Playa Camaronal

Best Surf Season (April - November)

If you are chasing the most favorable swell direction for Playa Camaronal on Costa Rica's south-facing Pacific shore, the window from April through November is your relative best bet. The average period climbs to 14.0-14.5s as distant Southern Hemisphere low-pressure systems send long-period S, SSE, SSW and SW swell toward this coastline. More than 95% of the wave observations during these months arrive from the preferred directions, with SSW alone often exceeding 70% of the total. The catch is brutal, though: the average swell height remains around 1ft (0.3m). This is the classic long-period tease. There is plenty of direction and period, but almost no amplitude. Add in the Intertropical Convergence Zone sitting overhead, and you get tropical showers plus a more variable, often onshore wind regime. For a surfer, this is a window of small, clean-looking ripple rather than real surf.