Kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding around Santa Teresa in 2026: why the shore break makes Playa Santa Teresa hard to launch from, the calm water at Mal Pais, Cabuya and Montezuma, SUP rental from $25 a day, tours from $80, SUP yoga, kayak fishing with Rusty Hook, the Pochote estuary paddle, and Isla Tortuga.
Paddleboarding and kayaking in Santa Teresa happen in the mornings before the wind, mostly away from the main beach, because the shore break on Playa Santa Teresa and Carmen makes launching a wet fight. The calm water is at Mal Pais, Cabuya, Montezuma and the Pochote estuary. Book Costa Rica Surf and Sup first: SUP rental from $25 a day.
The short version
Santa Teresa is a surf coast, and every beach on the Pacific side has waves and rips. That is fine for a SUP surf lesson on a small morning and hard for a flat-water paddle. The operators know this and run their flat-water trips elsewhere: Mal Pais's rock-sheltered stretch, the Pochote estuary and mangroves behind Tambor, Paquera Bay for bioluminescence, and the coves around Cabuya and Montezuma on the calm side of the peninsula. Kayak fishing and kayak snorkelling launch from Mal Pais and Cabuya. Isla Tortuga tours include kayaks on the island as an optional extra. There is no mangrove paddle within Santa Teresa itself; the nearest is Pochote, about an hour away.
Two operators cover most of it: Costa Rica Surf and Sup for SUP rental, SUP tours and the estuary expedition, and Monkey Adventures for SUP lessons, SUP yoga and a bioluminescent SUP night. Rusty Hook covers kayak fishing and kayak rental in Mal Pais, and Ananda Dive N' Flow runs the boat-based snorkel and freedive trips that pair with a paddle.
Costa Rica Surf and Sup
Costa Rica Surf and Sup is a one-instructor school based at Playa Carmen with more than ten years of lessons in Santa Teresa, run by a French-speaking instructor who also teaches English speakers, rated 5.0 from 69 reviews. It publishes its SUP prices, which nobody else here does. SUP board rental is $40 a day for one to three days, $35 for four to six, $30 for seven to ten, and $25 a day for eleven or more, from a quiver of eleven boards between 7'5" and 10'0", so you can size down to a surf SUP or up to a stable 155-litre cruiser. The Mal Pais SUP tour is two hours, $80 per person in a group or $120 private, boards included. The Pochote Estuary SUP tour is a five-hour expedition with a ceviche and a drink for $130, and you can add a bioluminescence paddle at the end for $50, which makes it 6.5 hours. Surf lessons run $65 in a group, $75 semi-private and $90 private for 90 minutes, and the same instructor teaches SUP surfing on small days. Open 6am to 8pm, WhatsApp +506 8434 0444.
Who it suits: anyone who wants to rent a board for a week and paddle the calm mornings, and anyone who wants the one proper flat-water expedition on the peninsula. The caveat: it is one person, so dates fill, and a rental means you are responsible for reading the conditions yourself.
Monkey Adventures, Surf SUP Yoga
Monkey Adventures is the surf, SUP and yoga school at Funky Monkey Lodge on Classy Palms Road, 150 m from the public school in central Santa Teresa, with an ISA-certified instructor and a 5.0 rating from 253 reviews. Its menu is surf lessons for all levels, SUP tours, yoga classes, SUP yoga (a class on boards in flat water, which needs a calm morning and a sheltered spot), and a bioluminescent SUP tour, per its site. Prices are by WhatsApp; expect lessons in the $60 to $90 range in line with the town, and SUP yoga as a small-group class. Open 6am to 8pm. Who it suits: people who want coaching on a board rather than a rental, and yoga people who want the floating version. The caveat: SUP yoga depends on the ocean behaving, so the school will move or cancel the class if the shore break is up; give it a flexible day.
Rusty Hook, kayak fishing and rental
Rusty Hook Sportfishing and Kayak Fishing launches from the Mal Pais end, and its tackle shop in Mal Pais, open 10am to 7pm daily, is the first bait and tackle seller in town and rents fishing gear, snorkel gear and kayaks. The kayak fishing trips paddle out from the sheltered south end past the rocks for roosterfish, snapper and jacks close to shore, and the shop also books private boat tours. Prices are not published; message the shop or walk in. Rated 4.8 and 4.5 respectively from small review counts. Who it suits: anglers who want the quiet version of a fishing day, and anyone who wants to rent a kayak for a morning at Mal Pais. The caveat: launching from Mal Pais is only easy around high tide when the rocks are covered, so let the shop pick your time. Our fishing guide covers the boat charters.
Ananda Dive N' Flow
Ananda Dive N' Flow is the dive and freedive centre at CC Pochote, Local 4, in Santa Teresa, rated 5.0 from 279 reviews, open 10am to 4pm daily. It is not a kayak operator; it runs boat trips to the reefs and rocks around the Cabo Blanco reserve for snorkelling, scuba and freediving, with captain Eric and guides (Sasha comes up often in reviews) who take care of seasick partners and first-timers. It belongs in this guide because the same calm morning that suits a paddle suits a snorkel, and Ananda is the operator that gets you onto the water off Mal Pais and Cabo Blanco without a kayak. See the snorkelling and diving guide for the full menu.
Kayaks at Cabuya and Montezuma
Cabuya is the easiest place on the peninsula to launch a kayak yourself: the bay in front of the village is calm at high tide, and the Cabuya island cemetery is a hundred metres offshore with a reef off its far tip for snorkelling. A local at one of the Cabuya villas rents a two-person kayak with gear for about ₡20,000 ($40) per person for two to three hours, which is the kind of arrangement you find by asking at your lodging rather than online. Playa Cabuya is rocky at low tide, so time it for the top of the tide and paddle north toward the Rio Lajas mouth.
Montezuma's beach has waves, but on a small morning the coves south of the village toward Cabuya are paddleable, and the tour offices in the village (Zuma Tours by the football field, Montezuma Tours) rent kayaks and run guided paddles when conditions allow. Ask the day before; nobody commits until they have seen the morning.
Kayaks on Isla Tortuga
Every Isla Tortuga tour from Santa Teresa or Montezuma includes free time on the island after lunch, and kayaks and banana boats are rented on the beach there, by the hour; budget $10 to $20. The water on the sheltered side of the island is the flattest you will find all trip. It is a taster rather than a paddle, but if you have never sat on a SUP or in a kayak, this is the safest place to try. Our Isla Tortuga guide has the boat prices ($85 to $140 per person on a shared boat in 2026).
Conditions, tides and where to launch
Mornings only. The offshore wind that grooms the surf at dawn turns onshore by 10 or 11am, and from then until dusk the sea is choppy everywhere on the Pacific side. Be on the water by 7am and off by 10am, and you will paddle glass.
Playa Santa Teresa and Playa Carmen are launchable only on the smallest days at high tide, and even then you will get through a shore break that dumps on the sand. This is where SUP surf lessons happen, on the soft inside at Hermosa or Carmen, with an instructor timing your push through the whitewater. Playa Hermosa at high tide on a small day is the best of the surf beaches for a flat paddle. Mal Pais's rocky stretch from Mar Azul south to the fishing cove is sheltered at high tide and a rock garden at low tide, so the Mal Pais SUP tour is timed to the tide table; our tide guide explains how to read it. Cabuya and the Montezuma coves are on the gulf side and calmer, and the Pochote estuary and Paquera Bay are flat water in almost any weather.
Right now, in late September, the swell is from the south and afternoons rain, so flat-water paddling on the Pacific side is a high-tide, dawn-only event and the estuary is the reliable trip. Water is 27 to 29°C, so no wetsuit, but bring a rash guard against the sun.
Comparison table
| What | Who | Where | Price 2026 | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUP rental | Costa Rica Surf and Sup | Delivered in Santa Teresa | $25 to $40 a day by length of rental | Dawn, high tide |
| Mal Pais SUP tour, 2 hrs | Costa Rica Surf and Sup | Mal Pais rocks | $80 group, $120 private | High tide morning |
| Pochote estuary SUP, 5 hrs | Costa Rica Surf and Sup | Estuary near Tambor | $130, plus $50 bioluminescence | Any morning |
| SUP surf lesson | Costa Rica Surf and Sup, Monkey Adventures | Hermosa or Carmen inside | $65 to $90 | Small days |
| SUP yoga | Monkey Adventures | Sheltered flat water | Ask | Calm mornings |
| Bioluminescent SUP | Monkey Adventures, Costa Rica Surf and Sup | Paquera Bay or estuary | Ask, or $50 add-on | New moon |
| Kayak fishing | Rusty Hook | Mal Pais | Ask | High tide dawn |
| Kayak rental | Rusty Hook, Cabuya villas, Montezuma tour desks | Mal Pais, Cabuya, Montezuma | About $40 per person for 2 to 3 hrs at Cabuya | High tide |
| Island kayak | Isla Tortuga tours | Tortuga | $10 to $20 for 30 min | Any |
Practical notes
Book by WhatsApp a day or two ahead, and tell the operator your level honestly, because they will choose the launch site and the tide around it. Cash or card at the shops; cash for the Cabuya rental and the island kayaks. Prices exclude 13% tax unless stated.
Wear a leash on a SUP, always, and a life jacket in a kayak; both are standard from the operators and there is no coastguard on this coast. Rips run off every Pacific beach here, and a board or kayak is the best flotation you can have in one, so stay with it and paddle across the current. The safety guide covers rips in detail.
Bring a dry bag, reef-safe sunscreen, a hat with a strap, and two litres of water for anything over two hours. Stingrays sit in the shallows at Cabuya and Mal Pais, so shuffle your feet on the way in. Crocodiles live in the Pochote estuary, which is why that trip is guided; do not paddle any estuary or river mouth on the peninsula alone.
Rental boards are your responsibility. A ding on a rental SUP costs $50 to $150 to repair, and the rock at Mal Pais is unforgiving at anything below mid tide. If you are also surfing, the board rental and repair guide has the ding shops.
FAQ
Can you paddleboard in Santa Teresa?
Yes, in the early morning at high tide on small days, and better at Mal Pais, Playa Hermosa or on the calm side of the peninsula at Cabuya. The main Santa Teresa and Carmen beaches have a shore break that makes launching hard. SUP rental starts at $25 a day and guided tours at $80.
Where is the calmest water for kayaking near Santa Teresa?
Cabuya bay at high tide (with the island cemetery a hundred metres offshore), the Mal Pais rocks at high tide, the Pochote estuary near Tambor, and Paquera Bay. Isla Tortuga has flat water on its sheltered side for the kayaks rented on the beach there.
How much is SUP rental in Santa Teresa?
$40 a day for one to three days, $35 for four to six, $30 for seven to ten, and $25 a day for eleven or more from Costa Rica Surf and Sup, with eleven boards from 7'5" surf SUPs to a 10'0" cruiser. Kayaks at Cabuya rent for about $40 per person for two to three hours.
Is there SUP yoga in Santa Teresa?
Yes. Monkey Adventures runs SUP yoga alongside its surf and SUP lessons from Funky Monkey Lodge. Classes depend on a calm morning and a sheltered spot, so the school confirms the day before and moves or cancels when the shore break is up.
Can I kayak fish in Santa Teresa?
Yes. Rusty Hook runs kayak fishing from the sheltered Mal Pais end for roosterfish, snapper and jacks, and its tackle shop rents kayaks and gear. Launch times follow the high tide, so message the shop and let them set the morning.
Is there a mangrove kayak tour near Santa Teresa?
The nearest is the Pochote estuary behind Tambor, about an hour away, which Costa Rica Surf and Sup runs as a five-hour SUP expedition for $130. There is no mangrove or estuary paddle inside Santa Teresa itself.
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