Avellanas, Costa Rica
Avellanas is one of the most beautiful beaches of the Tamarindo area.
There is nothing but pristine beach wilderness with
crooked old trees providing shade backed by scrub, mangroves and pasture land.
Playa Avellanas
Avellanas has no village and there are no shops. It is just a scattering of small, laid-back hotels and cabinas where surfers
hang out.
See below: Map of Surf spots and Hotels in Avellanas
A long ribbon of beaches unfolds until Tamarindo's Playa Langosta in the north and Playa Negra in the south. Some stretches of beach are rocky with tide pools, other parts have fine white sand and turquoise colored waters.
For most visitors the biggest attraction of Playa Avellanas lies off shore. Avellanas boasts some of Costa Rica's
best surf spots drawing surfers from all over the world.
In high season, and on weekends however, the surf breaks in Avellanas can become quite crowded
as local wave riders from the Tamarindo area also come to surf here.
Lola's beach bar in Playa Avellanas
The focal point of Avellanas is Lola's bar with its seaside parking area. In high season a guard watches over the lot. Nevertheless leave no valuables in your car, and take also care of your stuff on the beach.
Lola's bar is one of the nicest beach lounges in Costa Rica. It offers stylish and comfortable beach furniture with a front row view to the surf, and their pizza is famous. The bar was named after the capricious diva of Avellanas: Lola, the mischivious, big pig who used to bathe in the surf of Avellanas.
Surfing in Avellanas:
Surf conditions in Avellanas are perfect throughout the year with swells coming in both from the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Dry season is from December - April with blue skies and steady offshore winds.
Avellanas offers a variety of different surf spots spread out along the beach. Most breaks are for experienced surfers.
Surf Spots and Hotels in Avellanas:
See also: Map and Description of Surf Spots in the Tamarindo Area
In front of Lola's parking lot is La Purruja, a left hand reef break, though not very consistent. In general conditions are best during rainy season.
A few steps north of Lola's is El Parqueo, a beach break with long, smooth waves which make them suitable for less experienced surfers. Dry season months and mid-tide is the best time to surf this spot.
El Palo means "dead tree" referring to the giant dead mangrove tree that stands here the sand. The beach breaks are both lefts and rights, forming little barrels.
El Palo de Avellanas
In front of the river mouth, El Estero de Avellanas is said to be one of the best surf spots in Costa Rica. There are rights and lefts surfing over reef and sandy bottom, and forming perfect A-frames. Best surfed in dry season and on a low incoming tide.
The most northern surf spot of Avellanas is across the river mouth, a 20 min walk from Lola's:
Little Hawaii is a favorite of local surfers and should only be surfed by experts. The right hander
surfs over rocks and waves, and can sometimes reach heights of 18 feet. Best surfed on low to medium tide.
How to get to Avellanas:
There is no public transportation to Avellanas. From Tamarindo it's a 16 km drive via Vila Real. Follow the signs to Hacienda Pinilla, from where you continue for another 3 km. The previously precarious road has been fixed and you can now reach Avellanas even during rainy season.
Recommended reading:
The H2O Surf Travel Guide to Costa Rica, by Jonathan Yonkers Chavarría, a surfer from Tamarindo. Written with love and wit it transpires all the color, pattern and ethnicity of surf culture. The surf travel guide is available at surf shops and hotels around Tamarindo.
