Panama Hat Making Experience: Learn Local Crafting & Savour Beachfront Cuisine in Manta

Immerse yourself in the art of Panama hat making in Manta. Learn from a British ex-pat family and indulge in beachfront cuisine. Book your unique crafting experience now!

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Playa Tarqui - This is an artisanal fishing market where visitors can explore the variety of fish available in the Ecuadorian market, discover the meals that can be prepared with them, learn about the most popular choices, and check their prices. Additionally, there is an opportunity to tour the area where artisan boats are crafted.
  • Manta -…
What's Included
  • Bottled water
  • Small emergency kit
  • All fees and taxes
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Guide
  • Attraction tickets
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

You’re in capable hands. As a British ex-pat family residing in Manta since 2009, we span four generations enjoying the sun, sea, and sights. Our goal is to craft the perfect day for our clients by leveraging our global travel and local expertise to discover the finest tour attractions. We are committed to making your time in Manta a remarkable part of…

Location
Playa Tarqui
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(25 Ratings)
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Carolene_f
Apr 3, 2026
Fantastic Tour of Manta Area - What a treat this tour was! We had a small group of 7 & our guide, Marco was fantastic ! First stop was the open air fish market on the beach full of many vendors; very interesting. Then toured a small museum atop a small mountain with wonderful views & learned history of Ecuador. The best stop was a Panama Hat store where we watched demonstrations of hat weaving; process of heating hat to form the style. Fascinating!! Then we had a private lunch overlooking the Pacific. I would highly recommend this tour!!!
Review provided by Viator
Diane
Apr 1, 2026
Marcos made our adventure! - Marcos, our tour guide was wonderful! We enjoyed the museum, the fish market, the Panama hat makers, we thought the chocolate demo was not worth it. Marcus took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch and we enjoyed the time getting to know our fellow excursion mates.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lancef304
Apr 1, 2026
Fantastic tour with Panama Hat making the highlight! - Marcos was the best guide! Visited fish market, museum with history of the region, then a demonstration of hat making! Fantastic! Had a chocolate tasting then a relaxing lunch with view of Pacific. Great tour!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D9731qfkarlad
Nov 27, 2025
Manta Ecuador- Amazing tour! - We had a small group of 6, Our tour guide, Tony, was amazing, gracious and accommodating! He fully immersed us in the culture & shared his local favorite places. I can't speak highly enough of our experience. The transportation van was clean & air conditioned. The restaurant, Will's, was on a quiet beach, away from the touristy area. The fresh grilled seafood and plantains were delicious. The staff was amazing! Tony made suggestions from the menu & interpreted our orders. We felt like we had a mini vacation from our vacation! I'm sad we're only here for one day. We ended our tour at Samor Artisan Premium Chocolate! What a lovely day! Thanks for a fantastic tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B4991sbmicheller
Apr 18, 2025
Shaskia is a great guide! - We booked a private tour for four through Manta. We were supposed to have 10 hours in port, so we wanted to create our own itinerary and spend the whole day touring. Unfortunately, the ship was late in disembarking passengers, so we missed 1.5 hours of our tour. There was a bit of a mix up on the itinerary too...the guide Shaskia had an itinerary from her boss that was different than what we agreed to...for example, we wanted to see the Panama hat factory, but that wasn't on her itinerary. But she quickly changed things and although we missed a few things we wanted to see, we still had a great tour. She is very smart and friendly, happy etc. That always smooths out the wrinkles. I would certainly recommend her as a guide. The Panama hat place was very impressive. The chocolate factory also did some booze tasing for us. We initially didn't plan on going there, but it was a nice experience. And the restaurant Shaskia suggest for our seafood lunch feast was delicious! Too bad we had to rush through it because of the ship's delay. In any case, I would book through Manta again, but be sure you agree on an itinerary and make them stick to it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Texastravelers1997
Mar 29, 2025
Well-organized tour. Hit highlights. - Well-organized tour. Hit highlights. Guide spoke great English. Provided waters and little snacks. Adapted to our interests and needs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Briann223
Mar 29, 2025
If you want a private tour at a reasonable price with a great guide, this is a tour for you - The tour was great, Marcus English was very good. He was very informative. He had lots of ideas to entertain us with puzzles and games while we were on the road to each of the venues He took us to a beautiful beach where we had traditional food and all in all it was a great day. Also, our driver did an excellent job.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert
Dec 23, 2024
Cloud forest and more - Juan and Christian were great guides. Loved the tour. Both of them are personable, flexible, and speak English fluently. They each also know Manta well, and answered all of our questions. If you are in Manta, it is Manta Tour Guides 100%. Also Tom gave us a per person discount for having 20 people on our tour. Very much appreciated Tom!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rollaj513
Dec 20, 2024
Manta tour. - We had a great time. The tour guides were awesome. They provided us with great information and we had fun. They were related uncle and nephew. Their family name was Boyen.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruth
Dec 17, 2024
Best excursion in Manta, Ecuador - We loved every minute of this tour. Esteban, the guide and Cesar, the driver were the best. Aside from the sites we saw, we learned a lot about Ecuador, the people, the economy, and had a lot of fun. We would highly recommend this tour for a day off a cruise ship. We wish we had more time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $110
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).