Surf Forecasts:
Playa Samara surf forecast from 17 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 17 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 13s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 24 Jul, 9AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 24s period, SW swell with 563 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 17 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 13s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Playa Samara this week:
The surf forecast for Playa Samara over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 3PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 15s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Playa Samara in the next 16 days are 0.7m 24s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 24) at 9AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 6s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 18) at 6AM.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3PM (Fri 17th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 3PM (Fri 17th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 9AM (Fri 24th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 24s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Playa Samara over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s coming for us.
First off, the water’s sitting at 86°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The pattern is small but steady, with plenty of clean conditions.
Friday morning, July 17th, you’ve got a 3ft SSW swell, period around 14 seconds, and a gentle cross-off breeze. Clean and surfable, with moderate energy. Friday afternoon turns glassy with a 3ft SSW swell – that’s the pick of the day.
Saturday the 18th is clean in the morning with a 2ft S swell, but the afternoon gets a bit messy with a light cross-onshore. Sunday the 19th is a standout – morning has a 3ft S swell with offshore wind and solid energy, and the afternoon goes glassy. That Sunday morning is the best of the first week.
Monday the 20th has a glassy afternoon with a 3ft SW swell and a long 16-second period. Tuesday the 21st is clean all day. Wednesday the 22nd is glassy again in the afternoon, though the swell drops.
Thursday the 23rd has a 3ft S swell in the morning but with a short, weak period of 7 seconds – clean, but not much push. The long period stuff comes back Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th, with 24-second and 21-second periods, and the energy jumps up. Those mornings are clean.
The real highlight is Sunday the 26th. The morning brings a 4ft SW swell with a 19-second period, clean cross-off wind, and strong energy. That’s excellent for experienced surfers. The afternoon swell climbs to 4ft, but the wind goes cross, so it’s not as clean. Sunday morning is the best on offer.
Monday the 27th through Wednesday the 29th sees the swell holding around 4ft to 5ft, but the wind is mostly cross or cross-on, so the quality drops. Wednesday morning the 29th is a redeemer – glassy, 4ft SW swell, clean.
After that, from Thursday the 30th through to Saturday August 1st, the swell backs off below 3ft, but the mornings remain clean. Small, but still fun.
The standout sessions are Sunday July 19th morning and Sunday July 26th morning. Get on those.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Warm (max 31°C on Fri morning, min 25°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 29°C on Mon morning, min 25°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 14 | S 14 | SSW 13 | S 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 26 | SW 18 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 356 | 372 | 336 | 203 | 198 | 286 | 372 | 248 | 260 | 257 | 361 | 309 | 301 | 248 | 250 | 173 | 101 | 92 | 103 | 171 | 109 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-on | off | off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-on |
High Tide | 4:55PM2.67m | 5:28AM2.72m | 5:43PM2.56m | 6:15AM2.66m | 6:32PM2.41m | 7:01AM2.56m | 7:20PM2.25m | 7:48AM2.42m | 8:11PM2.08m | 8:36AM2.28m | 9:06PM1.94m | 9:29AM2.17m | 10:06PM1.85m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:48AM0.17m | 11:10PM-0.00m | 11:39AM0.22m | 11:56PM0.11m | 12:29PM0.31m | 00:41AM0.26m | 1:18PM0.42m | 1:27AM0.43m | 2:09PM0.53m | 2:15AM0.59m | 3:03PM0.63m | 3:07AM0.73m | 4:02PM0.69m | ||||||||
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | |  |  | |  | |
 | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — |
 | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:06 | — | — | 6:06 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
Temp °C | 31 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 26 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Feels °C | 36 | 35 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 34 | 27 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 28 | 31 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 13 | S 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 13 | S 12 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 12 | S 7 | S 7 | SSW 7 | S 7 | SSW 8 | S 7 |
| kJ | 356 | 372 | 336 | 164 | 164 | 286 | 372 | 248 | 260 | 215 | 187 | 309 | 301 | 248 | 228 | 48 | 54 | 91 | 103 | 147 | 86 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 15 | S 7 | S 14 | S 14 | S 7 | S 7 | SSW 7 | SSW 7 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 7 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 8 |
| kJ | 75 | 75 | 14 | 203 | 198 | 48 | 45 | 47 | 45 | 257 | 361 | 57 | 132 | 137 | 250 | 173 | 101 | 92 | 92 | 58 | 48 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 19 | SW 20 | S 16 | S 6 | S 6 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 7 | SSW 7 | S 12 | S 7 | S 6 | W 10 | S 11 | S 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | SW 26 | SW 18 |
| kJ | 57 | 63 | 81 | 19 | 20 | 94 | 219 | 194 | 194 | 45 | 38 | 184 | 32 | 31 | 8 | 62 | 61 | 40 | 21 | 171 | 109 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 43 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Golfo de Nicoya | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Costa Rica | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Playa Samara 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 Playa Samara Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Playa Samara provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Playa Samara can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Playa Samara 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 (Playa Samara) 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 Playa Samara 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.
Playa Samara is 31 km (19 miles) from Nicoya. If you plan a holiday in Golfo de Nicoya, 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.
Nearest