GREAT COSTA RICA SURFING

WITCHES ROCK TO TAMARINDO

Want perfect, absolutely perfect, Costa Rica surfing on your Costa Rica vacation?

When you travel Costa Rica, visit the North Pacific Gold Coast of Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, easily reached by air, car, or bus and you'll find wonderful Costa Rica beaches.

You can fly into either Costa Rica's main international airport in San Jose and drive or take a bus (very cheap and comfortable) or fly into Liberia International Airport---just 20 minutes from the Gold Coast!

Choose from two

Costa Rica international airports. Click

Remember the movie Endless Summer II? Part of it was filmed right here.

For your Endless Summer of fun, here are some of the best sites for Costa Rica surfing along its Gold Coast, from Playa Naranja (near the Nicaragua border) and the world famous Witches Rock south to Playa Negra, just a few miles south of Tamarindo.

And, if you get tired of surfing while on your Costa Rica vacation, you’ll find lots of other great things to do and see along this magnificent coast!

Northwest of Liberia International Airport (and north of Tamarindo, a very popular tourist destination) is the Santa Rosa National Park and its magnificent surfing beaches. One great Costa Rica playa after another. Not familiar with this area? We have maps, maps, maps! click here

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Santa Rosa National Park Surfing Rocks!

Witches' Rock and Ollie's Point

Witches Rock

You'll find Playa Naranjo, legendary for its perfect surfing waves.

And Witches’ Rock—-one of the top five surfing destinations in Costa Rica--is just offshore.

Great surfing but it's not all that easy to reach.

You’ll either need somebody to take you by boat (from Tamarindo or little communities north) or you’ll have to rent a four-wheel drive car.

Expect very rugged roads, sometimes impassable during the rainy season.

But, hey, isn't that why you're coming? For a spectacular Costa Rica vacation adventure?

And, don’t expect any hotels or restaurants along this beach, or for that matter, any restrooms or showers. There aren’t any (they're a few miles away). So, either bring your own camping gear and food or drive or boat out at night.

You can also surf at Ollie’s Point, named after Oliver North, famous (or infamous) for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal. This point was filmed as part of a newscast and surfers playfully named it Ollie’s Point.

If your Costa Rica surfing adventure is in October, visit Playa Nancite where thousands and thousands of Ridleys sea turtles come ashore at night to nest in massive Costa Rica sea turtle arribadas. Click

Or Surf Around Tamarindo

Try Pico Pequeno or Playa Estero. Estero is right in Tamarindo and you can walk there. You’ll find good surfing, whatever your level of experience.

The water quality RIGHT IN FRONT of Tamarindo is not top-quality. The beach once held the prestigious Blue Flag certification but lost it in 2008.

What does this mean? It's OK to swim and surf in but not as good as it used to be.

What should you do? If you love Tamarindo (it is gorgeous, after all) but want to swim or surf, simply head to a nearby beach north (I talked about them earlier) or south.

Should you go just a little south you'll find ABSOLUTELY STUNNING beaches, Blue Flag beaches with some of the very best surf in all of Costa Rica.

Perfect Playa Grande

And, it's a recipient of the prestigious "Blue Flag" award for its water and beach quality.

Many Costa Rica vacations take in Tamarindo and its nearby spectacular beaches and Playa Grande is one of our recommendations.

Click here for more Costa Rica Blue Flag beaches. This beach has Costa Rica surfing at its best!

Part of the Marino Las Braulas National Park, it's not particularly easy to reach but when you get there, you'll agree it's worth it. Outstanding surfing, good swimming, fine nature hikes, and no hotels or resorts to mar your view.

And from late September to March giant leatherback turtles—the world’s largest (up to 1300 pounds) come ashore at night to nest.

Awesome!

Little Hawaii

And when you travel Costa Rica, be sure to go to "Little Hawaii." That's what the locals call Playa Avellanas. Its about 5 miles south of Tamarindo and is famous for swells of 18’.

You’ll find eight right and left breaks, and if you’re very experienced, this is a wonderful, beautiful, isolated beach (accessible only by dirt road).

Better yet, it's also certified as a Blue Flag beach because of its top-drawer water and beach quality.

But, a word of caution. There are very strong currents here so be careful about swimming.

For a nearly perfect tube, try surfing at high tide. You can also try Playa Negra (not to be confused with Playa Negra on Caribbean Coast—another excellent surfing spot) just south of Playa Avellanas.

About a mile long, it’s a good surfing beach for surfers of every level of experience. There's a hollow right break reef and if you get a good swell, you'll really like this beach.

You’ll be able to reach it easily but expect company because this is a very popular Costa Rica surfing spot.

So, travel to Costa Rica and. . .

Grab your board!

Pura Vida!

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