Yeah I drove the whole pacific coast line in 2005. With a car there are tons of excellent options. If you like right points, this area has a very high concentration of world class points with nice warm, clean water. The most famous is La Libertad, which is an intense, long, barreling wave -- definitely not for beginners. The peak gets very crowded, although typically I've heard you can sit way down the line and pick off epic waves pretty much solo. The area in Libertad is pretty sketchy. Your backdrop here is a wall spray-painted with "gringo go home!" with skull and crossbones, behind the wall is a graveyard. The town it's in should be avoided at night....lots of people stumbling around huffing glue and "up to no good" (sounding like an old man but it's true).
I stayed at Sunzal just about 30 minutes away from Libertad and surfed that break the most. Sunzal is a great wave, it gets big, like 10-15 foot face big pretty often, but it never gets crazy heavy. The paddle out is real long, but easy, and the take off is simple....it's basically a skateboard ramp at like 45 degrees, and it takes you for a long long sick ride with some quick and barreling sections towards the inside. There is good safe accomodation here.
Further along there is K61 and K59 which are pristine right points. You can't imagine a more beautiful setting at these spots, and they are really consistent! There are plenty of other amazing spots here....a quick google will hook you up.
Go get after it, but be careful and respectful. It'll be a sick trip. Plan to go May-Oct for best chance at perfect swell.
The vibe is great. Just don't be an idiot in the water and give way to the locals (who are way better than 99% of the people on this thread), and they'll be cool in return when the perfect wave comes your way. Like anywhere in Central America (minus most of CR) or Mex don't drive or hang out much at night, and you'll avoid most potential trouble. It's an awesome place.
Thanks for the info! We're going to the El Zonte area, which I think is close to all the spots near La Libertad and Sunzal. Not sure whether or not to go with the local surf guide or search for spots ourselves. I've heard that some areas can be pretty shady to travel through.
Go to Costa Rica or Nicaragua. If you go to El Salvador, go to the Wild East, is gets really fun. Take the boat trip to Punta Mango from the Las Flores Surf Club.
Yeah, we are going in July. Hopefully the wave gods will look favorably upon us.
We've already done Costa Rica - it was the best place ever - but wanted to go somewhere new for this one. Sounds like we just need to be smart and respect the local culture, and we'll find some good stuff. Nice!
I spent the summer of '74 there after driving down through Mexico and Guatemala (10,000 miles RT). Summer can get very good. Stop in at Punta Rocas Restaurant and resort in Libertad and say ''hello'' to Bob and Marta Rothermel while you're there.
My Avatar is from Punta Rocas in July of '74, and don't freak out about the graveyard. It's been there a long long time. The bad news is the point break is located right at a rivermouth- one that John Parton and others affectionately referred to as the Polio River. Lots of hepatitis floating around- and a couple of nasty boulders right in the peak of the lineup. Turn your board upside down when you step off the shore to avoid rock dents on the bottom of your board- then flip it back over once in deeper water.
Last edited by MDSurfer; Dec 20, 2008 at 11:04 PM.
Originally Posted by surferboi0911
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