Surfing Costa Rica

All I can say is you probably won't want to come home .

 

Tamarindo is a fun wave,warm water, easy to catch, long rides,consistent sets, crowded, depending on your experience level you may want to explore others.More experienced surfers will tire of crowds and beginners. If more experienced paddle or drive to playa grande: bigger, faster, heavier (this all depends on the swell of course) also very consistent sets, stay off peak if inexperienced. can get aggro.this beach break is big enough to find your own spot if neeeded. Stay off beach at night @grande enviro aggro for sure. (rightfully so). Playa avellanas is close also long beach and break find a suitable spot and go. Lots of crowds tourists and locals. local beach hangout. Playa Negra ...don\'t even paddle out unless your experienced . When firing negra is truly world class. Big heavy barreling. Rock bottom. All these places are on a map you can get at your hotel, hostel, car rental ect. A good travel guide will fill you in on the social interactions nightlife ect. Have fun. Explore. Be Careful.

 

I've only had great experiences there... the people, the fruits and veggies and fish, the waves...

Rent a car, 4x4 if possible, and get out of town as much as you can. There are lots of great spots with a lot of variety within a couple hours drive, and you should explore as much as you can. Best day I ever had down there was at Negra.

Like kookdog said, be smart and safe and you'll have a blast.

Here's an interesting fact I learned on one of those river tours for tourists... the guide said Costa Rica has nearly a 100% literacy rate (the highest in Latin America), all homes have electricity, and a 100+% renewable energy plan. In other words, all of their electricity comes from hydroelectric, geothermal and other sustainable sources, and they produce so much of it that they sell what they can't use to Nica.

 

Im going for my first time in April as well... the more I learn about the place, the more I want to relocate perminantly.

 

I've been to Tamarindo 4 times, each in different months. May was the least crowded of all the times I've been. It's a great place and not far from lots of surf. I've used Witches Rock Surf Camp as a base and found them to be great.

 

Returned from my first trip to CR on X-Mas Eve. Stayed off the coast near the Arenal volcano for 3 nights and then Jaco Beach for 3 nights. People seem to have mixed reviews about Jaco but it has an easy beach break for beginner/intermediate surfers and I had an awesome time there. My comment is more to back up the fact that almost everyone I interacted with in CR was incredible. With tourism being the number one source of revenue for CR, the people really seem to embrace it and are amongst the friendliest I've met in all my travels. The fruit is amazing and so are the rice, beans, plantains, chicken, and beef, which will most likely play a part in every meal. Have a great trip!

 

I have extensively traveled the west coast of Costa Rica. It is a magical place. My father and I rented a 4x4 and drove the whole coast for about a month in May of 2010. Started in Tamarindo, came through Montezuma, mal pais, jaco, dominical, all the way down to Pavones, and everything in between. You will find excellent waves up and down most of the coast on any decent swell. I caught Playa Hermosa (the one near Jaco) at head and a half and it reminded me of epic hatteras- big brown board breaking hell pits. Caught Pavones at DOH+ and connecting all the way through from the point to the river mouth- Picture perfect waves. Surfed some of the most fun little barrels in my life on a chest – head day at Little Hawaii in Playa Avellanas.

All of that said, I prefer Puerto rico

 

also, if you don't want to lug your boards along, I have had good experiences renting boards from the local shops for a very reasonable price. be careful driving. I have been pulled over by the police when following all traffic rules and been "fined". Usually this means forking over $20 cash to make the problem go away. have fun, be careful. it is a magical place.

 

watch your stuff at avellanas me and my bro had over 2,000 worth of camera equipment stolen. they will sneak up through the buses when you arent looking

 

It will be the time of your life!!!! Great waves, great food, and friendly people. Take in the sights and scenery for this is truly a "magical" place. Your heading to a "busy tourist" spot. That means there will be 30 - 50 people in the water on a crowded day. If you have a car and explore...you have great waves to yourself. It's my second home and everywhere is awesome. Don't hang in Tamarindo the whole time...go across the river to Playa Grande and search other nearby waves. Witches rock is a short boat trip away. Pura Vida mate....have an Imperial for me!!!!

 

great info, great thread... keep 'em comming. I want to make the most of my trip!

 

I just got back from staying a week in tamarindo. I stayed with two brothers that grew up there so they knew all the good spots. Tamarindo bay doesnt receive much swell and there usually a bunch of people learning out there. The tamarindo rivermouth is a good break but usually very crowded. I never surfed it cause it always looked like kook heaven. If you cross the Tamarindo rivermouth to playa grande you will first hit a spot known as casitas. This is a nice long left. If you keep heading up the beach you can find other peaks to yourself. According to my friends who grew up there, Grande is not what it was 2 years ago. They claim the sandbars to be shifting from the surplus of rain in recent years which is messing up the once perfect A frame peak. If you walk south on the beach in Tamarindo you will come around a point more exposed to swell with a bunch of reef breaks. Not too sure if youre into walking out into the break on sketch rocks, but you can get some sick barrels out there. If you keep walking south you'll end up at the playa langosta rivermouth. Its another sick spot with various peaks. Whatever is breaking best at langosta will be most likely ran by a group of about 4 or 5 local rippers. Nice guys, but they take all the waves. If you cross the langosta rivermouth and continue walking south theres more peaks that way. Don't be afraid to explore.

If you have a car there is more to explore. Avellanas rivermouth at lowtide is so sick. The rivermouth is a bit north of Lolas. Just walk up the beach you can't miss it. It peaks out on a reef and grinds all the way in, just look for the boils in the water. I caught some of the best waves of my life there. Seriously the perfection of that wave on a good swell is unreal. You think its going to close out on you but it just breaks perfect. If you walk up a little north from the Avellanas rivermouth youll come across little hawaii. Its a reef break right in front of a hotel, you cant miss it. Nice long rights over there. If you go more south than avellanas youll hit playa negra. Playa negra is good at mid to high tide. If you go to hotel playa negra you will see a reef break right out front, and a beach break to the left. If you keep walking south around the point you will come to this spot my friends call caijones. This spot was a sick reef break that was always 3 ft bigger than everywhere else and no one really surfs it. You will notice it. Just walk out in the middle where the rocks seem the most flat and paddle out! If you want to travel more, go further south to Marbella. That place is awesome and beautiful with damn good waves too. Its costa rica, theres good waves everywhere.

But really, no matter where you go WATCH YOUR STUFF! My friends told me never leave anything unattended unless you want it stolen! even hide your sandals! its best to keep as least values on you as possible. As stated before, ticos just creep through the bushes and steal stuff. My Girlfriend got her brand new Roberts white diamond jacked at playa negra the first day we got there and she hid it up in the bushes. But thankfully we were driving around the area looking for it and saw it sitting on a pool table at some restaurant down the street from Avellanas Lolas. I went wild and stole that board back. what a dumbass thief. Hes lucky he still has teeth.

Anyway I hope you have an awesome trip and let me know if you have any questions. If I don't know the answer I'll ask my friend for ya.

PS. Imperial tastes like piss, drink Pilsen.