Tivives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got coming up. This is a classic Costa Rican setup: small, clean, and working best when the stars align. The main and only game in town is Tivives.

While there’s not a whole lot of swell size on the cards, we’ve got a solid period of clean mornings ahead, thanks to some really nice wind windows. Combined wave energy will sit mostly in the moderate range, hitting around 516 on the Friday morning, and climbing to 678 in the afternoon, though that afternoon gets messy.

Let’s start with Friday, July 3rd. The morning at Tivives is looking like a winner. We’ve got a 3ft SSW swell with a long, 16-second period, making it a proper groundswell. The wind is light and cross-off from the north, keeping the faces clean. The water is a touch warmer than normal at 87°F, which is notable for this time of year. The crowd factor? It can get busy sometimes, so don’t expect to have it to yourself. The long period means better-shaped waves at this river mouth/point setup, with longer lulls between sets, making the paddle out easier. Good conditions.

The afternoon does look messy with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-on wind, so make the most of the morning.

Saturday and Sunday follow a similar rhythm: a clean morning on Saturday (3ft, 16s, NW cross-off) and a clean Tuesday morning on the 7th of July that actually stands out as the best of the run. That Tuesday morning is looking like a true standout. We’ve got SW swell at 0.9m (3ft) with a period of 18 seconds. Combined energy hits a moderate 677. The wind is cross-off from the NW, just a slight air, so it’s clean. Expect very good surf conditions. That’s your session to circle on the calendar, but remember, this is far enough out to be promising rather than locked in.

Wednesday the 8th and Thursday the 9th also have glassy, clean mornings with 3ft and 2ft SSW swells respectively. However, afternoons continue to get wrecked by onshores and storm risks.

There’s a pattern here: all the good stuff is in the mornings. By the afternoon, the wind shifts onshore, and conditions go to custard. We have consistent morning windows through the first week and into the second, but the swell never gets over 3ft. It’s a mellow, long-period groundswell that will work best for intermediates. It’s not a beginner wave when it’s over 5ft, but here it’s under that, so it’s fine for learning with the right board. Since it’s a point break setup, that long period is a positive, keeping the lines clean and not closing out.

Looking into the second week, the energy starts to drop off. Mornings on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th are still glassy with waist-high swell, but the combined energy is lower—around 272 and 390. From Sunday the 12th onward, the wave state is described as "surfable but very ordinary" to "poor." The swell window shrinks, and the morning glass-offs become less reliable with more cloud and onshore flow.

The standout here is undeniably Tuesday morning, July 7th. It’s the cleanest, best-rated window with the highest energy and a good offshore wind. If you’re chasing a wave, that’s your best bet.

Rusty.

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