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Pavones
Inside Scoop
Pavones is a surfing mecca. Locals come down on the weekends or whenever the swell gets massive. Tourists come from all over the world to surf the long left point. Besides surfing, the quiet town offers a lot of nature excursions and is simply a great place to unwind, away from the hustle of the larger beach towns.
Directions to Pavones: Drive south towards Golfito making a right at Palmar Norte and going over the bridge. Then at Kilometer 13, before you get to Golfito, make a left and head towards Zancudo. You go through some farms and then hit a river that you cross in a 4-car ferry. (get there before dark or you'll miss it and have to go to the border to get around the river) After that pretty much follow the signs. You go up and down some pretty big hills and make one more left that puts you going toward Pavones and not Zancudo. If you think you're lost, just ask directions.
If you want to be memorized by the surf in Pavones, check out this video by Dave Sanchez of Stone Fish Productions
Town Map
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From the San Jose airport to Pavones is about an 7 hour trip. Thanks to Cabinas La Ponderosa, they have shared with us directions:
1. Leave San Jose on the new highway heading to Jaco. Before entering Jaco, take the coastal road south.
2.
Travel south passing turns for Playa Hermosa, Quepos & Dominical. In Palmar you will meet with the Pan-Am Highway go right. Fill up on gas/ diesel here. This is the last gas real gas station, unless you are going into Golfito. You can get fuel in Pavones but only from a drum at the hardware store.
3.
Then, in Rio Claro go right again. There will be a sign for Pavones around 4 to 5 miles on the right side of the road but be aware and pay attention. You will need to take a hard switch back left turn at this sign. The Rodeo Bar is on this corner. If you get to Golfito you have gone too far and missed the turn – go back and watch for the Rodeo Bar.
4.
The rest of the way will be marked with new signs and will take around 1.5 hrs. Note: There is no longer a river ferry – it has been replaced with a long narrow bridge.
5.
Make a right in Pueblo Nuevo (we have a small sign on the corner).
6.
Make another right in Conte, there is a supermarket and bar here. You will be on the road to Pavones (45 min. from this point).
7.
Stay left at the two forks in the road after Conte. The other roads go to Zancudo.
Another option is to fly in Golfito and take a taxi for about $80 each way. Nature Air and Sansa both fly this route. (Remember these airlines usually don't take boards over 7 feet)
The Ara Project - Macaw Conservation in Costa Rica
The Ara Project is a Costa Rican licensed zoological park and non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the two native macaw species of Costa Rica: the critically endangered Great Green or Buffon's Macaw (Ara ambiguus) and the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). The Ara Project incorporates breeding techniques and aviary management in order to carry out controlled release programs in conjunction with Costa Rican wildlife laws imposed by MINAET (Ministry of the Environment, Energy & Telecommunications).. Visit www.TheAraProject.org for more information.
Leon Glatzer making it look easy in Pavones - Kerrupt Air - on YouTube
6/5/11 - Noe Mar McGonagle wins the Quiksilver King of the Groms Regional event in Mazatlan!! The CRsurf (+Hurley, Etnies, and Oakley) team rider won a free ticket to France, where he will enter the world KOTG finals during the ASP event in October. Felicidades Noe! Read more..
Farmer's market at the Escuela Camino Claro in Pavones, every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
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Punta Banco (just a few miles south of Pavones) is the longest monitored solitary olive ridley nesting beach in the world. Read more about the Pretoma Turtle Project here - Link.
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Pavones and the immediate area of Pavones has over 15 restaurants now, cooking local and word cuisine.
Castillo De Pavones Hotel Restaurant has extremely fast., 2 megs, of FREE WiFi running from top floor lounge to the bottom floor suites.
The Pavones point break wave made it into the top 10 surf destinations in the world, SURFER MAG.
Airlines charging too much for surfboards? We have them for rent.
PERFORMANCE BOARDS...
New "Surftechs" $40/ day or $200/ week:
-7'5" Tuf Lite Technologies 'Huevos' hybrid design fun-shape/ egg
-9'3" Tuf Lite Technologies 'Skeg Island' performance longboard
USED 'RENTAL BOARD'...
Used Boards $20/ day or $100/ week:
9'0" Classic longboard single fin
7'0" Impact fun-shape
6'6" Natural Art fun-shape
6'4" Natural Art fun-shape
*wax, fins and leash included
One of the longest lefts in the world. With a double overhead southwest swell it can break for 600-700 meters, two minute rides. When there is no swell, it can go flat, with surf maybe waist high with a rising tide. Best tide is around high tide so the wave breaks in deeper water and one can make more sections. At low tide there are lots of slippery barnacled cobblestones to walk over to get to the wave. Can get very crowded with over 100 surfers on it when it is good. And many of them are locals so give respect and wait for the right peak to take off on. The drift also helps to spread out the lineup.
Punto Banco
Punta Banco is about 4 km. south of Pavones. It is a point that breaks about 200 meters from shore and even though you walk out over sand, there are lots of ledges and boils in the lineup. It doesn't get crowded because the waves jack up and then mush out, making it difficult to paddle into. It's a good place to check if Pavones is too small or too crowded. To find it, look for the tiny airstrip in front of the Tiskita Lodge. Don't leave stuff in your vehicle!
Punta Burica
This is the southern tip of Costa Rica, and the waves are as wild as the landscape. Best access is by boat, although during the dry season it can be accessed by 4wd. The beaches and rock ledges pick up swell from the South and Southwest and certain peaks light up depending on the tide and wave size.
Description: Providing you with expert hands-on surfing instruction, surf tours, as well as, their popular all-inclusive surf camps in at several locations in Costa Rica.
Description: Surf camps based in Pavones and Hawaii. Packages include flights and taxis to Pavones, daily surf lessons, surfboard, yoga sessions, lodging, all meals, a boat trip to Matapalo, one massage, and a CD with photos from your trip.
Description: Villas, suites, rental homes, and standard cabinas remodeled in 2009. All bathrooms are modern with tile and hot water showers. All rooms have (except La Manga) televisions with satellite connection, DVD players, and air conditioning. Every room has screened windows and fans if you prefer the sound of the waves and the sea breeze. All units have private porches or balconies. All beds are equipped with quality orthopedic mattresses. A swimming pool and a big recreation room makes La Ponderosa ideal for groups, reunions, retreats or families.
La Ponderosa is a great place to see wildlife. Macaws, parrots, toucans, iguanas, monkeys and more can be seen right outside your room. Explore twelve acres of nature trails. The resort has well-established trails through our gardens, orchards and forest. You will find staircases and bridges leading to their waterfall and lookout tiki hut.
Description: Ocean View Suite, Refrigerator, King Bed & 2 more Orthopedic Mattresses for your comfort, Sleeps 4, Satellite TV, Air Conditioning, Ocean View Hot Tub, Living & Dining Area, Private Balcony, large all stone bathroom, Full made to order all you can eat breakfast and drinks in the morning delivered to your suite or enjoyed up in our famous 360° ocean view "Blue Morpho Grill & Lounge"
Description: Providing you with expert hands-on surfing instruction, surf tours, as well as our popular all-inclusive surf camps in at several locations in Costa Rica.
1/31 - Its been pretty lake like here in Pavones this last week. There is a small window at the point in the morning before the tide goes out, but pretty weak. Beautiful summer conditions with no crowd.
Point or beach breaks south of town
Congrats to Calii munoz at pipe. Amazing! good luck to all ticos surfing in Ecuador this week!
1/26 - Toe high waves with very poor shape. (0 ft.) Not much to report again today. It was flat and glassy all morning at the point. Blown out and flat all afternoon.
This flat spell is getting ridiculous.
Check for daily surf reports with photos on our website - LINK. To book a trip, give us a call at 1-888-958-SURF.
