Jacó & Playa Hermosa · Costa Rica
Surfing Esterillos Oeste
A beach break in Jacó & Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica, for beginner and intermediate surfers.
Esterillos Oeste is a long south-facing beach with some lava reef just outside, about 20 minutes south of Jacó. The peaks are soft and usually uncrowded, good for improvers.
It works on a south-west swell at most tides, and the reefs add some shape on the right swell. Esterillos Centro and Este, further east, have more empty peaks on small days and some quiet places to stay.
It's a quiet place for improvers, best in the green season on a south-west swell. The village has a few small hotels and sodas, and Jacó is about twenty minutes north for more choice.
When to surf
Esterillos Oeste
Esterillos Oeste is at its best from May to November. Conditions it likes: Swell S-SW.
December to April: Good
Dry season, cleaner conditions and WNW pulses, though smaller than the summer swell
May to July: Prime
Green season SW groundswell fires the points and beachbreaks; offshore mornings
August to October: Prime
Peak S-SW swell, most consistent and biggest, but the wettest months
Nov: Quiet
Transition, rain and swell easing into the dry season
The year across Golfo de Nicoya
Waves near Esterillos Oeste
Boca Tusubres
8 kmJacó & Playa Hermosa · Beach Break · Intermediate / Advanced
Playa Hermosa
12 kmJacó & Playa Hermosa · Beach Break · Advanced
Roca Loca
15 kmJacó & Playa Hermosa · Right Reef · Advanced
Straight-line distances. By road it is usually further.
Getting there
Where to stay: Jacó town has the hotels, board hire, ATMs and nightlife, with everything walkable; Playa Hermosa (10min south) puts you on the heavier beachbreak. Rent or buy boards here, it's cheaper than the airport towns. Stay south towards Esterillos for a quieter base.
Transport, costs, where to stay and the rest of the waves in the area are in the Jacó & Playa Hermosa guide.
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