North Costa Rica

With offshores funneling through the jungle, smelling like, well victory or something, perfectly tapered rights peeling down the rock-strewn point, a grassy headland above and crystal clear water underneath, regular-foots could be forgiven for thinking they've died and gone to heaven at Ollie's Point. Really. The rivermouth/pointbreak has to be one of the more enjoyable rights in the world -- almost as good as a warm-water Rincon (minus the crowd). The only problem with Ollie's Point is its narrow swell window -- it has to be a solid south swell to even show, and even then, Witches Rock (and Tamarindo and Playa Hermosa, etc.) are generally bigger. But if you get it on a head-high to slightly overhead day, your bag of tricks will get deeper as the day goes on, as the wave is as long as it is forgiving. There are even occasional tube sections, especially when the wintertime offshore wind blows). The only practical way to get to Ollie's is by getting a boat taxi from nearby Playas de Coco, which you can easily organize from surf shops in Tamarindo, including Iguana Surf (ph: 653-0148; www.iguanasurf.net ); Mariesas (ph: 653-0224), just down the road, and the High Tide Surf Shop (ph: 653-0108) a block or so east of town's main T-junction. Also, check out www.witchesrocksurfcamp.com on your way into town. Or, you can try www.costaricasurfcharters.com and stay overnight offshore at Ollie's. This option will allow for a lonely dawn patrol with just you and whoever else you brought along on the boat. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.

Okay, okay, you saw The Endless Summer II. You know that you have to paddle through a Cayman-infested estuary to get to the beach; you know that the offshores can hold up the perfect, thin-lipped tubes for about as long as your legs'll stand it. You've practiced your Pat O'Connell-skips-down-the-beach-'til-your-feet-are-fried routine, and you've got the poster hanging over your bed. Good on ya for doing your homework -- now get there. Because nothing can properly prepare one for the sheer, unbridled fun that Playa Naranjo provides when swell hits town. Playa Naranjo -- if you're scratching your head in confusion -- is the actual name of the beach, rather than Witches Rock. The wave itself is no Black's or Ocean Beach or even Hossegor -- it's easy, playful beachbreak, and you'll be double happy that you're a surfer as soon as you stand up, the offshore wind stings your eyes, and you start pumping down a long, groomed, green line. The estuary, made famous by The Endless Summer II, deposits sand on an otherwise fairly flat sandbar, creating the lefts and rights that wall up for days without necessarily closing out. There are other peaks along Playa Naranjo's two- to three-mile white sand stretch, but they're not as perfectly shaped as the ones found in the lee of the rock. There are a couple ways to get to Witches: One requires a very trusty 4WD, ALL supplies (especially an extra-strength mosquito net), and driving in through the Santa Rosa National Park, down eight miles of some of the worst roads in Costa Rica (in rainy season, fugghetaboutit). Many a luckless soul have attempted to push his rental car to its RAV maximum, only to get hopelessly bogged down in mud (and did we mention mosquitoes?). The other, saner, safer way involves getting a boat taxi from nearby Playas de Coco, which you can easily organize from surf shops in Tamarindo, including Iguana Surf (ph: 653-0148; www.iguanasurf.net ); Mariesas (ph: 653-0224), just down the road, and the High Tide Surf Shop (ph: 653-0108) a block or so east of town's main T-junction. Also, check out www.witchesrocksurfcamp.com on your way into town. Or, you can try www.costaricasurfcharters.com and stay overnight offshore at Ollie's. This option will allow for a lonely dawn patrol with just you and whoever else you brought along on the boat.

Playa Grande is one of the most consistent breaks in the region, and it often holds a lot more size than Tamarindo. This quality beachbreak is located on the north side of the river mouth from Tamarindo (about 25 minute drive/30 minute beach hike), and focuses anything from the Southern Hemi, especially South-West swells. There are outer reefs, which make low tide not ideal (close-outs mostly). Mid tide is best, offering fun A-frames, rippable rights and lefts, as well as barrels. A big high tide will often produce very annoying backwash. If everywhere else is flat, however, Playa Grande will have something to ride, and it's especially good when an off-season Southern Hemi swell combines with winter-time offshore winds. Grande is also the closest quality surfing beach to Liberia International Airport (LIR), which is about an hour's drive on all paved roads. Other spots from LIR: Reserva Conchal is a 15-minute drive; Playa Flamingo is a 25-minute trip; and Potrero is a 30-minute drive. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.

While Jaco could indeed be considered Costa Rica's "Surf City," Tamarindo is probably its spiritual home. Though years of tourism has left the formerly quaint, Italian-settled fishing village a little ragged around the edges, it's still the place to go if you want a good variety of waves, a wide selection of accommodations, a bunch of good restaurants, and lively nightlife. Just don't expect to find it uncrowded. The bay of Tamarindo stretches for about four miles, bordered on the north end by Playa Grande and the Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas de Guanacaste, where leatherback turtles can be seen laying eggs at night; and to the south by the south end of Tamarindo itself. There are at least four distinct surf breaks along that stretch. From north to south: Playa Grande: Probably the most consistent of all Tamarindo's spots, even though it's a 20-minute drive or 30-minute hike north of town, Playa Grande is a cooking beachbreak, especially on a good south swell. It's a somewhat flat-ish beach, so it has the tendency to close out at low tide, but at mid-high tide, it's all near-shore, A-frame tubes -- the best (and most crowded) peaks being right in front of the Hotel Las Tortugas. It's always bigger than in Tamarindo, and if it is flat everywhere else, Grande will still have something to ride. It's especially good when an off-season south combines with wintertime offshores. El Estero (Tamarindo Rivermouth): Not a totally classic rivermouth setup, but a damn good wave when the sand settles just right, which it can for weeks at a time. It's split between rights on the south side and lefts on the north. The river is located at the north end of town, across and down from the Best Western, and, as such, it can get really crowded. Watch out for fishermen, too. Tamarindo Beachbreak: Average beachbreak that's never as good as Playa Grande, but it has the advantage of being right in town -- that walk/drive to Grande twice a day gets old pretty quick. There are lots of beginners here, so you get a chance to show off those closeout maneuvers you've practiced at home. Pico Pequeno: Right lava reefbreak that can get really good -- it seems to favor a southwest swell and a mid-high tide (low tide is sketchy and shallow). It's located right in the heart of town, thus everybody is on it when the swell is right. It's also a one-peak sort of wave, so the crowd is especially difficult and also dangerous. NEARBY SPOTS There are a bunch of waves as you head south of Tamarindo: Playa Langosta, about a mile south, is a stretch of consistent beachbreak with a rivermouth that can get really good. Playa Avellanes is a series of rocky reefbreaks, beachbreaks, and another rivermouth, about 30 minutes to the south, and also can get really good. You can usually find an uncrowded peak at one of those two spots, and they generally pick up more swell than Tamarindo. Just south of Avellanes is Playa Negra, a hollow right rock reefbreak that's one of the better tubes in Costa Rica and has the crowds to match. As you head south down the Nicoya Peninsula there are heaps of spots, including (but not limited to) Nosara, Samara, and Playa Coyote. The roads are sketchy, and there are fewer amenities in this area of Costa Rica (though more hotels, etc., are popping up, especially around Nosara), but if you're looking for uncrowded surf and have a 4WD and some time... the possibilities are endless. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.

About 30 minutes south of Langosta is Playa Avellanes, a series of rocky reefbreaks, beachbreaks, and another river mouth. Avellanes can get really good -- oftentimes better than Langosta. You can usually find an uncrowded peak here as well, and since Avellanes (and Langosta) generally picks up more swell than Tamarindo, it's worth hitching, hiring a rental, or taking a taxi to go check out when the latter is too small. And just south of Avellanes is Playa Negra, a hollow right rock reefbreak that's one of the better tubes in Costa Rica but has the crowds to match. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.

Nosara has Guiones -- the main beach -- and Playa Pelada. Pelada is not as developed, and a little more old-school Tico. The waves are easy and safe like the town. Even at double overhead, there really aren't any beatdowns to worry about: the thickest lips just give you a short spin-cycle, stuff some of that famous Guanacaste black sand into your crevices, and pop you out the back. Like many of the black sand Costa Rican beachbreaks, Nosara can look a bit intimidating when it's overcast, bigger, and way outside -- but paddling out, you realize how easy it is to duck-dive these waves. Once on the wave, you'll realize that this place is like a skate park; enough speed and juice at good size to get you going, with minimal consequences. When it's smaller, the place erupts into a happy chaotic mess of surf schools, funboards, longboards, beginners, and all the various characters that such an easy wave attracts. Enjoy gentle takeoffs, long walls with the occasional critical lip, plenty roundhouses, and close-out rebounds. Anyone and everyone could surf this wave and thankfully it is a big beach to spread everyone out. If you're looking for something a bit more challenging -- and for an intermediate or better surfer, a few days of Guiones will get monotonous -- head north. There are a few beachbreaks lurking down dirt roads north of town that are much more hollow. Nothing death-defying (it is Costa Rica) but north-end Playa Hermosa-style barrels can be had. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.

Santa Teresa

Tucked into the southwest tip of the rugged Nicoya Peninsula, Mal Pais (and neighboring Playa Carmen and Santa Teresa) is a popular haunt for both surfers and backpackers -- all for good reason: the place is fricken beautiful. Plus, the surf is pretty consistent and spread out enough to accommodate a whole army of funboarders, beginners and yoga retreaters, and still have a few peaks left over for the rippers. The beach begins just west of Frank's Place at the Mal Pais/Santa Teresa crossroads and continues north for a couple miles, with only the occasional cluster of rocks to break the monotony of golden sand. It's all similar -- shifty A-frames with long walls that connect into inside closeouts -- though it can get bigger and hollower as you head north, especially during a south swell. Mal Pais is easy, almost California-style beachbreak -- not as heavy as Hermosa, but fun as all hell. And if that's not the point, what is? There's lots of wildlife in and out of the water as well: monkeys, lizards, and armadillos will cross your path on the road, and there's bound to be at least one fish feeding-frenzy within 20 yards of you in the lineup. No, they're not scared, nor should you be. They're just friendly fish, not sharks -- keep an eye out for stingrays, though. NEARBY SPOTS South of Santa Teresa, toward Cabo Blanco Nature Preserve, there are a few quirky, bigger-wave reef breaks. Heading northward the road gets really bad, but if you've got a good car and a better map, there are certainly some semi-secrets waiting to be ridden. Click here to download Surfline's North Costa Rica Surf Guide pdf.