Costa Rica surf guide
Surfing Nosara & the south
Consistent beachbreak and the reefs of Negra and Avellana
- Spots5
- LevelsAdvanced, Beginner, Intermediate
- Best seasonDec-Apr
- RegionGuanacaste
The waves at Nosara & the south
Playa Avellana
- Reef Break
- Intermediate / Advanced
- 2-8 ft
- Dec-Apr
- Crowd 3/5
Avellana is a mixed bag in the best sense: a gnarly right reef nicknamed 'Little Hawaii' that sharpens up on smaller swells, a workable beachbreak, scattered reefs and a rivermouth that can offer great shape. The reef holds size and throws the kind of hollow, heavy wall the nickname promises, while the sand peaks give everyone else a look-in.
Because it holds more grunt than the beaches to the north, it draws a committed crew and the inevitable crowd on the good days. The setting is classic rural Guanacaste, a wide beach, forest behind and Lola the pig somewhere on the sand.
Best on a clean south-west swell at mid-tide, Avellana rewards surfers who can pick the right peak and commit to the drop. Watch the reef on the inside at lower tides, and give the locals their waves on the reef proper.
10.211, -85.822 · Swell SW, marea media
Playa Negra
- Reef Break
- Intermediate / Advanced
- 2-8 ft
- Dec-Apr
- Crowd 3/5
Playa Negra earned its cameo in The Endless Summer II for good reason: the rocky reef at the north end of the beach fires off outstanding rights that draw plenty of surfers to its mid-tide barrels. The wave breaks over a shelf of dark boulders and, on the right swell, offers a fast, cover-up-able wall that peels with real quality, a step up from the sand-bottom fare further north.
Accommodation sits right behind the break, which makes it an easy place to post up and score session after session as the tide swings through its window. The trade-off is that the reef is unforgiving at low tide and the take-off zone is tight, so it rewards surfers who know their positioning.
Come on a clean south-west pulse, favour the pushing mid-tide, and mind the rocks on the inside. On its day, Negra's right is one of the most satisfying reef waves in northern Guanacaste.
10.163, -85.847 · Swell SW, marea media
Ostional
- Beach Break
- Beginner / Intermediate
- 2-6 ft
- Dec-Apr
- Crowd 2/5
Ostional offers fun, lip-smacking walls without the crowds that plague the marquee names, and that easy-going character is the whole draw. The beachbreak peaks are user-friendly and playful, ideal for turning practice and long, relaxed sessions, and the wider area even hides a quality left for those who go looking.
The village is best known for its arribadas, the mass olive-ridley turtle nestings that turn the beach into a wildlife spectacle at certain times of year, all inside a protected refuge. That means the vibe is conservation-first and delightfully undeveloped.
There's plenty of accommodation appearing along this coast, but keep valuables locked away, as the whole Nosara-to-Ostional stretch has a reputation for petty theft. Surf it on a south-west swell across the tides for consistent, uncrowded fun, a welcome antidote to the busier reefs up the coast.
9.995, -85.703 · Swell SW
Nosara (Playa Guiones N)
- Beach Break
- Beginner
- 2-5 ft
- Dec-Apr
- Crowd 3/5
Nosara is a three-kilometre ribbon of consistent, easy-going beachbreak that has become the wellness-and-surf capital of the Nicoya coast. The peaks are forgiving and roll in with metronomic regularity, which makes this one of the most reliable places in the country to learn or to log endless mellow rides between yoga sessions.
The town sits back from the sand in the jungle, keeping the beach itself refreshingly natural despite the area's rapid growth. Surf schools line the access roads and the water is warm enough for boardshorts year-round.
Because the swell window is wide open, there's almost always something to ride, and the gentle sand-bottom peaks spread the crowd along the strand. Keep an eye on your gear, the region does suffer from opportunistic theft, but in the water Nosara is pure, low-stress fun, best on a clean south-west swell with a light morning offshore.
9.955, -85.68 · Swell SW
Playa Guiones
- Beach Break
- Beginner / Intermediate
- 2-6 ft
- Dec-Apr
- Crowd 3/5
Playa Guiones is the punchier end of the Nosara set-up, where the beachbreak finds a bit more shape and shove and draws surfers looking to move beyond the whitewater. The main stretch offers well-organised peaks that hold their form across the tides, and there's a reef-and-sand right at the north end that sharpens things up when the swell has some size.
Rapid growth has turned Guiones into a genuine surf destination in its own right, with cafés, schools and rental racks feeding the steady stream of visitors to the punchier banks. It's still a barefoot, dirt-road kind of place, backed by dry forest rather than high-rises.
Consistent and welcoming, it's a step up from beginner Nosara without ever getting heavy, making it a favourite for improving surfers. Lock your valuables away on the beach, favour a south-west swell, and hunt the north-end right when the ocean turns on.
9.91, -85.672 · Swell SW
Where to stay near Nosara & the south
- Nosara Beach Hostel — Surf Hostel: Relaxed hostel a short walk from Playa Guiones, hammocks, board hire and a yoga-surf crowd.
- Hotel Playas de Nosara — Beach Hotel: Clifftop hotel over Pelada and Guiones with pool and sea views, a mid-range base for the Nosara beachbreaks.
- Hotel Playa Negra — Surf Hotel: Round casitas right behind Playa Negra's famous right reef, roll out of bed and check the barrels from the pool.
Beyond the surf
- Ostional Wildlife Refuge: Site of the arribadas, mass olive-ridley turtle nestings that blanket the beach at certain moons. A protected, undeveloped stretch.
- Nosara yoga & wellness: Nosara is Central America's wellness capital: world-class yoga shalas, farm-to-table cafés and jungle wildlife behind the beach.
- Playa Pelada tide pools: Rocky coves and blowholes between Guiones and the village, sunset spot and calm-water swim when the surf is up.
Best time to surf Nosara & the south
Nosara & the south works best around Dec-Apr. See the full month-by-month breakdown for Costa Rica.
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