Surf Forecasts:
Playa Samara surf forecast from 8 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 8 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 17s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 17s period, SSW swell with 963 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 8 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 17s 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 Wednesday (Jul 08) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 17s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 12s. 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 1.3m 17s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 12AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 17s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 17s |
| Most Powerful | 12AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Playa Samara over the next 16 days.
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about your local surf outlook for Playa Samara. We’ve got a long run ahead, but it’s not all firing. This stretch is mostly about smaller, clean conditions with a couple of real windows to get excited about.
The water is sitting at 86°F, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a nice bonus.
Right off the bat, Tuesday afternoon (July 7th) is the standout of the whole outlook. We’ve got a 4ft swell rolling in from the SSW with a very long period of 18 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined swell energy is pumping at 1204 – that’s strong, no doubt. The wind is light WNW and cross-off, so it’s going to be clean. This is a morning for experienced surfers – that long period can make it a bit tricky at a beach setup, but the power and shape will be there. No complaints.
Wednesday morning (July 8th) is still looking good with the same 4ft of SSW swell, period dropping a touch to 16 seconds, and clean NE cross-off wind. Combined energy is still solid at 982. This is a very good session for those who missed Tuesday.
The middle of the week (Wednesday afternoon through Friday) sees the swell drop a little – around 3ft to 3ft – and the winds get a bit more messy with cross-onshore and some risk of thunderstorms. It’s not blown out, but it’s not the same quality. Still, Thursday morning (July 9th) offers a clean 3ft from SSW with light NE cross-off winds.
Saturday (July 11th) and Sunday (July 12th) are a mixed bag. Saturday has 3ft but with a 9 mph cross-shore wind that will put a slight chop on it. Sunday morning (July 12th) is glassy with light ENE wind and a 3ft swell – that’s a nice, clean small-wave option.
The second week calms down. Swell heights hover around 2ft to 3ft. A few windows stand out: Monday morning (July 13th) has an offshore NNE wind and 2ft clean swell. Thursday morning (July 16th) looks tidy with 3ft and light NE cross-off.
Then, on Saturday morning (July 18th), we get a little pulse back – 3ft from the SSW, period at 14 seconds, and clean NE cross-off winds. Combined energy is back up to 515. That’s a solid morning.
Tuesday morning (July 21st) is another special mention – glassy conditions, 3ft from the SSW, and a combined energy of 540. Very clean and inviting.
Crowds at Playa Samara can happen, but with these mostly smaller swells, it’s usually manageable. The break itself is fairly consistent, so you don’t have to wait forever.
Overall, the best of the best is Tuesday afternoon (July 7th) – that’s the one to circle on the calendar. The long period groundswell and clean wind are a rare combo here.
Stay salty.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 16mm), heaviest on Thu night. Warm (max 31°C on Tue afternoon, min 26°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 41mm), heaviest during Fri night. Warm (max 30°C on Mon morning, min 25°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tue 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | S 16 | S 15 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1033 | 963 | 864 | 683 | 649 | 414 | 353 | 387 | 279 | 279 | 358 | 377 | 362 | 293 | 437 | 233 | 155 | 151 | 186 | 159 | 280 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-off | off | off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:44PM2.08m | 8:14AM2.36m | 8:39PM2.02m | 9:08AM2.37m | 9:42PM2.00m | 10:10AM2.40m | 10:50PM2.02m | 11:15AM2.45m | 11:59PM2.11m | 12:20PM2.53m | 1:04AM2.24m | 1:22PM2.62m | 2:04AM2.39m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:48AM0.55m | 2:38PM0.59m | 2:41AM0.58m | 3:39PM0.55m | 3:42AM0.60m | 4:44PM0.49m | 4:49AM0.57m | 5:49PM0.39m | 5:58AM0.50m | 6:52PM0.26m | 7:03AM0.40m | 7:50PM0.13m | 8:05AM0.29m | ||||||||
 |  | |  |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  | |  | |  | | | |
 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:26 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 |
 | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | 6:07 |
mm | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | 4 | 8 | — | 7 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 7 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Temp °C | 31 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 30 |
Feels °C | 35 | 31 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 35 | 34 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 29 | 27 | 34 | 34 | 29 | 34 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | S 8 | S 8 | S 7 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 7 | SW 14 | SW 13 | S 15 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 1033 | 963 | 864 | 683 | 649 | 414 | 353 | 387 | 279 | 98 | 90 | 97 | 362 | 293 | 437 | 233 | 51 | 151 | 180 | 159 | 280 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 10 | S 8 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | SW 14 | S 7 | S 16 | SW 6 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 136 | 100 | 118 | 110 | 106 | 87 | 85 | 89 | 86 | 279 | 358 | 377 | 61 | 54 | 40 | 32 | 155 | 36 | 186 | 21 | 85 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 14 | S 8 | NW 16 | NW 15 | W 15 | — | SSW 15 | S 20 | SSW 20 | S 18 | SSW 18 | S 16 | S 16 | SSW 15 | SW 23 | SW 12 | SSW 14 | S 16 | S 7 | SSW 12 | SW 7 |
| kJ | 35 | 31 | 10 | 9 | 4 | — | 47 | 31 | 75 | 163 | 106 | 134 | 132 | 172 | 21 | 68 | 105 | 134 | 32 | 83 | 23 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 34 | 9 | 28 | 16 | 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