| Country | Currency | Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Pesos | Organized crime, Banditos, Driving at Night |
| U. S. | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Costa Rica | Colones | Theft, use caution at night, driving hazards. |
| Barbados | Barbadian Dollars |
Safe, but getting more dangerous. |
| Dominican Republic |
Dominican Pesos |
Caution at night. Driving hazards. |
| Puerto Rico | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Place | Wetsuit | Wave Size |
|---|---|---|
| Baja | Full, Booties, Trunks | waist high to giant |
| California | Spring, Full, Booties |
waist high to giant |
| Florida | Trunks, Spring, Full |
waist high to overhead |
| Costa Rica | Trunks | waist high to double overhead |
| Barbados | Trunks, Top | waist high to double overhead |
| Dominican Republic |
Trunks, Top | waist high to triple overhead |
| Puerto Rico | Trunks | waist high to giant |
The Central Coast of Costa Rica is filled with excellent surf, warm water, good surfers, plenty of good places to eat, plenty of lodging, and a good infrastructure. Surfers will want to bring their regular shortboard, longboard, fish, step-up, trunks, rash guard, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, first aid, among other items.
Due to its proximity to San Jose, the Central Coast of Costa Rica gets more crowded than other parts. San Jose is the main airport at which most surfers will be arriving and San Jose is also the capital so many workers will head out to the nearest beach on the weekends. Even though there can be some crowds at the most popular breaks, there are still plenty of empty waves to be found.
The Nicoya Peninsula offers some less crowded options as it is a little more difficult to access. The long left of Boca Barranca is a popular longboarding spot, but is also fun for shortboarders. Being a river mouth, it is polluted, but when everywhere else is enormous, Boca Barranca could be holding. Playa Escondida is another goto break when everywhere else is huge and therefore can get crowded. Playa Hermosa is a powerful beach break that gets less crowded the further away from the restaurants one gets. There are some waves down at Esterillos. Esterillos Centro is longer paddle but a mellower break than Playa Hermosa.
Further south is Quepos, Dominical, the Rio Serpe Rivermouth, and Drakes Bay. There are plenty of river mouths, powerful beach breaks, and points to be ridden in this part of Costa Rica. Beware of the crocodiles, they often look like logs because they spend a lot of time sitting still.
Overall Costa Rica is a great destination for a surf trip and should definitely make any surfers list of places to visit.