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Pavones is a legendary long left-hand point break on Costa Rica's southern Pacific coast, near the Panama border. The wave reportedly offers rides of up to 800 metres on exceptional days, making it one of the longest lefts in the world. The jungle setting is remote and wild, with monkeys in the trees and crocodiles in the river. A pilgrimage spot for regular-footers seeking endless walls.
Needs a solid south or south-westerly groundswell from South Pacific storms (April-October, peaking June-August). The rainy season coincides with swell season. A north-easterly wind is offshore. Best at mid to high tide. The 4-8ft range produces the longest rides. Smaller swells produce shorter but still quality rides.
The take-off is at the top of the point. The left then peels along the rocky coastline. Multiple sections offer different entry points. Sit at the top for the full ride or pick off sections lower down.
Rocky coastline throughout. Crocodiles in the river mouth (stay clear). The remoteness means medical help is distant. The wave can be powerful on bigger swells. Rip currents along the point. Bring everything you need.
Drive (rough roads, 4x4 recommended in rainy season) from Golfito or the Pan-American Highway. The village has basic accommodation and a few restaurants. Remote and uncommercialised.
Moderate when working. The reputation brings travelling surfers but the remoteness limits numbers. 10-20 people on good days. The wave is long enough that sharing is manageable. A mellow, travelling-surfer atmosphere.
Pavones is remote; plan accordingly. The roads flood in rainy season. Bring supplies. The river mouth has crocodiles; do not paddle near it. The left is endless on a good day and the jungle setting is unforgettable. Time your trip for the south swell season (June-August). The simple restaurants serve excellent casados (set meals).
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Based on historical weekly averages
Combining historical conditions with school holiday crowd pressure to find the sweet spot.
How busy each week is based on school holiday overlap from feeder markets.
The timing score combines two signals: historical conditions quality (how good the skiing or surfing typically is in a given week, based on 5 years of weather data) and crowd pressure (how many of this destination's feeder markets have school holidays that week).
Crowd pressure is weighted by each feeder country's share of visitors. If 40% of a resort's visitors come from France and France is on holiday, that contributes 0.40 to the crowd pressure score. Crowds can reduce the timing score by up to 35%, ensuring conditions still matter most.
Scores: 5 = great conditions with low crowds (the sweet spot). 4 = great conditions with moderate crowds, or good conditions with low crowds. 3 = average. 2 = below average conditions or very crowded. 1 = poor conditions or peak holiday chaos.
Last 29 days of logged conditions.
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Create Profile →Current conditions refresh every 3 hours when the cron runs. Hourly data updates every 30 minutes. The 7-day forecast, luck factor, and packing notes are all pre-computed at the same time.
We compare the 7-day forecast to the last 5 years of marine data for the same week at Pavones. The delta tells you whether conditions are shaping up better, worse, or about the same as a typical mid-June.
We score each day of the 7-day forecast using the same algorithm as the leaderboard, and highlight the highest scorer.
Open-Meteo's Marine API (swell height, period, water temperature) and Weather API (wind and conditions).
Honestly, no. Every break has tide windows, swell directions and reef contours that a global model cannot see. Treat the score as a starting point, then check a local cam.
The best week for surf at Pavones is the week of 9 November (score 3/5) with low crowds.
Quality groundswell hitting the coast. Reasonable period putting some grunt behind each wave. Onshore wind making a mess of the surface. Best conditions early morning before the sea breeze arrives.
Heads up: thunderstorms forecast, and jellyfish: peak season.
Indicators derived from forecast data, not official warnings. Always check local lifeguard or official advice.
Moderate water clarity: ~4m visibility
Daily scores over the last 12 months at Pavones