Mal País & Santa Teresa · Costa Rica
Surfing Playa Caletas
A right reef in Mal País & Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, for intermediate surfers.
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.
When to surf
Playa Caletas
Playa Caletas is at its best from May to November. Conditions it likes: S-SW swell, high tide.
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 Playa Caletas
Playa Coyote
6 kmMal País & Santa Teresa · Right Point · Beginner / Intermediate
Playa Manzanillo
6 kmMal País & Santa Teresa · Reef Break · Intermediate / Advanced
Playa Santa Teresa
16 kmMal País & Santa Teresa · Beach Break · Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Straight-line distances. By road it is usually further.
Getting there
Where to stay: Santa Teresa and Playa Carmen run into one another and hold most of the beds, food and board hire; Mal País proper is quieter and closer to Cabo Blanco. Access is by 4x4 over dusty (or muddy) roads, most people fly to SJO and take a shuttle and the Puntarenas-Paquera ferry.
Transport, costs, where to stay and the rest of the waves in the area are in the Mal País & Santa Teresa guide.
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