Jaco is a beach town located on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica with a strong current ideal for surfing. Do not mistake it’s size for being a chill out place, as it is anything but sleepy for a beach town. Considered the Las Vegas of Costa Rica, it’s a popular weekend getaway for people working in San José. During the daytime it’s a popular surf destination with most activities being available along the beach. At night, it turns into casinos or your vice of choice.

Jaco Beach

The beach at Jaco (and most beaches in Costa Rica) are a brown color due to the soil that comes with having the jungle directly on the water. You can rent two chairs and a parasol for about $10-20 a day depending on your haggling skills and the time of day. There is also a man who offers horse rides along the beach. You get the occasional person walking down the beach selling souvenirs or massages, but they are respectful of your space.

The beach is also very clean. A sign as you enter tells you how long it takes for trash to biodegrade: including 1 paper = 3 months, 1 cigarette filter = 2 years, 1 chewing gum = 5 years, 1 plastic bottle = 100 years, and glass = 400 years.

Jaco Beach: Surfing

The north end of the beach is for higher level surfers and the south end is for beginners. So obviously I went as far south as possible. The Club del Mar hotel is located in a perfect spot at the south end and rents surfboard for $10/day. They also rent the two chairs and a parasol combo for another $10/day. Their restaurant serves yummy tacos with a view of the beach and they’re in a nice secluded area of Jaco.

There’s a little river that flows out into the ocean that kids can play in because the current in the ocean is very strong. If you are not a strong swimmer and don’t want to be jostled around by the waves, I recommend going no further than your feet. Though for surfing this makes it a lot easier to get carried by the wave without much paddling. I even caught a few and was able to stand up at the last minute before losing all momentum.

The lack of high rises along the Jaco waterfront is quite impressive.

Jaco Town

Jaco turns into a party town at night with surfers at their hostels and tourists at the casinos or bars. This is not to say that it isn’t a family destination, as there are plenty of kid-friendly options like local ice cream shops (heladerias). But just be very alert if leaving your hotel at night. We stayed in a bungalow at Villas Paraiso, which had strict quiet hours and rules about keeping it family-friendly (ie, no swearing loudly in public spaces – no joke). We also discovered a cool taco place where you eat sitting on swings called Tacobar!

 Do you like to shred the gnar like me? (Do I sound like I know things about surfing?)