Reef
both
Level 6/10

Popoyo

Rivas, Nicaragua
🪸Sharp reef🦔Urchins

Popoyo is Nicaragua's flagship surf destination—a reef break that catches virtually every SW swell and offers multiple peaks to choose from. The setup is perfect for a surf trip: consistent waves, warm water, offshore morning winds, and a growing infrastructure of surf camps and restaurants. The reef produces both left and right options, with the outer reef getting heavier and hollower. This is where Central American surf trips often begin and end.

3-Day Forecast
Today
15
64
Fair
1.2m
@17s
28km/h
Mon
16
63
Fair
1.3m
@16s
16km/h
Tue
17
58
Fair
1.1m
@15s
17km/h
+7
Unlock

Today's Conditions

Groomed
Clean faces from offshore winds
Swell
1.2m
SW(214°)
Score: 8/25
Period
17s
Long period groundswell
Score: 25/25
Wind
28km/h
ENE(78°)
Score: 6/25
Weather
30°C
0.0mm15%
Windswell Component
0.5mE@3s
Secondary Swell
0.8mSSW
Forecast Confidence
100%
Sources: open-meteo-marine, open-meteo-weather
Best Session
afternoon

Location & Conditions

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0°45°90°135°180°225°270°315°NESW
Swell
Wind
View in OpenStreetMap
Showing forecast for today

Tide Times

5:38 am
Low tide - -0.41m
11:55 am
High tide - 0.72m
5:51 pm
Low tide - -0.27m
Times shown in spot-local time.

Strike Score Breakdown

64
Fair
Components
Swell Direction22/25
Swell Size8/25
Swell Period25/25
Wind6/25
Raw Score61/100
Adjustments
Wind History+6
🌊💨 Windswell-3
Adjusted Score64/100
Confidence
Multiplier×1.00
Final Score64
✨ Groomed

Spot Details

Swell Requirements

Optimal direction
SSW (210°)
Direction range
180° - 250°
Size range
1m - 3.5m
Ideal size
2.9m
Height multiplier
0.97×
Ideal period
16s+

Wind Requirements

Optimal direction
NE (45°)
Offshore range
0° - 90°
Best window
morning

Tide Requirements

Optimal tide
mid
Optimal range
0.5m - 1.8m

Water temp

28°C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts / Rashguard

Difficulty

6/10

Crowd level

5/10

Best Season

Peak: Apr-Oct

SW swell season. Offshore winds most mornings.

Getting There

Airport
MGA
Drive time
120 min
Data quality
verified

🤙 Strike Specialist

The Strike Specialist in Nicaragua is Sea Nicaragua Travel. Get in touch with them for the best chance of scoring the best waves in Nicaragua — and don't forget to tell 'em Barrel D sent ya.

Strike Log

Community Discussion