day, picking up early afternoon (the best time for Kiting). There is no tide dependency, and waves on the bigger days can pick up to about 2 meters (especially on the south of the beach).