Ive never been out of the country except the Bahamas. I didnt need to know spanish or worry about crocodiles.  Is there a surfers handbook of phrases that would be useful or apps for android phone? Ive downloaded a bunch of app for spanish to try and learn some.

How many boards is 2 the norm to bring at 100 a pop for plane fees?

Should I bother bringing mask, fins, sling spear, fishing pole?  I was thinking about bringing some peanut butter and jelly. I dont know what they have for food around there?

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Ha!  Hey Jack, have an awesome time man...you deserve it!  I've seen you out helping kids get waves when I know you would have rather been getting them yourself so enjoy your trip my brother!

As far as stuff to bring...I'd leave the spearfishing gear home, extra crap to tote around and you prob wouldn't use it much if at all anyway.  Yeah 2 boards is prob good, not so much for the step up for bigger waves but in case you damage one either on the plane or the reef, that way you have a spare.  I'd bring the following:

Extra wax

Small first aid kit

Extra fin key

And some extra gear (stickers, t shirts, whatever) to stoke out some local groms

Cool I will do that. I may bring a third board and leave it for some who could use it?  Good idea bringing stuff for the groms.

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You will find that you won't need to know a lot of Spanish. The locals tend to be very friendly and are used to Americans. I would leave the fishing gear home. There are plenty of things to do. Leave the PB & J home as well. The food there is great. Ranchos Ituanas is a great place to eat and if it's a full moon they throw a great party.

Jack everyone has these same questions on there first Central American trip!The waves have some punch and just about any board ya bring work's .Bro you are going to be surfing ya face off and checken the jungle life out so much there will be no time for nothing but fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's super easy lots of fun, good food and great people . Surf -sleep-surf and repete YEW

I spent most of the summer down there in 2010. Great area. It's a dirt road town with out any high rise hotels or a large tourist industry. There are a few surf shops, but as mentioned above bring your own wax. It will cost you $5 a bar down there. The best break in town is just north of the yellow bar. You will know the yellow bar when you see it. That is the same break shown on Mal Pais surf cam( http://www.malpaisurfcam.com/). If you get a big swell, make sure you head over and surf Cabuya, near montezuma. For good eats go to zwart cafe. Its a cool Canadian chick who owns it and sells art out of it. Other than that, there are a few little grocery stores in town and they will sell everything you need. If you need help w/ transportation or a place to stay, hit up Justin (JCARDER). I'm not sure if he's still in S.T. or if he moved to the city, but he lived down there for years running a surf camp/hostel and can arrange transportation and surf trips for ya. He's a good guy so shoot him a PM. Have a great trip, I miss that place

Fly Copa - $50 a bag with 2 boards to SJ..

Goes through a connection in Panama but no probs..

Free full meals & even free beer, wine & mixed drinks - served with a smile.. even on 1 hour flights.. They treat you right!

Went to Playa Giones (sp?) for ~ a week - along the coast road from the south..

Be prepared for river crossings if you are taking the coastal roads - rainy season => not good timing - w/ 4WD maybe makeabe, but a real pain if not..  Relatively bad roads compared to most other places in CR (Tamarindo etc)..

Look out for the 5 pm rush hour traffic - all the locals (2+/bike) on motorbikes - going home.. 

Great trip.. Go!!!

>>>>>>>>

Forgot to add, Be careful for 'el robo' (thieves)..

Don't bring anything of great value that you will let out of your sight with you - especially to the beach.. 

Took my prescription glasses off the beach at Playa Negra..  Locking stuff in your car does NOT work either - they break the window if they can pop it just to check what you have 'hidden' in there..

Don't waste your time reporting it either.. Move on - lesson learned..

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There are NO white people at all in the Bible... take all the time you need with that...
Please stop feeding the trolls - they will go away if you do...

Spanish is not needed, but I like to try to order dinner and ...throw out a few Spanish phrases. The locals like it when you try to speak their language!! we're heading there (playa grande) the first week of May. Got CD of phrases at bookstore for 12 bucks... playing it as much as I can.

Take a new but tested leash.

Rashguard is good to have.

2 pair boardshorts

2 pair baggies

2 tee shirts

1 long sleeve shirt

inexpensive flips

Pack two towels in your boardbag around the tips

Bubble wrap the boards inside the boardbag- especially tail and tip.

Pack both boards into one double board bag so you only get charged for one.

I always drink bottled water regardless of what they say and I've never gotten sick.

 

 

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Replace turf grass with native plants that don't need irrigation and synthetic fertilizers or chemicals that can go into our waterways and ocean

Edited: 04/11/2014 at 06:36 AM by daner

Hey Jack...PM me...I'm living here now and I saw you mentioned something about being with kids and a surf team?  Anyhow...I think I can help ya out...Hit me up!

 

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www.surfcoaches.com

 

Making you a better Surfer.  Surfing Tips and Tutorial Videos!

 

 

http://www.thesurfersguides.co...Rica_What_to_Pack.html

 

check it...

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https://www.instagram.com/dj_kaye_/

Everyone speaks enough english there. There is also a large israeli population. Unless they recently paved the roads, watch out how slippery that mud gets after a rain.

Not sure if any of these are still open...

Pizza tomate - decent pizza, better calzone.

Zwart Cafe - Loved the breakfast.

Chicken Joes - Loved the rotisserie

There was a bakery, an argentinan resturaunt with the best pork, a classic israeli place, a sweet little burgershop, and a great bakery too.... i just dont remember the names.

 

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

You're golden that area is Americanized so no worries about nothing really but still bring something for the groms. Can't remember what CA country I was in but I took cheap little frisbees. They were a big hit and easy to pack. Another trip I took 'bubbles'. I had to show the kids how to blow through the handle but they were amazed. Costa is a great first pacific trip

Just got back from ST. It's an easy trip. I think JetBlue is the best, they fly directly from Orlando to San Jose, and they get there early enough (9:30ish) that you can make the drive to ST the same day. They charge $50 per board, but the check-in people never asked how many boards I had, or asked to look in my bag. I only had one board, but if I had more I would not have been charged. That probably varies based on who's working though. Most Ticos know some English. Fully stocked grocery stores in town, no need to bring anything to eat. Have fun!

I appreciate all the comments tips and advice.  Im So stoked to go on a surftrip. Thanks im gonna write a bunch of stuff down from this thread as far as spots and places.  Im going jetblue then puddle jumper plane. Prolly gonna rent a bike mostly to get around. Maybe some of the parents will have a jeep of something to get around better.

I will pm you Brent, I like the videos that you guys have on you tube.

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There's a fun left reef/sand break at the south end of town. It only breaks well on high tide and gets crowded real quick, but if you're lucky you might find the place to yourself if you can get in a late afternoon session. I can't tell you the name of the spot or how to get there, but if you search you will find it.(Honestly I just can't remember)

Also if you need an inexpensive but safe/trustworthy hostel to stay at try Casa de Gingi's. He's a real nice Israeli guy and if you are hanging out by the bus stop in front of the 2nd Supermercado in town, you will probably end up seeing him passing out cards or you can look him up on FB. Montezuma or what is sometimes referred to as Cabuya is also another real fun area with plenty of surf when the swell is big enough and coming from the right direction. Over there you can also find several fun left and right reef/ sand style breaks. However most of those spots are also tide dependent so if you go during the wrong tide you will pretty much get flat or crappy waves.

Good luck and have fun!

I wrote this article about - Health Tips for Surf Trips

Have fun!

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http://www.crsurf.com ~ CR Surf Travel Company

http://www.vacationsbygreg.com
Instagram - @crsurf

Thanks good Stuff!

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I drank the water in Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.  Never got sick. Obviously its better to error on the side of caution but its nearly impossible to avoid getting the water in your system. On the other hand I drank so much rum and tequila on each trip, I didn't notice if the water affected me. 

But add imodium to your first aid kit just in case

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If you want to hit a home run, you have to swing the bat.