Schlepping a surfboard to Costa Rica?

Published: May 5, 2004

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Week of April 3-9, 1997

Schlepping a surfboard to Costa Rica?
Question: I’m going on a cruise over spring break and since I will only have a day or two in Costa Rica (Puerto Limon) it doesn’t make sense to bring a surfboard since it always gets dinged by the airlines. Do you know where I could rent one there?

Alex Lowry
Atherton, CA
cowells@aol.com

Puerto Limon boasts some of the
best swells on the Caribbean coast

��ԹϺ�� Adviser: I’ve checked my sources and, sad to say, have come up empty-ended. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not a small surf shack (without a phone) renting boards off the beach. You can take your chances and hope that there is one — this is, after all, the big-wave Caribbean coast, famous for at-times massive swells and
miles of demanding beach breaks. Or you can just rent or buy a protective board bag (which do work!) for the occasion and bring your own along. Aside from the brief hassle of lugging it to the airline ticket counter and then, at the other end, stashing it in some taxi trunk, it shouldn’t be too onerous.

Keep in mind that the best time to surf the Caribbean coast, in and around Puerto Limon, is late May through early September (hurricane season) and December through March. Just north of Limon is Playa Bonita, with a shallow right break at the south end of the bay; also worth checking out is the extremely challenging left break off Isla Uvita, a 20-minute boat ride from
Limon. For up-to-the-minute wave updates, call the free, 24-hour Costa Rican Surf Report at 011-506-233-7386 and, for general surf info, contact the Costa Rican Surf Association at 011-506-661-0344.

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Schlepping a surfboard to Costa Rica?

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