Tamarindo Costa Rica

Grande is a standout wave compared to Tamarindo itself which in my experience has always been half the size of Grande at best- but there will be crowds- the second peak at Grande might be your best bet as the crowd thickens between first light and 9

 

Playa grande is a good alternative that is close by. It could be crowded but is usually spread out along different peaks up and down the beach. If your surfing that early in the morning crowds shouldnt be that much of a factor in tamarindo, The main crowd usually starts heading out at about that time in my experience.{9:00} The night life in tamarindo sometimes gets the tourist so their was only a handful of dawn patollers when i was there in early december

 

Agreed, you shouldn't have a problem in the mornings with crowds at all, people go nuts there and not a lot of people do dawnies. I've been there 4 times (each time a different month) and this has always been the case. Check the rivermouth as well.

 

Try Avellanas - its about a 1/2 hr drive, but that is because of the roads...it really is close otherwise. We didn't surf the "Little Hawaii" break - we kept driving another mile or so and surfed in front of Lola's Bar. It wasn't big when we were there, but pretty good... Not at all crowded, and there is a guard in parking lot that will watch your vehicle for tips.

 

http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/avellanas/ - try this link for a nice map of the area...

 

Grande is about 20 mins by car have to go around the river mouth.or you paddle across and low tide or take the boat taxi for a buck then walk a bit not sure which is faster. Grande gets crowded!! IF there is swell check tamerindos river mouth I was there in July and it was really good but there was a big swell.. Other than that tamerindo isnt the best for quality but could be fun.. You have to go check out Negra it shouldnt take you long to drive there in dry season. Also Avellanes, and Langosta. Short drive.. Good luck. Are you taking your future wife to Arenal and the Hot springs?? If not you should.

 

Grande only breaks at high tide also so dont waste your time if its low in the morning. must be mid tide or higher! and if this falls at sun up expect 20 others out at first light.

 

That was the case for me when I spent 3 days in tamarindo. I surfed at the southern end of town (in front of the Capitain Suizo) and each day low tide was dead flat. It was significantly less crowded there than at the rivermouth.

 

My wife and I honeymooned in Tamarindo 10 yrs ago. After talking to the hotel concierge about the local surf spots, he and I were able to convince my wife to go for a day trip on the hotel concierge’s cousin's boat (I’m sure any concierge in any hotel has a ‘cousin’ who will charter his boat to you).

My wife was a bit hesitant climbing into the beached 18ft Boston Whaler with the 16 yr old cousin-captain, but he also provided a cooler of Imperials and sandwiches, snorkel gear, and some fishing poles; so we loaded my rented board and off we went. We headed north to Ollie’s then back down to Witches Rock, stopping along the way to snorkel a bit; we also ran into a school and caught a few albacore tuna (which the hotel chef prepared for us that night…). There wasn’t a whole lot of swell in the water but we found some fun chest high surf. Being a Jersey girl, my wife was a bit concerned about me jumping off the boat to surf, leaving her alone with the captain, but as soon as he set the anchor, he was overboard with his bodyboard, which of course caused her to protest about being left alone on the boat… some sunbathing and a few Imperials eased all her concerns. That trip was definitely the highlight of our honeymoon.

The volcano and the hot springs are cool too.

 

Capt suizo can be fun but not a trip worthy wave. Got to get out of tamerindo and get some waves that costa is famous for! Wifey has to learn early on that surfing is a priority or you will be screwed for life or at least you get divorced ...

 

Sounds like a typical costa rican adventure!!! Very cool..

 

Tamarindo is good for nightlife and tourist shops...the closest good waves are grande (wave magnet) and langosta. Avellanas is a little further and is a very forgiving/playful wave, great for teaching the lady. I think somebody mentioned the bar there called Lola's, which the girls love. Be sure to check out the sports bar in langosta - good people, good food, and lots of games (doubles ping pong, foosball, hook the ring on a string).

Enjoy yourself -

 

Good call going to tamarindo. Your girl will dig the atmosphere. Make sure you go on down to the monkey bar at the best western.

In town- The rivermouth. Fairly long left hander that breaks into... you guessed it, a river. This is where you might actually see a salt water croc.

To the north (half hour)- Playa grande. Heavy beach break. It's like surfing Hermosa. Especially in the sense that it is always twice the size as the nearby "surf town"/

To the south- Avellanas (Half hour). Three options here- beach break, river mouth, and little hawaii ( the reef break). Beach and rivermouth get good, just like everywhere else does on a good swell. Little Hawaii, however, is quite a gem. Last time I surfed there a several hundred pound sea turtle stuck his head up about 3 feet from me. His head was the size of a basketball. Be careful here at low tide, when you start seeing boiles in the faces- call it a day. Costa rican hospital's are few and far apart.
There is also Playa Negra (45 minutes). Negra is a big right hander that will either peel or explode depending on the swell direction. Im goofy footer so it wasn't my choice spot but it is a fun wave.

Boat trips- it only takes about a half hour to an hour to get to ollies (world class right hander) and witches rock (legit beach break featuring some odly placed rocks, over-hyped because it was featured in endless summer 2) out of tamarindo. Certainly worth the trip if there is swell and you have never been.

 

With your timeline you won't have time to drive far I would head south to the Langosta rivermouth. It is only 10 minutes and much less crowded and gets much better. THe beach south of the rivermouth can get very good also on the right tide and wind and there won't be anyone there. I caught the Langosta rivermouth insane a few days double overhead the last day and it breaks in a few spots 1 peak deep then rolls into another peak thenreform into a heavy inside section with some sketchy rocks you can avoid. The Tamrindo rivermouth was never great when I was there but very fun more of a LB spot when smaller. For Langosta just drive the one road out of town south until it goes no further park along the road and walk any trail out the the beach you will see the river it breaks on the south side. The Sports bar down there is cool and chill as stated earlier.

 

Here's what I would do in that situation, travelling with the wife. Get up super early and be the first one out at one of the town beaches, rivermouth at low tide, further down the beach if it's higher. I found it to be a pretty late arriving crowd and you should be able to catch more than your share of waves. On your way back to the hotel, you pick her up some mangos and coffee or something to wake her up with breakfast in bed. Then you lazily and happily comply with whatever her wishes are for the next several hours. Solid quality time.

Then, plan an afternoon trip to Avellanas. You were only going to surf just the mornings, but bring your board "just in case." When your wife sees Lola's bar and what a great scene it is, she'll be so chill and happy she won't care when you paddle out there to catch a few more waves. Beers at sunset, dinner in town. Rinse and repeat.

 

For dining, especially on the honeymoon, there are some good options in Tamarindo, I like El Coconut, maybe it's the Norwegian owner that does it for me. Witches Rock Surf Camp is a great happy hour sunset bar, get some Nachos and Imperial and watch the sun go down. If your wife does let you have a day of surf, you can book tours and rent boards through them as well. I went with my wife last time I was there, she knew it was primarly a surf trip, but we did a few activities together, went White Water Rafting, (might be hard in dry season), the Congo Canopy tour. As mentioned above Avellanes is a good beach spot, if she likes relaxing on the beach this is a great spot, then you can surf while she parks it on the beach. I believe the original Lola is dead, but Lolita is still running loose on the beach.

 

I agree with Ragdoll, you won't want to stay in Tamaringo all day every day, so go explore other beaches and bring the board "just in case." Also try to get to a zipline tour in the mountains/Monteverde, or Arenal if you can.

 

For the zip-line and mountain exploration day, you have to check out Rincon. It's really the closest spot to Tamarindo, just North of Liberia - go North on the Pan-Am from Liberia and make the next 'main' right (there should be a sign too). Head up the mountain to hike in the park at the volcano, and when done that hit the outfitters that are on the L after the L turn in the little village heading up there (can't remember the name)...the 'canopy/river gorge' zip-line tour is awesome! They have other activities too - ask them how to get to the hot springs when finished. Leave early - you'll wish you had more day...