Professional surfing is coming back to Costa Rica. This August, the World Surf League returns to the country for the first time in nearly eight years, staging the Garabito Surf City PRO 2026 on the heavy beach breaks of Playa Hermosa. For anyone who follows the sport, or who simply wants to watch world-class surfing against a backdrop of jungle-covered hills and Pacific swell, it's a rare chance to catch a live WSL contest on one of Central America's most storied waves. Here's what's happening, why Playa Hermosa was chosen, and exactly how to get there from San José Airport in time for the opening heats.
What Is the Garabito Surf City PRO 2026?
The Garabito Surf City PRO 2026 is a World Surf League Qualifying Series event running from August 13 to 16 in Playa Hermosa, in the canton of Garabito on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast. It features both men's and women's QS 2000 divisions, with a $25,000 prize purse on the line and, more importantly for the athletes, ranking points that feed into the WSL's competitive pathway. The Qualifying Series is where rising surfers earn their way toward the sport's elite tiers, so expect a field of hungry up-and-comers pushing hard in Playa Hermosa's punchy surf.
The contest marks a genuine homecoming. Costa Rica last hosted an official WSL event back in October 2018, when Jacó, just up the road from Playa Hermosa, held the Essential Costa Rica Surf Pro, won by beloved Costa Rican surfer Carlos "Cali" Muñoz and Germany's Rachel Presti. After nearly eight years off the WSL map, the country is back on the calendar, and it's using one of its best waves to make the point.
Why Playa Hermosa?
If you're going to bring professional surfing back to Costa Rica, Playa Hermosa is a fitting stage. This long, dark-sand beach is famous for powerful, fast beach breaks and remarkably consistent swell, the kind of waves that reward commitment and punish hesitation. It has long been a training ground for Costa Rica's best surfers and a magnet for international visitors chasing serious surf.
Its credentials go beyond reputation. Playa Hermosa was designated a World Surfing Reserve by the Save The Waves Coalition, the first site in all of Central America to earn that status. The recognition celebrates not just the quality of the waves but the beach's surf culture, its biodiversity, and the community-led conservation efforts that protect it. Hosting a WSL event here adds another international credential to a beach that already sits at the center of Costa Rica's surfing identity.
One quick but important note for travelers: there are two Playa Hermosas in Costa Rica. The one hosting the WSL event is in Garabito, Puntarenas province, on the Central Pacific coast just south of Jacó, not the calmer Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste near Playas del Coco. When you're booking transport or lodging, make sure you're aiming for the Garabito/Jacó Playa Hermosa.
Event Schedule at a Glance
Competition runs across four days, August 13 through 16, 2026. As with all surf contests, the exact running order of heats depends on the surf and weather. The WSL calls competition days based on conditions, so some days may be full "on" days of nonstop heats while others are placed on hold waiting for better waves. If you're planning to watch in person, arrive with a flexible mindset, check the event's daily calls, and be ready to head to the beach when the horn sounds. The upside of that unpredictability is that organizers wait for quality surf, so the heats you do catch tend to be worth the wait.
A Green Season Bonus for the Central Pacific
Scheduling the event in mid-August is a deliberate move. August falls in Costa Rica's green season, the lush, quieter stretch of the year when rain feeds the rainforest and crowds thin out. For Garabito's tourism economy, a major international surf event is a way to draw visitors outside the peak December-to-April window and fill hotels, restaurants, and tour operators during a slower period. For travelers, it means you get a world-class sporting event plus green-season perks: greener landscapes, fewer crowds, and often better value on lodging. Pack a light rain layer, plan beach and contest time around the typically drier mornings, and you'll enjoy the best of both.
Hola Rides Takes You There: San José Airport to Playa Hermosa
Most international spectators and surf fans will fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) near San José, then head to the coast. Playa Hermosa sits roughly 95 kilometers from the airport, and the drive takes about two hours via the Route 27 highway toward the coast and then south past Jacó. It's a straightforward, scenic run that drops out of the Central Valley and follows the Central Pacific corridor, but after a long flight, how you cover it makes a difference.
A private shuttle is the most direct and comfortable way to make the trip. Instead of juggling bus connections or fixed shared-shuttle departure times around your contest schedule, you're picked up at the airport and driven straight to your hotel in Playa Hermosa or Jacó. The closest bookable route, SJO Airport to Jacó / Playa Herradura, starts from $140 per trip, and that's the price for the whole vehicle, not per person. With seating for up to six passengers, a group of surf-trip friends or a family splits that cost down to a very reasonable per-person rate, arriving together and on their own schedule.
The private transfer includes what you'd want after a travel day: luggage space for your boards and bags, air conditioning, free WiFi, an insured vehicle, and a meet-and-greet driver waiting for you by name in the arrivals area. The ride is roughly two hours door to door, so a morning arrival at SJO can have you checking into your Playa Hermosa lodging by early afternoon, with time to walk the beach and scope the contest site before the next day's heats.
Making a Trip of It
The event's location is part of its appeal. Playa Hermosa's proximity to Jacó, one of Costa Rica's busiest and best-equipped beach towns, means you'll have easy access to hotels, restaurants, surf shops, nightlife, and tour operators just minutes from the contest. You can spend your mornings watching QS heats, your afternoons taking a surf lesson at a gentler nearby break, and your evenings enjoying Jacó's dining and sunset scene. Day trips to Manuel Antonio National Park, waterfall rappelling, and catamaran tours are all within reach, making the WSL event an easy anchor for a longer Central Pacific vacation.
The Bottom Line
The Garabito Surf City PRO 2026 brings the World Surf League back to Costa Rica for the first time in nearly eight years, and it's landing on one of the country's proudest waves. From August 13 to 16, Playa Hermosa's powerful breaks will host rising professional surfers competing for ranking points and a $25,000 purse, all during the quieter, greener season on the Central Pacific coast. If you're planning to be there, the smoothest way to arrive is a direct private shuttle from San José Airport: roughly two hours, starting from $140 for the whole vehicle, and a driver waiting for you the moment you land. Hola Rides runs private transfers from SJO to Jacó, Playa Herradura, and the wider Central Pacific, so you can spend your energy on the surf, not the logistics.
