Pavones is a surfing mecca. Locals come down on the weekends or whenever the swell gets massive. Tourists come from all over the world to surf the long left point. Besides surfing, the quiet town offers a lot of nature excursions and is simply a great place to unwind, away from the hustle of the larger beach towns.
Directions to Pavones: Drive south towards Golfito making a right at Palmar Norte and going over the bridge. Then at Kilometer 13, before you get to Golfito, make a left and head towards Zancudo. You go through some farms and then hit a river that you cross in a 4-car ferry. (get there before dark or you'll miss it and have to go to the border to get around the river) After that pretty much follow the signs. You go up and down some pretty big hills and make one more left that puts you going toward Pavones and not Zancudo. If you think you're lost, just ask directions.
Pavones is one of the longest lefts in the world. With a double overhead southwest swell it can break for 600-700 meters, two minute rides. When there is no swell, it can go flat, with surf maybe waist high with a rising tide. Best tide is around high tide so the wave breaks in deeper water and one can make more sections. At low tide there are lots of slippery barnacled cobblestones to walk over to get to the wave. Can get very crowded with over 100 surfers on it when it is good. And many of them are locals so give respect and wait for the right peak to take off on. The drift also helps to spread out the lineup.
Punta Banco is about 4 km. south of Pavones. It is a point that breaks about 200 meters from shore and even though you walk out over sand, there are lots of ledges and boils in the lineup. It doesn't get crowded because the waves jack up and then mush out, making it difficult to paddle into. It's a good place to check if Pavones is too small or too crowded. To find it, look for the tiny airstrip in front of the Tiskita Lodge. Don't leave stuff in your vehicle.
Matapalo has three breaks, this one is the furthest out on the tip of the Osa Peninsula. The slim beach has lots of white washed cobblestones and larger boulders and ledges out in the lineup. There needs to be swell or it will go flat. Waves can get up to triple overhead and break for 300 meters with a solid West Southwest swell. Best tides are low to mid tide, it can mush out at high tide. Blue water, scarlet macaws, monkeys in the rainforest - it is a paradise to surf. Too bad when it's good there are 20+ surfers on the peak.
At the tip of the Osa Peninsula, this peak is marked by a giant rock sticking up in the lineup. The waves need to be head high or bigger for this place to work. Best tides to surf it are low to mid tides. It is very remote, and never too crowded since it takes about 1.5 hours to get here from Puerto Jimenez by 4wd. Many take boats from Pavones.
Pan Dulce 'sweet bread' is the third break at the tip of the Osa Peninsula. It needs a really big south swell to break, but when it does the right can go on for 300+ meters. Best just before or after low tide. At dead low is it just too rocky, at high tide will mush out. Best access is by boat from Pavones.
Playa Zancudo 'mosquito' is about an hour drive from Golfito. It is a beachbreak with a huge rivermouth at the north end, building up nice sandbars for whatever swell squeezes up into the Golfo Dulce. Best tides to surf it are higher tides. It needs a big south or SSW swell to work. And it's more a fishing village than a surf spot, so it is rarely crowded.
This is the southern tip of Costa Rica, and the waves are as wild as the landscape. Best access is by boat, although during the dry season it can be accessed by 4wd. The beaches and rock ledges pick up swell from the South and Southwest and certain peaks light up depending on the tide and wave size.
From the San Jose airport to Pavones is about an 8 hour trip. You drive towards Golfito and when you're about 14km away, you take a left at the sign for Pavones. From there the road is not always paved, and can be 4x4 only in the rainiest months. After another 15km the road splits, the right is towards Zancudo and the left to Pavones. Go left and you'll drive until you reach a wide river with a ferry crossing that runs from sunrise to sunset ($1 per car) After the ferry it's another 30 minutes on a bouncy road, up and down hills. You'll then see the Golfo Dulce on your right and the waves get bigger the farther south you travel.
Another option is to fly in Golfito and take a taxi for about $50 each way. Nature Air and Sansa both fly this route. (Remember these airlines usually don't take boards over 7 feet)
