Surfing in Costa Rica

	With long, white-sand beaches and beautifully curved waves, Costa Rica is a great place to surf. Due mainly to its subsurface geography, Santa Teresa and its neighboring beaches catch most swells that come from either the north or the south.
	Surfing is excellent all year round, although the biggest swells come in the "green season" from May to November. In dry season there are consistent offshore winds blowing from the northeast, creating ideal waves for surfing.
	For this reason the Mal Pais waves are known for their consistency. No wonder this town has been the location of several surfing contests, including some of international stature. The local surfers are very friendly and could give you directions to reach all this spots an others, if you are cool with them.

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SURFING SANTA TERESA

MalpaР Р …s's location between the Central Pacific area and Guanacaste means that it benefits from both the big south swells which hit the beaches south of Puntarenas during the wet season as well as the offshore "Papagayo" winds which create optimum conditions on the Guanacaste coast during the dry season. Another great advantage is the complete absence of crowds; this area is one of the last frontiers of surf exploration in Costa Rica. When locals refer to MalpaР Р …s, they mean the whole area between Cabo Blanco Reserve and Manzanillo.

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El Carmen beachbreak: It is the best wave for beginners to learn on. A long right wall and shorter section left break over a gradually sloping sand bottom. You can surf this beach break on any tide, but a high tide is best. The wave is really fun and highly recommended for all surfers from beginner to expert. The wave is slow and long. If you fall, it's all sandy bottom.

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Santa Teresa beachbreak: . Here the beach break is very similar to Playa Carmen, but pickier with more hollow barrels. It works on both high and low tide, and the wave is usually faster and steeper than Playa Carmen.
Santa Teresa has a longer beach and, with a good swell, many different spots start to peak including La Lora and Roca Mar.

Suck Rock - "Suck Rock" is at the northern end of Santa Teresa in front of Roca Mar. This break works on a big swell from any direction. This wave is truly a playground for the experienced surfer. Long, right Barrel rides are characteristic of this spot.

Playa Hermosa beachbreak: Next beach north from Santa Teresa, and even less crowded. Peaks all along the beach. When the beach breaks get big, the reefs and points start to work.

Playa de Los Suecos reefbreak: Turn left at the crossroads go 4 km. And park where you see the fishing boats. Walk south 100 yards along the rocks and paddle out through the channel next to the hotel. The wave is a lefthander with a fast take off followed by a long workable wall. Gets hollow with size and offshore

Punta Barrigona pointbreak: Between Los Suecos and the crossroads turn down to Mar Azul restaurant. A long lefthander wraps round the point turning into a great hotdog wave as it moves through the inside. This wave does not barrel much and is fairly slow, making it a preferred spot for long-boarders. Surfing is best here at high tide.

Playa Hermosa - If you feel like exploring further, Playa Hermosa and Manzanillo, are a few miles north. Hermosa Beachbreack is the perfect location to score lonely barrels and Manzanillo Reef is about half mile outside shore and holds really big swells.

And there are some secret spots you`ll get to know if you hang out with the locals.

Thanks to Lisandro Lopez, owner of a small surfers hotel in Costa Rica - what better place to stay and get some great insider information on the local surf conditions. Check out his website at www.terrazasdelsol.com