La mejores playas para surfear en costa rica

Las guías Moon hacen que los viajes independientes y que la exploración de exteriores sea divertida y accesible. Su elaboración es llevada a cabo por turistas expertos quienes reseñan de manera sincera los pormenores de cada lugar, consejos estratégicos de primera; además de datos locales útiles y una buena dosis de buen humor. Por estas razones, dichos libros han ganado un lugar especial entre los amantes de los viajes al extranjero. El objetivo de la casa editorial es que cada usuario tenga una experiencia única. Cada texto incluye ideas, mapas fáciles de usar y un conglomerado de cosas por ver, restaurantes y hospedajes. Existen distintos tipos de manuales Moon. Estos incluyen: de bolsillo, exteriores, metro, vida en el exterior y lugares destacados. En el último apartado, se pueden encontrar diferentes clases de sitios por visitar. En ese sentido, la versión correspondiente a Costa Rica ofrece una pequeña descripción acerca de playas. Más específicamente, cuenta con un listado de centros de surf que todo aficionado debe conocer. Si bien destacan que existen docenas de áreas que proporcionan olas tubulares y brisa cálida; también hacen hincapié en aspectos negativos. Indican que en muchas de ellas hay que tener precaución debido a las corrientes que pueden ser mortales para nadadores y surfistas. Asimismo, subrayan temporadas en las que muchas están llenas de troncos y maderas.

Costa caribeña:

• Playa Cocles: Las hermosas arenas doradas e islas mar adentro la convierten en el sitio ideal para quienes están comenzando en este deporte acuático. Además, cuenta con restaurantes de buena calidad en los alrededores.

• Puerto Viejo: Ofrece la ola conocida como «Salsa Brava», que es la más alta y poderosa de toda Costa Rica. Por ello se recomienda solo para personas expertas.

Zona noroeste (Guanacaste):

• Playa Naranjo (Parque Nacional Santa Rosa): Es una zona solitaria dentro del área protegida, apta para acampar y observar la fauna local. Contiene la famosa «Roca Bruja», todo un ícono para los surfistas de corazón.

• Playa Potrero Grande (Parque Nacional Santa Rosa): Aislado y de difícil acceso, este litoral –más conocido como «Ollie's Point»– bien merece la pena, pues posee características inigualables. Tanto así que su oleaje fue reconocido a nivel internacional por el director Bruce Brown en la producción de 1994: «The Endless Summer II». Además, las cercanías ofrecen un espectáculo maravilloso en cuanto a biodiversidad.

Península de Nicoya:

• Playa Grande: Con kilómetros de longitud, este es el sitio de anidación por excelencia de la tortuga baula en horas de la noche. Sin embargo, durante el día les brinda a sus visitantes el mejor surf de la zona.

• Playa Tamarindo: Es la quintaescencia para los surfistas, por lo que es el complejo turístico más de moda en la actualidad. Es amplísimo cuando baja la marea, el sueño de cualquier pareja de enamorados. Los amantes de la tabla podrán disfrutar de un rompeolas fluvial gracias a la desembocadura del río. Más al sur, se localiza playa Langosta, un reto mayor pero con olas menos consistentes.

• Playa Avellanas: Con un número cada vez mayor de servicios que atienden a los surfistas, Avellanas también abastece a la clase adinerada con el lujoso centro vacacional Hacienda Pinilla. Tiene media docena de rompeolas de coral.

• Playa Negra: Se accede a ella por un camino de tierra. Este litoral de arena gris en una costa accidentada es muy popular entre quienes buscan un enorme rompeolas de coral.

• Playas Santa Teresa y Mal País: Hoy por hoy es el sitio más de moda para practicar esta disciplina deportiva. Ambas playas gemelas corren a lo largo de una costa escarpada llena de campamentos de surf, bares extravagantes e incluso centros turísticos de lujo. Posee varios puntos de surf recomendados.

Pacífico Central:

• Jacó: Es el pueblo surfista original que aún atrae a una multitud leal de este deporte. Jacó se ha transformado más recientemente en el centro neurálgico de la fiesta cerca al mar. Además, es el lugar para deportistas con conocimiento intermedio, ya que ofrece picos divertidos tanto derechos como izquierdos.

• Playa Hermosa: Directamente al sur de Jacó, cuenta con olas consistentes y de gran alcance. Sin embargo, puede suele estar concurrida con surfistas que buscan «túneles» perfectos.

• Dominical: Relajada y de moda, pero volviéndose cada vez más lujosa. Ofrece rompeolas izquierdos y derechos que van desde los más sencillos a los más complicados.

Golfo Dulce y península de Osa:

• Cabo Matapalo: Ubicado en la punta sureste de la península de Osa, tiene varias rompientes rocosas estupendas. Por ello es más adecuado para surfistas expertos.

• Pavones: Conocida como una meca para los surfistas, es reconocida mundialmente por su rompiente izquierda que, en un día bueno, puede dar oleaje de hasta un kilómetro de extensión.

Del Mar Surf Camp ha sabido identificar la importancia de estos puntos y ha ubicado dos de sus tres sedes en playa Hermosa (Jacó) y Santa Teresa. Así, los visitantes se garantizan no solo el conocimiento sobre esta disciplina; sino, además, la certeza de practicar la tabla en sitios de renombre mundial. Diez años de trayectoria y una gran clientela satisfecha le garantizan un servicio único y de calidad.

Por: Andrés Figueroa Vásquez

How to Get to Nosara from Juan Santamaria International Airport

We like to consider Playa  Nosara, Guanacaste as our surf paradise and one of Costa Rica’s best kept secrets – a hidden paradise with no paved roads to lead you directly to this destination. As one of the 6 Blue Zones in the world, the community at Playa  Nosara is characterized by a population that believes in maintaining active lifestyles, fostering low stress environments, natural diets and spending lots of quality time with friends and family.
Playa  Nosara has a tranquil atmosphere for tourists who want to really get away from it all and focus on surfing and relaxing in this romantically remote paradise. It is considered one of the “greenest zones” in Costa Rica with a large focus on organic production and sustainability with it as a home to many surfers, artists and yogis. Often referred to as a laid back town with good vibes, the protected area is home to consistently large tides, white sand beaches and very little disruption from lack of beachfront property. We start off our beginner surfers at Playa Guiones, where the quality and consistency of the waves makes this beach an ideal place to surf, sometimes up to twice a day.

Paradise Calling - Real Estate Market Heats Up in Costa Rica

More than 700 miles of beach on Pacific and Caribbean coasts, warm water, tropical climate, lush rainforest and cloud forest, jungle wildlife, stable country, and friendly people – Costa Rica entices millions to visit every year.
If you live anywhere in the Americas, and most likely even in Europe, then you have heard the buzz about this Central American paradise. Maybe you’ve already visited and promised yourself you’d return. Maybe you’re still looking at websites and brochures, plotting your escape to a tranquil tropical beach. Wouldn’t it be nice, though, to have your own little slice of paradise and be able to come back again and again?
Tens of thousands of people from all over the world have made the jump to live in Costa Rica, whether permanently or part-time. The country has become a bit of a “melting pot” of colorful cultures over recent decades.
“Costa Rica is a great place to buy real estate at the moment because property values are going to maintain and steadily increase; the government is stable; the climate is great; there is an attraction here with the biodiversity for people from all over the world; and there are a lot of multinational investments,” commented Dennis Easters, co-owner and broker with Pure Life Development, full-service real estate agency specializing in sales and rentals in Costa Rica. Easters moved to Costa Rica from Florida nearly a decade ago for an international lifestyle, and wholeheartedly encourages others to do the same if that dream calls to them.
Easters reports that Costa Rica has become one of the hottest destinations for retirees from the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. Hugely popular websites such as WeLoveCostaRica.com, LiveInCostaRica.com and InternationalLiving.com attest to that. Many permanent foreign residents move to the capital city area of San Jose and the greater Central Valley, where infrastructure is very developed, high quality medical care and other services are close by, and elevation keeps the climate cooler. Coastal areas tend to be more popular with younger immigrants or those who actively seek the beach lifestyle, or as a vacation home investment.
“Costa Rica is a great investment for vacation rentals, because Costa Rica is a major tourist destination,” said Easters. “People realize they can rent a nice house all to themselves, with their own kitchen and private pool, for the same price as staying in a hotel. If you buy a house for a vacation rental, you can plan on having an 80% occupancy rate during high season from December to April.”
Jacó, Central Pacific Coast, Costa Rica


The popular beach town, with its consistent surf, fun beach-party atmosphere, well-developed infrastructure and new luxury condos, is one of the top beach destinations for foreigners moving to Costa Rica. The nearby world-class golf course, marina and resort community at Los Sueños Resort & Marina adds a posh level of luxury.
“Jacó is a great investment because it is so close to San Jose, only an hour on the Caldera Highway. Services and the community are well integrated between foreigners and Costa Ricans. It has a great variety of restaurants, new condo developments, and good social life,” commented Easters.
Famous with surfers from all over the globe, one of Jacó’s more attractive elements for new residents are its newly-built beachfront high-rise condominium developments. Most beachfront land in Costa Rica is concession property, whereas in Jacó the properties are fully titled, which is very attractive to buyers, explains David Karr, Daystar Properties sales representative in Jacó. The area is perfect for surfing and outdoors’ lifestyles, Karr said.
“Jacó and the Central Pacific remain one of the most desired areas for full-time living because of its central location and its amenities and services,” notes Karr. “With our warm temperatures and countless outdoor activities, the Jacó area is perfect for those looking for an active lifestyle. Here in Jacó you can walk downstairs, grab your surfboard, and go right into the water.”
Both Karr and Easters affirm that potential real estate buyers enjoy great opportunities now in Jacó. “Over the last 18 months, we are seeing buyers get good deals where people, due to economic conditions, needed to sell. There are definitely still opportunities, but if you’re thinking to buy, now is the time,” said Karr. Average prices for a two-bedroom, two-bath, fully furnished, beachfront condo is in the mid to high $200,000 range, according to Karr.
Nosara, Nicoya Peninsula, Guanacaste Coast, Costa Rica
Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Pacific Guanacaste coast, is a hidden paradise with no highways or even paved roads to bring in the masses. The cosmopolitan community there is known for its active and healthy lifestyles, natural diets, and its dedication to a slower, low stress, friends and family quality of life. Driving slowly on the dusty (or muddy) road into the area, you quickly notice that the community is composed of little hamlets of homes, small businesses and the occasional restaurant or hotel all hidden away in the jungle before the beach. More than half of the area is set aside for wildlife and preservation, including the Ostional Wildlife Refuge to protect breeding Olive Ridley and Leatherback sea turtles. The result is an abundance of monkeys and other wildlife.
Nosara’s pristine beaches – Playa Guiones, Playa Pelada, Playa Ostional and Playa Nosara – are perfect for those who want to get away from it all. Nosara is a praised surfing destination and home to a world-renowned yoga school. “Nosara has a big international community with residents from all over the world. It is off the beaten path, but it is unique in its isolation,” commented Easters. “There is the famous Nosara Yoga Institute, great surfing beaches and a relaxed atmosphere.”
Buying possibilities in the Nosara area include beach properties, coastal homes, hillside ocean-view homes and properties, and farm sales. Prices range from $65,000 for a hilltop lot to $1.89 million for a “spectacular ocean view villa,” according to Reef Realty, one of the main realtors in Nosara. You can easily find two-bedroom homes for under $200,000.
Santa Teresa, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
On the tip of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa Beach exudes an enchanting energy that will entrance you from the second you arrive. Renowned for being one of the top 10 beaches in the world, Santa Teresa’s natural beauty flaunts jungle that hugs the coastline, pouring down from coastal mountains to light sand beaches and crystal clear aquamarine sea.
You have to take a ferry from the mainland across the Nicoya Gulf to get to this area of the Nicoya Peninsula (or drive a really, really long way down from Guanacaste). “People like that because it keeps away the big crowds,” explains Bas Pecher, sales representative with Century 21 Beach Area Properties in nearby Playa Tambor. “A lot of people come to this area for its nature.” Close to Santa Teresa are the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve and the Curú Wildlife Reserve.



The southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula lies in a nice middle zone between Costa Rica’s rainy southern Pacific Coast and the dry northern Guanacaste Coast. Epic surf and picture-perfect sunsets are its hallmark. “A lot of people have bought in this area for the surfing – the surfing is awesome. Also the laid-back feeling in this area is nice. It’s still not developed,” said Pecher. “And our sunsets are amazing!”
Pecher said that real estate sales in the area are picking up. “We have really high-end homes in the $600,000 up to $2.75 million range, down to quaint surfer’s cottages starting at $180,000 up to $260,000 with ocean views,” he said. “You can buy land and then build, or you can buy existing homes and vacation cottages. There are also gated residential communities.”

Once a sleepy fishing village, Santa Teresa is a fast-emerging tourism destination with a surprisingly diverse international community of native Costa Ricans, Israelis, Italians, North Americans, and everyone in between. “It’s a great place to buy an investment property for vacation rentals,” notes Pecher. “We have clients who come back every year to rent vacation homes.”
Check out Costa Rica on a Surfing Vacation


A great way to come check out Costa Rica’s real estate possibilities is on one of Del Mar Surf Camp’s Costa Rica surf vacation packages or yoga-surf retreats. Based on Hermosa Beach on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, just south of the bustling beach town of Jacó, Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in surf vacations, yoga-surf retreats, and day surf lessons for adults, women only and families. They offer locations on Nosara Beach, Santa Teresa Beach and Hermosa/Jaco beaches, for beginners, intermediate or advanced surfers.
Del Mar Surf Camp offers new Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Domestic flights and transfers to all of Del Mar’s locations are included in all surf vacation packages.
By Shannon Farley

Surf + Pilates Slideshow, Del Mar Surf Camp

Surf + Pilates Slideshow: EnchantingHotels’s trip to Santa Teresa was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Are you ready to make these vacations transformational and empowering?

Any Olympic athlete or professional athlete, or high school or university athlete, or even a child on a sports team for that matter, has a coach. Actors have coaches. Singers and dancers have coaches or trainers. Over the past decades, executives and businesspersons have joined the ranks of seeking coaching for success. In today’s modern world, there is Business Coaching, Financial Coaching, Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Expat & Global Coaching for those living and working in another culture, Personal Coaching, Health Coaching, and even Dating Coaching. Now, here’s a new twist – Adventure Coaching. On Costa Rica’s surf-fringed Central Pacific Coast, at Hermosa Beach, surf school Del Mar Surf Camp is adding “Personal Coaching Sessions” to all of its surf vacations and surf programs. “Adventures like surfing, or canopy tours, or even bungee jumping for instance, can create mental and emotional breakthroughs from the physical adventure,” said Life and Business Coach Paola Castro. “The environment of Playa Hermosa invites you to contemplate the abundance of life. It’s the perfect environment for these sessions. And if you’re faced with activities like surfing, you are physically challenging yourself.” Castro, Costa Rica born and also a surfer, uses the activity of surfing as a metaphorical window into the person’s life. If they had a good day or a frustrating day … how does that show up in their life and work, she explains. She calls the concept “Adventure Coaching”. “Coaching comes from high-performance athletes,” explains Castro. “Thirty years ago in the USA, executives said if high-performance athletes have coaches, why don’t executives in companies and people in their personal lives have coaches?”
 
Coaching is a teaching or training process in which an individual gets support while learning to achieve a specific personal or professional result or goal, according to Wikipedia. “Managing is making sure people do what they know how to do. Training is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do. Mentoring is showing people how the people who are really good at doing something do it. Coaching is none of these – it is helping to identify the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability,” Wikipedia defines. A Life Coach is an “advisor who helps people make decisions, set and reach goals, or deal with problems,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is a practice that uses techniques from disciplines such as sociology, psychology, career counseling and positive development, to help people identify and achieve personal goals. The development of Personal Coaching, or Life Coaching, can be traced back to the early 1970s Human Potential Movement in the USA, and credited to the teachings of Werner Erhard’s “Est Training.” One of the most successful and well-known personal coaches in the United States is Tony Robbins, who has been coaching executives to celebrities for success for more than 30 years. In celebration of Del Mar Surf Camp’s 10^th Anniversary in 2013, owner Maria del Mar said they want to give more to people and create vacations that are “transformational and empowering.” “Coaching is a transformational process that will help you find the clarity and courage you need to start living the life you dream and deserve,” asserts Del Mar Surf Camp’s website. “It’s for anyone to achieve their goals, and also to help in any way they need,” Maria del Mar says. Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in Costa Rica surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf lessons for adults, women only and families. They cater to beginners, intermediate or advanced surfers, with locations on Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast. The Personal Coaching Sessions, led by Paola Castro, are an extra activity that participants can add on to “go beyond having just a traditional vacation,” says Maria del Mar. Personal Coaching will only be available at Del Mar’s Hermosa Beach location. Hermosa Beach, just south of the bustling beach town of Jacó, is Del Mar Surf Camp’s headquarters. The popular beach, with its consistent surf, variety of breaks and great exposure to swells, is famous with advanced surfers from all over the globe. And, just a 5-minute drive away is the south end of Playa Jacó where beginners learn to surf in gentle and easy waves. A big plus is it’s only an hour’s drive away on paved roads from the capital city of San Jose and the international airport. Castro will coach in 60-minute sessions, and can continue with follow-up sessions after a person returns home using Skype video calls. Coaching can focus on realizing dreams and goals, breaking free from fears, taking leaps of faith, reducing stress, improving health, etc. Castro gives practical steps for shaping behaviors to get results. “The thing with coaching is you need to be responsible for creating the changes in your life,” said Castro. “A coach doesn’t tell you what to do. We use a Socratic method based on questions that stimulate the answers within you, because who else knows how better to live your life but yourself.”

Del Mar Surf Camp has created new Summer Specials packages, with great discounts, to celebrate their 10^th anniversary in 2013. Maria del Mar’s message from her website: “Thank you for 10 years of laughter and wipeouts, glassy rides and perfect waves, tears of frustration and tears of joy, new-found friendship and promises to see each other again. By teaching you, we have learned, and thanks to you, we have grown! With all of our gratitude and so much love, we’ve created new special packages for you, hoping to make surfing with us more accessible and therefore continue to share our passion. Simple, beachy, self-guided and affordable, introducing Pacifico, Swell, and Estrella de Mar surf packages. They all include beachfront accommodations, breakfast and surf lessons – all of the essentials to surf with us in Costa Rica, so you can pick your best fit.”

“Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of a Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave.” – Paul Walker   By Shannon Farley

Hot surf wear and gear for your Costa Rica surf vacation

While the rest of the northern surfing world is gearing up for snowboarding for the winter, Costa Rica is heating up for the 2012-2013 summer season. Sunny days, blue skies and dry trade winds are soon headed our way … ideal for surf vacations! Look your best and get the most stoke with the latest in surf fashion and gear. Check it out! First, Costa Rica is positioned at approximately 9 degrees north latitude. That means our water is warm – averaging 26-30 C (79-85 F) all the time! No neoprene wetsuits, dry suits, hoods, boots or gloves needed here! You just need a cool pair of board shorts or a bikini. Trending in world fashion all spring and summer this year was surf apparel. Quiksilver surf wear is still hot in all the fashion magazines for Fall 2012. When talking about surf wear, which is all about comfort and “laid-back” styles, you’ve got to know the Big Five: Quiksilver and Roxy, Billabong, Hurley, O’Neill and Rip Curl. Surfing News Daily tells us to go for a burst of bright color in flip flops to accessorize any summer outfit for your “just off the beach” surfer look. Sun protection is a must, especially since Costa Rica is so near the equator. Make sure to use plenty of sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher and waterproof) and a lycra rashguard when out in the water; add a sun hat for the beach. Try a new board. Surfer Magazine recommends trying a new board to give you a new challenge and mix up your regular surf routine. Firewire recently introduced their new “Sustainable Surfboards” that meet the “Ecoboard Project” benchmark from the environmental nonprofit organization Sustainable Surf. The “Enviroflex” boards are glassed with Entropy Super Sap epoxy resin made with 25% biologically-derived carbon, and are being released in 2012 in limited quantities; the main launch will be in 2013. Sustainable Surf is a nonprofit organization that promotes surfing as a global leader in sustainable lifestyles and business. The “Ecoboard Project” gives surfers the opportunity to buy high-performance surfboards made from the latest in “green technology” and recycled materials.

When not in the water, or to get ready for your big Costa Rica surf vacation, keep your surfing skills in shape on the Bamboo Series Skateboards by Arbor. Why is this cool? Bamboo is the world’s most sustainable “green” building materials. Bamboo produces more oxygen than most trees; the giant woody grass grows incredibly fast, maturing in only 3-5 years; it’s durable and strong and you don’t have to use pesticides to protect it; and bamboo decomposes into 100% reusable compost. Arbor Skateboards has 3 Bamboo models: Timeless, Fish and Axis. Help plant trees in the rainforest in Costa Rica and Brazil when you buy Jameson 2 Eco shoes. The etnies brand top-selling shoe is big in the surf-skate-snowboard-BMX crowd. The low-top canvas shoe is part of etnies’ “Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree reforestation program,” and is made using recycled rubber from old bike tires in the outsole and recycled plastic bottles in the PET shoe laces. The program is simple – for every pair of Jameson 2 Eco shoes sold, one tree gets planted. In Costa Rica, they’ve already planted 35,000 trees working with the nonprofit charitable organization La Reserve Forest Foundation and the Maleku indigenous tribe. What do you do with leftover surfboard resin so it doesn’t end up in a landfill? If you’re Donna von Hoesslin, owner/designer of Betty Belts ocean-inspired jewelry and accessories, you turn it into wearable, durable and eye-catching jewelry. Each color stripe on the jewelry is excess resin from a surfboard made in Donna’s home of California, which means that every original handmade piece is connected to boards out there riding ocean waves. How cool is that? Back to surf vacations! Go for the ultimate surf vacation experience in Costa Rica with Del Mar Surf Camp. Choose from three spectacularly beautiful locations – Nosara Beach on the Guanacaste Pacific Coast, Santa Teresa Beach on the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Hermosa Beach on the Central Pacific Coast. Del Mar Surf Camp specializes in surf vacation packages, yoga-surf retreats and day surf camps for adults, women only and families. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced surfer, enjoy an epic surf vacation in this rainforest paradise with Del Mar Surf Camp. Domestic flights and transfers to all of Del Mar’s locations are included in all surf vacation packages!