El Paredón Surf Guide
A chill town between Iztapa and Sipicate, El Paredón has nice breaks for beginner and intermediate surfers.
Quick Facts
Quiet town with uncrowded waves
Has both beginner and fun intermediate waves
Super chill town, not a lot going on
Summer season brings bigger but messier waves
Surf Season in El Paredón
Like other places in Guatemala (such as nearby Iztapa), El Paredón definitely delivers the best waves in the winter. In the summer, the wind will likely be mellower, and the swell climbs quite a bit. With summer swells climbing up to 6ft+, winter swells are going to stay more in the 3-5 foot range max. The locals report that the waves in the summer are often too big for the exposed beach break to handle, so winter is the ideal time. You’ll find offshores and punchy waves nearly every morning, and mushy but surfable waves every afternoon.
Where to Surf in El Paredón
Like the other breaks in Guatemala, the best spot to surf is right at the mouth of the river. During the summer months with a southern swell, it can really pump here with some long and clean rights. In the winter, you’ll still find rights here, but much smaller. The waves here are generally smaller than the waves in town, but you can get much longer rides. I found it to be best in the early morning with offshore wind.
Crowds - Rarely
Surfer Level - Beginner, Intermediate
Ideal Swell - S/SW
Ideal Wind - N/NE, Light or None
Break Type - Rivermouth beach
Consistency - 80%
Be Aware: Some rocks
Surf Camps and Classes in El Paredón
There are plenty of places to rent surfboards in El Paredón, and you’ll find people offering classes. As far as schools or camps go, we recommend working with:
Ryan Croteau - Ryan is a traveling surf coach who has spent a bunch of time in Guatemala and is connected with the community. He works with Buena Vista Surf Hotel to create a surf camp that is super focused and attentive. Give it a look! We actually ran into him while in El Paredón. Super nice guy.
Escuelita de Surf Torre Fuerte - Sweet little outdoor surf rental spot that also offers classes. Juan Carlos and his family run the place, and are super nice. Their coaches were wonderful, especially Emilio and Yuseph.
Where to Stay in El Paredón
We stayed in an AirBNB on the beach as we went with the whole family and it seemed the easiest option. The upside was a completely empty break right outside the house and relative peace a quiet. However, we did have to walk into town for anything we needed, which took about 5-10 minutes with the kids. Here are a few other places we visited to stay:
El Paredón Surf House - A staple in town, the Surf House has an awesome location less right at the sea. We stopped by to take a look, and everyone was incredibly friendly. They have individual private rooms as well as shared accommodations running from $20-100 a night depending on the room. The breakfast was delicious and reasonably priced, and coffee was on point.
Driftwood Surfer - Another “big” staple in town, The Driftwood Surfer is located right on the beach. They offer dorm beds and private rooms ranging from $20-$100, as well as all the surf classes and rentals you could need.
Zoah Surf - Another contender for some of the nicest people we met in town. Zoah is a beautiful little surf hotel land school. They have a nice but small board selection, delicious restaurant with great views, a pool, and several different villa options to choose from.
Where to Eat in El Paredón
We tried as many different restaurants as we could (although some pulled us back in for repeat visits). Here are a few of our favorites in no particular order:
Cafecito del Mar - Definitely my favorite place we went for breakfast for a couple reasons. First were the protein shakes with banana, peanut butter, protein powder (vegan available), and cacao. Simply delicious and hit the spot after a morning session. Their burritos and egg muffins were delicious, and the people running it were super welcoming. Cool little vibe in the back too!
Bora - This restaurant honestly surprised me on our first night there. It was a nice but relaxed vibe, with delicious seafood and hummus and lemonades. Was a great welcoming to town. Everyone was super nice, and the food was impressively good.
Wok and Surf - Located right on the main street through town, this little restaurant serves up asian-inspired food and does it well. We recommend the fried spring roll appetizers, and literally anything else on the main course. The owners were there and super friendly; make sure to say hi to them!
Zoah - To be honest, we didn’t actually eat here so I can’t vouch fully for the food. But we did stop by several times for coffee and to chill, and everyone enjoyed. Their raised covered eating patios were a lovely place to hang out, play cards, eat, and chat with others. And the owner/manager was as friendly as could be. Definitely good sunshine vibes.
Hotel Pacifico - Another place we went a couple times. They have a beautiful restaurant with booth-style tables that look like they should have fire pits. The staff was lovely, especially with our kids. We had some surprisingly good pizzas (for real), schnitzel sandwiches, salads, and more. Portion sizes are big!
Saya - I guess Saya is technically a mall? It’s a little outdoor space with a bunch of individual stands/restaurants including different types of food, teas, and coffees. It was a rad place to sit outside and order from different restaurants and have everyone get what they need. Definitely worth visiting!
Cocori - Cocori was popping off when we went for lunch. Lots of outdoor seating with counter service ordering. All the food was delicious, you get to sit right at the edge of the sea, and definitely a fun and lively atmosphere.
Zicatela - Finally we have Zicatela. Have to give a shout out to our friends making Mexican food there in El Paredón. Everyone was friendly and nice, the food was perfect, and it was a bit quieter and chiller than a few other spots toward the beach.
Be sure to check out our Resources page for tips on traveling, spending money, support, and more.
Affiliate Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. If you’re not familiar, here’s what it means: When you click a link and book something, we get a small percentage. This doesn’t raise the rate you pay; the vendor pays us! This is how we stay afloat :)
