Advice on Costa Trip

I'm going in January to the pavones area I'll repost to this thread after

 

what's your ability level? all kinds of waves down there; some are suited for beginners, some are not.

 

Been travelling to CR for the past 8 years. Just got back from Jaco, Hermosa, Esterillos, and Dominical last week. Your heading down at a great time as the southern hemi season is in full swing. Lots of swell in the water at that time with good size pulses coming into central america every 7 to 10 days. You can basically take your pick of areas to head to. Playa Grande,Tamariondo, to the north with other nearby breaks like Negra and Nosara...Santa Teresa and Malpias on the peninsula...The mack daddy of all Hermosa with Jaco, Boca Barranca and Esterillos close by, Dominical with its cool american hippy vide 1 1/2 hours south of Hermosa and then there is the golden gem of Pavones which is a bit fickle at times but if you score its well worth it. If you want any specifics on any areas just let me know and I'll fill you in...

If your interested in the central pacific (hermosa) check out my friend's tour comapny here:

http://costaricaholidayrentals.com/

Daily report from the boys in Hermosa: http://www.rovercam.com/

Purav Vida!!!

 

I'll be stalking this thread as I'm planning to go for the month of august too...

 

i went to nosara in july for my honeymoon. it was a great trip & there's plenty to do near by other than surf (which is why we chose that town). the waves are "meh"...it's a fairly soft, user-friendly beach break. i didn't get to do much in the way of surf exploring, but i heard there are other waves w/ more to them in the area. the main break is guinones, though.

 

Jaco area is great for easy access and wave options. If you want to see the country Mal Pais/Santa Theresa is super pretty with great food and places to stay. Ive heard Nosara is nice too.

 

Best time to go is 2 weeks after Easter. best deals and between dry and wet seasons. Playa Hermos Jaco is your best bet for 1st time. Lots of accommodations, tons of good breaks in the area. Boca Barranca and Guacalillio a 1/2 hour away. Punta Mala 15 min. Dominical and Playa El Rey an hour.

Mal pais/ST is my fav place. But always started in Jaco.

 

I surfed playa grande over the summer. There was overhead waves everyday of our trip. Barrels for days.

 

ive been to playa grande at that time and there were awesome waves everyday. besides the last day of the trip.

 

check us out www.surfcosta.com and if interested email me with any and all questions. we are a private resort in Esterillos Oeste and offer everything you are asking for.

pura vida

rvb@surfcosta.com

 

Can't beat ST - Mal Pais, plenty of stuff to do and less of a chance of getting chewed on by a jungle skeeter with dengue. CR has some pretty high dengue rates depending upon where you are.

 

Does Pavones even get surf that time of year?? I would have thought Pavones is pretty much a south swell April - September kind of wave.

 

For pavones the best time is May - Sept. when the southern hemi swells are rockin. Goin in january is a gamble...take alot of imperial and a deck of cards

 

They might not get all time pavones swell but there are plenty of other breaks and wave options every day off shore from what I've been told.

 

Off shore breaks not winds

 

That's because it's tropico seco. Dry. 22% humidity. your sweat would boil off cooling you naturally We camped at Playa Carmen for a few weeks and a couple hours after the sun went down, it got kinda chilly. Of course those hours in between were like being in hell.

 

I think you are asking to get skunked with that location time combo

 

sorry for the triple downer on your trip paperplate, let us know