Surf Forecasts:
Tivives surf forecast from 23 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 28 Aug, 9AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 20s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 6PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period, SSW swell with 525 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 3AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 10s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Tivives this week:
The surf forecast for Tivives over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 3AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Tivives in the next 16 days are 1.0m 16s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 6PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (CST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 3AM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 9AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 20s |
| Most Powerful | 6PM (Sat 29th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tivives over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, cob, let’s have a look at this slice of coast. Tivives is the only game in town, so we’re locking in on it.
Alright, so, straight up: the next week and a bit is pretty bloody average. We’re looking at tiny, weak little lumps of swell, mostly from the south and southwest, with a period around 9-10 seconds – that’s a short-period windswell, not much grunt. The water’s sitting at 86°, a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, which is a bit of a bonus if you’re in a shorty.
Saturday 22nd kicks off poor, with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-onshore breeze messing up that 3 ft south swell. Not worth even looking at.
Sunday 23rd morning sees a slight improvement, with a cross-offshore wind from the NNW cleaning up the 3 ft south swell, but it’s still small and ordinary. The afternoon turns into a cross-on mess again.
Through Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th, and Wednesday 26th, we get some glassy mornings, with that swell dropping to 1 ft. It’s surfable, I guess, if you’re desperate for a glide, but the energy is weak. Thursday 27th stays tiny with a glassy morning, but the swell’s still barely there.
Now, Friday 28th is where it starts to show a bit of life. The swell pops to 3 ft from the SW with a 20-second period – that’s proper long-period groundswell. The wind is cross-off from the NNW, keeping it clean. The combined energy is moderate. A decent morning session on the cards, but that long-period swell is going to want a point or a reef to wrap around. Tivives is fairly exposed to the south, so it’ll handle it, but don’t expect it to reel like a point.
Saturday 29th morning glassy with 3 ft SSW swell. The energy is building, and it looks clean. The afternoon though, cross-on wind kills it.
Sunday 30th morning is glassy with 3 ft SSW swell, clean. Energy is solid.
The standout in the first week is Monday 4th September. Look at this: 4 ft of SW groundswell at 18 seconds, with glassy conditions and a WNW wind. That’s as clean as it gets. The combined energy is strong – that’s proper wave energy. This one is for the intermediate and above crew. The direction is a solid SW, right in the optimum slot for Tivives. If you can, this is the call.
Tuesday 5th September morning is also a beauty: 4 ft of SW, glassy, with still solid energy. Still a fantastic session, but the morning is the window before the afternoon risk of storms.
After that, Sunday 7th September morning drops back to 3 ft, glassy, with good energy. It’s good, but not a standout compared to the 4th and 5th.
So, the honest truth: there are a fair few dud days in here, with small, weak surf and poor winds. You’ll be waiting a while for the good stuff. But that Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th mornings? That’s where it gets real. The swell is big enough for a proper session – 4 ft of clean, glassy SW groundswell is exactly what you want. The crowds at Tivives can be a problem sometimes, so get in early.
Keep an eye on the forecast – it can shift. But as it stands, pencil in that 4th and 5th.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 27mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Warm (max 30°C on Sun morning, min 26°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 54mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 29°C on Tue afternoon, min 25°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Sat 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | ||||||||||||||
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) | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 18 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
158 | 118 | 106 | 86 | 127 | 82 | 120 | 107 | 67 | 66 | 95 | 57 | 43 | 42 | 78 | 62 | 78 | 134 | 107 | 449 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | glassy | off | glassy | glassy | off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 10:47PM1.92m | 11:06AM2.14m | 11:59PM1.96m | 12:12PM2.20m | 00:58AM2.08m | 1:07PM2.30m | 1:46AM2.24m | 1:53PM2.42m | 2:26AM2.41m | 2:34PM2.53m | 3:02AM2.58m | 3:13PM2.62m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:36PM0.87m | 4:46AM1.01m | 5:45PM0.84m | 5:56AM0.98m | 6:43PM0.76m | 6:56AM0.89m | 7:31PM0.64m | 7:45AM0.77m | 8:12PM0.52m | 8:28AM0.63m | 8:48PM0.41m | 9:07AM0.50m | 9:23PM0.32m | |||||||
— | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | 5:28 | — | — | |
5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | |
mm | 15 | — | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 5 | — | — | 7 | 1 | — | 7 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 25 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 29 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
Feels °C | 33 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 29 | 33 | 34 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | SW 18 |
158 | 118 | 106 | 81 | 80 | 78 | 74 | 55 | 53 | 51 | 36 | 44 | 31 | 40 | 29 | 29 | 43 | 40 | 43 | 449 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 6 |
73 | 37 | 78 | 86 | 127 | 82 | 120 | 107 | 67 | 66 | 95 | 57 | 43 | 42 | 78 | 62 | 78 | 125 | 107 | 32 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 12 | SW 20 | SW 20 | S 11 |
38 | 38 | 75 | 59 | 57 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 134 | 97 | 21 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSW 6 | — |
— | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Golfo de Nicoya | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Costa Rica | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Tivives Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Tivives provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Tivives can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Tivives 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 (Tivives) 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 Tivives 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.
Tivives is 15 km (9 miles) from Esparza. If you plan a holiday in Golfo de Nicoya, look for hotels and other accommodation in Esparza. Esparza has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











