The city is located on a sandy peninsula on the country's western coast at the mouth of the Río Chone and has considerable tourism infrastructure that positions it as the main regional town.

Also from the late sixteenth century at the time of the Spanish conquest until the middle of the seventeenth century it constituted a trade route covering the Panama–Quito axis, and consolidated the most important contact between the ports of Pacific South America and Central America, but the splendor of this monopoly was dismantled in 1629 when, from the city of Los Reyes, the viceroys of Peru at the time, took decisions in favor of the Santiago de Guayaquil port and shipyard, their elite merchant having found themselves engaged in the enrichment and centrality of the Spanish crown that was to endure severe currency crisis, for which reason they even deliberately banned free enterprise at the Indian ports with European vessels other than Spanish.

The Spanish naval companies had to disclose the reduction of ports to avoid leakage of silver and food consumed in the Iberian Peninsula, in addition to reducing costs and bureaucratic positions necessary to save their skins from the coffers of the Austrias minors.

Although Bahía is a city with great tourist potential, its main economic activity is the breeding and fattening of shrimp in captivity.

On November 3, 2010, the "Los Caras" bridge was opened, linking San Vicente with Bahía, resulting in the completion of the Spondylus Route.