Surfing in Dominical, Hermosa & Jaco Discover Costa Rica's Central Pacific surf towns

Activities

You will not be left with nothing to do while in central pacific Costa Rica. Base yourself in Jaco or Dominical where you can explore rain forests, volcanoes, waterfalls, and rivers and get involved in an array of activities including zip lining, Kayaking, rafting, fishing, horse riding and more. Dominical alone has 15 waterfalls close by.

Restaurants & Bars

To generalize a Costa Rican meal, one would certainly have to talk about black beans and rice (gallo pinto). This simple, standard dish, often referred to as 'comida tipica', is the backbone of Costa Rican cuisine.

In general Costa Rican food is quite healthy often served with nuts, veg or both. Depending on what part of the country your in, the food can vary hugely. Lunch is usually the main meal of the day.

Surf towns like Jaco offer a broad spectrum of food from find dining and international cuisine. Smaller surf towns like Dominical allow you to really explore and shop at street markets and small local restaurants.

How to get to Jaco in Costa Rica

Fly into San José, Costa Rica's capital city. Public bus to Jaco leaves every hour and will take you 2.5 hours. Its comfortable and inexpensive, Driving straight is 1.5 hours. There is a modern highway so the route is very easy.

How to get to Dominical in Costa Rica

Fly into San José and get a connecting flight to Quepos. From Quepos Dominical is a 30 minute drive.

From San José there are two driving routes to Dominical. The quickest is to head to Jaco and then drive down the coast. It takes 3.5 hours. You can also go inland towards San Isidro which takes 4 hours. Public buses tend the take up to 6 hours so if you arrive in the afternoon you may have to overnight in San José.

Valid Passport required and most visitors can stay up to 90 days.

Shared transfers
Share a taxi or mini bus with our shuttle bus partner here

Car Hire
We have a discount car hire section on our website where you can rent a car. Rent your car from the airport and drive.

The bigger swell season in the Central Pacific area is from May to November with waves consistently from 2-6 feet, sometimes bigger. Costa Rica's summer months & dry season is from December to April. Waves tend to be really fun clean 3-4 foot.

Surfing Jaco

The main beach in this surf town is a long 3 km beach break good for beginners and intermediates with many different peaks. If the swell gets above head high it tends to close out. South of the bay is Roca Loca, a right reef break that can hold up 10 feet at times.

Further south is Hermosa beach. It has a really good vibe to hang out, meet people and get in the water every day. It is a 7km long dark sandy beach breaks that works best on high tide. If you want to escape the crowd head further south. The beach packs a punch and when it's bigger it will rip those board shorts right off you and challenge even the best surfer.

Further along the coast you will find Esterillos about 10k south of Hermosa. Another fun beach break that is a swell magnet and if your looking for an uncrowded wave, take a walk down the beach and pick a peak.

Still heading south you will find other spots include Seco, Bejuco and Playa Espadilla, a great beginners surf beach in the popular surf town of Manuel Antonio.

Surfing Dominical
Less crowded than other surf towns in Costa Rica. Dominical is a much longer trek from San José so it does not tend to get the same amount of surfers that Jaco has. Dominical is a wave magnet and has been called the most consistent surf spot in Costa Rica. The towns main break, Playa Dominical works best on Mid to high tide as at low tide it can be just a shore dump. It tends to be a better spot for Advanced, intermediates as it can get powerful.

2km south is Dominicalito, a beachbreak that is great for beginners. Further on 1 km is The point, with rides of up to 250 meters! There are many more breaks to be discovered, and teh further on south you go the emptier the breaks.

Come surf Jaco, Dominical & Central Pacific Costa Rica with us....