Costa Rica Surf Travel Guide
Costa Rica is one of the best countries in the world for a surf trip. It has consistent waves on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, with famous surf towns like Tamarindo, Nosara, Santa Teresa, Jaco, and Puerto Viejo. The main surf season runs from December to April on the most popular Pacific side. There are beginner-friendly beaches and world-class reef breaks – something for all levels.
Ask 100 surfers to name their top three surf destinations on the planet and it’s likely that Costa Rica will come up time and time again.
Now firmly up there with Bali and Portugal among the planet’s best surf destinations this big chunk of Latin America rarely fails to impress.
The reason for its prowess? Geography. Costa Rica enjoys exposure on two coastlines: The Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. The first is the most famous for surf, but the latter also has a short swell season that can be epic.
The Pacific coast of Costa Rica is ultra consistent. That’s down to the prevailing easterly trade winds (consistently offshore) and the almost ceaseless southwest swells that work their way up from deep down in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Pacific side is home to the country’s most iconic surf towns: Lively Tamarindo, chilled Nosara, the more developed Jaco. I’d say it’s very much the place to aim for if it’s your first trip since there’s surf for every level, every type of surfer.
Don’t discount the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, though. Towns like Puerto Viejo de Talamanca there sit on the cusp of slabby barrels that are fueled by hurricane swells and the arrangement of coral reefs under the water. It can be pretty epic stuff out east.
Finally, Costa Rica is a joy to explore even if you’re not surfing. On the forefront of eco tourism, it hosts cloud forests reserves like Monteverde and the adventure mecca of Arenal. You’ll spend non-surf days hiking rainforests to find sloths, watching whales on the Osa Peninsula, and hiking up active volcanoes.
>> Read about loads more surf in the region in our guide to surfing in Central America
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
Highlights of surfing in Costa Rica
- Highly consistent southwest swells on the Pacific side
- It’s one of the world’s best intermediate surfing playgrounds
- A relaxed and adventure-filled country.
Quick FAQs about surfing in Costa Rica
The best time to surf in Costa Rica is from December to April on the Pacific coast, when offshore winds and clean swell are most consistent. The Caribbean side sees its best waves between November and February.
Yes, Costa Rica offers year-round surfing thanks to two coastlines. While seasons shift between Pacific and Caribbean sides, there’s always somewhere with good waves.
Tamarindo is widely considered to be one of the best beginner surf spots in Costa Rica. It has lots of peaks and decent shelter from the uber-strong SW swells. We also like the beach breaks of Nosara (on Playa Guiones) when conditions are smaller and the low-tide whitewash around Jaco. The winter months from November to April are perfect for surfing as a beginner in Costa Rica.
What will I find in this guide to Costa Rica surf?
The Costa Rica surf season
Costa Rica has surf all year, but the best time depends on your level and where you choose to go.
The northern Pacific coast — spots like Playa Grande and Witches Rock — fires from December to April with dry-season offshore winds. From May to November, the southern and central coasts pick up long-period southwest swells that light up places like Dominical and Pavones. Over on the Caribbean, the window is shorter but punchier, usually peaking between November and March.
Generally speaking, the dry season on the Pacific coast is better for learners and intermediates. The wet season is better for more advanced surfers.
>>Read more in our complete guide to the Costa Rica surf seasons
Where to surf in Costa Rica?
You can break up Costa Rica into five surf regions.
Of those, Guanacaste and Puntarenas are by far the most famous. They have an exceptional consistency thanks to solid dry- and wet-season swells, plus a string of very well-known surf towns and waves – think places like Tamarindo, Witch’s Rock, and Santa Teresa.
If you’re looking for a well-structured surf trip in Costa Rica, a surf camp, or more easy-access beaches, Guanacaste and Puntarenas are perfect. If you prefer emptier waves and don’t mind traveling for them then other areas can be really fun to explore.
Let’s take a look at the best places to surf in Costa Rica, region by region…
Guanacaste
Guanacaste is best known for Tamarindo, which is the most famous surf town in Cota Rica by a country mile. It’s home to a big beach break that works wonderfully for all levels, especially in the morning before the winds pick up.
However, Guanacaste shouldn’t be judged on Tamarindo alone. Head north and you can enter one of the remoter parts of the country, where the surf territory meets the borderlands with Nicaragua. There are seriously iconic waves up there, not least of all the barreling beach break of Witch’s Rock and the frieghting rights of Ollie’s Point – both are world-class but require a bit of travel.
The other place worth a special mention is Nosara. It’s got a hippy-yoga vibe about it and is very relaxed. Waves for all levels are on offer in Playa Guiones and the town has tons of great surf hotels.
More surf guides from the Guanacaste:
- Witch’s Rock – A legnedary wave in a national pak. There’s a big left but also a super-fun beach break. Most people base themselves in Tamrindo and do strike missions up here.
- Tamarindo – The original Costa Rican surf town, Tamarindo has big party places and loads of surf camps. It’s a solid choice but the waves are likely to be busy.
- Nosara – The ultimate yoga-surf town in Costa Rica. Great for beginners. It’s one of our favorite places.
Nicoya Peninsula
The Nicoya Peninsula is one of the best regions in Costa Rica for intermediate surfers. Breaks like Santa Teresa offer powerful beach waves that are ideal for progressing from beginner to intermediate level.
Expect wedgy peaks with enough punch to practise turns and build confidence, especially during the main swell season.
The tail end of the peninsula has some more secret beaches that are good for people who want a relaxed surf trip, with the odd lesson but also lots of waterfalls and jungle trekking. If you like the sound of that, be sure to check out the beach town of Montezuma.
More surf guides from the Nicoya:
- Santa Teresa – Very cool surf town that’s boomed in the last five years. Santa Teresa is a perfect place for beginners up to good intermediate level during the dry season.
- Montezuma – A remote, jungle come beach town. Some waves, but mainly a chill place and you surf in about 30 minutes’ drive away.
Northern and Central Puntarenas
The region of Puntarenas stretches all the way from the tail end of the Nicoya Peninsula to the border with Panama in the south. It has over 260 miles of coastline, all of it perfectly exposed to the southwest swell channels of the Pacific. It’s brimming with amazing surf towns.
The most popular is probably Jaco, which is one of the best learner spots in the country. South of that is the amazing surfing reserve of Playa Hermosa, and then the long central part of Puntarenas Province, which includes the swell magnet of Dominical.
What’s strange is that Puntarenas is host to both the most accessible surf towns in Costa Rica (Jaco) and some of the hardest to reach (Pavones). You’ll need to decide what appetite you have for long bus rides but I will say that traveling a bit further does open up surf that’s a lot less busy than in Tamarindo etc.
More surf guides from the heart of Puntarenas:
- Jaco – One of the country’s main beginner spots, Jaco has an easy beach break and loads of great hotels.
- Playa Hermosa – Has heavy barrel that rocks up on high tides and holds to well overhead. Really great when it works but generally for more advanced surfers.
- Playa Esterillos – Come here to escape the crowds and get consistent swell all year round. It’s chilled, the vibes are good, and you can even be alone on the punchy beach breaks. Decent for all levels.
- Dominical – An intermediate+ spot that’s got lush drop ins and reliable SW swells in the Pacific channel. Rewards those paddling into the offshore with clean-face A-frames. Usually quite busy.
- Uvita – Uvita is best known for its whale watching but there’s surf too, much of it shared with the more surfy town of Dominical to the north. We say it’s a great destination for intermediates and beginners.
Southern Puntarenas
It’s worth looking at southern Puntarenas as a separate surf region. That’s mainly because it can take a LONG time (8-12 hours is normal) to get here from San Jose, and the surf is a bit different.
The region’s most famous spot is Jaco, which loves big SW swells in summer, which it turns into some of the most epic lefts on the planet.
You can also find some great surf around the Osa Peninsula, a wild finger of land with chilled surf towns and glorious beaches. It’s a fantastic place for really getting away from the crowds.
More surf guides from Southern Puntarenas
- Pavones – The best left hand wave in Costa Rica.
- Matapalo – Come here for super-relaxed surf trips without crowds but with eco hotels and welcoming people.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean side of Costa Rica is very different to the Pacific. The beaches here tend to be rocky and sheltered by out-at-sea reefs. That means you need to go beyond the breakwater to catch anything heavy.
Out there, the coral gardens glimmer sometimes only feet below where you’ll be dropping in – it’s scratch-the-board territory extraordinaire. The waves are much more fickle, needing Colombian cold fronts or hurricanes (usually August)
Caribbean Costa Rica is generally better for advanced surfers. The swell season here is short – it runs between December and lat February.
Surf camps in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is now one of the best places to do a surf camp in Central America. It’s up there with Sri Lanka and Indo as arguably the best tropical spot to come for a planned surf trip.
What’s really great is that the offering isn’t limited to beginners – as surf camps usually are. The variety of the waves around the Pacific coast here mean that there’s loads for intermediates and even advanced riders.
There are two clear hotspots for surf camps in Costa Rica. The first is Santa Teresa. The second is Tamarindo and the surrounding towns (Nosara included).
Our top two picks for specific surf camps would be:
- Iguana Surf Tamarindo – A seriously good surf camp that offers 4x surf lessons across a 6-day stay in buzzing Tamarindo. All instructors are ISA-qualified and they even throw in transfers to and from Liberia Airport.
- Zeneidas Garden – Live right on the beach, surf every day, feel the good vibes. Zeneidas Garden is a surf camp with a difference. Packages are heavy on the surf but also include extras like yoga and optional extras like pottery workshops, art workshops, and local adventures to waterfalls and the like. It’s genuinely great!
>> We have a complete list of the best surf camps in Costa Rica
Reccomended surf resorts in Costa Rica
There are hundreds of really great surf hotels in Costa Rica today. There’s been a bit of a boom in the building of them in the last 5-10 years, so many are brand new, looking good, and well setup for the modern surfer.
For me, the priority is usually proximity to the surf spots I want to surf each day, which is why I often reccomend picking your favorite surf town and then choosing a good hotel in that spot for a week or two.
Some of the top options across the country are:
- The Gilded Iguana [Nosara] – A Nosara classic, this lux hotel is now a full-on surf village right beside Guiones Beach. Great for all levels; especially nice for beginners and families.
- Arenas Del Mar [Manuel Antonio] – This is the pool pictured above. It’s luxury and on the doorstep of the Manuel Antonio Beaches, so great for combining eco trips with a bit of surfing.
- Surf Synergy Surf Camp [Jaco] – Hilltop cabanas done with pizzazz, great surf tutoring, access to Jaco’s beginner beaches but also the surfing reserve in Hermosa.
>> We have more resort suggestions in our guide to the best surf hotels in Costa Rica
>> We also have a guide to the best budget surf stays in Costa Rica
Best surf towns in Costa Rica
Picking the right town is really important if you want to plan the perfect surf trip. Ideally, you’d have the time to do three or four stops in different surf towns. Some people only manage to drop by one.
Either way, it can help to get an idea of what the different surf towns in Costa Rica are like, since this is very much a place where you pick a base and surf either right there on the beach out front or in nearby beaches.
Here’s a brief overview of your options:
- Tamarindo – The original surf town in Costa Rica, offers great beginner waves but also spots for more advanced surfers. Is a party place.
- Nosara – The hippy-surf haven. All level surf and great hotels.
- Santa Teresa – The digital nomad option but also fantastic for intermediates thanks to long beach breaks. Suited to beginners in the dry season.
- Jaco – Not the prettiest but close to San Jose and has a top beginner break on its main beach.
- Playa Hermosa – Hardly a town, more of a collection of hotels by the beach. Better for intermediates.
- Quepos (Manuel Antonio) – Stay somewhere along the coast between Quepos and Manuel Antonio to get access to some lovely spots while also doing a proper eco holiday.
- Dominical – Harder surf but not as busy as further north. Chilled place to stay, hardly a town at all.
- Pavones – Very remote but also well set up for surfers, Pavones is home to one of the best lefts in Latin America.
>> We have a guide to the top surf towns in Costa Rica that goes into each of the above in much more detail
Surfing in Costa Rica for beginners
>> Read our full guide to the best places to surf in Costa Rica for beginners
Costa Rica is one of the best surf destinations in the world for beginners. The country’s Pacific coast, especially in places like Tamarindo, Nosara, and Santa Teresa, offers consistent waves, warm water, and soft, sandy-bottom beach breaks that are ideal for learning.
There are well-developed surf towns here that have surf schools and board rentals everywhere, not to mention some really great surf camps and hotels. Most instructors are bilingual and experienced with first-timers.
The dry season (December to April) is especially great for novices, thanks to clean offshore winds and smaller swell. I’d avoid the wet season if you’re just learning as the waves are much bigger between June and August.
Travel info for Costa Rica
How to get to Costa Rica?
Most people fly into either San Jose or Liberia (where there’s a new and growing airport).
San Jose is better for reaching the Caribbean coast and the southern Pacific side of the country, including the likes of Nosara and Manuel Antonio.
Liberia is a better arrival point if you’ve got your heart set on surfing in the Nicoya Peninsula, which includes everywhere from Tamarindo down to Santa Teresa.
Getting around Costa Rica
Everyone has a different opinion on how to get around Costa Rica when surfing. We say: It depends.
If you’re planning to do a surf camp then the chances are you don’t need to rent your own car. Usually, it’s just a case of transfering to the town where you camp is and settling in. Transport to and from the breaks will be included in the cost of your camp (if it’s not then it’s probably not a very good package).
You also probably won’t need your own car if you’ve got your heart set on just a single surf destination. Lots of people do it that way. They choose one town – Tamarindo, Nosara, Quepos, wherever – get there, book a hotel or surf lodge within walking distance of the beach, and don’t worry about doing much else.
All that said, there’s no doubt that a car hire in Costa Rica will take your surf trip to whole new heights of amazingness. You’ll have the freedom to cruise up and down the main regions in search of those empty beach breaks and hidden points that noone knows about. Plus, you won’t have to rely on buses and transfers, so can easily string together mini stays in multiple surf towns – Santa Teresa, Nosara, Tamarindo is a popular itinerary, for example.
If you do choose to rent a car, then it’s always a good idea to go with a 4X4. Roads are improving here but there are still long sections that are unpaved and the terrain can be difficult.
We almost always use DiscoverCars these days – we’ve found them to offer some of the best deals in Europe and the Americas for trips in 2024 and 2025.
Amazing experiences for when you’re NOT surfing
Here’s the thing about Costa Rica: There’s loads to do off the waves, too.
From smoking volcanic peaks to hidden Shangri-La national parks filled with howler monkeys, it’s the perfect place for those who like an adventure especr, eve
If it’s your first time, I’d highly reccomend focusing on the highlights, which are mainly volcanos, national parks, and beaches…
- Manuel Antonio National Park – This is an eye-watering showcasing of the stunning biodiversity of the country, with swinging howler monkeys and gorgeous capuchins making their home within. There are some easy trails you can hike on your own but a guided tour is a good plan because it means you’ll have someone there to teach you all about the biodiversity and help you spot animals.
- Arenal – The Arenal Volcano has risen to become one of the top adventure destinations in Costa Rica. There’s no surfing, sadly, but there is hiking in the jungles, whitewater rafting, and camping on the banks of nearby Arenal Lake.
- Monteverde – Monteverde is the gateway to the famous cloud forests of central Costa Rica. They town is awash with adventure hostels where you can organize canopy treks to walk through the jungle. Keep the eyes peeled for rare monkeys, blooming orchids, and multi-colored resplendent quetzals folks! If you’ve got the moolah, a stay at the Koora Hotel-a Cloud Forest Resort is definitely worth it.
This really is just scratching the surface. If you’re keen to plan more, trusty LP has this pretty comprehensive list of the bucket-list things in Costa Rica.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!