Surf Breaks of Costa Rica
With The Caribbean and Pacific coasts only 4 hour drive apart from each other, one has the chance to visit the calm beach and point breaks on the pacific along with the rare reef and the heavy tube of the Caribbean.
With 755 miles of coastline, Costa Rica fulfills anyone's surfing need and desire. Everything from beginner welcoming beach breaks to gnarly expert barrels. Costa Rica has very diverse waves. You can mostly find beach breaks in every corner, coupled with points along their extremities. Plenty of surf to find every single day without ever needing a wetsuit.
There is a variety of surfing acommodations that pleases any budget type widely available at the major surfbreaks of Costa Rica.
North Pacific
- Guanacaste Potrero Grande aka Ollie's Point: Right point break in Santa Rosa National Park, only accessible by boat; no camping.
- Playa Naranjo aka Witch's Rock: Great beach break by Roca Bruja, in Santa Rosa National Park, accessible with four-wheel-drive vehicle or boat; camping permitted.
- Playa Grande: Very consistent beach break north of Tamarindo with miles of surfable beach.
- Playa Tamarindo: Good beach break, excellent base for surfing nearby beaches.
- Playa Langosta: River mouth break south of Tamarindo, also there are of plenty of waves to catch south of the river.
- Playa Avellanas: Very good beach break, long beach with different surf breaks, you may see the local pig chillin on the beach.
- Playa Negra: High quality point break further to the south, might be a little crowde.
- Playa Marbella: Very hollow waves that hold a very good line.
- Playa Junquillal: Excellent Surf but little remote. Not lots of accomodation options (camping on the beach!)
- Playa Nosara: Several beach breaks near selection of accommodations.
- Playa Guiones: Some hollow strong waves suited for any surfer to experience a good ride.
- Playa Samara: Gets good when the swells is really big, holding up good size waves.
- Mal Pais: Santa Teresa is the preferred beach break, but the region is wave abundant and one can easily just go out and discover ones own wave.
Watch Killian Raust surf some Costa Rican North Pacific Surf Spots
Central Pacific
- Boca Barranca: Long river mouth left just south of Puntarenas.
- Tivives: Beach breaks and river-mouth south of Puntarenas.
- Puerto Caldera: This is a left that the breaks at the mouth of a river just under a bridge, when the waves are big this swell-secluded spot can be epic.
- Jaco: Popular beach break with abundance of hotels and restaurants. Several very consistent beach breaks south of Jaco.
- Playa Hermosa: Its powerful waves can hold up big swells, waves throughout the whole beach will let you surf in peace.
- Esterillos Este/ Oeste (Two keys/ peninsulas) with river mouth breaks.
- Manuel Antonio: Beach breaks near plentiful accommodations.
South Pacific
- Dominical: Holds big waves and is a very fun beach break.
- Matapalo: Right point break at tip of Osa Peninsula.
- Pavones: Very long left at mouth of Golfo Dulce. Longest left in Costa Rica and 3rd longest left in the world!!!
Caribbean Coast
- North Atlantic: RESEARCH
- Cahuita: Reef brakes along its shorelines some beach can be found.
- Puerto Viejo: Has probably Costa Rica's most powerful breaks called salsa brava. Reef brakes along its shorelines some beach can be found.