Atacames is a beach town located on Ecuador's Northern Pacific coast. It is located in the province of Esmeraldas, approximately 30 kilometers away from the capital of that province, which is also called Esmeralda.
Atacames relies primarily on tourism as its main industry. For its population, Atacames has the highest level of hotels in the whole province of Esmeraldas.  It is also easily accessible by bus from Santo Domingo, Quito, and Esmeraldas.
Atacames has a busy night life, primarily due to the fact that weather during the day is extremely hot and humid. Atacames provides services for tourists all year round, but the high season are weekends, Easter, Carnival, Christmas, and some weeks in the summer. The city of a few hundred is full of discotheques and dancing clubs that play the most recent hits from different styles of music such as salsa, merengue, and reggaetton. Atacames is also well known for its "caipirinas", a Brazilian drink made from sugar cane alcohol, fresh lime juice and lots of ice. Along most of the beach there are bartenders situated in kiosks along the colorful beach shore that make a variety of local fruit shakes and juices. There is also a covered (though out door) line of booths that sell hand made jewelry and handicrafts. Dozens of local women also earn a living by braiding and putting beads in hair (generally for tourists).