# Tamarindo surf guide

Costa Rica's busiest surf town: easy beginner waves in the bay, with Playa Grande, Avellanas and Witch's Rock (by boat) nearby.

- **Location:** Guanacaste, Costa Rica (10.2990, -85.8370)
- **Best season:** Mar – Nov (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November)
- **Water:** 26–30°C (boardshorts)
- **Waves:** Beach break, River mouth, Reef break
- **Suits:** Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers
- **Interactive map, stays and what's on:** https://swellcabin.com/town/tamarindo
- **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Tamarindo):** https://swellcabin.com/town/tamarindo?feed

## Live surf cams

- [Tamarindo](https://www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com/tamarindo-live-surf-cams): Witch's Rock Surf Camp, free
- [Tamarindo river mouth](https://iguanasurf.net/tamarindo-surf-cam/): Iguana Surf (Surfline), free

## Surf spots

- **Tamarindo**: Reef break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at mid to high tide. Suits all levels. (10.3031, -85.8419)
- **Playa Grande - Guanacaste**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at mid to high tide, rising. Suits all levels. (10.3208, -85.8417)
- **Langosta**: Reef break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising (10.2765, -85.8502)
- **Avellana**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (10.2249, -85.8398)
- **Playa Negra - Guanacaste**: Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at mid to high tide (10.1944, -85.8339)
- **Playa Brasilito**: Beach break, left-hander, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (10.4102, -85.7978)
- **Playa Flamingo**: Point break, left-hander, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising. Suits all levels. (10.4341, -85.7931)

## What's on

Tamarindo has the liveliest nightlife in Guanacaste: beach bars at sunset, then bars and clubs along the main street most nights, busiest in the December–April dry season. Schedules shift often, so check venues' social pages.

- **Friday:** Ladies' night salsa social (live Latin music & DJ) at Crazy Monkey Bar (21:00)

_Updated 2026-11-07._

## Where to stay

287 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Surf House Lodge, FreeStyle Surf House, Witch's Rock Surf Camp, Surf Shack Burgers & Wings, Pueblo Dorado Surf Hotel, Dreamsea Surf Camp, Playa Grande Surf Camp, BP Surf Hotel. Hostels: Pura Vida Hostel, Coral Reef Surf, TamaKing & Beds, Tamarindo Backpackers Hostel, Tamarindo Hostel Pura Vida, Soi69 - Vùng Đất Thần Tài.

## FAQ

### When is the best time to surf in Tamarindo?

The best surf season in Tamarindo 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 Tamarindo?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Tamarindo's best spot were good or better most often in July (92% of days, 70% great), June (93% of days, 68% great) and October (92% of days, 63% great), and least often in February (76%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

### Do I need a wetsuit in Tamarindo?

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

### Is Tamarindo good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Tamarindo suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Tamarindo, Playa Grande - Guanacaste, Avellana, Playa Brasilito and Playa Flamingo.

### What are the surf spots in Tamarindo?

Tamarindo has 7 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Tamarindo (Reef break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at mid to high tide); Playa Grande - Guanacaste (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at mid to high tide, rising); Langosta (Reef break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising); Avellana (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at all tides); Playa Negra - Guanacaste (Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at mid to high tide); Playa Brasilito (Beach break, left-hander, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at all tides); Playa Flamingo (Point break, left-hander, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising).

### Where should surfers stay in Tamarindo?

Swell Cabin lists 287 places to stay within 10 km of Tamarindo, including 13 surf camps such as Surf House Lodge, FreeStyle Surf House, Witch's Rock Surf Camp and Surf Shack Burgers & Wings, 6 hostels, 31 guesthouses and homestays, 71 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

### What is the nightlife like in Tamarindo?

Tamarindo has the liveliest nightlife in Guanacaste: beach bars at sunset, then bars and clubs along the main street most nights, busiest in the December–April dry season. Schedules shift often, so check venues' social pages. Regular nights: Friday: Ladies' night salsa social (live Latin music & DJ) at Crazy Monkey Bar.

### What is the surf forecast for Tamarindo this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Tamarindo and each of its 7 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/tamarindo: 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 Tamarindo?

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 Tamarindo 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 Bahia de Culebra tide gauge (42 km away).

### Is the Tamarindo surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Tamarindo is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 49 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 53 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 Tamarindo?

Trust in this page's data is low (52/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 7 spots fully verified, 7 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 1 open audit warning. 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 Tamarindo?

Yes: Tamarindo on Witch's Rock Surf Camp (free); Tamarindo river mouth on Iguana Surf (Surfline) (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

### Where can I take surf lessons in Tamarindo?

Surf schools in and around Tamarindo include Salty Smile Surf, Surf Every Day Academy ‍ ️ ‍ ️, Salty Sols Surf School, Banana Surf Club, Premier Surf Club and Carlos' Surf School.