Surf Forecasts:
Playa Santa Teresa surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 15 Sep, 6PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 16s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 12PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period, SW swell with 489 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 12AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 14s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Playa Santa Teresa this week:
The surf forecast for Playa Santa Teresa over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 14s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Playa Santa Teresa in the next 16 days are 1.0m 16s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 12PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 8s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 15) at 12AM.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 6PM (Tue 15th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 12PM (Wed 16th Sep) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Playa Santa Teresa over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here for a look at what’s cooking for Playa Santa Teresa over the next couple of weeks.
We’re looking at a classic wait-and-see with a few clean windows mixed in between some rough stuff. The first few days are tiny but clean when the wind behaves, and there's one day late in the run that really stands out. Right now the water temp is a toasty 87°, which is much warmer than we’d expect for this time of year—so you can leave the wetsuit at home.
The real standout is Sunday, September 20th morning. We’ve got glassy conditions with a 3ft SW groundswell carrying some real grunt—combined energy of 650 (moderate) and a long 19-second period. That long period will give the waves some serious shape at the reef and point setups. It’s the best looking dawn patrol of the whole stretch, full stop.
We start with a gap until Friday the 11th afternoon, but Saturday the 12th morning breaks it with a glassy 3ft SW swell at 14 seconds—tiny but fun on the right board. The Sunday the 13th morning is dead calm with 2ft of SW swell. Monday the 14th has a 2ft SW swell with a very long 19-second period, glassy ENE breeze—skinny but clean lines.
Tuesday the 15th morning brings a 2ft SW swell with a cross-off breeze, and combined energy at 452 (moderate). Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th mornings both deliver glassy 3ft SW swells—clean and small. Friday the 18th morning has a light offshore NE wind with a 2ft SW swell. Saturday the 19th is glassy early with 2ft of long-period SW (19 seconds).
Now, that Sunday the 20th morning—3ft of SW swell, 19 seconds, glassy—it’s the cleanest option we’ve got. Crowds can be "sometimes" so just get there early.
Monday the 22nd is a different story: 8ft of short-period SW swell at only 8 seconds, hitting over 8ft on the afternoon. That’s for experts only, and the short period will make it lumpy and fat—better for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Combined energy hits 1026 (strong).
We finish the run with Wednesday the 23rd morning glassy at 3ft, Thursday the 24th morning clean at 3ft with a cross-off ESE wind, Friday the 25th morning glassy at 3ft, and Saturday the 26th morning glassy at 2ft. Small but surfable.
Like always, those second-week forecasts can wobble, but that Sunday the 20th is looking real nice.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 26mm), heaviest during Fri night. Warm (max 30°C on Fri afternoon, min 27°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 25mm), heaviest during Wed night. Warm (max 29°C on Tue morning, min 26°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | ||||||||||||||
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 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 485 | 398 | 346 | 289 | 176 | 140 | 138 | 234 | 171 | 246 | 379 | 249 | 429 | 371 | 367 | 349 | 350 | 346 | 297 | 228 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 3:13AM2.75m | 3:33PM2.62m | 3:53AM2.77m | 4:14PM2.58m | 4:32AM2.73m | 4:54PM2.50m | 5:10AM2.64m | 5:33PM2.38m | 5:48AM2.50m | 6:13PM2.23m | 6:27AM2.34m | 6:55PM2.08m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:58PM0.12m | 9:26AM0.12m | 9:40PM0.12m | 10:08AM0.10m | 10:19PM0.16m | 10:48AM0.14m | 10:58PM0.25m | 11:27AM0.23m | 11:36PM0.37m | 12:06PM0.35m | 00:15AM0.52m | 12:48PM0.50m | 00:56AM0.67m | |||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — |
 | 5:43 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — |
mm | 3 | 6 | — | 1 | 5 | — | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | — | 1 | 10 | — | 1 | 16 |
Temp °C | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 27 |
Feels °C | 33 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 31 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 485 | 398 | 346 | 289 | 76 | 101 | 99 | 90 | 89 | 130 | 153 | 131 | 120 | 125 | 367 | 349 | 350 | 346 | 297 | 228 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 7 | S 8 | S 7 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 14 | SW 17 | SW 16 | S 9 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 |
| kJ | 67 | 52 | 58 | 40 | 176 | 140 | 138 | 134 | 73 | 246 | 379 | 203 | 429 | 371 | 73 | 90 | 64 | 85 | 76 | 69 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | S 10 | WNW 10 | SW 18 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 16 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 18 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 12 | S 10 | SW 22 | SW 22 | SW 21 |
| kJ | 9 | 16 | 10 | 80 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 234 | 171 | 72 | 50 | 249 | 109 | 96 | 130 | 50 | 18 | 76 | 118 | 159 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 56 | 0 | 0 | 132 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
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 Santa Teresa 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 Santa Teresa Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Playa Santa Teresa provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Playa Santa Teresa can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Playa Santa Teresa 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 Santa Teresa) 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 Santa Teresa 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 Santa Teresa is 51 km (32 miles) from Puntarenas. If you plan a holiday in Golfo de Nicoya, look for hotels and other accommodation in Puntarenas. Puntarenas has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest