Surf Forecasts:
El Estero surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 19s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 7 Jul, 12PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 18s period, SW swell with 1,263 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 5 Jul, 9PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 16s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for El Estero this week:
The surf forecast for El Estero over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 05) at 9PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 16s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at El Estero in the next 16 days are 1.4m 18s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 07) at 12PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 7s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 11) at 9PM.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 9PM (Sun 5th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 9PM (Mon 6th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 12PM (Tue 7th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for El Estero over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Rusty here again. Let’s run through the same outlook in feet and miles per hour.
El Estero is the only spot with surf, and we start Sunday 5 July morning. Water temp is 86°F, a touch warmer than usual. The swell is 3ft from the SW with an 18-second period – proper groundswell – and combined energy is moderate at 612. Wind is light offshore from the east at 9 mph, keeping it clean. This river mouth is consistent and exposed to the WNW, so it’ll hold that long-period swell well. Expect it to be often crowded.
Sunday afternoon goes onshore at 6 mph from the WSW with a risk of storms – that’s a no-go. Monday 6 July morning: 2ft from the SW, 20-second period, offshore ENE at 12 mph, energy strong at 770 – very good surf. Afternoon turns cross-onshore and marginal.
The real standout is Tuesday 8 July morning: 4ft from the SW, 18 seconds, offshore ENE at 12 mph, energy strong at 1163 – excellent for experienced surfers. Those are clean, powerful waves. Wednesday 9 July morning offers 4ft from the SSW at 16 seconds with a cross-offshore ENE wind – still clean, but not as good. The afternoon goes glassy with 4ft from the SW and a light WSW breeze.
Thursday 10 July is similar: clean mornings around 4ft to 3ft, and messy afternoons. From Friday 11 July through Saturday 12 July, the swell drops to 3ft with periods of 14–15 seconds, and winds stay light offshore or glassy. Saturday 12 July morning is glassy and calm, with a threat of heavy rain – good waves, though.
Second week: Monday 14 July to Thursday 17 July sees swell from 2ft to 2ft from the SW or SSW, periods around 13–14 seconds, and combined energy weak at 160–338. Winds are light offshore or cross-offshore on most mornings – rideable but mellow.
Sunday 20 July is flat – no swell, just a moderate offshore wind and poor conditions. Monday 21 July: 2ft from the SSW at 11 seconds, offshore at 12 mph, but energy is weak and the surf is ordinary.
Best bet is Tuesday 8 July morning for the biggest, cleanest waves. Saturday 12 July glass-off is a great option for smaller sessions.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon. Warm (max 31°C on Mon morning, min 25°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Warm (max 31°C on Wed morning, min 25°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 21 | SW 16 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 186 | 381 | 467 | 408 | 738 | 730 | 915 | 1263 | 1179 | 940 | 748 | 657 | 544 | 419 | 382 | 382 | 318 | 403 | 372 | 362 | 328 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | on | cross-off | off | on | cross-off | off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross-off | on | off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:14PM2.11m | 6:45AM2.22m | 6:56PM2.04m | 7:27AM2.24m | 7:43PM1.97m | 8:14AM2.25m | 8:38PM1.92m | 9:08AM2.27m | 9:40PM1.90m | 10:09AM2.30m | 10:48PM1.92m | 11:14AM2.35m | 11:56PM2.00m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:13PM0.59m | 00:25AM0.44m | 12:56PM0.59m | 1:03AM0.49m | 1:44PM0.59m | 1:48AM0.53m | 2:39PM0.58m | 2:40AM0.56m | 3:39PM0.54m | 3:41AM0.56m | 4:44PM0.48m | 4:47AM0.53m | 5:49PM0.38m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — |
 | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — | — | 6:08 | — |
mm | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 9 | 23 | 10 |
Temp °C | 30 | 29 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 24 |
Feels °C | 35 | 32 | 31 | 35 | 34 | 30 | 33 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 35 | 34 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | S 7 |
| kJ | 125 | 381 | 432 | 362 | 738 | 730 | 915 | 1263 | 1179 | 940 | 748 | 657 | 544 | 419 | 382 | 382 | 318 | 403 | 372 | 362 | 117 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | S 10 | SW 21 | SW 20 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | S 8 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 163 | 94 | 467 | 408 | 465 | 301 | 293 | 51 | 180 | 171 | 110 | 110 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 85 | 71 | 69 | 60 | 79 | 328 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | S 14 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 12 | S 8 | — | NNW 5 | W 15 | — | SSW 15 | W 14 | SSW 20 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | S 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | 186 | 134 | 89 | 60 | 56 | 57 | 55 | 73 | 31 | — | 8 | 4 | — | 47 | 4 | 37 | 108 | 62 | 134 | 86 | 71 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NNE 6 | — | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | — | NNE 5 | — | — | NNE 4 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | — | 7 | 8 | — | 4 | — | — | 6 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Guanacaste | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Costa Rica | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our El Estero surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the El Estero Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for El Estero provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at El Estero can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our El Estero surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (El Estero) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for El Estero may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
El Estero is 47 km (29 miles) from Nicoya. If you plan a holiday in Guanacaste, look for hotels and other accommodation in Nicoya. Nicoya has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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