Jaco Beach, Costa Rica Fun In The Waves and Sun!

At the beach at Jaco, you’ll usually find a friendly mix of local ticos and tourists whose mission it is to enjoy the friendly surf and sun as much as they can! Like most beaches in Costa Rica, the surface can change from the seasonal weather patterns and tides. In the high season from December to April, it is usually all sandy, and during the rest of the year, it can have smooth pebbles mixed on the surface, but the bottom is always basically sandy. Unlike other beaches, like nearby Hermosa, under “normal” conditions of light waves, there are usually no dangerous currents. However, when the surf is up, you could get caught in a riptide or undertow, so be cautious. Don’t panic; swim on a diagonal back to shore. There are a few lifeguard towers, but they are usually not manned except in the high season.

Still small town enough to find the occasional horseback rider on the roads or on the beach, Jaco is an interesting blend of the old and the new.

JACO Beach and Hotels…Surf paradise

Fun In The Waves and Sun!

At the beach at Jaco, you’ll usually find a friendly mix of local ticos and tourists whose mission it is to enjoy the friendly surf and sun as much as they can! Like most beaches in Costa Rica, the surface can change from the seasonal weather patterns and tides. In the high season from December to April, it is usually all sandy, and during the rest of the year, it can have smooth pebbles mixed on the surface, but the bottom is always basically sandy. Unlike other beaches, like nearby Hermosa, under “normal” conditions of light waves, there are usually no dangerous currents. However, when the surf is up, you could get caught in a riptide or undertow, so be cautious. Don’t panic; swim on a diagonal back to shore. There are a few lifeguard towers, but they are usually not manned except in the high season.

Jaco = Surfing!

Surf Town, Jaco, Costa Rica

You definately know you’re in a surf town when you go to Jaco! Surfing has always been a big draw to Jaco as the waves are friendly to beginners, and the beach is long with many surf breaks and it has a sandy bottom. Of course, all this requires support services for surfers - board repairs, surf shops, economical places to eat and stay for those on a budget, and, of course, the flavor of surfing’s influence is everywhere!

Surfing is a surface water sport

In which the participant is carried along the face of a breaking wave, most commonly using a surfboard, although wave-riders may make use of kneeboards, body boards (aka boogie boards), kayaks, surf skis, and their own bodies. Surfing-related sports, such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves.Two major subdivisions within contemporary stand-up surfing are reflected by the differences in surfboard design and riding style of longboarding and shortboarding.In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave surfing), a surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, such as a jetski, generally because standard paddling is often ineffective when trying to match a large wave’s higher speed.

Why Costa Rica?

Although we could write a book about surfing in Costa Rica and why it has become one of the world’s top surf destinations, we will assume that if you are looking into traveling here, you have already read that chapter… you know…

• warm water
• consistent year round surf
• affordable prices
• easy access to breaks
• over 700 miles of coastline, both Pacific and Caribbean oceans (and thousands of breaks)
• friendly people
• international surfing tournaments
• great surf camps
• not to mention active volcanoes, white water rafting, monkeys, canopy tours, snorkeling, mountain biking, windsurfing, sailing, eco-minded culture, great food, the list goes on and on.

Let’s face it… if you’re going international, there are many places to surf. But Costa Rica has the right combination of travel perks…

great surfing + Pura Vida zen-like culture = GOOD TIME

 

Why Costa Rica Surfing is Incredible

Costa Rica is sometimes called “the Hawaii of Latin-American surfing” because there are thousands of beach breaks and tons of oceanfront. Rivers galore offer tons of rivermouth breaks, especially on the Pacific. On the Caribbean side, you get great reef breaks.Monster waves you don’t see much of. What you do see is good-size kilometer breaks that are consistent year-round.

Because Costa Rica is so small, you can switch to another break rather easily if one isn’t working for you. Same thing for crowds (although crowds have not been the biggest problem here.)

Another big reason is the culture. The Costa Rica culture supports surfers, with surf shops, board rentals, bars, restaurants, hotels… there definitely is a strong vibe down here for surfing.

It’s like coming home.