Where is best weather during Jan Feb March ?

Well, good luck with that!

This year is an El Niño period, Roberto ... which phenomenon historically has peaked around the end of December.  El Niño brings warmer-than-usual, wetter-than-usual weather to the Pacific Coasts of Ecuador and Peru.  The name of this phenomenon (in initial capital letters) means "Christ child," so named due to its especially noticeable effects around Christmastime in certain Latin American countries.

The Ecuadorian coast is known for its microclimates anyway, and with the El Niño effect in play, your weather on the EC Coast could be light years different from what folks experienced in a non-Niño year.

The El Niño effect has historically played havoc with the Ecuadorian fishing industry as cool waters needed for fish growth overheat, not to mention the extra rain.  See the El Niño entry in Wikipedia for a further explanation of the fishing industry effects.

And by the way, what is 'winter' anyway in Ecuador?  South of the Equator line the seasons are considered reversed from the Northern Hemisphere.  So technically, only the northern 25 percent or so of the Ecuadorian coast is in winter from December to March.  The rest is in summer then.

You might visit some online weather sites that describe and/or try to predict the effects and timing of El Niño, if you want to try to gauge when these effects will die down.

My personal advice:  educate yourself on this phenomenon, but do not obsess over the micro-climatic changes it may produce on the Ecuadorian Coast during your visit.  And don't expect that past weather performance can reliably predict what you will encounter in Bahía de Caráquez or any other coastal community while El Niño is impacting Pacific shorelines.

This is the exception:  prepare for it to be plenty hot!

cccmedia in Quito

Rolllingstone wrote:

We are wanting to spend 4-5 months of winter in Ecuador on the Coast, either Salinas and or Bahia area.

Keep in mind that Canadian visitors will require a non-immigrant visa extension if they enter Ecuador on a 90-day tourist stamp and plan to stay longer than 90 days.

You might check with your EC consulate about the possibility of arranging a six-month visa before the trip.

cccmedia in Quito

Muchas gracias señor!  Voy a estudiar sobre el ninio.

Hello Rolllingstone,

Please write in english on this anglophone version of the Ecaduor forum so that other members of the forum can fully understand you.

Cheers,
Bhavna

Yes thank you so much. Will do!!