Esmeraldas: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Esmeraldas is a city of 218,727 people in Ecuador, 18 m (59 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM), 4 km (2 mi) from the centre.
Key facts
Open Esmeraldas in Google Maps
Daylight in Esmeraldas runs from about 12 h 6 min a day in late December to 12 h 13 min in late June (computed for 0.96° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Esmeraldas is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM), 4 km (2 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 7,874 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft.
Flights to Esmeraldas: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Esmeraldas · Driving and car hire
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Quito, 182 km — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Guayaquil, 352 km — flights · buses · car rental
- Santo Domingo de los Colorados, 145 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Pasto, 266 km (Colombia) — buses · car rental · tours
- Ambato, 271 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Portoviejo, 241 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Popayán, 376 km (Colombia)
- Eloy Alfaro, 348 km
- Manta, 244 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Riobamba, 312 km — buses · car rental
Twin towns and sister cities: Santiago de Cuba, Montevideo, San Sebastián, Benidorm, Alicante, Puerto Cabezas.
Common questions
Which airport serves Esmeraldas?
Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM), 4 km (2 mi) from the centre.
How big is Esmeraldas?
About 218,727 people live in Esmeraldas, across 28 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Esmeraldas in?
America/Guayaquil, currently UTC-5.
What currency is used in Esmeraldas?
The Dollar (USD). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Esmeraldas?
Quito (182 km), Guayaquil (352 km), Santo Domingo de los Colorados (145 km), Pasto (266 km), Ambato (271 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.