First CR trip Late Jan/Early Feb

The hotel is pretty sick, I would stay there again in a second. Walk 25 yards and you have one of the best breaks in Costa infront of you.I would recommend staying in one of the bungalows with AC.

http://www.playanegra.com/en/

 

You can be in the Jaco area without ever going into town. There's tons of empty breaks. Esterios Oeste y Este, Dominical, Boca Baranca (a really long left) and Guacalillio, a sweet break where you jump off a cliff to get out and mingle with a big croc.

 

Headrow,

I own a condo in Tamarindo. I have posted it on here before. It is a gated community with a pool, etc. it is one block to the beach in Tamarindo. It is located in town right next to everything. The beach there is really safe. no problems. you can walk to whole town. The tours you are mentioning are all around town. book thru withches rock surf camp or other places in town. If you are interested. let me know. I can get you cost of weekly at my condo.
thanks

 

hermosa is similiar as you have Jaco close by which has shops, restuarants, etc. I would never stay in Jaco or tamarindo but you can stay in nice places close by so you have those conforrts but you can be in a nicer area in CR. hermosa is a better break than grande but grande gets good also. if you want to do road trips around grande there are more options for other surf breaks 30-1 hour drive away as oppose to hermosa though hermosa has places close by but not as many break options. either way grande is a great suggestion and hermosa is too

 

Sabra Teresa or Pavones...Perfect time to go!!! Waves are generally great! Let me know if you need guide, boards, rooms or transportation. I have some local friends there who run services.
Also, check out my daily video surf report, it will get you excited. Each morning I post a 45 second clip of the day's surf from Santa Teresa...it's killer.
http://www.barefootinpublic.com/surf-report
Enjoy...Live The Lifestyle!

 

I am heading to Puntarenas in late February for my buddies wedding, have surfed Playa Grande, Tamarindo and beaches in Guanacaste a couple years back, had a blast.... am unfamiliar with where I am going for the wedding..anybody have any good spots to surf in the Puntarenas area? beach breaks? close?

 

heck yeah! any questions email rvb@surfcosta.com

we are in Esterillos Oeste, 15 min from jaco, 45 min from Manuel Antonio

 

You actually going to Puntarenas, Puntarenas (El Puerto)? Puntarenas is a Province too. I lived there for about a year and my wife is from there. Definitely will see a different part of CR than Tamarindo, but great place and some good waves close to there. If you are there during the week of Valentines day you will be treated to los carnivales, crazy time when just about all of CR descends on the city. Hit me up with a PM if you want a little info...

 

Bumping this thread (new guy here). We (me, wife, 2 yr old, mom in law) were considering a week in Playa Negra in February, but started to hear that the surf in our winter is small and weak on the reef. Can anyone attest to the surf in Negra (specifically) with the NW swells?

Does Mal Pais pick up more swell? I was in CR for a month about 12 years ago. We had a week of chest high and bigger surf in Mal Pias, but never got any swell while between Negra and Witches. This was before there were 20 surf forecasting websites, so I am not sure if it was just that it does not pick up the NW in the NW corner of CR, or if it was just our luck. We scored again as soon as we left and headed south to Hermosa/ Roca Loca.

Any help much appreciated. I'd rather CR over Kauai, but we may end up going to the island if CR will likely be small.

 

Get the ' Surfers guide to Costa Rica' . Well written and full of great info. I ordered mine off Amazon for 12 bucks.

There are also some great travel blogs about each area.

 

Great book. I used that last time I was there. Right now I am looking for more first hand experience.

Here is the deal. I am planning a family vacation where I get to surf a little, not a surf trip that I drag my family on. But I don't want to be completely skunked, sitting on the beach all day sweating balls because the surf is flat. That said, the bro brahs all say - shoots brag, no surf on the pac coast then, ya gotta hit up brava, dude. The tour guides all say - shoots brah, there is always surf in Costa, dude. I'm just trying to get an idea if it is likely I will have stomach/chest high surf most days. More than that would be great. Less than that would be tough.

Anyone here spend any time in Negra in February?

 

yeah Otti, if you're wanting fun rideable waves that time of year, you're almost guaranteed to be surfing stomach/chest every day. especially on that stretch of the peninsula, from Mal Pais all the way north to the border... you'll be good to go. the family may like some of the amenities in and around Tamarindo, but do yourself and your surfing a favor and at the very least go to Negra (you can see it from the beach in Tamarindo). if the kids and wife want to try surfing, then by all means, get your Tamarindo on... other than that, go find surf elsewhere.

there will be something on tap for you to ride almost every day, to be sure. if you're there for 7 days, probably 5 of them should be pretty fun for surf (averages). best wishes man!

 

and hey, let me throw this in there too... there's also a realistic chance that it could be pretty big up that way too. hell yeah, no joke. you could easily be showing up during a macking swell. so while stomach to chest is almost a guarantee, and fairly realistic, it could also be realistic that it's in the few feet overhead range+ for the whole time too. i envy you, go have fun!

 

When I stay in Tamarindo I usually head south to Playa Avellanes or further south to Playa Negra. Cabinas Las Olas requires a 300 yd walk across an estuary, but there's security and the food is good. www.cabinaslasolas.co.cr

 

Basic weather and swellology 101. Look at a map of Costa Rica. If the spot area faces south and you are going in the winter you probably will get skunked. Likewise, going to a north facing beach during the summer. You might just want to visit Tamarindo which has a huge bay and picks up swells from both directions... Playa Grande, Tamarindo and Old Mans.

 

Is Jaco really that sketchy? I went there with a groupon without really researching much and didn't think it was that bad at all. Didn't stay right in town but walked around town all day without any problems. First and only time in another country so I didn't know what to expect.

 

ive been to cr twice from playa grande to mal pais, i surfed and stayed. also got to surf some point breaks inside the nicoya peninsula on some huge south swells. but i never been to jaco i dont like to talk bad about somewhere ive never been but it seems that place is highlight for drugs and hoes. i also dont suggest tamarindo imo. id go way futher south to get a real cr experience. hours of dirt roads through the rainforest in mountains,army ants in your hotel room,no electricity, boiling water its all fun believe it or not.

 

Playa Negra for sure. Check out Casa de Amigos for your rental. Perfect mix for you and your wife. A google search will bring it up.

 

when I used to go I'd always start in playa hermosa jaco. I've been stolen from twice. the last time my trunks taken from 2cnd floor of terrazas. I love that area. Santa Terresa is way better.

 

This is the exact advice I was going to give.