Southern Pacific
Southern & Central Regions of Costa Rica (Puntarenas)
The Puntarenas Province from the town of Puntarenas, where the ferry embarks to the Nicoya Peninsula, southwards along the until the Pacific coast, until the border with Panama is what is considered the central & southern surf zones of Costa Rica.
Central Region (Zona Central) Costa Rica
The central region of Costa Rica’s pacific coastline stretches from Boca Barranca to Manuel Antonio hosting a variety of surfing waves and breaks to choose from. The area features several long left point breaks, hollow reefbreaks and powerful beach breaks.
Boca Barranca near Puntarenas, is a long rivermouth point break that is home of the annual Rabbit Kekai “Toes on the Nose” longboard surfing contest. When the wave is small it is a longboarders paradise. As it gets bigger, you can bring out your fish and shortboards to race the fast down the line waves.
Puerto Caldera has a wedging backwash peak that forms along the breakwall, providing thumping waves for surfers and bodyboarders on larger swells. Isla Herradura and Playa Escondida offer excellent rock reef and point breaks on larger swells.
Jaco Beach is the closest beach town to San Jose, Costa Rica and under a two hour drive from the airport. Jaco is home to lots of local nightlife, and more or less, anything goes in town. There are tons of restaurants, shops and even a bungee jump concession where tourists leap off a crane for fun. The waves can actually get quite good in Jaco on the incoming tide.
Playa Hermosa is a thumping beach break with tons of empty peaks. Usually closed out on swells, it’s the place to be when everywhere else goes flat. There are several small hotels on the beach in Playa Hermosa, making it a nice welcome getaway from the hustle and bustle of Jaco, which is just 3 miles up the road.
Further down the coast is Esterillos, Playa Palo Seco, Boca Damas, Quepos and Manuel Antonio. All of these areas have fun waves from time to time.
The following is a list of surf breaks in the Central Pacific zone of Costa Rica (Puntarenas to Manuel Antonio):
Boca Barranca
Caldera
Tivivies
Playa Valor
Playa Guacalillo
Playa Escondida
Isla Herradura
Southern (Zona Sur) Costa Rica
The deep south of Costa Rica (Zona Sur) is a much more remote area than most of the pacific coast with much less development along the beaches of the southern zone. The mountainous terrain and lush tropical foliage cover the coastline in a blanket of green. This area is less populated and much more rural than other coastal zones along the Pacific.
Southern Costa Rica is home to Dominical, one of the heaviest beach break barrels in Costa Rica. It is also home to the Osa Peninsula, which houses the Parque Corcovado National Park, considered to be the most biologically diverse places on the planet, with more than 6% of the world’s biodiversity in an area smaller than the City of London. The Osa peninsula is also home to Cabo Matapalo, Backwash, Pan Dulce, and several other quality right point breaks lining the northern mouth of the Gulfo Dulce, making it a great place to surf and stay for eco-travelers.
Across the bay, is Pavones, home to one of the longest left point breaks in the world, as well as, a number of unknown breaks along the Burrica Peninsula, whose central ridge forms the border between Costa Rica and Panama. The waves are best during the late spring and summer months when the southern hemisphere winter starts pumping south swells towards Central America.
Some of the surfing destinations in deep southern zone of Costa Rica (Manuel Antonio to Panama):
Uvita
Playa Zancudo
Punta Saleas
Punta Banco
If you need further assistance in planning your next surfing vacation to Costa Rica, please feel free to contact us anytime at info@surfingcostarica.com.