The cleaned up area of town, the Malecon 2000 which runs along the river, has given the city an incredible new face lift and now boasts the two main nightlife districts of Guayaquil: Zona Rosa and Las Penas. Unlike the centralised Mariscal in Quito, where bars are found within four blocks of each other, Guayaquil has these areas dotted around the city and it is therefore essential to know where you are going.
The trick is to go to Las Penas first to drink beer from $1, in bars which are spacious, trendy and luxurious. They have a range from music from Latin Jazz to Classical.Las Peñas begins at the bottom of 100 steps, with bars forming on either side and continues all the way up through small streets for half an hour. There are between 30 to 40 bars and restaurants in this direction, all offering a different flavour of Guayaquil, and most all within the backpacker's price range.
Whether you want to smoke a real cigar of $3 or eat freshly caught fish for $5, it's all right here and will blow your mind.
And due to the climate, it's great to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt with a cool breeze that blows in your face. Every beer served is ice-cold and equally refreshing as the first.
So why hasn't this place taken off yet?
With research consisting of reading endless guide books all saying the same thing: be careful,' and Quitenos (people from Quito) saying the Guayaquilnos are so clever how they rob you' I was of course sceptical to say the least. To any traveller, it is enough to put you off.
But as you walk along the river front, towards the steps in Las Penas you realise not only were they wrong that it is dangerous but you actually feel safer than you do in Quito. There are fewer beggars on the streets, less streets children and less harassment. The Guayaquil Mayor Nabot, had made a huge point of doing so and has succeeded in creating a safe and trendy environment for tourists.
The other reason is of course the city is complicated and you need to know where to go at what time. Everything starts later and so a good time to start your night would be around 10PM for dinner a few beers until 2AM and then hit the night club. As suggested before, don't go to Zona Rosa until Midnight at the earliest. You will only find a few expensive bars with a handful of people. This has been the reaction for so many tourists not knowing there way around the place and hitting Zona Rosa, first thing.
'Imagine the city like puzzle', one bar manager told me. You have to put the edges in first before you get stuck into the main bit. If you start there, you'll get lost and give up completely. Start on the edge, complete it and look at the whole picture.'
