Dominical & Uvita · Costa Rica
Surfing Punta Uvita
A beach break in Dominical & Uvita, Costa Rica, for beginner surfers.
Punta Uvita is in the Marino Ballena national park, next to the sandbar shaped like a whale's tail that you can walk out on at low tide. The point shelters the beach, so the waves stay small and soft.
It's mostly useful when the rest of the coast is too big or a north-west wind is blowing. It's a beginner spot, not a performance wave. Humpback whales pass offshore from about July to October and again from December to April.
It's a gentle place to learn, inside a national park that charges a small entry fee. Arrive early: the park opens in the morning, and the sandbar is best seen at low tide. Uvita has the places to stay.
When to surf
Punta Uvita
Punta Uvita is at its best from May to November. Conditions it likes: Swell S-SW, NW onshore.
December to April: Good
Short dry season, cleaner, sunnier, but smaller than the summer swell
May to July: Prime
Green season S-SW groundswell fires Dominical and the points; offshore mornings
August to October: Prime
Peak, most consistent S-SW swell, and the wettest, greenest months
Nov: Quiet
Transition, heavy rains and swell easing into the dry season
The year across Central Puntarenas
Waves near Punta Uvita
Getting there
Where to stay: Dominical village puts you on the powerful beachbreak with cheap sodas and board hire; Uvita (20min south) is quieter, family-friendly and gateway to the marine park. Dominicalito is the sheltered beginner bay in between. Rent boards locally from around $10/day.
Transport, costs, where to stay and the rest of the waves in the area are in the Dominical & Uvita guide.
Dominical & Uvita surf guideSurf it often and something here is wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.