Dominical Surf Guide

Dominical Surf Guide

The mile-long stretch of sand that fronts the town of Dominical offers up some fine beachbreak -- maybe not as hollow and perfect as Playa Hermosa, but on a high tide with a head-high-plus S swell running, there's more than enough to satisfy the most rabid wave-seeker. The only problem is that the sand tends to be quite flat, which can turn the best swell into a series of frustrating closeouts. Fortunately, there is a river at the north end of town that breaks up the sandbars a bit -- especially following rains -- and, naturally, the best peaks can be found around there. The rips that form along this stretch can be serious. But if you're a good paddler, you can hang at the edges and pick up the little corner peaks that shape off the rip.

At the south end of the Dominical Bay there's a decent left pointbreak that gets good when the beachbreak is too big to surf; just north is a series of really similar beachbreaks, and farther north in Manuel Antonio State Park and around Quepos, there are a few quirky reefbreaks as well as beachbreaks, though they're not as consistent or as easy to find as Dominical.