Playa Maderas

Surf Guide

Maderas is the closest beach to San Juan Del Sur, which makes it one of the cultural centers of Nicaraguan surfing. Local surfers flock here and there are contests happening year-round. The wave itself is fairly flat, walled, and kind of average -- not as good as the beachbreaks to the north, generally -- but it's a stunning setting and a nice place to relax after the hairball drive over the mountain to get there. Special note to visitors: We once saw four surfers pull up here, paddle out all at once, and proceeded to take every wave and show no respect to the locals or other visitors. So, one of the locals, not exactly stoked on the behavior, proceeded to paddle in, grab his trusty machete, and paddled out to let one of the offenders what he thought about his and his pals' foul etiquette. Needless to say, the surfers promptly exited the water and the lineup returned to normal. Moral of the story? Well, if you don't know, don't go to Maderas.