Dominical Surf Guide
A fun little surf town in Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. You’ll love this surf-centric town.
Quick Facts
Consistent breaks, especially for beginners
Fun town that isn’t too busy or overpriced
One of our favorite towns in Costa Rica
Not as close to airports as other surf spots
Surf Season in Dominical
Like much of Costa Rica, there are essentially two seasons. There is the wet or rainy season from around May to September, and a dry season from October to April. During the wet season, you’ll get bigger, cleaner swells. This is more intermediate surfing territory, although you still may find beginner waves and whitewash in the inside. During the dry season, you can still get some nice waves for beginners, but the outside waves often don’t have the shape or force intermediate surfers like to see.
Where to Surf in Dominical
Playa Dominical, the beach in town, is over 2 miles long. And surf comes in everywhere long the stretch. For the biggest, cleanest waves, hang out just south of the mouth of Rio Baru. The little trench the river digs out makes a wave that almost always holds up, and most consider it to be consistent 95% of the time! It can get quite big here during the wet season, but there are often some smaller inside waves for those fresher to surfing.
Crowds - Rarely crowded
Surfer Level - Beginner, Intermediate
Ideal Swell - SW
Ideal Wind - NE, Light
Break Type - Point and beach
Consistency - 90%+
Be Aware: of nothing!
Surf Camps and Classes in Dominical
A relatively small town, Dominical doesn’t have the amount of schools and classes you’ll find in other places, but there are still options.
Costa Rica Surf Camp - The main surf camp in town. They offer surf camps and surf lessons. They also have a nice surf shop and all the gear you could need.
Dominical Surf School - A legit surf school in Dominical. Just check the reviews. They’ve been around for almost 20 years and are OGs of the Dominical surf scene
Nearby Surf Spots
Dominicalito
Dominicalito is really the only nearby surf spot worth knowing. It’s just outside Dominical, and facing a bit more northwest. This makes the big SW swells come in a little bit more softly, and the point at Punta Dominical makes them roll into the bay quite smoothly. If you’re learning to surf, Dominicalito is the place to be. For how small they are, they have quite a bit of force!
Crowds - Not much
Surfer Level - Beginner.
Ideal Swell - SW
Ideal Wind - Low, NE
Break Type - Beach, point
Consistency - 90%
Be Aware: Some rocks on bottom
Other Things to Do in Dominical
A relatively small town, Dominical doesn’t have the amount of schools and classes you’ll find in other places, but there are still options.
Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary - Visit a beautiful wildlife sanctuary that works with injured and sick wild animals to help them get back on their feet and out into the wild!
Catarata Uvita - About 20 minutes south near Uvita is this beautiful waterfall. You can jump from one spot into a pool, and slide down the waterfall at another spot. Beware, it’s not the most graceful landing.
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