-
Things to do
Surfing
Surfing is what you do in Popoyo, and there is little wonder why. W\ith some of the most perfect, uncrowded and diverse range of surf breaks, Popoyo has your surfing covered no matter what level you're at.
Magnific Rock is centrally located to all of Popoyo's most well known surf breaks. We're only a 10 minute walk along the beach to Popoyo Main Break and Popoyo Outer Reef, a world-class heavy, heaving wall not for the faint hearted.
Magnific Rock also overlooks two less known surf breaks, literally 1 minute from our bar. Coined Magnific left and Magnific Right, these breaks catch some amazing waves, perfect for long boards and beginners, with the right-hand break offering up some decent faces and the occasional barrel for the more experienced surfer. The best thing about these breaks is the lack of crowds, expect to be surfing alone or with a mate!
A 20 minute walk along the beach will take you to Santana's, a fast, hollow beach break which catches almost every swell. Best of all, every surf break can be clearly viewed from our restaurant, so you can keep a close eye on the waves and choose when you want to go surfing.
Popoyo Main Break
Popoyo's main break is a world-class A-frame with clean, long lefts and snappy rights. When the swell is firing (and that's almost every day), you can expect consistent, quality waves, made all that more consistent with the all day offshore winds due to the Lake Nicaragua effect.
This break is best on mid tides, and optimal on the incoming tide. Popoyo is a rocky bottom so be weary of the rocks, especially during low tide where many fin plugs have been ripped out of boards as people come skidding in to shore. During the lower tides Popoyo can get fairly sucky, but this presents the opportunity for some time in the green room with some left barrels on offer when larger swells roll up.
Popoyo holds anything from 2 foot - 10 foot, and when it's pushing the higher end of the spectrum, bring your A game as this is a wave not to be messed with. Though if you have the huevos, you can always consider a dash out to Popoyo's outer reef!
Check out our daily eyeball surf report of Popoyo. This report is taken daily from our restaurant balcony, better yet, come down here yourself and check it out!!
Popoyo Outer Reef
Popoyo's outer reef is a monster, bring your gun, maybe a jetski and huevos to match! Outer Reef is roughly a 10 minute paddle out from Popoyo main break, but you'll feel and hear the thunderous roar of its brute power crashing against the rocky bottom the second you wake up. This is an experts wave by all means, it starts working on 8 foot swells and comfortably holds 25 foot walls of water.
The outer reef has some technical challenges, so before you hit it up, read carefully. Outer reef can be broken down into two sections, the beginning/take off and the step.
Santana's
Santana's is a leisurly 20 minute walk along the beach from Magnific Rock. Located out the front of Rancho Santana's, this heaving beach break offers some of the most consistent beach break barrels in the area.
You can only reach Santana's by foot, unless you're staying at Rancho Santana's. Don't let this deter you, as it's just as quick, and more enjoyable to walk along the stretch of beach. The main peak is located just to the right of the rivermouth. Santana's consists of 3 sand banks which work best on a low to mid tide coming in and a westerly swell. A frames are on offer but the right is preferred by most for its perfectly peeling barrels. Take your line and enjoy the speedy ride!
Santana's works on a 3-4 foot swell and holds some hefty 8 foot spitting pits. Crowds can get heavy here as it's located directly outside the large Rancho Santana's resort. This mixed in with some incredibly capable locals, you'll need to be in some form to gain respect and waves at this break. But don't let any of that deter you, with three banks, Santana's can hold a good amount of people and it's a wave worth waiting for!