Hi Mike; What
in your opinion is a good surf camp for a 52 year old guy who can get up on
1-3 footers in Hawaii but really wants to get some good time and instruction
in a non-crowded and non-touristy/quiet/laidback environment?
I like upscale rustic as I'll be bringing my wife with me and she wants
low-key bodyboarding and just get some
good beach/ relaxation time in. Thanks in advance.
Patrick Millegan, Seattley |
 Hello James
I think the Manuel Antonio Surf Camp would be great it is one of the most
beautiful beaches in CR and the National Park is right there with lots of
other activities available The surf is in that 1-4ft range and it is a nice
soft sand bottom.
I would suggest you guys stay at the Costa
Verde Hotel. The view is spectacular and you can see Monkeys, Sloth's
and Iguana right from your room sometimes
We can have our surf guides come and pick you up and take you surfing each
day for 3 hours (rental board included). Talk to you soon
Mike Brooks |
| |
| My boyfriend
and I are going to be in the central pacific region of Costa Rica, for 4
days and are looking to take some surf lessons for one/two of those days.
But we have been told that the place best for beginners is Jaco, but have
also been told its not one of the nicest places in the area. Is there
another place for surf lessons. We will be coming up from the Osa region so
can stop anywhere on the way back. We are both strong swimmers and have both
surfed in the past (personally I did 10 years ago during the summers in san
diego, when I was like 10-12 years old). Can you recommend any other areas.
Thanks, Kaley |
Hello Kaley
Got the perfect spot for you Manuel Antonio and it is along your way back.
It is one of the prettiest beaches with an awesome National Park and the
waves are a lot more gentle than most other beaches with a nice soft sand
bottom making it perfect for beginner to intermediate surfers.
And there are some really great restaurants in the area. You can either stay
down town at the Sirena Hotel (2-3 star)
or if you want something with a view of the ocean or the National Park you
could stay at the Mariposa Hotel (5 star) or the Costa Verde 3-4 star.
We can arrange to have our surfguides pick you up each morning at whatever
hotel you choose to stay at and take you surfing each day the cost is $90
per person and includes: - RT transfers to and from the beach each day -
Rental board - 3 hours of instruction. You can check out more details on our
surf camp at http://www.ticotravel.com/surfing/sirena.htm.
And to see some of the alternative accommodations we offer in Manuel Antonio
check out the hotel in Central Pacific area at http://www.ticotravel.com/index/hotelsmain.htm.
After you have checked that out please get back with me I can give you more
details and book whatever you like. Pura Vida!
Mike Brooks,
Costa Rica Travel Planner |
| |
| Hey Mike,
I'm still doing research before I decide when
and where to go. Since I was thinking of going alone, I was trying to find a
good surf camp, but it's not easy. I need a place that's not too expensive
but that includes daily transportation to the beach. I've been told the best
thing is to rent a 4x4 but since I'm going alone its a lot more expensive. I
would like a place that's cool for a single person going alone (I'm 33 so
the teenagers party do not really appeal to me, I would like to be able to
hang out with people my age). I've been told to stay away from Jaco. Also, I
don't want to go when it's raining all the time or when the waves are huge,
so maybe I should wait for the rainy season to pass. What do you think? Any
suggestions? Thank you for all your help!
Glori |
Hello Glori
You should check out our surf camp package http://www.ticotravel.com/surfing/sirena.htm. It is not the average surf
camp we house our surfers in a full service hotel so you have a lot more
freedom to do what you want you don’t feel like you are at summer camp with
a bunch of kids. We really cater toward the more mature surfer because it is
a hotel and not our own housing we do not provide 24/7 supervision other
than the Surfing lessons so you have a lot of privacy and freedom to do what
you like.
 We
pick you up and take you surfing each day for 3 hours and than you are free
to surf on your own or you can take some Adventure tours like a canopy Tour,
Tour the Manuel Antonio Rainforest park (one of the best in the country) go
horseback riding or take a kayak tour through the mangrove just to name a
few. (We provide transfers to and from the beach each day)
The hotel is located in the town of Quepos with plenty of restaurants and
places to hang out and have a drink within walking distance so you will not
need a vehicle.
We can also set your transfer up between the San Jose Airport and Quepos.
I think the green season would be fine I would just try to avoid late
September and October. From now until the first week of September would be
fine and than the starting the first week of November it starts getting nice
again. December it is very Sunny but it is also high Season and the waves
can actually be too small during that month.
When you get the dates together please let me know and I will be happy to
book your trip.
Pura Vida
Mike Brooks
Costa Rica Travel Planner |
| |
| My buddy and
I are doing a 2 week surf trip to the playa hermosa area. We will have a
rental car and will probably explore a bit. My question is about my board. I
am considering renting, what is the going rate for a 6'6" board? My buddy
says I can probably buy one and resell it, is there a market for that among
the local shops? Or I am considering bring my own. That is not such a good
deal because Delta will charge me $100 each way. But one of my boards is a
6'8" that is well used, a bit water logged, but never broken. I still enjoy
riding it here in Encinitas, Ca. on, an increasingly, rare occasion. I am
thinking of paying to get it down there, then selling it before I leave or
maybe donate it to a young scraper Tico? What would you suggest? Economics
is an issue so what do you think would work out best financially over the
whole 14 days.
Finally, I used to run a
snowboard shop in Vail, Co, and we had a system to get snowboards to local
kids who could not afford them (especially the kids down valley). Is there
any system down there that does the same thing for local surfers?
Thanks for your time.
Todd |
| Hello Todd
I think you could get a pretty good board in CR for about $300 and when you
are done with it you could easily sell it worse case scenario for $100 so
you would only loose $200 and not have to worry about carrying your board
back and fourth or take the chance of your board possibly getting dinged on
the flight.
If you wanted to bring along your older board as a back up than you may as
well bring 2 boards from the US. If ? the airlines allows a double board bag
for the same price you could always sell both boards and the bag or the one
board and donate the other?
We have a surf camp in Manuel Antonio and we are trying to put together a
program very similar to what you are talking about We are trying to get
boards to donate to local kids that can not afford them and also offer free
surf lessons to locals to spark their interest in sport they have right in
their back yard and admission is free they just need boards I will have the
program up and running soon. I am sure you will not have any problem finding
a local guy or girl that could really use a board.
Take care and if you need anything just let me know
Mike Brooks |