CR Central first time advise

Chucks WOW surf shop (Jaco) has everything for rental and keeps boards that are in almost new condition. I never take boards when traveling there because I can try lots of stuff from that shop. I like Hermosa and Esterillos which have been mentioned already. One other place is Quepos. This is a long performance left if it is working. Needs some juice and very tide dependent.If it is on its one of the best waves you will ever get.Some locals took me there a few years ago and I still get pumped about that sesh.

 

It is all the same to the ticos............as they would say (about me as well) "un gringo sucio y azqueroso". And I do speak spanish.

 

LOL....



A menos que seas de Malibu ... entonces eres rico y tienes derecho!!!

Pura Vida hermano...amigo!!!!

jijijij

 

What threw me for a loop was all the California folks down there trying to look cool. I thought the only ugly Americanos were us Florida men. We were humble and blended in way more than the Cali elitist snobs.

They all looked like they had a turd under their nose as they checked out the surf with their perfectly parted hair and brand new tee shirts tucked into pressed shorts. "Dude, the wind has already almost kinda textured the lefts, I'm gonna wait till the tide shifts and there's a hollow right over there around the point it'll be maxing bro".

 

My 2 cents

If your in Dominical, and it gets real big, definitely check out the point just to the south that someone mentioned earlier. We spent a week in Dominical last year, and honestly that point was the highlight surf of the trip. Took a day that was really too big for Dominical to make it break well though and it only worked for 2 days. Never got overly crowded which I thought was odd given how many surfers in the area, and was really a fun place. Also if Dominical is big and mean, there is another beachbreak called Hermosa (obviously not the main Hermosa) about 10 min south that is decent and generally a little smaller than Dominical. It has a little point type break on the north end of the beach that only works sometimes.

I've tried several times to catch Esterellos good, including this last trip and despite what others have said, I've never had luck there. Always has some size, but super soft and kinda weak and just kind of a weird setup to me. Always seems to look better than it ends up being once you paddle out there....for me anyway

I've had a blast at Hermosa when it was around head high and just opening up and peeling nicely. Also had my a$$ handed to me there and my board broken when it was around head high and just mean. It's consistent but has many faces. Thought the rivermouth area to the south had the best setup, but that was several years back. Had friends run into trouble with the rocks at Roca Loca so watch it there. I was too much of a sissy to go out there, but watched a small handful trade nice rights from the cliff. A few lesser known (not really secret) boat to spots near Jaco/Hermosa worth looking at too.

Boca has brown water, is smaller, pretty fickle and can be crowded, but man I had one of the most memorable sessions of my life there compliments of a Hermosa Local that clued us in to precisely when the swell would show up. Only about 10 of us on as the sets started coming in, which is like being by yourself because the rides are so damn long. Super fun day! Tried to repeat the next day, and it was a complete zoo at dawn with vans full of people showing up. So I would say keep an eye on it and if the timing is just right you never know.

I've been a bunch of times, and I actually like the Nicoya Penninsula better, but the whole place is fun. Despite what others say, I really liked Nosara. It has weird crowds, and is kind of a longboard wave, but at a few feet overhead, it's super fun, and non threatening for its size. People kind of dump on Tamarindo, but I've stayed in northern Tamarindo/Langosta several times and really enjoyed it. A good deal of breaks there in striking distance.

I always have fun in Costa. I always felt safe driving around there. Jaco at night was probably the sketchiest place I've been, but I didn't really think it was too bad. Don't pull a credit card out anywhere that feels sketchy keep your guard up, and it's fine.

 

Oh, we checked out the break at Quepos just after dawn on a day the winds were bad for Dominical. We got rain that night, and the river flowing out there looked dicey (dirty). However, the break was kinda of half working and definitely had potential. Wind wasn't eactly right, but you could see the way it wanted to peel in. The guys I was with were on the fence about giving it a go, but I wasn't interested. And not knowing the place we didnt see a way other than paddling through the brown river to get out there. We ended up hitting Esterellos instead before heading back to Dominical area. Anyway. my point is, I could see that place being super fun with the right conditions.

Overall I didn't love the main break at Dominical but we had a really nice free house there so that was our home base. And we surfed every day, and had a blast with what was in easy striking distance from there.

 

^^^same thing IMO, the main break at Dominical is real fun but the Point, when it's big, it is special. What a setup. You could spend years there getting it wired.

 

Heading to Santa Teresa this April - any advice on how early I need to get to the ferry at Puntarenas to make sure I get spot for a car on a Saturday? Flying into Tambor is like $800 which is a bit steep so ferry seems like the way we'll go.

 

http://navieratambor.com/horarios-y-tarifas

http://nicoyapeninsula.com/general/boat.php

Puntarenas to Paquera -- Get there at least 30 mins early for a car, but an hour or more is better. The first ferry is always nice to be on, gets light around 530 so shouldn't be dark.

S Swells should start picking up in April...Enjoy!