When we started planning our RTW trip we had several things we wanted to try, and one of those was surfing. The second month of our trip we found ourselves on a bus from Nicaragua to Tamarindo, Costa Rica a surfer’s paradise. Neither of us had ever attempted surfing before and we heard surfing in Tamarindo Costa Rica would be a great spot to learn.
Surfing Lessons In Tamarindo Costa Rica
I have taught myself many things in life, like how to weld, several computer programming languages, but something I haven’t been successful in is teaching myself how to surf. Last spring I was left on the beaches of Bali with a board burn all over my body without being able to say “I got up!”
Throughout our trip, we will be near some of the world’s best surf breaks, from Fiji, Australia, South Africa, and much more in between, so I wanted to learn early on in this trip. What better place to learn to surf than at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp in Tamarindo Costa Rica!
Time to enlist the professionals! Enter Witch’s Rock Surf Camp. This place is all about getting you surfing, or getting you better at surfing. I was in the beginner classes, but they have all the way to advanced. We met our surf instructor, he made sure to pair us with a board that was just right for us. Once we had our boards we headed down to the beach in Tamarindo Costa Rica. We practiced our moves on the beach before heading out into the ocean.
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Day one we started on the beach getting the basics before jumping in the water. We learned proper stance and foot position before taking to the waves with a soft board. During our time in Tamarindo, the high tide was mid to late morning, and lessons were planned accordingly.
Once we thought we mastered our surfing moves it was time to attempt them! Off to the ocean, we went. Well, off to the ocean Adam went, this is when I realized I was too afraid of severely injuring myself. I stayed back at our resort in Costa Rica and watched from my beach chair.
We had some moderate success in the first lesson. The afternoons were free to surf and rest your surfing muscles. Nightly we got instruction from surf pros and reviewed films from the day’s lesson. I felt like I was back in college football watching game film, except here I was falling over a lot more!
It took Adam a few attempts but he did he got up on his surfboard in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. By the end of day 2, Adam was riding the waves like all the other surfers in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. If you decide to head out surfing in Tamarindo Costa Rica don’t forget the sunscreen, the sun is intense! Our surf instructor was wearing SPF 100 and he lives at the beach.
Day 3 the progress continued on the water as we started to hang in the main line of surfers and catch some bigger stuff. Tamarindo on a given day has some waves for everyone, offering a nice break for beginners. The beginner waves are fun but the real rush is as they say here ‘catching the green water’ just right!
Surfing sure does work up an appetite. One of our favorite quick and easy places to eat in Tamarindo was Pizza & Co. It’s right in town and super easy to find. The pizza was really tasty and I really enjoyed chatting with the owners that are from the USA and decided to move down to Tamarindo, Costa Rica and open up a pizza shop.
If you are even remotely in tune with the surfing world you may have heard of a little flick called: “The Endless Summer” in which Robert August and Mike Hynson surf the world’s waves in the 1960s as they circle the globe. Since their world tour Robert has been making surfboards, and to this day still makes them the same way, by hand. He and a very tight 3 person company just turned out their 35,000th board, all shaped by hand.
We even had a chance to meet Robert August, you may know him from the famous movie “Endless Summer.” We were lucky to watch him work his magic as he was building a surfboard. Here we got to hear his stories of surfing around the world, and how he ended up in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.
Robert now spends time in Costa Rica at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp, where once weekly he makes a board and shows how it’s done. I got a chance to watch while learning to surf in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.
When planning your vacation in Costa Rica make sure to include a few nights in Tamarindo, Costa Rica and consider taking a surf school package to learn to surf. It’s super easy to get to Tamarindo Costa Rica if you’re flying into Liberia airport, it’s only 1 hour by airport shuttle or 3.5 hours by public bus.
No matter how you get to Tamarindo Costa Rica you’ll have a blast. After Tamarindo, we suggest heading over to the Caribbean coast to Puerto Viejo Costa Rica one of our favorite little beach towns. If you’re looking for a day trip outside of Tamarindo consider checking out some of the best waterfalls in Costa Rica.
