A close friend of mine has chosen a destination wedding in Costa Rica… I would like to build a board for the occasion. I have done some research on the location, and it seems as though there are quite a few good breaks. What will conditions be like in Tamarindo, Costa Rico in June-July? Have a few months to build this thing, so I’m not in a tremendous rush to finish, however, I want to start compiling info immediately, as to be prepared. I like my mini simmons in lieu of my longboard these days, but prefer a more standard s.b. for any thing head high and up. 6’2x185x just a hair above novice kook. Thanks for the info. Build with pics to follow.
June / July you should score some pretty good surf. The spot around there that I really got into was Avellanas… Anyway, Playa Grande and Longosta can get pretty good too. The main beach at Tamarindo is pretty soft and fairly crowded. The thing about that area is that the tides are +/- about 8 or 9 foot. You tend to plan your day around the tides and/or travel from place to place as the tide changes.
Howzit pico, Costa Rica is one of my favorite places in the world for surfing and it's people, plus the price is right for a tourist destination. Tamarindo is more of a longboard spot but Playa Grade gets the juice and if I remember right it works best at low tide. My last trip there we spent some time at the Tamarido Hotel for only $65 a night and that was the most we paid at any of the Hotels I have stayed at but that also included a free drink every night and free breakfast so it was a good deal. Another place I like to stay at is Iguana azul further south from Tamarindo and we were paying $39 a night but no perks and no surf in front but we surf Playa Negra a lot and They have a resort there now. One thing you may get hit with rain since that is the rainy season but also most of the time June/July gets a dry period in the middle of the rainy season. If you have never been there then you will have a good time but the thieves are every where's these dys so be careful and don't leave any thng of value in your car since they will take anything nd that includes your Passport. Aloha,Kokua
wow good info Kokua- We will not be slumming it unfortunately, there’s about ten to a dozen guys and we have some beach house sorted out. Luckily with water and air temps I don’t think I’ll be taking anything to beach but my board.
Da5id- that tide info is great too, wouldn’t expect that.
As for the board perhaps I think I’ll do PU/PE so if I get a ding I can patch it up which leads to another question. Can I travel with suncure, or get it there easily? I understand epoxy is scarce down there.
If its longboard waves I think I’ll go with a mini simmons for ease of travel and pure fun. Not looking to score huge surf, especially because I expect a few of these guys to come out and give it a try.
Howzit pico, I think you can put the suncure in your check in bag with no problems. One trip we took down there we had all the materials you could imagine, enough to even put a broken board back together but that was before 9-11 and we all know taking things on a plane were different then. I was a good thing we had those materials because they really did a number on one of the guys boards and the first night was major repair time. Aloha,Kokua
Maybe I’ll call someone down there and find out. Anybody have any buddies/ know shapers in the area? Would like to bum around and meet some local guys, stop into shops, etc.
Howzit pico,Robert August owns a place down there so you might be able to email him through his board website and find out what you need to know. There are places to get a dings fixed there also. Aloha,Kokua
Stayed at the Iguanazul back in the early 90’s when just opened and still finishing up the place…my wife and I were the only guests there for almost two weeks…found a 4x4 trail thru an arroyo running just in from the beach that bisected a small village and backdoored into Play Negra…super fun waves, lots of solo sessions…Doug from Santa Barbara built/managed the hotel back then, later married a Tica and became a general contractor in the area…fun wave for anything in your quiver…aside from Dominical and a couple of others when sizable, true of most waves in CR…longboard, fish, egg, shortie…bring along the board that gives you the most grins…and make sure you’ve got a 4x4 when the rains hit…
Howzit Icc, On one trip we almost tore the front end outof our 4X4 due to the deep ruts just before you get to the beach. You need a 4X4 in the rainy season if you plan on driving to most o the spots. They get almost as much rain in 6 months as Kauai gets in a year and looks just like Kauaibut there are so many dangerous things in the jungle it isn't even funny. Also keep your bags zipped closed or the scorpians will get in them and youillget a big surprize when you reach in to grab something. Aloha,Kokua
Flashbacks - the older couple on the side of the road on the way up to Arenal, looking at their rented Suzuki 4x4, front end completely torn off on one side and lodged within the 3’ crater in the middle of the road… after 3 days of non-stop rain down in Matapalo, watching a newer 4x4 rental with three young blonde Floridians in it charge the masive puddle which used to be the road, coming to a complete stop in the middle, water level above the door line, my son and I driving by on the high bank of the puddle in our diesel older fourrunner (best for down there), watching one of them roll down their window to get out and instantly flood the interior…
A guy hanging at the beach going to stuff his board into his board bag, letting out a big yell and shaking his hand frantically to dislodge the big scorpion clinging to it and giving him the barb…flipping open my roll up med kit bag to see a lurking scorpion - always keep everything zippered shut…
Had several three week trips down there during the early and mid 90’s…loved the people, fun waves, gorgeous country, and on two of three trips, had massive bogus charges run up on my credit card that I had to fight to clear later back in the states, and were traced by the credit card company to a restaraunt in one case, a hotel in another…just one of the costs of getting out the front door and having another life adventure, and well worth the price!!
Howzit lcc, Yep that's Costa Rica for you, hell on cars. It is also the pot hole capital of the world for sure and I love how drivers could care which side of the road they are driving on as long as they don't drive through the big puddles that can be bottonless pits. Never would use my credit cards down there, just go to the bank and get colones. What a funny was almost everytime the same 4 of us went and 2 of the guys would get attacked by the mosquitoes and I think they were chiggers but then myself and another friend never got bit by anything. We tried to teel the 2 guys to just think" Shields Up " like Star Trek. Did you ever got to the ton center and there was a Pharmacia there that had a post board in the window with all the poisonous critters down there and it scared the crap out of me thinking how easy it would be to get bitten by one of them. What's the name of that world famous Whore house/Bar in San Jose. Aloha,Kokua
I love Costa Rica. We have had many adventures - no theft and no larceny against our accounts, tho. However, we tend to keep stuff under wraps and not in our vehicles… Also, it is usually easier to deal with cash so we get colones.
One time, we were driving back from Tamarindo and the police waved us over. He had a digital radar speed gun that said 199. It was a sticker on the gun. So, he pulled us over and showed us the non-functional radar gun with the sticker that said 199. The whole time, he was brushing his shoulder… So he told us that he was going to write a ticket and we needed to present it to the court in some little town near by We said (obviously) we are going to the air port… He said OK $20. At this point I asked him why he kept brushing his shoulder… He looked at me and said “Oh, the monkeys, they make pee.”… So, I really felt OK with paying the guy $20 to get pee’d on by monkeys… We still giggle about that one…
Costa Rica 101:
Anything left out will grow legs.
Don’t leave ANYTHING in your car.
Leave the doors to the car unlocked (so they don’t break the windows)
Get dry bags to store stuff in WITH YOU when you go surf.
yea, funny thing is we always used Colones, and never our cards, except for the last night on two seperate trips when we got into San Jose after dark, leaving the next morning, out or low on cash, so used the cards 1x in a nice restaraunt, and 1x for lodging…
We saw Costa Rico change from the early 90’s thru the later 90’s, as more and more gringos moved in/visited, and some of the lower life locals began a little cottage industry of relieving the obviously well to do foreigners of some of their swag…but that group was, and I’m sure still is the minority, because overall they are friendly, welcoming folks…
Personally, I really liked the southern part of the contry below Dominical…lots of off the radar waves, few crowds, kicked back…some right hand point waves to be had that when they light up, are as good as CR gets…
but until you actually drive the CR roads, with potholes that swallow compacts, with drivers who on single lane roads commonly pass on blind curves, mega trucks who will literally run you off the road if impeding their progress, small crosses w/flowers on the sides of the road everywhere to mark a traffic death location, etc, etc…you can’t believe just how crazy it really is…and then after a few weeks in country, tired of the weaving slowpoke ahead, you find yourself passing going into a curve…LOL
