Costa Rica surf guide
Surfing Witch's Rock & Ollie's Point
Boat-access national-park waves, the Endless Summer classics
- Spots2
- LevelsAdvanced, Intermediate
- Best seasonDec-Apr
- RegionGuanacaste
The waves at Witch's Rock & Ollie's Point
Potrero Grande (Ollie's Point)
- Point Break
- Intermediate / Advanced
- 3-8 ft
- May-Oct
- Crowd 3/5
Tucked inside the wild Santa Rosa National Park, Ollie's Point is a right-hand pointbreak that sits comfortably above average and became surf-lore as the boat-trip wave in The Endless Summer II. It takes a solid south swell or a medium west to switch on, and when it does the reward is a run of ruler-edged walls that reel down the point begging to be carved, with a low-tide section that hollows out into makeable cover-ups.
The wave's predictability and forgiving shape make it a favourite for dialling in turns rather than surviving, which is exactly why it draws a crowd of pangas the moment the forecast lights up. The only way in is an expensive boat ride from Playas del Coco, and the park gate only opens in the dry season.
Board a fast shortboard. Hazards are more jungle than reef: getting bogged on the approach, the odd small croc and shark, and mosquitoes the size of your thumb.
10.851212, -85.799755 · Swell S grande o W medio, offshore
Playa Naranjo (Witch's Rock)
- Beach Break
- Advanced
- 3-10 ft
- May-Oct
- Crowd 3/5
Roca Bruja, Witch's Rock, is the volcanic monolith flung into the sea by an eruption 50km inland, and the beachbreak that lines up behind it is one of Costa Rica's iconic images. On its day it throws hollow, high-tide A-frames that howl offshore and stand up with genuine power, but the same exposure means it slams shut and closes out fast when the swell gets too big.
Like Ollie's next door, access is the barrier that keeps it special: a panga from Playa del Coco or a dry-season 4x4 mission through the national park. There's no accommodation, so camping is a hard-core-only proposition.
This is a wave for confident surfers, the shorebreak has teeth and the current runs hard. Time it with a clean mid-tide push and a moderate swell, and Witch's Rock delivers the postcard barrel everyone comes for.
10.803, -85.815 · Swell S-SW, offshore aullador
Where to stay near Witch's Rock & Ollie's Point
- Coco Beach hotels — Guesthouse: Handy base by the panga ramp for Witch's Rock and Ollie's Point boat trips, with dive shops and restaurants on the seafront.
- Witch's Rock Surf Camp — Surf Camp: Tamarindo's original surf camp, running boat trips up to the national-park waves, board storage, pool and a sociable surf crowd.
Beyond the surf
- Santa Rosa National Park: Dry tropical forest, howler monkeys and the historic hacienda, the park that shelters Witch's Rock and Ollie's Point. Dry-season access only.
- Playa del Coco: The launch point for panga trips to the national-park waves, with dive shops, restaurants and the area's liveliest little seafront.
- Rincón de la Vieja volcano: Active volcano with hot springs, mud pots and waterfall hikes an hour inland, the classic Guanacaste flat-day mission.
Best time to surf Witch's Rock & Ollie's Point
Witch's Rock & Ollie's Point works best around Dec-Apr. See the full month-by-month breakdown for Costa Rica.
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