Costa Rica Surf

The Costa Rica Surf Travel Directory

Welcome to the Costa Rica Surf Travel Directory.  

We hope that the information on this site will help you plan your next surfing vacation to Costa Rica.

Surf Travel is booming in Costa Rica. 

Surfing has become a popular pastime in Costa Rica in recent years.  Ever since the Costa Rican National Surf Team ISA World Surfing Champions, the rest of the world is beginning to take notice of this small, peaceful, Central American country and it’s surfing potential.

If you’ve never been to Costa Rica, you have to visit.  

Costa Rica’s abundant nature, pristine beaches, friendly locals, and incredible surfing waves, make this a must see surfing travel destination.  Costa Rica has great surfing waves all year long.  

During the spring and summer months, from March to September, southern hemisphere swells produce world-class waves, on south facing beaches, that surfers from around the globe flock to.

The fall and winter months are when northwesterly swells send great waves, though usually a bit smaller than the southern swells, towards the north and west facing beaches of Costa Rica.  

Either way, Costa Rica is a great surf travel destination for every level of surfing ability.

Witch’s Rock (Roca Bruja)

Playa Naranjo on the Parque Santa Rosa is known by Costa Rican local surfers as Roca Bruja, which was made famous around the surf community when Aaron Chang’s amazing photograph of the waves and lineup at Witch’s Rock was revealed in a two-page spread in Surfing Magazine back in 1983. Since then, surfers from around the world have been traveling to Costa Rica to get a taste of these fast hollow beach break barrels with consistent offshore winds breaking in front of this iconic symbol of Costa Rican surfing adventures.

Witches Rock Costa Rica

Costa Rica Surfing

Costa Rica has so much to offer the surf traveler. The following are some of the most popular surfing destinations for travelers to Costa Rica.

Surfing Pavones

Pavones is the second longest surfing wave in the world, and arguably one of the best left point breaks in the world.  If you haven’t experienced surfing this mile long wave when the swells are pumping, you don’t know what you are missing.

Surfing Tamarindo Beach

Tamarindo Beach has an abundance of surf schools and surf camps to teach beginners and intermediate surfers everything they need to know to feel comfortable surfing in the ocean waves.

Salsa Brava, Puerto Viejo, Costa

Surfing the Caribbean Coast

The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica has an abundance of surf breaks to choose from.  

The northern coastline near Tortuguero has miles upon miles of uncrowded beach break waves, but is difficult to access.  Most of the surfing is centered around Puerto Limon southwards.  

Salsa Brava is the most famous reef break that produces big hollow barrels when storms in the Caribbean generate powerful short period wind swells that focus their energy on the shallow reefs just offshore from Puerto Viejo.