Surfer on a clean Pacific wave off Playa Santa Teresa at dawn

Your Stay · Surfers

Walk to the wave.Or take the ATV.

Four breaks within ten minutes of the gate. The board waits on the rack when you walk in. ATV at the gate with helmets and a board strap. Dawn light is your alarm clock. The pool, the outdoor shower, and the pre-stocked kitchen handle the rest.

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Built for surf weeks

A villa abovefour breaks.

Santa Teresa is the surf town the rest of Costa Rica wishes it still was — four breaks within ten minutes of the gate, sand bottoms forgiving enough for week-one beginners, Pacific swells that don't quit through any season. Casa Calyx sits ten minutes above the lineup. The dawn light over Playa Carmen is the only alarm clock you need.

The hard parts of a surf trip — finding the right board, getting it between breaks, picking the right school for your level, recovering enough to surf again the next day — are exactly what we set up before you walk in. Below: a surf day from first-light wax to sunset session, the eight-stop rhythm of a real surf week, and the addresses you'll come to know by name.

Stone stairs leading down to the infinity pool, framed by jungle

“The pool comes after.”

Breaks: 4 in 10 minutes
Boards: From $15/day
ATV: At the gate
Sunrise: 5:20–5:40

Four breaks, all from the gate

Lock the week.We'll have the board on the rack.

Tell us your level and dates — we'll have the right shape waxed and waiting, the ATV at the gate with helmets and board strap, and the lesson booked at the right break for your day-one swell.

Book on Airbnb Tour the villa

The arc of a surf day

Six moments.

From first-light wax to sunset session — the shape of a real surf day at Casa Calyx. Pin these in your head before you book. They're the parts you'll remember six months later, not the headline tour.

Two wooden chairs on the deck with morning light filtering through the jungle — First light. The board waxed.
Pre-dawn · the deck

Two surfers walking down the beach with boards in the morning mist — Paddle out at Carmen.
Sunrise · the walk

Empty Pacific wave at dawn off Playa Santa Teresa — The session.
06:00 · the wave

Chef-designed kitchen with ocean view through the window — Hands wrap a coffee mug.
08:00 · the kitchen

Wide panoramic view of the outdoor lounge with jungle on all sides — Pool. Hammock. Repeat.
Midday · the lounge

Silhouette of a surfer walking the beach at sunset — Sunset session if the body holds.
Sunset · the call

The five moments that hold the week.

The rhythm

A surf day.Eight stops, alarm to asleep.

Hover or tap a time to see where you'll be. Skip what doesn't fit you — the only required stops are the first one and the last one. Everything between is optional.

04:45
Wax the board
Alarm before the sun. Forecast checked: swell, wind, tide. Wax the deck on the long table outside. Coffee from yesterday's pot — there's no time to make a new one.
05:30
Dawn patrol · Carmen
Walk down the mountain. Lineup hasn't filled. The first hour after sunrise is when the wind is offshore and the wave is glass. Take what comes.
08:00
Eggs at Mantaraya
Hermosa morning means breakfast burrito at Mantaraya, the post-Hermosa spot ten minutes north. Carmen morning means Brekki or the Bakery — same walk back up the hill.
10:00
Pool · daybed · quiet
Outdoor shower for the salt. Pool until the brain unloads. Move to the daybed for the second hour. The shoulders are heavy — let them be.
13:00
Casado at Tiquicia
Soda Tiquicia: rice, beans, plantain, salad, your protein, $8. Cash. The casado that beats most $40 restaurants. Quick. Back to the villa or onto the next thing.
15:00
Lesson refresh
Mid-trip lesson if the takeoffs are sloppy. Believe Surf + Yoga does the cleanest combo (lesson then recovery flow). Or skip and book a private with Mahalo's instructors.
17:30
Plunge + sauna
Walk to re:center. Cold plunge for the wrecked shoulders, infrared sauna for the rest. The body reloads for tomorrow. Sunset surf only if everything cooperates.
19:30
Sushi at Katana
The dinner that earns the day. Reservation a week out in dry season. Pad thai, dragon roll, the chef's nigiri. Asleep by ten. Tomorrow starts pre-dawn.

Long wooden outdoor dining table set against the jungle

04:45

Wax the board

The four breaks

Four waves,four moods.

Carmen is the consistent main break. Playa Santa Teresa is the friendliest, where lessons meet. Hermosa runs longer and lazier (bring the longboard). Mal País is the quieter right-hand point. All within a ten-minute radius of the gate.

01intermediate
Playa Carmen
beach break
Most consistent · busiest
The main break in town. Lefts and rights on the sand bottom. Crowded at dawn in dry season.
From Casa Calyx·10-min walk · 3-min ATV
Best tide · Mid-to-high
02beginner
Playa Santa Teresa
beach break
Friendliest · most lessons here
Wider, more forgiving peaks. Most surf schools meet here. Sand bottom, room to fail.
From Casa Calyx·12-min walk · 5-min ATV
Best tide · Mid
03all
Playa Hermosa
beach break
Longer, lazier · longboards welcome
Ten minutes north by car. Slower, longer waves. Mantaraya Café for post-surf breakfast.
From Casa Calyx·15-min ATV · 10 min north
Best tide · Mid-to-high
04intermediate
Playa Mal País
point break
Right-hander · quieter, more local
Quieter point break to the south. The wave is more racy, the lineup more local. Respect the etiquette.
From Casa Calyx·12-min ATV · south end
Best tide · Mid

Want the full break-by-break breakdown? Read the surf guide →

Before the first paddle

Earnyour peak.

Two short lists from years of watching new arrivals figure it out the slow way — plus what we already have at the villa, so your bag is lighter than it should be.

Etiquette

01Watch the lineup for five minutes before you paddle out.
02The person closest to the peak has priority. If you drop in, apologize. Then don't do it again.
03Locals are local. Respect their lineup, give waves, and you'll get them back.
04Reef-safe sunscreen, always. The ocean here is shared.

What to bring

Tropical wax — water's warm year-round
Rash guard or surf shirt — equatorial sun moves fast
Reef-safe sunscreen
Dry bag if you're carrying a phone or key
Bandana + goggles for the ATV ride down (dusty road)

Already at the villa · leave room in the bag

Foamie, shortboard, or longboard on the rack. Wax, leash, fins. ATV with helmets and board strap. Outdoor shower for the salt. Dry bag on request. We arrange everything before you walk in — pack the wetsuit you don't need and the rash guard you do.

Casa Calyx from the air, pool deck and jungle canopy

A note from a returning surf week

“Out at 5:30. Back by 8. Pool, breakfast, hammock, pool. Out again at sunset. You start to forget what day it is — and that's the point.”

— Returning surf guest, three trips in 18 months

Post-session breakfast

Eggs after the dawn session.Coffee that earns it.

Mantaraya for the Hermosa morning. Brekki and the Bakery for the in-town walk-up. Roastery for the proper espresso pull. The first food after the first hour in the water.

Post-Hermosa session

Beach breakfast · 10min north

Mantaraya Café (Hermosa Beach)

The post-surf breakfast at Playa Hermosa. Worth the 10-minute drive for surf-and-eggs days.

TipPair with a sunrise session at Hermosa.

Oat-date latte

Aussie-style brunch

Brekki

Aussie-influenced brunch — avocado toast, eggs benedict, oat lattes. The lattes are the real reason.

A/C inside

Pastries · A/C inside

The Bakery

Pastries, eggs, smoothie bowls. The morning anchor. A/C is inside only — terrace seats are open-air.

Operator site →

Acai bowl

Bright · airy · easy

Ani's

Bright, airy breakfast spot. Smoothie bowls, eggs, the kind of place you linger in.

Single-origin pull

Single-origin · A/C

Roastery Coffee

Single-origin beans, proper espresso, A/C. The most coffee-forward café in town.

Garden brunch

French-leaning · garden