Beach

both

Level 7/10

Playa Hermosa

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

🌀Strong rips👥Crowded

Playa Hermosa (Costa Rica) is one of Central America's most consistent and powerful beach breaks—a 7km stretch of black sand that catches virtually every Pacific swell. The waves here are heavy and hollow, breaking with surprising intensity over shifting sandbars. It's just south of Jaco, making it easily accessible from San Jose. The beach hosts WSL events and has produced some of Costa Rica's best surfers. Powerful, punchy, and always working—this is Costa Rica's reliable beachbreak.

10-Day Forecast

Today

Poor

1.4mS

@15s

8km/h

Wed

Fair

1.6mSSW

@15s

8km/h

Thu

Fair

1.7mSSW

@15s

8km/h

Fri

Fair

1.7mSSW

@15s

8km/h

Sat

Fair

1.6mSSW

@15s

7km/h

Sun

Fair

1.6mSSW

@15s

8km/h

Mon

Fair

1.5mSSW

@15s

8km/h

Tue

Poor

1.4mSSW

@15s

7km/h

Wed

Poor

1.4mSSW

@15s

6km/h

Today

Tue, Jan 20

1.4m @ 15s S

8 km/h S

Wed

Wed, Jan 21

1.6m @ 15s SSW

8 km/h S

Thu

Thu, Jan 22

1.7m @ 15s SSW

8 km/h SSE

Fri

Fri, Jan 23

1.7m @ 15s SSW

8 km/h S

Sat

Sat, Jan 24

1.6m @ 15s SSW

7 km/h S

Sun

Sun, Jan 25

1.6m @ 15s SSW

8 km/h SSE

Mon

Mon, Jan 26

1.5m @ 15s SSW

8 km/h SSW

Tue

Tue, Jan 27

1.4m @ 15s SSW

7 km/h S

Wed

Wed, Jan 28

1.4m @ 15s SSW

6 km/h SW

Today's Conditions

Swell

1.4m

S(188°)

Score: 8/25

Period

15s

Long period groundswell

Score: 24/25

Wind

8km/h

S(177°)

Score: 3/25

Weather

28°C

0.0mm76%

Secondary Swell

0.4mWSW

Forecast Confidence

100%

Sources: open-meteo-marine, open-meteo-weather

Best Session

morning

Strike Score Breakdown

Poor

Swell Direction

5/25

How well swell angle matches the spot

Swell Size

8/25

Wave height in the ideal range

Swell Period

24/25

Each spot has different period requirements. Points and reefs can handle longer periods than beaches.

Wind

3/25

Offshore/glassy conditions

Total Score40/100

Location & Conditions

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Swell

Wind

View in OpenStreetMap

Showing forecast for today

Spot Details

Swell Requirements

Optimal direction: SSW (210°)
Direction range: 180° - 250°
Size range: 1m - 4m
Ideal period: 16s+

Wind Requirements

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

Tide Requirements

Optimal tide: mid
Optimal range: 0.4m - 1.8m

Water temp

28°C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts / Rashguard

Difficulty

7/10

Crowd level

6/10

Getting There

Airport

SJO

Drive time

90 min

Best Season

Peak: Apr-Oct

Rainy season = swell season. Best May-Oct.

Data Quality

community