Surf in San Juan del Sur/ Deluxe Surf Villa, NICARAGUA
Overview of San Juan Del Sur surf camp
AST's San Juan Del Sur Luxury Villa is centered on the sea and right in the jungle allowing breathtaking views and scenery. Just 8 minutes outside of town you can relax and enjoy offshore winds blowing at your back 330+ days a year. Unlike most other AST locations, San Juan Del Sur has nightlife and city feel with actual gringo's running around town. Not the typical city you might think of, a city you might have seen in Costa Rica 20 years ago, still fresh with life but rural enough to feel you're on an adventure.
Your adventure starts off with AST at the airport where our guides pick you up or we can arrange a new passenger van to drive you the 3 hours south to SDS. The drive from the airport will go quick as you rubberneck every corner of the Nicaraguan highway enjoying lakes, volcanos, jungle and small town views.
Surfing in San Juan del Sur
Since our explorations to Nicaragua, our guests will take advantage of our surfing experience and follow AST's lead to remote, no crowded surf. Although some of the higher end surf breaks you can find a few more guys out than expected, we will boat by and say hello.
Surfing Southern Nicaragua – The Southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua is home to some of the best and most consistent surf in all of Latin America. Lefts, Rights, Beach Breaks, Point Breaks, Reef Breaks, Outer Reef Breaks and for the most part, year round Off Shore wind conditions, you will find it all here in the Province of Rivas.
Here is a bunch of great info on the local Surf Breaks to help you start planning your trip. Using the bay town of San Juan Del Sur as our reference point lets head south first, and then make our way back to the North.
The long surf season in Nicaragua spans nine months from March to November. Nicaragua typically enjoys over 330 days a year of offshore winds that provide great surfing waves.
The offshore winds groom the swells into clean hollow lines and perfect shaped barrels daily.
Surfing Seasons:
- Apr-Sep: The most consistent swells 4-6 ft with bigger 8-12 ft swells possible.
- March & November: have very consistent head high to overhead swell with clean surf conditions.
- Nov-Jan: waist to chest high offshore perfection.
- Feb: mid-size swells, always offshore.
* The offshore winds are typically strongest during February / March, so you might want to consider bringing a wetsuit top.
The Spots
South of Town
Playa Remanso: Has a pretty good beach break that can really be on fire when the swell gets so big that the rest of the breaks are closing out. Very consistent, but honestly all of the breaks are consistent.
Playa Tamarindo: Has a right hand break with make able barrels on the north end of the beach that breaks around a headland as well as a couple of beach breaks in the middle and on the south end of the beach. Works best on small to medium swells with an incoming tide.
Playa Hermosa: 2 miles of A-framed beach breaks. Best on a medium swell around 2 to 5 feet and with an incoming tide. It works with most any swell direction.
Playa Yankee: Has an excellent beach break on the south end of the beach that comes in like a left hand point break. Works best with south and southwest swells and an incoming tide. One of many quality surf spots that rarely sees surfers.
Los Suenos: Is a long hollow left point break on the south side of the "La Flor Nature Reserve". This wave starts working around 4 feet on a mid tide and it's just a few miles south of Yankee.
Ostional: A small fishing village about 10 miles south of town, close to the border of Costa Rica has a nice beach and reef break. When big south swells come in, Ostional is a good spot.
Any further south and you will be in Costa Rica. Still using San Juan del Sur as our reference point lets get into the breaks north of town.
Local Break by Car in Town:
Playa Maderas: 5 miles north of town. Maderas is by far the most popular surf spot in the immediate area. Maderas offers a variety of options. Right out front in the middle of the beach is a peeling right-hander that can hold swell up to double overhead. Just to the south is a fun left that offers some barrels on the bigger swells. If you want to avoid the crowd head north a couple of hundred yards and there are a couple more peaks to surf. Even if there looks to be a crowd, one can pretty much always find a wave at Maderas.
Majagual: The next beach north of Maderas and is usually found empty. There is always fun surf here and never a crowd. Fun, racy wedge style beach break. If you like to get your fins out of the water, this is the spot.
North of Town by Boat Only:
Punta Manzanillo: Spectacular left hand point break starting off on the rocks and ride it on into the beach. If you prefer a left barrel, this is a must on the spot check. If you want images of surfing, make sure you book a photographer for this spot, amazing backdrop.
Playa Gigante: Has a fast, hollow beach break at the north end of the beach. Like most spots here, it works best on the incoming tide.
Jale's: Average beach break, with both rights and lefts. The wave starts out right in front of the estuary. This wave is not for beginners. It is a racy, hollow and powerful wave. From Playa Gigante, Jale's is a mile or so to the north.
Panga Drops: Powerful, hollow A-frame that breaks in very shallow water and on almost any tide. Strong off shore winds can offer a challenge paddling into the wave. When it gets big, don't get caught on the inside. Dale Daggers, a long tenured Ex-Pat wrote that the wave was named "Panga Drops" after a local Panga boat got caught anchored up to far inside and when one of the sneaker set rolled in, with it rolled the Panga boat right over the falls.
Santana: Great reef break with rights and lefts as well as some really fun beach breaks.
Colorado's: One of the better waves around giving up great left and right reef breaks. This is a very fast and hollow wave and pick up swell like no other.
Popoyo: A-frame that breaks over a shelf of lava. Popoyo breaks on all tides with a long left and a right that's a little shorter.