Cruising Costa Rica

[almost_there]

Hi,
We are in the early stages of planning a trip from Southern California through Mexico and Central America. I've been online for the last few days trying to find some info on Costa Rica, but there doesn't appear to be much online. I would love to hear from anyone who's spent some time cruising Costa Rica. Specifically, I'm interested in marinas/facilities, anchorages, wind/weather, customs, etc.

Thanks.

[mdrewelow]

Noonsite has some decent info. Generally... hurricane free area so boats spend year round in CR. Traditional cruising season is Dec - April.

North CR is very dry from Dec - May ish.. not a drop but home to the at times fierce Papagayo winds, that come out of the E-NE. That weather zone runs from the Nicaragua border on down to the Flamingo area. Lots of great anchorages in the north but beware of the wind. 4 Seasons.. Papagayo Marina opened for business on Dec 15, 2008 and is fully operational.

Central area is Gulfo De Nicoya which is good. Strong Papagayo winds will whip down this Gulfo out of the north strong at night, generally letting up during the day. Very little rain in this region Dec - May.

Southern region is Quepos to Golfito.... rainy zone.. less in Quepos.. but daily rains in golfito. Benign wind zone.. light at night, a bit of offshore breeze very early in AM till 8 or 9.. then glass off before a light 10-12 knot sea breeze.

Quepos is building a marina called Pez Vela due to open next year.. decent anchorage around there. Los Suenos marina is north of Quepos and is expensive and a Marriott resort. Puntarenas is probably the heart of boating in CR. Golfito in the south has several options.

Another good book is Charlies Charts that shows all the anchorages...

I have spent months in CR on bigger boats, have done just about all anchorages and ports... if you have specific questions just ask and i might be able to help.

hope this helps...

[BadFish]

I have dreamed for years of cruising Costa Rica. Actually, I want to own property there. A little mid-sized bed and breakfast maybe, and I'd mange de beach bar and and fishing charters...

Ahh, but how easy it is to dream with snow outside and rum in me belly...

If you go you better keep me posted with a blog and photos.

Good luck and cheers

Bill

[luepetri]

Leaving Canada this summer to travel down to Mexico then Costa Rica.
Interested in info as well. Just heard news of an earth quake hitting central north west of the country.

[almost_there]

mdrewelow - thanks for the great info! this was incredibly helpful. of course our west marine did not have the charlies charts for costa rica which is why i started pounding the net. guess i will have to order online.

badfish - this is our dream as well.....will keep you posted as to progress. more immediate goal right now is just getting the boat ready for the trip...

[luepetri]

we are a married couple 32 years now. in our late 50's hoping to leave our dream..........two feline friends will make up our crew.

Busy now pulling our research together to equip and leave Canada in august of this year to sail down the PNW in fine weather.

[mdrewelow]

Leupetri... not sure what your vision is, or if you know about the pnw weather patterns off shore. June, July, August, September and early October the wind absolutly CRANKS from the mid Oregon coast all the way down to Point Conception. Frequently winds are NW at 25 - 35 knots with higher gusts. But, it is all downwind for a sturdy boat. As an indicator, October is typically one of the nicest months of the year in San Francisco.

[luepetri]

I guess we wont be leaving that early then! we will check for more details.

[ixtlan22]

This is one of the best cruiser sites I've seen for Costa Rica and other locations in Central America. Dig a little deeper into this site there's some good info.

Welcome to the adventures of Desiderata

[luepetri]

thanks I will. So when is a good time to sail down the PNW to find enjoyable weather and get to the Baja then Costa Rica?

[ixtlan22]

Sorry about that website...for some reason the post switched off the URL I tried to post... Hope it works this time...if it doesn't you'll probably have to Google Desiderata...anyway to I'll try again...

Welcome to the adventures of Desiderata

As a side note...we are planning on leaving sometime this summer, heading in the same direction. Our target departure time is mid to late July. We'll probably head out about a 100 miles and drop staight down, stopping only in San Franciso and San Diego. Of course everything is weather depending.

Ray and Sandy
aboard S/V Pure Joy
Olympia, WA

[Sergy]

Hi Ray
I am going to be doing this trip from Vancouver BC in a couple of years I thought the best time of the year was Middle of Sept ,Oct but the prev. Post indicated strong winds July to October
What time of the year are you expecting to go. How many days at sea to first stop S.F.C

[highseas]

If you plan on harbor hopping ,leaving earlier is better for less fog and longer daylight.Most stops down coast are about 60 miles apart,daylight helps ensure easy entrance.Wind whips up to 35 every afternoon.

[twisty]

Originally Posted by BadFish

I have dreamed for years of cruising Costa Rica. Actually, I want to own property there. A little mid-sized bed and breakfast maybe, and I'd mange de beach bar and and fishing charters...

Ahh, but how easy it is to dream with snow outside and rum in me belly...

If you go you better keep me posted with a blog and photos.

Good luck and cheers

Bill

I'll take care of the charters you can deal with the bar.

Same dream, no rum involved.

[ixtlan22]

Looks like 10 to 14 days down from Washington State to San Francisco...we're still weighing going out about a hundred and going straight down verses port hopping. There are pros and cons for both.

Ray and Sandy
S/V Pure Joy
Olympia, Wa