Swell Cabin › Mexico & Central America › Costa Rica

Santa Teresa surf guide

Nicoya Peninsula village with consistent beach peaks, yoga studios and jungle-backed sunsets; Mal País is next door.

Location
Puntarenas (Nicoya Peninsula), Costa Rica (9.6450, -85.1700)
Best season
Mar – Nov: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
Water temperature
26–30°C (boardshorts)
Waves
Beach break, Reef break
Suits
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Santa Teresa

Surf spots in Santa Teresa

What's on in Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa has a busy week for a village: Deep Tuesday and Saturday SoundLab on the sand at Ranchos Itaúna, a Wednesday beach party at Banana Beach, the Thursday market then House of Somos (the biggest weekly party), and Latin, reggae and electronic nights at Tikiliano. Full-moon and jungle parties are monthly, announced on Instagram. Nights change often (fewer midweek in Sep–Nov), so check the venue's Instagram the same day. No Uber here: book a taxi home.

Updated 2026-11-05.

Where to stay in Santa Teresa

363 places to stay within 14 km: 241 hotel, 25 hostel, 24 holiday rental, 20 guest house, 13 surf camp, 9 resort, 9 villa, 7 camp site, 6 bed and breakfast, 4 apartment, 3 chalet, 2 motel. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: Santa Teresa Surf Camp, Believe Surf Camp & Yoga, Cabinas Playa Surf Hostel, Surfhotel Costa Rica, Shakti Surf Villas, Tropical Pasta Surf House, El Gato Rojas Surf Hostel, La Sana Surf Hotel.

Hostels: Somos, Zeneidas, Hostel Seven7, Casa De Gingi, ICO Living Hostel, Don Jon's, Las Casas Blancas.

Cafés, food and surf shops

19 cafés and bakeries, 96 restaurants and bars, 15 surf schools and 3 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Believe Surf & Yoga, Lora Surf Spot, Life Surf and Spa, Pura Vida Surfers Santa Teresa, Monkey Adventures, Punta Coco, Surf School Santa Teresa, Nalu Surf School.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Santa Teresa?

The best surf season in Santa Teresa is Mar – Nov (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November). The sea ranges from 26°C to 30°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Santa Teresa?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Santa Teresa's best spot were good or better most often in April (100% of days, 76% great), May (100% of days, 76% great) and June (98% of days, 74% great), and least often in December (92%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Santa Teresa?

Water temperature in Santa Teresa is 26–30°C: boardshorts.

Is Santa Teresa good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Santa Teresa suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include La Lora, Playa Santa Teresa, Banana Beach, Playa Carmen and Cedros.

What are the surf spots in Santa Teresa?

Santa Teresa has 8 surf spots on Swell Cabin: La Lora (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE)); Playa Santa Teresa (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at low to mid tide); Banana Beach (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE)); Playa Carmen (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at all tides); Playa Manzanillo (Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at all tides); Cedros (Reef break, left-hander, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW)); Playa Caletas (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at mid to high tide); Playa Coyote (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at mid to high tide, rising).

Where should surfers stay in Santa Teresa?

Swell Cabin lists 363 places to stay within 14 km of Santa Teresa, including 13 surf camps such as Santa Teresa Surf Camp, Believe Surf Camp & Yoga, Cabinas Playa Surf Hostel and Surfhotel Costa Rica, 25 hostels, 20 guesthouses and homestays, 33 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Santa Teresa?

Santa Teresa has a busy week for a village: Deep Tuesday and Saturday SoundLab on the sand at Ranchos Itaúna, a Wednesday beach party at Banana Beach, the Thursday market then House of Somos (the biggest weekly party), and Latin, reggae and electronic nights at Tikiliano. Full-moon and jungle parties are monthly, announced on Instagram. Nights change often (fewer midweek in Sep–Nov), so check the venue's Instagram the same day. No Uber here: book a taxi home. Regular nights: Tuesday: Deep Tuesday at Ranchos Itaúna; Wednesday: Beach party at Banana Beach; Wednesday: Havana Night (salsa) at Tikiliano; Thursday: Thursday Market; Thursday: Thursday party: live band, then DJ at House of Somos.

What is the surf forecast for Santa Teresa this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Santa Teresa and each of its 8 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/santa-teresa: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

When is the best tide to surf in Santa Teresa?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Santa Teresa weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Puntarenas tide gauge (51 km away).

Is the Santa Teresa surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Santa Teresa is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 36 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-24, typically 56 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-05.

How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Santa Teresa?

Trust in this page's data is low (44/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 8 spots fully verified, 5 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 2 open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

Is there a live surf cam in Santa Teresa?

Yes: Santa Teresa on Mal País Surf Cam (YouTube) (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Where can I take surf lessons in Santa Teresa?

Surf schools in and around Santa Teresa include Believe Surf & Yoga, Lora Surf Spot, Life Surf and Spa, Pura Vida Surfers Santa Teresa, Monkey Adventures and Punta Coco.

Nearby surf towns

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