This beach is considered by many surfers to be one of the top spots in Costa Rica . It has become famous in part to its ease of access apart from its quality as a surfing wave . Playa Negra has a rock reef bottom with good right-hand barrels and a well defined channel for paddling out . This channel also assists surfers to return to the point where the wave breaks . There is a strong rip current that takes the surfers back through the impact zone . Depending on the swell direction and tides a left breaking wave may also be surfed . The break has good exposure to both Northern and Southern Hemisphere swells and is reasonably consistent year-round . The wave can break well with large and small swells . The 2012 Costa Rica earthquake lifted up the entire plate which caused the wave to have better form on higher tides in combination with smaller swells . It may also produce good surfing waves during the entire tide range . On a lower tide the wave breaks faster and hollower due to the earthquake
2012 Costa Rica earthquake
2012 Costa Rica earthquake
Playa Negra