Surfing Mal País & Santa Teresa

Right Point · Best May-Nov · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

S-SW swell, mid tide

Playa Coyote is a long, wild beach south of Mal País with a short right point off the headland near the beach hotels. The point is slow and easy, a good place for improvers to practise turns without a crowd.

The beach on either side picks up plenty of south-west swell and has empty peaks for kilometres. Mid tide on a clean south-west swell is best.

Getting there is slow: dirt roads and river crossings, so you need a 4x4 in the wet season. That's also why it stays quiet.

Right Reef · Best May-Nov · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

S-SW swell, high tide

Playa Caletas is a group of reef breaks on a remote part of the Nicoya coast. The best of them is a right on the north side that works at high tide and can have clean, long walls.

It needs a decent south-west swell and some patience, because the sand on the reef shifts. Access is by 4x4, and in the wet season the rivers and mud make the drive hard, so you'll rarely see other surfers. There are a few other isolated breaks nearby if you have time to look.

Reef Break · Best May-Nov · 2-8 ft · Crowd 2/5

Strong S-SW swell

The reefs at the north end of Playa Manzanillo need a strong south-west swell to work. When they do, they turn into short, hollow peaks over shallow reef.

Most of the year it's too small, so only come on the biggest, cleanest days, and have a backup plan if it isn't breaking. It's reached on rough roads and is usually empty.

It's mostly a green-season wave, from May to November, when the bigger south-west swells arrive. The reef is shallow, so it's for experienced surfers. Santa Teresa, a few minutes south, has the places to stay and eat.

Beach Break · Best Dec-Apr · 2-8 ft · Crowd 4/5

Swell S-SW, low to mid tide

Santa Teresa is a long white-sand beach with peaks all along it, and the most consistent wave on the southern Nicoya Peninsula. It's best on a south-west swell from low to mid tide, when the banks can get hollow, and there are easier reforms for improvers.

The town has grown fast, with yoga studios, cafés and places to stay along the dusty main road, and the line-up is rarely empty. Walk along the beach and you'll usually find a quieter peak.

The dry season, from December to April, brings clean conditions and offshore mornings, and the south-west swells of the green season, from May to November, bring more size. Mornings are usually best, before the wind picks up.

The main road is dusty and can be busy with quad bikes, and prices in town are high for Costa Rica. Playa Carmen, at the north end, has easier waves and surf schools, and Playa Hermosa and Manzanillo, a little further on, are quieter on most days.

Beach Break · Best Dec-Apr · 2-6 ft · Crowd 3/5

Swell S peaky

Playa Carmen is where the road from Cóbano reaches the coast, between Mal País and Santa Teresa. The sandbars move around, so the shape changes from week to week, but small and medium south swells usually give fun walls and the odd hollow section.

It suits a wide range of levels, and the surf shops and cafés are right behind the beach, so it's the everyday wave for most people staying in the area.

It's one of the easiest beaches around Santa Teresa, and surf schools work here all year. The village at the crossroads has shops, cafés and the bus stop. Santa Teresa is just north if you want more power.

Left Point · Best May-Nov · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

Decent SW swell

Punta Barigona is a left point near the Cabo Blanco reserve, at the southern end of the Mal País coast, next to the Mar Azul cabins. It needs a decent south-west swell to wrap into the point.

When it does, the lefts line up into long walls with only a few people out, much quieter than the beaches in Mal País. On small days there's not much there. It's a short drive from the main road, with the protected forest of Cabo Blanco just to the south.