Chocolate & Coffee farm Cruiseship Tour in Manta
Description
This is our favorite tour. Mixing amazing flavors with stunning natural environments. You will be stunned by the views at the Coffee farm and amazed by the taste of the local gourmet choclate products. This is a great light activity tour that requires a little walking and is very easily accessed throughout. Which makes it a favorite with our cruise ship clients. In the farm we included coffe free and chocolate. maximum number of travelers 12
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will start the day with a visit to a secluded and tranquil coffee farm located right in the middle of the Pacoche Rainforest. The views, pure air and peace are worth the trip alone for me, but we have much more for you. The Ecuadorian Coffee bean, while not as famous as the Columbian variety, is known for its fruity undertones and is a booming business, as more and more coffee lovers discover them. We will take you through the cultivation, harvest and production with an interactive exhibition. We are fortunate enough to have one of only 2 beachfront drying beds in the world at this farm. This gives the coffee beans a delicious seaside flavor that can´t be replicated. After touring the scenic farm and seeing the bean process you can try out some great coffee. Take a moment to relax in the time-honored local hammocks and explore the fruit-filled garden. Odds are you will see hummingbirds as well as quite often you can hear or even see howler Monkeys.
Faro San Lorenzo
After working up a healthy appetite, we will take some time to relax in the traditional Restaurant found amongst the jungle canopy. Watch as the food is prepared in the traditional manner with fresh seafood and plantain dishes being a particular speciality here. This style of cooking produces some intense woodsmoke flavors mixed with the ancestral knowledge of herbs and spices. You will be able to choose from a large range of local countryside or seafood dishes. While you wait for the meal we highly recommend walking through the shaded garden paths. The owners have planted a lot of beautiful flowers so the hummingbirds are always present.
Next, we will travel to the home of the famous Panama Hats, Montecristi. Sheltered at the feet of the Landmark Mountain is the town that birthed these sombreros many generations ago. Once in the small town center, your guide will show you the Panama hat makers workshops and stores as well as a huge variety of local artisan goods. We can also see some of the last examples of the traditional wooden architecture in the central plaza next to the cathedral.
After leaving Montecristi, we will drive down to the brand new chocolate factory and coffeeshop of a renowned local chocolatier. We will see the fascinating history and varieties of Cacao. The interactive exhibition takes you through the whole tree to table process. We will try some delicious local products freshly made, not just from the cacao bean but also the sweet and succulent white pulp found inside the Cacao pod. The Husband and wife Chocolatiers , Jonathan and Angelica have created a real diamond in the rough. They have turned a 40 foot refrigerated shipping container into an amazing production line with extremely high end equipment, expertly installed and operated. The best part is they cut out the end of the container, fitted glass to it and built the coffee/chocolate shop around the factory. So you can see the chocolatiers working while you try the results. It goes without saying, chocolate is divine.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
The tour start time can be changed to fit any cruise ship. We will be waiting at the cruise ship port passenger terminal with our red Manta Tour Guide uniforms and name cards at the ready. Right outside the arrival gate. The passenger terminal is a small modern building. You will see us right away. We can also arrange pickups from anywhere in and around Manta. Transport from further afield can be arranged on request. We will drop you off at the starting point.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(37)
Great tour. You get to visit a third generation Montecristi Panama hat factory. Learn how they make them. We watched as a woman who has been weaving the hats for 54 years working on a hat. Then you see how they steam press the shape of a traditional fedora. Then you have time to shop for one if you want. Everyone there was super helpful. After Montecristi you head to a lookout point with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. Then you visit a artisanal coffee plantation and store. You learn how to make several styles of coffee and try a couple. Next lunch is at a restaurant on the beach. It's not included in the cost of the tour, but it is super cheap and huge portions. Might want to split a dish. Lastly you visit a artisan chocolate factory and store. Learn how they make a traditional coffee from the past and chocolate from today. You also get to try several chocolate samples and have the opportunity to buy some. All the stores you visit are locally owned and a small business. Great tour and great guide Tony and driver Caesar. Highly recommend this tour.
Thanks for the review Steve. Tony is a great guide
A great experience. Christian was outstanding and much needed as a translator. The only negative was too much dead time waiting for our turn at the different locations. Too many tours at the same locations at the same time.
Thanks for the review. Chris is a great guide.
I learned more about coffee than I thought there was to know. Chris was an excellent tour guide, very knowledgable and passionate about Ecudor. Woild recommend for others, not much walking.
Thanks for the review. Chris is a great guide
Our tour guide, Chris, was excellent. He was personable and spoke English as good as any American, since he is an American expat. He was also fluent in Spanish and could translate some of the local presenters for us. We learned a lot about Ecuador, coffee, chocolate, Panama hats and we got to see a lot of the city and nearby towns.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
Tony was excellent, all the places he took us was very good and we enjoyed every stop. I would recommend this tour. Driver was very good.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Christian! He shared much about his life in Ecuador and also much about the indigenous people and the uniqueness of the land. We had a private tour of the Paroche Coffee farm with an informative demonstration of the different ways to make a cup of coffee. We also had demonstrations of Panama hat weaving in Montecristi and visited the chocolate factory in Manta . The samples of chocolate were delicious and generous! Our group was small and we received wonderful individual attention!
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
A great tour with Pedro. We had a fun day. First we saw how Panama hats are made, which was very informative. Then on to a local chocolate maker. We tasted different types of chocolate, made hot chocolate drink from scratch and saw the workings of the small factory. Then lunch and onto a coffee plantation, with a very informative guide and tasting of different types of coffee. Really enjoyed the whole experience, much more than expected. Well done Pedro and your young helper.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
We had a great day with Pedro! He met us at the cruise terminal with a sign with our family name so he was easy to find. We got a note a few days before the tour to be at the terminal at 8:15 and upon disembarkation found out we had to take a bus down the pier which made us about 2-3 min late. No worries! Pedro was there. We joined with the rest of our group for a total of eight of us in a van that held 12 people. So it was a comfortable ride. We started the day learning about Panama hats and we visited the chocolate factory, followed by lunch and the coffee plantation. All of the stops were very enjoyable. No one at the Panama hat store spoke English and so Pedro had to interpret. That was the only downside. I really liked the chocolate stop because we were able to learn the traditional method of making it and tour the factory to see how it is made today. We also were able to taste quite a bit. We had a nice lunch that offered lots of local choices like bolon or pastillito, but also some more traditional choices like a ham and cheese sandwich or fries. So there was something for everyone. We finished the day at the coffee plantation which was really interesting and informative. Pedro was very nice and my son was the only child in the group so he received lots of special attention and that made us very happy.
THanks so much for your review Cathryn. Pedro and Kelly had a great time with you guys
Fun tour, learned a lot about chocolate and coffee and hats. Knowledgable guides.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
Pedro was a fantastic guide. All businesses were small-batch family businesses with great quality products and demonstrations. My only complaint is the group was 16 people so it was a little unwieldy, ran behind, and we didn't get time to shop at the coffee farm. We cut it pretty close getting back to the ship. I do recommend this tour as the experiences were great, but consider booking privately.
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. We all work very hard to make sure you have the best time possible in Manta.
