Playa Grande • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (December - March)

For Playa Grande, the most consistent blend of surf and weather comes during the dry season, when the North Pacific winter is active and the easterly trade wind machine is locked in. December through March delivers the highest percentage of workable swell from the W, WNW, and NW directions, along with a strong E/ENE offshore flow that keeps the west-facing beach clean. Precipitation is at its annual minimum, the water temperature hovers around 27°C, and sessions tend to start glassy with offshore texture before the afternoon sea breeze picks up. Expect average waves in the 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) range with the occasional bigger set from North Pacific groundswell.

Fair Surf Season (April - May & November)

These are transition months. The Intertropical Convergence Zone begins to wander north, the dry-season trades become a little less reliable, and the swell spectrum shifts toward the south and southwest. April and May see long-period southern hemisphere groundswell pushing in at 14s+, but the dominant SSW angle is not the most efficient for Playa Grande's west-facing sandbar; it wraps and produces plenty of rideable surf, just with more sideshore tendencies. November is the mirror image, as the trades return and the surf spectrum once again broadens. These months can be great if you are flexible with tide and session times.

Low Surf Season (June - October)

Do not let the word 'low' fool you - Playa Grande rarely goes flat. June through October is the green season, meaning high humidity, daily convection, and the heaviest rainfall of the year. The dominant SSW/SW southern-hemisphere swell still provides 4ft (1.2m) average waves, but the ideal W-WNW-NW window is largely absent, and the surface is more often affected by afternoon westerly winds, especially in September and October. July stands out as the cleanest low-season month with 81% ideal wind. If you can work around the showers, there are plenty of fun waves, just with lower average quality than the winter months.