www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I am going to be in CR for a week and am looking to spend four of the days surfing. There are some budgetary concerns (ie don't want to spend a fortune) but am looking for suggestions on where to stay. Last year I stayed at the Diria Beach Resort in Tamarindo which was pretty nice (the surfing was just okay though). No car so a place near the surf would help. Thanks!

How good a surfer are you? Do you prefer beach or rocky point breaks, lefts and/or rights?

Jaco has the most mongering options if you want to mix "sports" but the best surfing is outside of town, which sounds like it would be a problem for you. The beach in town is pretty yucky and the waves very undependable.

There are some very famous surf spots in CR. Witch's Rock at Playa Naranjo is probably the most famous (strongest waves during the Dec.-March windy season), but it is very remote with no facillities (ie bring your tent). I believe they have tours that go out there from Tamarindo, but those would not be for the budget minded. Pavones on the FAR south Pacific coast has an excellent left point, considered one of the longest in the world (like over a mile!). Good shape and very fast. But it doesn't always run and it is 8hrs by bus from SJ. Puerto Viejo (4 hrs from SJ) has its famous "Salsa Brava" right offshore in town, a very thick and voluminous wave that comes from deep water onto a shallow reef. This place gets very big and TUBULAR (ie REAL waves and probably not for beginners, unless they want to risk getting scraped up on that reef).

Of those, I think Puerto Viejo may be your best bet for cheap, easily accessible places with surfing in or very close to town IF you're up for it. If not there are also good beach breaks just south of town. The other good candidates would be the Playa Dominical area (good, strong beach break with lefts and rights right in town and lots of cheap places to stay) and the areas around the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula (Sta. Teresa or Mal Pais - beach and some point breaks, with very consistent lefts and rights and also lots of cheap places to stay).

Here is a good overview map of the different surfing spots: http://www.centralamerica.com/cr/surf/surfmap.htm and another link to a site with good surfing info: http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Central_America/Costa_Rica/index.html

And there's human shit in the water.

That's true! But there was also shit in the water at Tamarindo and that didn't seem to stop him there. I think probably all the beach towns around CR have the problem of disposing their wastes improperly, but the larger the town and the quicker its growth then probably the worse will be the problem. Jaco and Tamarindo are probably 2 of the largest and quickest growing beach towns in CR and so it is probably no coincidence that those are the 2 where you have heard these types of reports. Puerto Viejo, Dominical and the Mal Pais/Montezuma area have also seen increased popularity and development but still not to the same degree as the more easily reached beach towns like Tamarindo, Jaco and Quepos/MA

Speaking of Puerto Viejo (he said, hijacking the thread), what's the current word on that megabucks high-zoot marina that was planned for that area? I personally like the PV area the way it is and so do most of the residents--Caribbean vibe to the max.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

According to SalvemosPuertoViejo.com it seems those plans for building a marina in Puerto Viejo have been shelved for now (effective last July) but Grupo Caribeño left the possibility open of restarting it in the future “if there are better opportunities”. Here is a link to a translation of that webpage and another one for the article on Nacion.com (note: Babelfish translates Marina as "Navy", as far as I know there were never any plans to establish a new port for the Costa Rican Naval Forces in Puerto Viejo).

It's looking like I'll be visiting Mal Pais for a couple of days...definitely looking forward to it!