CR...yes, again..

did you get my detailed message? its close to the end of the rain season! didn't know your daughter never surfed before! like ive told you , WITCH ROCK is great for beginners!

 

Not sure what the surf is like in July/August, but I loved Santa Teresa in April last year. We rented one of these https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/70853 and it was pretty great. Plus their sushi bar was fkn amazing.

edit: if you're going to tamarindo area then this place is a gem. Right on the beach and steps away from all the restaurants/activity etc. We stayed there for about 4 days.
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/2028031

 

I'd say stay somewherz decent by witch's rock..it's a friendly wave..My little cousins who are female learned to surf there and said it was a really enjoyable experience

http://www.theinertia.com/surf/crocodile-attacks-surfer-in-costa-rica/
When you see a shark in the water you become alert..when you see a croc in the water you sheit yo pants and paddle toward the beach simultaneously..

 

I paddled across that river everyday for a week! during the rainy season they get flushed down closer to the mouth! witch's has a great river mouth!

 

I've seen gators in the salt and that's the reaction I had!lol

 

You did not see any "gators" there. You did see CROCS there--much meaner and way more aggressive than gators.
October, either 2013 or 2014, a surfer was hit by a croc in Tamarindo, not far from beach. He was lucky--he got away. The croc did not have the chance to "roll" with the surfer in his jaws. Had he done so....curtains.

 

I been in the water and seen sharks..a bigin' one time in OBX..your hairs raise and you become alert..
I was there about 5 years with family and didn't see any besides the river..but forealz if I see a fuxing dinosaur in the line up dude I'd bug out

 

that's kinda why I was thinking you stay somewhere close and take lessons at the ROCK! you can hang around all day there and have a couple drinks with MR AUGUST! hes super cool and friendly! got to share my first MADE over head drop with him and he seemed stoked for me!

 

Barry,Not in CR in SC. Last year a gator came up on the beach and scared the sh*t out of some folks. DNR came out and capped it in front of everybody which some people got upset about. I've had a gator chase me once and that is enough. Generally they aren't much to worry about though.

 

It's been awhile since I've gone but there used to be packages where you got a SUV and vouchers to stay up and down the coast at different hotels at a pretty reasonable price. We drove from San Jose to Jaco and could go where there were waves from daily. Never had any troubles.

 

Hermosa is super consistent, but a pretty heavy beach break. Fun, but not as good for a beginner. Jaco right next store is a pretty jumping town, but can be a bit seedy in my opinion.

Tamarindo isn't a bad choice, especially if you stay in the more quiet southern end near Langosta. It's been years but I stayed at Capitan Suizo with my wife a few times, and we liked it. Lots to do around Tamarindo... ATV tours, Kayak Tours, boat tours etc... Playa Negra, Playa Avellanas, Playa Grande are all nearby, and can all be solid while Tamarindo is a gentle waist high. Even the river mouth at Langosta can be going off while the main area of Tamarindo is waist high. It's also not too far to drive to take a day boat trip to witches rock and Ollie's point from there.

You'd have to look at how the rainy season is that time of the year though. I also wouldn't stay in the middle of town with my daughter.

I really like playa Guiones (nosara). Less to do, and less variety of breaks nearby, but it has a mellow vibe, not really a town, more spread out, and it's just a big wide beach break that is pretty consistent and holds size well. It's a pretty soft wave, but I've always had fun surfing there. You could probably do touristy stuff there too, but When I went there It was on a surf trip so we just surfed. I think some of our group chartered a fishing boat too.

 

My wife and I did a kayak tour up the river in Tamarindo. There were 6 people on the tour, and we were sitting next to the river waiting for the guide to get all the gear together for the others, and about 15 yards out there was a croc milling around. Not a huge one, but still made us edgy. Guide was unphased. Said the big ones stay up river. I gather the little ones popping up nearshore is common. We were only a couple hundred yards upstream of the beach too.

We kept our hands and feet out of the river when we paddled upstream.

 

every year here in hhi,sc we get a gator or 2 that come on the beach it freaks people out..ive been surfing and saw a 3 foot gator before didnt really freak me out because he was small. i used to catch the big 8 foot alligators round here with ocean fishing poles and reel them up to the bank when i was younger. not much to do here.

 

Gotcha. If a gator chases you, i.e., threatens you, are you allowed to kill it and make belts, shoes, and attache cases with it???

 

Gators, Crocs, and Cayman attack at the waters edge, or in shallow water.

Tamarindo is a little scetch, particularly at night. There is a drug war between Columbians and Italians going on there. It's a good place to find supplies and surf equipment, but you pay gringo prices.

 

As I have recommended before on this forum, nosara is a great place to go. Check out:
Www.harmonynosara.com.
Www.surfingnosara.com

 

Havnt been there in years.

If your daughters with you- just stay away from Jaco. Everywhere else is ok... Just stay away from Jaco

 

Hermosa is right down the road from Jaco bro. What did I tell you about Jaco...