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I want to dedicate the month of May to surfing. I tried to surf in Bali last April, and, while I had a fabulous time and became determind to learn, it was not the best place for a beginner who wasn't interest in Kuta. So, I have heard some great things about Nosara, Costa Rica, and I was wondering if anyone knew of cheap acccomodation there. Ideally, I am looking for something close to the beach with a deck or some space to practice yoga. I don't need or even want something fancy. Any advice? What is the vibe like in Nosara?

Hi:

Since no one else has replied to your post I will pass on what I know from 5 years ago. I am a non-surfer and didn't notice a lot of surfing on my half dozen visits but that may well have changed. The beach is beautiful and the atmosphere was laid back, not the hectic bar and disco scene that you have (or had )in Jaco or Dominical. It is almost totally a Gringo community, although there is a tico village close by. I was mainly transporting fishermen there from San Jose and only stayed once in a reasonably priced hotel (can't remember the name but I believe that it was Swiss run). Everything will be within 500 metres of the beach. Construction activity was pretty good then so probably there is a good range of different priced places now.

You didn't mention getting there but that used to be a challenge. The road for the last three km was invariably in bad shape and, depending on the rain, you would have a few streams to ford. I think that there was one local bus per day (or every other day). There was an airport though but it wasn't fenced so the plane would make a preliminary pass over the runway to chase the cows away.

I hope this is of some help despite being dated.

Nosara is a real laid back spot, probably one of the better ones on the pacific coast of CR to learn at. I'd suggest Blew Dogs surf camp for a great place to stay. You can rent boards, watch surf vids, and tell tall tales of your waves over beers at night with other surfers. The waves don't get too heavy there, even when it's big, it sorta crumbles. Have fun...

Blew Dogs Surf Camp

Alternatively, if you dont want something expensive or so organized, there are tons of little european owned hostals along the nosara area. All you have to do is camp out in one and take a walk along the beach to scout out another! That's the way I did it. As far as learning, there are chill waves on the caribbean coast that alot of people use for starters.

will

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Reviving an old thread to ask what people think about how easy it is to get around CR with a [6'2] surfboard. I'll be there for about three weeks with a primary focus on surfing and won't be moving around all that much but will need to catch a few buses with a board in tow.

Marcus I have often wondered the same thing. I did it in mexico with a 7'0" bag (6'6" board) and it was fine, but those buses are nice and have storage for cargo underneath. Most of the CR buses i saw were old school buses. They do have luggage racks on top, just make sure to get your stuff when you get off!

A lot of backpackers swear by shorty boogie boards as a good compromise if one does not have ones own vehicle.

I myself do not surf, but people I know swear by them.

I was looking at Grey Line and Interbus fees and it would have cost me an extra $10 USD on top of the $20-40 fares to get around with a board. I'm glad to find out that the school buses I've heard about have luggage racks. A thread on the LP Thorntree had a few people confirm that it was generally easy to manage.