Learning to Surf in Tamarindo

Beginner waves at Playa Tamarindo.

Paddle, paddle, paddle. Push up. Plant left foot. Plant right foot. Stand up. Oh my god I’m actually doing it… I’m surfing! After proudly hopping off the board in the knee-deep water I looked around expectantly to see who had seen and recognized my brief moment of glory and triumph. Not a bloody soul. Solo travel sucks sometimes. The first time I successfully rode a wave it was hardly impressive to anyone but me, but since I was the only one I had to impress that was alright.

Taking a surf lesson was a must-do my first time in Costa Rica. I did some research and decided that Playa Tamarindo was probably my best bet of all the beaches that dotted the north Pacific coast. The town was easily accessible without my own car, had good, consistent waves for beginners like me and contained a plethora of surf shops willing to teach me.

I booked a group lesson with Tamarindo Surf School, which ended up being just me and a woman from Switzerland. I guess March wasn’t a popular surf time since she told me that her first lesson two days before had been just her. The school guaranteed that we would be able to stand up during our first lesson or the next one was free. I planned to hold them to it. After being outfitted in rash guards we were given giant blue longboards. While we struggled to carry one surfboard between us trudging through the sand, our instructor handled the other like it weighed nothing. Were we just wimps?

This is how most of my attempts ended. Photo: Bengt Nyman

We found an empty patch of beach where our lesson began. We were taught the proper stance and how to get into it, then practiced paddling and popping up into our surf stance. “This isn’t so hard,” I thought. After 4 or 5 dry-land runs, we were ready to try the real thing. Our instructor would take turns with us picking out a suitable wave and helping us catch it. We walked our boards out into chest high water, climbed on and waited for just the right wave. They may have only been two or three feet high, but they looked huge as I saw them barreling down on me. I was a bit nervous but still confident. Suddenly my instructor gave my board a shove and shouted “Paddle! Paddle! Stand up!”

Paddle, paddle, paddle. Push up. Plant left foot. Plant right fo– *whoosh* I lost my balance and was unceremoniously dumped into the Pacific, smashing my knee into the sandy bottom. I came up sputtering with a nose full of salty ocean. My second and third attempts went much the same way. This wasn’t much fun. The fourth time though…oh the fourth time was magic. I took my time with this one instead of trying to pop up. It took me a moment, after cautiously taking my hands off the board and getting into a crouch, to realize that I was actually somewhat balanced and riding that little wave in to shore. Despite no one witnessing it, I was grinning ear to ear as I walked my board back into the surf, eager to try it again. I was hooked.

As I left the beach that day I was sunburned, battered and bruised but I was happy. I may yet run away to Costa Rica to become a surfer chick.

Be sure not to go surfing without travel insurance. In case an injury means you need to cancel all or part of your trip, travel insurance will help you when you need it most. I recommend World Nomads as travel insurance for surfing in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.