Dominical
Surf spot · Costa Rica
Is it worth the trip?
28Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 12 s
Tue 3 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 357kJ
- Wind
- S 3 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 31 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 244kJ
- Wind
- SW 1 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Thu 5 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 234kJ
- Wind
- S 3 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Fri 6 · 27 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 289kJ
- Wind
- SSE 3 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Sat 7 · 19 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 150kJ
- Wind
- SSE 4 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Sun 8 · 12 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft14 shollow
- Energy
- 128kJ
- Wind
- SW 4 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Mon 9 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft14 shollow
- Energy
- 168kJ
- Wind
- ENE 4 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 239, too small
- Tue 335, too small
- Wed 431, too small
- Thu 528, too small
- Fri 627, too small
- Sat 719, too small
- Sun 812, too small
- Mon 923, too small
- Tue 1029, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Expertwho it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 28 °Cno wetsuit
Full forecast
every day, every number
Dominical does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Expert | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 39, too small | 4 ft13 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 418kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 2 knots | 24°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 35, too small | 4 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 357kJ | wind from the south, 3 knots | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 31, too small | 3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 244kJ | wind from the south-west, 1 knot | 23°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 28, too small | 3 ft12 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 234kJ | wind from the south, 3 knots | 23°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 27, too small | 3 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 289kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 3 knots | 23°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 19, too small | 3 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 150kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 4 knots | 25°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 12, too small | 2 ft14 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 128kJ | wind from the south-west, 4 knots | 27°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 23, too small | 2 ft14 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 168kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 29, too small | 3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 215kJ | offshorewind from the east, 4 knots, offshore | 27°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovLow 01:44 −0.9 mHigh 07:56 +1.0 mLow 14:16 −1.0 mHigh 20:40 +1.0 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:58 −0.8 mHigh 09:10 +0.9 mLow 15:28 −0.9 mHigh 21:52 +1.0 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 04:15 −0.9 mHigh 10:26 +0.9 mLow 16:39 −0.9 mHigh 23:00 +1.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for expert surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Dominical on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Dominical
Facing, offshore wind, exposure and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (223°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (43°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits expert surfers. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 26). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 28°C in October, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 30°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Dominical, 0.4 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 28°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$878–US$1,630 each
about US$878–US$1,630 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to SJO, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bag | about US$295–US$610 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$94–US$161 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$188–US$315 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$208–US$389 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$94–US$154 |
| Total | about US$878–US$1,630 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Dominical
about 5 min by car · 24 places to stay
about US$74/nightcountry average
About Dominical its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$74 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 12h 05m
About 12h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → SJO, direct, then 3h 05m by road
Flights ORD → SJO on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.