Rio Chico Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Manabi, Ecuador)

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Spot Information

Rio Chico Surf Guide

Rio Chico in Manabi is an exposed point break that has very reliable surf. Autumn and winter are the favoured times of year for waves. Works best in offshore winds from the east northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest.The waves is a point break that peels left. When the surf is up, it can get quite busy in the water. Surfing here means negotiating dangerous rips.

Rio Chico Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Point	3	very consistent	26.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Rio Chico:

The best conditions reported for surf at Rio Chico occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Rio Chico (for consistent clean waves)?

marchBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Rio Chico with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of March. Clean surfable waves are typically found 50% of the time in March while 42% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 8% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

50%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

42%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Rio Chico Location Map

Interactive Rio Chico surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Rio Chico is General Ulpiano Paez (Salinas) Airport (SNC) in Ecuador, 63 km (39 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Rio Chico is Reales Tamarindos (Portoviejo) Airport (PVO), also in Ecuador, 79 km (49 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Rio Chico Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 08:57 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	14	14	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	on	on	on

Tides at Rio Chico

Current tide and informaton

For Ayampe, 3 km from Rio Chico.

Next High Water: 05:56pm | 1.97m

Next Low Water: 12:00pm | 0.6m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Rio Chico Sea Temperature

Very warm air temperatures and very warm water(26.2 °C) too at Rio Chico, warm enough for wearing board shorts and a rash vest in the surf. Cloudy, but feeling very pleasant in and out of the water.

Today, many surfers would wear a rashvest wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 26.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite