Surf Forecasts:
Playa Samara surf forecast from 19 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period, SW swell with 477 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 12AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period with SW 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 Wednesday (Aug 19) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Playa Samara in the next 16 days are 1.0m 16s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 6s period and expected on Monday (Aug 24) at 3AM.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Playa Samara over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the menu for Playa Samara.
First up, the water is sitting at a balmy 87°, which is a good 4° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a real standout—you’ll be feeling like you’re in a warm bath out there.
The overall pattern is a bit of a slow starter. The first couple of afternoons are being messed with by a risk of thunderstorms and poor wind directions, giving us a bit of a cross-on mess. The real action doesn't start to fire until Wednesday morning, the 19th. That’s our first real window.
Wednesday morning (19th) is a gem. We’ve got a clean 3 ft SW swell, a period of 15 seconds, and the wind is absolutely glassy from the NE. That’s a proper, clean, long-period groundswell. The combined energy is moderate at 472. It’s not huge, but it’ll be super clean. That morning session is the best on offer early on. Thursday morning (20th) is also clean with a cross-offshore breeze on a smaller 2 ft SW swell, but the sets will be a bit more spread out.
The standout, no question, is Saturday morning, August 29th. We’re looking at an excellent session for experienced surfers. The swell jumps to 5 ft from the SW, with a 17-second period. The combined energy skyrockets to 1427, which is a solid, powerful push. The wind is glassy from the NNE. That’s a serious, clean, long-period groundswell that will really stand up on the reef. While it’s a bit much for beginners, for anyone who knows what they’re doing, that’s the one to circle on the calendar. Sunday morning (30th) is also a beast with 5 ft SW swell and clean cross-offshore wind, but the energy is still very high at 1112.
After that, the swell slowly backs off through the first week of September, but we keep getting clean, glassy mornings. The long period (15-18 seconds) on a lot of these swells should provide some nice, orderly lines at the point.
The gap between the first few days of small, windy surf and the real quality on the 29th is about a week. So, get your chores done, and be ready for that last weekend of August.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 44mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 30°C on Fri morning, min 26°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 15mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Warm (max 30°C on Sat morning, min 25°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | ||||||||||||||
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 14 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SSW 10 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SW 20 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 336 | 477 | 355 | 305 | 238 | 142 | 197 | 337 | 356 | 351 | 338 | 264 | 194 | 151 | 142 | 263 | 260 | 255 | 243 | 322 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | glassy | off | cross-off | on | on | off | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:44PM2.24m | 7:04AM2.38m | 7:29PM2.07m | 7:49AM2.22m | 8:19PM1.91m | 8:40AM2.09m | 9:19PM1.80m | 9:41AM1.99m | 10:30PM1.75m | 10:49AM1.97m | 11:41PM1.79m | 11:54AM2.02m | 00:40AM1.89m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:48AM0.46m | 1:25PM0.51m | 1:31AM0.62m | 2:15PM0.64m | 2:20AM0.76m | 3:13PM0.74m | 3:19AM0.87m | 4:20PM0.79m | 4:28AM0.92m | 5:28PM0.77m | 5:37AM0.89m | 6:27PM0.69m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — | 5:33 | — | — |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:57 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:55 | — | — | 5:54 | — |
mm | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | — | 5 | 18 | — | 1 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | — | — | 3 | 5 |
Temp °C | 29 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 30 | 29 | 26 |
Feels °C | 32 | 31 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 35 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 27 | 33 | 33 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | SW 16 | SW 15 | S 8 | SSW 9 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 120 | 477 | 355 | 113 | 126 | 120 | 197 | 337 | 356 | 351 | 338 | 264 | 194 | 151 | 106 | 106 | 106 | 80 | 78 | 322 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | S 8 | S 8 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SSW 16 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | S 9 |
| kJ | 336 | 95 | 108 | 305 | 238 | 142 | 136 | 84 | 55 | 55 | 169 | 95 | 134 | 118 | 142 | 263 | 260 | 255 | 243 | 76 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | NW 7 | SW 21 | S 13 | S 12 | SSW 19 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 3 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 46 | 36 | 36 | 22 | 18 | 68 | 60 | 97 | 134 | 84 | 79 | 72 | 69 | 36 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | N 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 6 | — | — | WSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 19 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 45 | 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