Surfing Cabo Matapalo

Beach Break · Best Apr-Oct · 2-6 ft · Crowd 1/5

S/W swell, mid tide

Playa Carate is the last beach before the Corcovado National Park boundary, at the end of the road past Cabo Matapalo. Its sandbanks near the rivermouth pick up any south or west swell, so it's where to go when the Matapalo points are flat.

The shape depends on the river and changes a lot. Mid tide is usually best. The dirt road gets cut by swollen rivers in the wet season, and there are only a few expensive lodges, but there are scarlet macaws everywhere.

Right Point · Best Apr-Oct · 3-8 ft · Crowd 2/5

S-SW swell, low-mid tide

Hog Hole is the outside point of the three right reefs at Cabo Matapalo, and the most consistent. It has steep, fast walls and works best from low to mid tide.

When it's big it gets heavy, and the inside is a mix of ledges, boulders and cobblestones. It's for experienced surfers. Getting there takes a 4x4 to the tip of the Osa Peninsula, where the lodges are few and expensive.

It's at its best from April to October on a south-west swell. Backwash and Pan Dulce, next door, are easier options.

Right Point · Best Apr-Oct · 2-8 ft · Crowd 2/5

S-SW swell, low-mid tide

Backwash is the middle of the three right points at Cabo Matapalo. It's usually a bit smaller than Hog Hole, with fast, hollow sections, and it works best from low to mid tide on a solid south-west swell.

It's a little easier than Hog Hole but still a reef wave, with rocks and cobbles on the inside. Like the rest of Matapalo, it's at the end of a jungle road on the Osa Peninsula, with few people around.

It's best from low to mid tide on a solid south-west swell, in the green season. The lodges at Cabo Matapalo are a short walk through the jungle, and you'll often see monkeys and scarlet macaws on the way.

Right Point · Best Apr-Oct · 2-6 ft · Crowd 3/5

Decent S-SW swell, high tide

Pan Dulce is the easiest of the Cabo Matapalo waves: a long, slow right point over rocks inside the Golfo Dulce. On a decent south swell it often breaks in two sections, with long shoulders that suit longboards and single fins more than power surfing.

Higher tides give the longest rides. You need a 4x4 to get to the tip of the Osa Peninsula, and there's no town, just a few eco-lodges in the jungle, so the lineup stays small.

It's the place to learn or improve at Cabo Matapalo, best at high tide on a decent south swell. The lodges nearby have board rental and lessons, and Puerto Jiménez is about forty minutes away.