Costa Rica Surf Towns Guide
This article aims to cover the best surf towns in Costa Rica, focusing not only on the quality of surf, swell, waves and beach, but the town itself. You might find that one beach can have the best waves in the world, but it’s hard to access, so it might not be ideal to live in or even visit. On the other hand, you might find a great beach in an expensive town (I’m looking at you Cali surf towns), so it’s not exactly the best place to live in.
Fortunately, Costa Rica, with its extensive coastlines both in the Pacific and Caribbean, has a lot of great beaches for surfing, with beautiful costal towns ranging from large, to medium to even tiny. There’s a lot you can find in Costa Rica, so lets us help you narrow it down. This comes from expert advice, written by Costa Ricans for surfers.
Costa Rica Surf Spots Map
The map below shows some of the best beaches to surf in. We will then narrow it down to towns in the rest of the article, but these beaches should help give you a good idea!
Best Surfing In Costa Rica For Beginners
The bust surfing in Costa Rica for beginners will depend on a few things: the strength of the swell, the quality of the waves (you want longer waves, not tubes, that you can ride the surfoam for longer), the amount of other surfers, and if the beach or town has good surf schools.
There are 2 or maybe 3 particular places where surfing for beginners is quite good, mostly due to the quality of the surf schools, as well as the presence of lifeguards:
- Playa Tamarindo
- Playa Grande
- Playa Guiones (Nosara)
Playa Tamarindo
Perhaps the most touristy beach town in all of Costa Rica. Playa Tamarindo has become a really big and busy place over the past 10 to 15 years. Americans love it, it’s full of sports bars, it has great supermarkets, medical clinics, hotels, all you can think of. The beach has white sand and beautiful water. Yet, from a Costa Rican’s perspective, it can be a bit overpriced as well as over crowded.
Is it good for surfing? It is. It has very good waves, although some times a strong current. Is it good for beginners? Absolutely. There are many surf schools with very good teachers. There are some times dozens of students learning at the same time, which is both good and bad. It helps as you know there are many people watching and practicing, the waves have a lot of foam and are easy to ride in a long board. It’s not the best place for expert surfers as you can get annoyed, but all in all this is a great surf town for beginners.
You will have. A lot of fun post-surf, eat good food and have a good night life. Be prepared, it’s expensive.
Playa Grande
Playa Grande is a small town not far from Tamarindo. As a matter of fact, both beaches are next to one another, however the towns are a bit further away due to a river dividing both beaches, and so the road to reach each other takes a bit of a detour.
Is it good for beginners? Yes, there are a couple of surf instructors and lifeguards on duty. The swell and current isn’t as strong, and there are spots for beginners. It’s not overcrowded as it’s a national park, so parking and such is a bit more of a hassle for some, therefore, a great place to surf and learn how to surf.
The town isn’t as busy, but it does have some of the best restaurants in the region!
Playa Guiones Nosara
Credits To Cesar Badilla For The Image.
Playa Guiones, often known as Nosara (name of the town), is one of Costa Rica’s longest and most famous beaches. It’s beautiful, white sand, long, long beach, great waves as well as great spots to just chill, and a busy surf town with great food and cafes, immersed in the jungle with lots of things to do, even a skate park.
It became very popular for Ayahuasca retreats, digital nomads and tourists. Surf is great, one of the best spots in the country. It’s better for advanced surfers as the waves are very strong, the swell is great, lots of tubes and many local surfers.
However, it’s still good for beginners, due to the great surf schools and teachers. Depending on the time of the day and the location, you will be able to learn in the hands of really good teachers. Just keep in mind, the currents here are stronger than in Tamarindo, you will be surrounded by better surfers which at times can feel uncomfortable of your presence.
As a town, you get lots of entertainment, great accommodation and cafes, and a special “jungly” vibe.
Surfing Near San Jose Costa Rica?
Surfing near San Jose isn’t as easy, since San Jose is at least 1 hour away from the nearest beach. The good news is, you drive for 1 or 1.5 hours and you can reach the Central Pacific coast, where you’ll find quite a few towns.
Playa Hermosa Costa Rica Jaco
The best surf beach in all of the Central Pacific coast, and just 1 or 1.5 hours away from San Jose: Playa Hermosa, Jaco.
This is a small beach town, which is considered to be more of a part of Jaco (a very large and busy beach town, maybe even a city), with some of the best waves in the country. It’s famous for being the place where Costa Rica’s best surfer, Carlos “Cali” Muñoz tends to go surfing regularly, and a surf competition held every Sunday right in front of the Vida Hermosa restaurant.
The waves are big, strong, sometimes even brutal. Very strong currents and swell, this is not a place for beginners at all. This is a beach for experts.
With Jaco’s town right next to it, and San Jose really close by, it’s a great place to be. You literally have all you need, prices aren’t expensive. It’s an affordable beach surf town. However, Jaco can at times be a bit “sketchy” with a lot of bad quality tourism.
Best Costa Rica Surf Towns For Real Surfers
Now let’s leave aside the surf towns for beginners, or the classic spots where everyone goes, time to take a look at quality surf places in Costa Rica.
Santa Teresa Costa Rica
Yes, famous for being the beach town where all Instagram models hang out, where Tom Brady and Jack Dorsey have a house, and parties are insane.
As beautiful as it is overpriced, Santa Teresa is a beautiful surf town, immersed in Costa Rica’s green and wild nature, surrounded by waterfalls, mountains and rivers. It’s one of Costa Rica’s longest beaches, and you will never, ever get bored here.
Surfing is excellent. There are many, plenty of surf spots to go to. You can be a beginner or an expert, there’s room for everyone in one of the dozens of spots where you can catch some of the best waves in the country. The currents can be strong, but not too much. There’s a lot of reef to take into account, so be careful with that, but gosh, are waves great here.
Salsa Brava Costa Rica
Let’s mix it up a bit and move to the Caribbean side of the country, to Puerto Viejo: the hippie town in Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo is right next to two of the most beautiful national parks in Costa Rica: Cahuita and Gandoca. You will literally see sloths right at the beach, you can enjoy eating some of the best local cuisine in the entire country and enjoy a truly relaxed and laid back vibe.
The town of Puerto Viejo has the best nature of all the beach towns in the country. You can ride a bicycle for literally miles and miles as it’s almost all flat and easy to cycle. There is a good quality night life, not too much, not too quiet.
Weather can be a bit of an issue, it rains a lot, almost the entire year, but when days are sunny, mostly during the morning, you’ll be amazed at the color of the sand and the water, at the hidden gems and trails all over the coast. It’s magical.
And the surfing? Well, Puerto Viejo is the home of the famous Salsa Brava wave, a freaking great wave happening right in front of the town, one that attracts hundreds of surfers to come just to try and conquer it. Besides that wave, there’s a lot of different spots along the town, where even beginners get to try their luck. Surf here is top quality.
Playa Negra Guanacaste
A hidden gem: Playa Negra, Guanacaste. It’s a small surf town, just 20 minutes away from Tamarindo, with some of the best restaurants in the country (not kidding), and still hidden from tourists.
You get to walk this quiet town in the space of 10 or 15 minutes, discover the small cafes, or get to do some fine dining in the three or four amazing restaurants.
The beach is very well taken care of, clean, safe and not crowded at all. It’s a great place to just go and chill out. On top of that, close to plenty other beaches in the area like Avellanas and Junquillal, making it one of the best, if not the best beach towns to live in Costa Rica.
As to the surf, it has one of the best sets of waves in the country, and it’s till a hidden gems. There are no beginners, just locals surfing there. It makes it one of the best places to go surfing without dealing with many people!
Playa Camaronal
Honestly, our favorite spot, the best surf beach in the country: Playa Camaronal. It’s a national reserve, which already filters out many people. It’s further away, around a 25-minute drive from the Samara town, or 10 minutes away from Punta Islita. The beach isn’t as nice as the sand is black and there isn’t that much shade.
But boy are the waves big, strong, forming lefties and righties, tubes, everything. The surf here is top, top quality. The surfers here are all advanced, no beginners, nobody learning, just locals that live in the area (and there is a lot of great property for sale here). Want a real surf spot in Costa Rica? This is it!