Going to Costa Rica! Need ur Help!

[exphendrix]

Me and my girlfriend are from Philadelphia(New Jersey Surfers) and just bought tickets for march 1 to the 14. we are going to Tamarindo and staying in hostels. i ride a shortboard and have been surfing for 10 yrs and my girlfriend rides a 7ft funboard and has been riding for 2 yrs so she is still a beginner but i am Intermediate. so my questions to everyone are, where should we go, hostels, surf spots/beaches, food, bars/music venues, surfshops, stupid tourist crap, what to look out for, if anyone here is in to punk and or metal is there a scene? any help and input would be much appreciated.

[hangtenri]

Tamarindo is kind of the place I try to stay out of in costa but since your going there already you still have options. Tamarindo has a good beach break and river mouth break but is very touristy and dirty. Just down the road is playa grande, they have a long beach with multiple breaks which are quite different from eachother. You can walk to grande from tamarindo by the beach you just pay a few colognes to cross the river mouth or you can drive ten minutes, the walk is a long one with a board under your arm. Check out playa avellanes which also has multiple breaks for different levels of experience, again there is a river mouth which gets big and fun but the rest of the breaks should be manageable. Take a boat ride or drive to witches rock and ollies point they are awesome, hope this helps
mike

[exphendrix]

Tamarindo is kind of the place I try to stay out of in costa but since your going there already you still have options. Tamarindo has a good beach break and river mouth break but is very touristy and dirty. Just down the road is playa grande, they have a long beach with multiple breaks which are quite different from eachother. You can walk to grande from tamarindo by the beach you just pay a few colognes to cross the river mouth or you can drive ten minutes, the walk is a long one with a board under your arm. Check out playa avellanes which also has multiple breaks for different levels of experience, again there is a river mouth which gets big and fun but the rest of the breaks should be manageable. Take a boat ride or drive to witches rock and ollies point they are awesome, hope this helps
mike

thanks, thats helps alot. is the reason you like to stay out of tamarindo because of the touristy stuff or are there other reasons? do you know of any other spots outside of tamarindo that our good for beginners?

[Liquid Peace]

Tamarindo is not that bad, it has become very trendy to put it down with the pseudo "hip crowd"! The waves there are average but good for beginners! If you want nightlife in the area it is the only place to go. Mostly, it is dirty because when it gets dry, the summer months, the dirt blows all over the place. In March this should not be a big problem. The town has some sketchy charactors but they are harmless and just ask if you want some "blow-weed"! Tamarindo, like most places in the world are what you make of them, use your noggin, be safe, and you will have a great time and catch plenty of waves.

The rivermouth at Avellanes is not for beginners and you should check it out at low tide so you know where the rocks are!

Playa Grande, the main peak, is not for beginners and can get big with plenty of "shacks". The locals are on the main peak and surf exceptionally well, give them their space and you will have no problems.

There are peaks at the Northern end of Playa Grande that are more suitable for beginners!