Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

I am going to Costa Rica for a week in August. Never been. Going to be staying in the Playa Hermosa area south of Jaco. Any Costa Rica veterans with any kernals of wisdom of breaks to surf and breaks to avoid. Board types to bring. I was thinking of taking three boards a Stubb Vector, a 6' tri swallow tail, and a 6'3" tri pintail. Any advice would be welcome.

PAVONES :arrow: might have to take boat in that time of year but it is a 3/4 mile blacks beach

PAVONES :arrow: might have to take boat in that time of year but it is a 3/4 mile long good wave.hermosa is just another beach break.

Costa baby
Tide is important there and most spots break on high tide. Hope you have a great trip and you must go to the Beetle Bar in Jaco!
Pura Vida
C

Been there 3x. Same loop each time... San Jose-Jaco-Pavones-San Jose.
There's lots to say about lots of spots. All of which is driven by conditions.
Are you going w/family? That would change advice abit.
Might be best if you PM me.

Also, it's worth the $6 or so for the Surfer Travel Report. That might be a good prerequisite reading b4 chatting...

Missed the North-of-town session. Don said it was fun. Been out at OB Fri/Sat. Two sharks sighted last week...
We're heading out DP tomorrow. Let me know if you're 'in'...

Santa Cruz kneeboarder ex-pat Bob DuBois has a place on the east coast with his own break in front of the house. I had never thought about surfing that side of the country.

I lived in CR for one year, though I only surfed on the weekends. I really like Playa Hermosa, even though it's one of the most convenient spots and not super off the beaten track (don't bother with Jaco). Pavones is not my cup of tea. The vibe there is of a gold rush frontier town - all dudes, all surfers, nothing much else to do. The wave does go forever when it's firing, but it takes forever to drive to Pavones from San Jose, like 10 hours plus, depending on the roads.

The Caribbean side does have one epic spot - in Puerto Viejo near the Panama border. La Salsa Brava is the name of the break, and it occasionally gets swells in August as I recall. You won't be disappointed in this wave if you catch it over 4 feet. It throws over a shallow reef and is a gorgeous light blue barrel. Crowded with local kids and salty characters - yes, but still worth it. The vibe in that town is also a bit off. Lots of ex pat Europeans, Canadians and Americans doing drugs, but safe for the most part.

If you're brining your family you may want to stick to the northwest, on the Nicoya Peninsula. The waves and scenery are gorgeous. A little more touristy, but not really too bad. It will be rainy season though, so be prepared to have a backup plan in case the roads get flooded.

Oh, and if you want to drive south of Jaco/playa Hermosa a few hours I suggest staying in Dominical. The wave is pretty good and there is a waterfall within 5 minutes walk of the main road (ask) that ends in a Tarzan like pond.

Finally, don't bother with San Jose, the capitol. It's utterly boring (I lived there) and lacks anything of interest. Happy wave hunting !

Thanks for the advice. I booked the trip through wavehunters to a surf camp hotel on Playa Hermosa. I am looking for options in case I get tired of Hermosa and nearby spots. Heading a few hours south sounds like an interesting diversion.

What size surf/ conditions am I likely to find in Hermosa area? I know it is a beach break but most of my beach break experience is at OB or Moss Landing.

Stemple - I'm betting the water is warmer than Moss or OB..........lol

Found this:

$399 -- Costa Rica from Oakland (R/T)
http://www.travelzoo.com/Top20.asp?id=103156776
Source: SunTrips.com

Costa Rica rarely gets huge. Something about the direction the coastline is positioned, and the lack of big tidal swings I think. That said, waves at Playa Hermosa hit the sandbar really hard, and is one of the few beach breaks in CR that barrels into shallow inside sections. Now that I think about it, there's also a rarely known sport *between* Hermosa and Jaco, right below the bend in the freeway. It breaks near a small haystack rock that sticks up to the north of the lineup. I surfed it with some locals one day on a larger swell. Not super hollow, but fun !

Anyway, I don't think you need to bring a larger board like for OB and Moss in the winter. Pretty much the whole stoke of CR is the water temp, the incredible sunsets, the nature, etc. It just doesn't fire like in Mex or other spots north and south of there. Others may disagree. I guess the only true bigger wave spot is Witches Rock up north, but that's a big drive, just like Pavones, only north. Try Dominical ! It's mellow down there. Oh, and I've also heard the surf at Manuel Antonio isn't bad either, though that park is overrun by tourists.

Insider's tip. Order "Bebida de Fruta" as often as possible ! Banana con Leche is my favorite !

Syd,
Try http://www.rovercam.com/
They seem to focus on the Hermosa area.
Manuel Antonio is a nice place to visit, and has some surf.
South of there is Playa El Rey. Can boom on the right combo of conditions.
Dominical is a good call, and not nearly the trek to Pavones. If it's still there, look for a small 'hotel' that is on the peninsula towards the South end of town. It's a series of cabanas built into the forest canopy. The walls of the cabana roll up so it's just mosquito netting... so you're in the middle of a tropical rainforest overlooking a shoreline that's like Monterey. Sorry, forgot the name.
Look over the photos on this link... it'll give you a fair idea of the size/power. Also, notice some of the stretches mentioned. 'The Tree' is a congregation point for wave size/quality/people. South of there is less crowded, and still pretty good.
Also, there are some breaks North of Jaco that can fire. Boca Barranca is a very heavily surfed left pt break. Tiveves is OK. Again, get the guide... read... PM.
Glad you missed it today... it wasn't worth the effort.

Oh, almost forgot...
Look at the tide charts on the site.
After full moon in June, tide swing from -1ft to 10.8 ft.
I think the Surfermag reports describe best tides for each break...

Hey SFKneelo !

Yeah, I guess I was wrong about the tidal swings. 1 to 10 ft is good enough to produce good pounding surf, just the swells never seem to get too large down there...

Anyway, yeah ! I stayed at that same cabina in Dominical, the wooden ones out on that cool mini peninsula. That was really awesome !

hey,
Some added info about El Rey, Squatters were becoming a problem, so the government closed the beach. We were turned away at gunpoint 100 meters from the beach, in June. Maybe it has changed by now.
Good Luck,
Pura Vida
cw