Malpaís - SantaTeresa

The beaches of Malpais and Santa Teresa belong to the best surf spots in Costa Rica. There are a variety of world-class breaks offering ideal surf conditions throughout the year.

The main surf beach, Playa El Carmen, is on the border between Malpais and Santa Teresa. It has a good set of sand bars that offer some nice lefts and slightly longer rights. As with all beach breaks, the sand bars can change overnight. For latest information ask at the Malpais Surf Camp or at one of the surf shops in Santa Teresa.

The break of Playa Carmen is popular with long-boarders but you can always find a few hot short-boarders pulling tail slides, aerials and 360s.

Rip tides and beach breaks at Playa Carmen are less powerful than in other surf spots of the Costa Rican Pacific, making the surf suitable for beginners to learn on.

The waves tend to get heavier, faster and steeper as you head north towards Playa Santa Teresa. Here it is easier to find your own uncrowded peak but you should be careful for submerged rocks in the sea.

Surf in Malpais:

El Carmen: A long right and a shorter left, surfing over sand. It is the best break for beginners learning to surf.

The other surf spots in Malpais are more challenging and not suited for beginners:

Punta Barrigona: A reef break with a long lefthander which wraps round the point turning into a great hot dog wave as it moves through the inside. Needs a lot of swell to work properly.

 

 

Los Suecos: Another lefthander reef break with a fast take off followed by a long workable wall. Gets hollow with size and offshore winds but does also need a good swell to work.

 

Surf in Santa Teresa and further north:

Santa Teresa: Usually bigger and more hollow than Playa Carmen. The surf is better on low tide when waves tend to be faster. 

Playa Hermosa: Beach break, lefts and rights. A long sandy beach, rather uncrowded. Another new thrill here is kite surfing. 

Manzanillo: The reef is offshore at the north end of the beach. Very fickle wave which needs a lot of swell to work.

 

Surfing Malpais

Malpaís's location between the Central Pacific area and Guanacaste means that it benefits from both the big south swells which hit the beaches south of Puntarenas during the wet season as well as the offshore "Papagayo" winds which create optimum conditions on the Guanacaste coast during the dry season. Another great advantage is the complete absence of crowds; this area is one of the last frontiers of surf exploration in Costa Rica. When locals refer to Malpaís, they mean the whole area between Cabo Blanco and Manzanillo. The best surf is found on the following beaches:

Mar Azul is a great wave witch actaully boast a left and right break seperated by a huge slab of rock thats exposed during low tides. Both break best when an overhead swell has hit the left. There are two main rocks that the left breaks off the furthest out near the start of the wave is sometimes exposed when padding for the ride which makes for some excitement. Breaks best on an out going tide and the inside can be dangerous during lower tides. All around an awesome spot though fickle with the tides.

El Carmen: Continue straight on at the crossroads to the beach and you'll see the peak right in front of you. A long right wall and shorter section left break over a gradually sloping sand bottom.

Santa Teresa: Turn right at the crossroads and continue 3 km. To "Cabinas Santa Teresa" and turn down to the beach. Santa Teresa tends to pick up more swell than El Carmen and holds shape better at low tide.

Playa Hermosa: Next beach north from Santa Teresa, and even less crowded. Peaks all along the beach. When the beach breaks get big, the reefs and points start to work.

Playa de Los Suecos: Turn left at the crossroads go 4 km. And park where you see the fishing boats. Walk south 100 yards along the rocks and paddle out through the channel next to the hotel. The wave is a lefthander with a fast take off followed by a long workable wall. Gets hollow with size and offshore.

Punta Barrigona: Between Los Suecos and the crossroads turn down to Mar Azul restaurant. A long lefthander wraps round the point turning into a great hotdog wave as it moves through the inside. Needs a lot of swell to work properly.

Manzanillo: Turn right at the crossroads and go 8 km. To Manzanillo village. The reef is offshore at the north end of the beach. Very fickle wave which needs a lot of swell to work.

The manager at Trópico Latino Lodge is a surfer and is happy to give you information, advice and directions.

 

 

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