South Pacific Costa Rica

This southern area of Costa Rica, extending right down to the Panama border, is a mix of tropical rainforests, mountains, marine reserves, fruit trees and palm plantations. Tropical means year-round rain showers with downpours lasting more than half the day and all night in the rainiest weeks (some areas receive nearly 300 inches of rain per year!). The rivers feed new sandbars, forming grinding barrels at lower tides.

Just south of the largest mangrove in Central America and Drake’s Bay is the Osa Peninsula and the Golfo Dulce, home of Matapalo, a wild right-hander and Pavones, one of the most spectacular left pointbreaks in the world. These spots are the most crowded when swell is running, but the drift keeps the riders spread out down the line. While you’re waiting for a set to come your way you can pick out scarlet macaws and howler monkeys in the trees, making this place magical.

There is an airport in Golfito, with regular flights running from San Jose, cutting down seriously on driving time if you’re bound for the southern region. Once in Golfito there are car rentals, buses and other travelers to get you the various breaks.

CROWDS

The long bumpy ride discourages some travelers, especially when rains flood out the bridges and sections of the road. Pavones can have 70 to 80 people out by mid-morning, so the trick is to catch it at dawn with the tide filling in. You can alway surf other breaks with just your friends and only few friendly locals.

HAZARDS

There are snakes here whose venom kills you in an hour. Also, there are tiny larva that can enter a cut and grow to inch-long worms beneath your skin. Mosquito bites can deliver dengue fever. Rip currents take away swimmer’s lives each year, and the closest hospitals are an hour’s drive away. But hey, it could be worse.

THE FOUR SEASONS

SUMMER

Offshore winds coming down from the mountains start the sunrise sessions, with winds switching before noon. Surf is consistently overhead, with one powerful southwest swell after another pushing sets double-overhead-plus. Rain showers cool off the afternoons, leaving spectacular sunsets and rainbows. This is prime surf time, so expect your favorite break to host a few new faces.

FALL

The south swells are less frequent but bring the biggest waves of the year with up to eighteen-foot faces. Constant rains and ten-foot tidal swings limit the time in the water. The best time to surf is when the cool breezes blow down from the mountains in the mornings. The crowds are gone and hotel rooms and restaurants get cheaper to keep the clientele.

WINTER

By mid-November the rains subside and so do the south swells. Overall, winter can be inconsistent, and you may wait a week for something over waist high at Pavones. Spots in between are just as inconsistent. Christmas weekend to New Year’s is one long party when the locals all come camping on the coastline.

SPRING

Lots of sunshine and less mosquitoes make this time of year the most pleasant. The first southern swells kick in at the end of February, but you can still be caught in a weeklong flat spell. Outside of Pavones, the crowds are still light and you can have your own peak until Easter week, when the local crowds come back.

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