FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
YOUR STAY
Our weeks run Saturday to Saturday and we surf (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) around the ocean tides, from mid to high tide and as the tides move every day about 40 to 60min, the schedule moves along with it. So, for example, Sunday:
7:30 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:45 – 10:45 Pool Session
11:45 – 16:30 Surf Session (lunch at the beach)
18:15 3 Course Gourmet Dinner
Then Monday:
7:30 – 9:00 Breakfast
9:45 – 10:30 Yoga
11:00 – 12:00 Video Analysis + Practice
12:00 – Lunch
12:45 – 17:15 Surf Session
18:15 3 Course Gourmet Dinner
The other days you will have a complimentary coffee tasting, pool sessions, yoga, surf practice and of course enough time to relax
We have built and optimized our experience around the Saturday to Saturday week-long stays, so you can get the most out of your stay with us. As we only have 6 rooms (all ocean view), are typically booked back to back, and want to offer the best experience possible, we currently only offer Saturday to Saturday stays.
Some guests stay a few days before or after in Costa Rica and there are some very nice places to extend your stay: Kalon’s Favorite Top 5 Hotels in Costa Rica
There is a lot to do, we are at the beginning of the Osa (one of the most diverse places on earth) and have a small jungle trail that leads to primary rainforest on side, amazing optional tours (Top 5 Optional Tours while staying at Kalon Surf), great food and an open kitchen with chefs that love to share, a green house on side, amazing, paradise-like and untouched beaches, pilates sessions, and wildlife on the property (toucans, often sloths, and sometimes monkeys).
Perhaps more importantly than solo (60% of our guests), couple, with friends or family, male or female (over 65% of our guests are female) is that our guests tend to be very easy going, laid back, are typically between 30 and 65, have busy lives and want to come to Kalon to relax, eat well, learn to surf (about 60% of our guests have never surfed before, another 20% has only tried a couple of times), enjoy the social aspect of Kalon and at the same moment like to have the option for privacy when they want to.
We always recommend packing light. Kalon is about being comfortable: so shirts, shorts, light dresses, and flip flops are perfect! For our female guests, we typically suggest to get some surf boardshorts for women or have a one-piece bathing suit, whereas, for our male guests, some 4 stretch boards shorts will go a long way.
As the water temperature is 78F, you won’t be needing a wetsuit (not even a spring suit) and we provide you with a Kalon rashguard – although you are of course welcome to use your own if. You also do not need to bring beach towels or bath towels, we provide them for you.
If you are looking to do a tour, perhaps one shirt with long sleeves and a set of long pants would be helpful with a pair of running shoes.
We provide sunblock (SunBum) for the surf sessions, and we suggest you bring your own for the pool (we would also have SunBum for sale in case you would like to travel light), of course, we provide you with shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel.
Red Cross always suggest all travelers to bring their own medication – even aspirin and ibuprofen for example.
Costa Rican electrical sockets are the same as those in the U.S.
Costa Rica has no requirements – just join us.
Yes! It has gotten better, we have used our time wisely and improved the property virtually everywhere.
In addition, fortunately our cleaning always has been at a level that goes beyond what is currently required. We believe it should be like that.
As our hotel is open air, the experience is the same as it used to be, however, we currently ask our guests to wear a mask while in the car (as it is the only ‘closed’ area you would be in).
We want you to relax & recharge, and the sun, nature, surfing and good food should do definitely that (you deserve this break!).
SURFING
Absolutely! About 60% of our guests have never surfed before, so you are in very good hands. Our custumized, relaxed yet professional approach aided with video coaching (it is fun!) and focus on repetition, building muscle memory (we start out in the white water/foam for the first feew days) and foundations, will help you to learn and progress very quickly and by end’s week you will be surfing open green waves.
Absolutely! We do get a lot of beginners (because our method works), however definitely also significant amount of intermediates and advanced surfers. The key to success, with guests that already have experience, is to be open for feedback, willing to work on foundations (if they are holding back your progress), take instruction well and be patient.
Our goal is not to necessarily have you surf the best wave, rather to have you surf the best you have ever surfed. The video coaching (prior to each next surf session) will help you to identify clearly what works, what doesn’t, why not, what you need to change and how to do that; combined with the in water coaching and using the right surfboard will help you make the desired progress (and hopefully) more!
We are official partners with Firewire Surfboards and Slater Designs, and therefore have a beautiful collection of amazing surfboards for all levels, sizes and shapes – from 5’6″ to 10’2″
As we have such a great collection of quality surfboards, we typically suggest NOT to bring your own board as it can get damage in the flight to Costa Rica. It is much better to use ours!
2x per week we do a pool sessions which is focused on paddle technique (often an underestimated part of surfing but key to get your wave count up), and turtle roll and duck dive. These sessions are in addition to the surf sessions
One of the key advantages of Kalon is that we surf uncrowded beaches; one beach often has even zero crowd. Based on the conditions we will pick the beach that would work best for the guests and levels that we have. They are completely untouched beach breaks, with a sandy bottom (one may have, depending on the time of the year, some paddle stones) in a paradise like setting. As we like the fact that they are uncrowded, we do not share the names of the breaks
We bring a tent, fruits, water and one of our surf coaches is always on the beach (recording the surf session), while the others are in the water doing hands on instruction.
You would like to have safe and uncrowded beaches, as well good surf coaches that are patient. The surf coaches (like ours!) won’t just push you into the waves, but actually have a method that works and really helps you to learn to surf (now and when you get back home).
Being in a relaxed environment helps! The best surfer is the surfer that is having fun!
Enjoy deep colored sunsets, swims in our infinity pool overlooking the ocean, and friendly staff all while relaxing at our mansion between surf sessions.
YES! Guests of up to 82 years of age learned to surf at Kalon Surf.
At Kalon Surf, we coach based on your needs and level when you arrive. Proper technique, methodology, passionate surf coaches, and fun are all combined, so you enjoy surfing as much as we do, and get hooked for life. Please add A technique that works and the “why”
Yes, at Kalon Surf, we coach based on your needs and level when you arrive.
Proper technique, methodology, passionate surf coaches, and fun are all combined, so you enjoy surfing as much as we do, and get hooked for life.
ROOMS & PROPERTY
We have a total of 6 beautiful rooms, all identical, beautiful ocean view with a private bathroom with rain shower, and a private balcony overlooking the ocean Pacific.
In addition, we have one bungalow (2 bedrooms), two (2) junior suites and the villa (2 bedrooms).
Absolutely! Please check our rooms page
Yes. There is WI-FI on the whole property – our business relies on it and our provider is the most reliable in Costa Rica (and we still got a backup ISP, just in case).
We have a generator on site, in case the electricity would go off (as we are in the jungle, it can happen) to keep the operations going.
LOCATION & WEATHER
We enjoy perfect year-round conditions, with outside temperatures averaging 82 – 88°F. Meanwhile, the ocean hovers around 78°F. And, of course, the waves are perfect.
Costa Rica has lots of microclimates, which makes the online forecast websites not as accurate as they would be in other countries. In addition, the microclimates make that the weather is vastly different in each location.
Dry season runs from November to April, with typically no rain, NW swells (for surfing).
The ‘green’ season or ‘rainy’ season runs from April to November, however, it typically is not as rainy as one would expect. Usually, we would have blue skies during the day, and just a refreshing & cooling shower just before nightfall. During this period we also get the SSW swells.
And then we have “veranito” which is little summer, and runs from June to August with basically beautiful dry season conditions.
We run at 95% occupancy rate, and our guests love the experience year round – about 33% of our guests are return guests, and they come back throughout the whole year. As we have the option to choose between 2 beaches, we typically can get the kind of (uncrowded) surf conditions that are optimal for our guests.
We are located on the South Pacific side of Costa Rica, at the beginning of the Osa Peninsula (one of the most diverse places on earth), close to Dominical and Manuel Antonio (which has one of the most beautiful national parks in Costa Rica).
We drive to the beautiful untouched & uncrowded beaches we use (15min drive) for surfing, while the 6.4acre property of our beautiful hotel is at 1200ft elevation, features amazing ocean views and stunning sunsets along the Pacific coast, which gives you a feeling of exclusivity and tranquility, while the continuous ocean breeze, low humidity (and virtually mosquito free) makes for a high level of comfort – It is the best of both worlds.
FLIGHTS, AIRPORT & HOURS
We pick you up and drop you off after a great stay at Kalon Surf at Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose Costa Rica (airport code SJO).
We recommend google.com/flights to compare rates
Saturday are the travel days at Kalon Surf and we typically suggest that you ideally fly into and depart from San Jose Costa Rica (airport code SJO) between 10 AM and 16 PM.
However, for arrivals, we typically can accommodate any hour after 7AM (until late Saturday evening or even Sunday morning) and departure from Kalon Surf (drive back to San Jose) is the latest 10AM (any hour before that is not a problem at all).
We typically suggest to check with your airline to understand their latest regulations and requirements (as they tend to do differ from local regulations).
Most tourists do NOT need a VISA, but will get a tourist VISA upon arrival. You can check VISA HQ for your specific situation.
Typically you need to have a passport valid for 3+ months, be in possession of a return ticket within 90 days – only if you have travelled to Africa or Brazil you would be required to show yellow fever vaccine.
RESERVATION & RATES
Please let us know which dates you are interested in (we run Saturday to Saturday, year-round), how many in your party, and we get back to you as soon as possible.
Once you are ready to make the reservation, we send out the reservation per email, which has a link to our secure online payment system (through Stripe we accept MasterCard, VISA and AMEX) to confirm the booking. It also has a link to our pre-arrival survey which uses so we can start preparing your arrival.
Payments are processed through Stripe, and we accept Mastercard, VISA and AMEX
Our Terms & Cancellations Conditions are as follows:
Reservation: To make a reservation we require a deposit of at least 30% of the total amount (within 48h after the payment instruction has been send). To confirm the reservation, we require the remaining 70% to be paid at least 6 weeks before arrival. In the event a payment is not received within the mentioned time period, the reservation will be canceled (see below). If you are unable to make the payment within the given period, please contact us at hello@kalonsurf.com and we will try to accommodate.
We accept MasterCard, VISA, and AMEX.
Cancellations: Please note that a booking is considered canceled even if you wish to make a new reservation for other dates or lower the amount of guests per room. Payments are non-refundable.
If you feel it necessary to cancel your vacation or change the week when you would like to come, we do not refund but may issue a credit under the following condition:
“Kalon will apply a credit for a future stay (within the next 365 days) at Kalon Surf Costa Rica as long as we can resell the places which we had been holding for you. We will also retain an admin fee (10% of the full booking amount). If we do not have enough time to resell your place then we will not be able to apply the credit”
It is important that you have adequate travel insurance to cover any amounts that you have paid to any of the Kalon Holding Ltd Group companies: Kalon Surf SARL and Kalon Finance Hong Kong Ltd. We strongly recommend Global Rescue and the Cancel for Any Reason Insurance they offer (IMG Plus) https://ss.globalrescue.com/partner/kalonsurf. To assist you with this, Global Rescue will reach out to you.
The most common reason for last minute cancellations are personal injury or a death in the family, so we advise that you check with your insurance company that they will cover you in these instances (Global Rescue’s Cancel for Any Reason does protect you for this).
If your stay at Kalon Surf has to be canceled by us but due to reasons beyond our control (like a natural disaster for example), Kalon Surf is not liable for any refunds or travel costs so it’s also important that your travel insurance should cover “operator cancellations”, which most standard policies do (Global Rescue does).
Yes, all our rates are all-inclusive and per person. Please find more here:
GET IN TOUCH
Got a question we haven’t answered? Please get in touch.