Beach
both
Level 4/10

Playa Santana

Rivas, Nicaragua
🌀Strong rips

Playa Santana is Popoyo's quieter neighbor—a quality beach break that offers the same consistent southwest swells without the crowds that have discovered the famous point. The wave provides excellent intermediate-level surfing on sandbars that shift with the seasons but remain reliable throughout the swell season. While others jostle for position at Popoyo, savvy surfers slip over to Santana and find space to spread out. The uncrowded nature is part of the appeal, as is the genuine local community that hasn't yet been transformed by tourism. This is what Nicaragua surf travel felt like before the crowds arrived.

3-Day Forecast
Today
15
75
Good
1.1m
@17s
28km/h
Mon
16
65
Good
1.2m
@16s
16km/h
Tue
17
68
Good
1.1m
@15s
17km/h
+7
Unlock

Today's Conditions

Groomed
Clean faces from offshore winds
Swell
1.1m
SW(214°)
Score: 12/25
Period
17s
Long period groundswell
Score: 25/25
Wind
28km/h
ENE(78°)
Score: 11/25
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

Loading map...
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

75
Good
Components
Swell Direction24/25
Swell Size12/25
Swell Period25/25
Wind11/25
Raw Score72/100
Adjustments
Wind History+6
🌊💨 Windswell-3
Adjusted Score75/100
Confidence
Multiplier×1.00
Final Score75
✨ Groomed

Spot Details

Swell Requirements

Optimal direction
SW (215°)
Direction range
185° - 255°
Size range
0.6m - 2.5m
Ideal size
1.9m
Height multiplier
0.92×
Ideal period
14s+

Wind Requirements

Optimal direction
NE (50°)
Offshore range
10° - 90°
Best window
morning

Tide Requirements

Optimal tide
mid
Optimal range
0.3m - 1.6m

Water temp

28°C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts / Rashguard

Difficulty

4/10

Crowd level

3/10

Access: Near Popoyo. Uncrowded alternative.

Best Season

Peak: Apr-Oct

Secondary: Nov, Mar

Consistent SW swells. Less crowded than Popoyo.

Getting There

Airport
MGA
Drive time
115 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

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