August closes the three best months, and the change is plain: the surf gets heavier, and it becomes a month for intermediate and advanced surfers. The swell is the same south-west groundswell that has run since May, arriving with more weight behind it.
That shifts where you should be rather than whether to come. The beach breaks in Guanacaste absorb size better than the points, and the reef and rivermouth spots further south start being for people who know them. Green-season mornings stay light, rain arrives in the afternoon, and the water is at 29°C. It is the busiest of the three peak months.
