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Expect mostly waist to chest high waves with an occasional head high set.
Hola Envisioners! We are less than a week away from the music festival of the year, right off the beach of Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica. Thousands of visitors are coming from all over the world to enjoy the vibe, and part of that is time on the beach.
To help make your time here safe and enjoyable, you should know what the waves are doing and when and where is the best time to enjoy surfing. Let’s start with the tides. There is a not a huge change in the tides, but high tide on Wednesday the 27th is at 9 a.m. and low tide is at 3 p.m. Low tide is when the beach is widest and at high tide it is usually the best time to surf. The tides change daily, moving forward about 50 minutes each day. So by Sunday, March 3rd, high tide is at 1:22 p.m. in the afternoon and low tide is at 7:24 p.m.
Now for the swell prediction. According to offshore buoys, there are going to be two swells. The first one is a South-Southwest swell (194 degrees) that is 2.1 feet at 11 seconds. This swells fades from Wednesday to Sunday down to 1.4 feet at 9 seconds. So this swell will have a few head high sets early, but mostly will have waist to chest high waves.
A second swell arrives in the afternoon Wednesday and is from the Southwest (231 degrees). It starts at 1.4 feet at 14 seconds, which could push in head high waves through Thursday. Then it stays around 1.3 feet as the period shortens, meaning smaller waves for the rest of the week and through the weekend.
So plan on fun surf that’s not too big but not flat either, with the best time to paddle out being around 9 to 11 a.m. through Friday and then from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. If you are looking for smaller waves, head down to the south side of the whale’s tail in Uvita (Playa Chaman) or Dominicalito. If you want bigger waves, head to Dominical which picks up the swell a little better. And if you want giant waves, head over to the Caribbean after the event and surf Salsa Brava in Puerto Viejo.
Are you looking for surf lessons or surf tours? Check out our feature article from last week – Surf Lessons and Tours around Dominical and Uvita
