I have taken a number of surf classes in many visits to Puerto Viejo. My lesson with Misael from Surf the Jungle was by far the best. After years of... read more “trying” to surf, my lesson with Misael ended with me catching several green waves on my own! Definitely recommend. Pura Vida!

  Where do I begin?.. When my friend Alice and I first met Misael at Playa Cocles for our first ever surfing lesson, we had no idea that this was only... read more the beginning of an unbelievable week filled with soul-filling experiences and adventures with Surf the Jungle.

Misael has such a passion for surfing and such a calm and confident energy about him that he really made our introduction to surfing such a special experience. Although I unfortunately wasn't a natural at surfing, I had the best time and felt incredibly safe throughout with Misael and his friend Beto guiding us.

We had such a great time surfing with Surf the Jungle that we decided to do a kayak/SUP river tour at Punta Uva with them again two days later. Misael, Polina & Cindy joined us and we just had the best crew vibes!! Little did I know, this would be not only one of the most magical days of the trip, but one of the most magical days of my life!! The river tour itself was so much fun and filled with animals! We then kayak/SUP'd on the ocean which was a pretty special feeling, and then we hiked near the beach where we ate coconuts and different fruits straight from the trees and shared a special moment with a sloth that was crawling on the ground.

On our last day in Puerto Viejo we decided we wanted to try surfing again, but there were no waves so Misael suggested we do the chocolate tour. We originally didn't think this tour would interest us as much, but I'm so glad we did it! Polina and Cindy joined us again and we visited an indigenous community and learned so much about the different healing and practical aspects of all of the amazing Costa Rican vegetation. We then made our very own chocolate and I'll never have a hot chocolate experience quite that special again! We topped off the day by visiting the Violo waterfalls and jumping off big rocks into perfectly cool water.

With every experience we had with Surf the Jungle we felt more and more connected to Puerto Viejo and Costa Rica and felt so incredibly fortunate to have met people like Misael who is originally from Puerto Viejo and clearly has such a love and respect for its ocean, nature and people.

Our week in Puerto Viejo is one I will never forget and Surf the Jungle was such a crucial part of that.

I can't wait to visit Puerto Viejo again and see Misael, Polina and Cindy who really became friends!! 🙂

  Surf the Jungle is more than just a surf school or tour company, it's the people that make this truly special. Misael grew up in Puerto Viejo and gave us... read more an authentic experience, told us about his childhood, took us to the best waterfall spots that he remembers as a kid. You can't find this kind of stuff anywhere, it was unique because it was personal.

We started with a surf lesson, which I was convinced I would be terrible at but Misael is a renowned surfer and gave us the skills and encouragement to get better. Tbh I thought I would hate it but I LOVED it. Given our wonderful experience, we went back for a kayaking and SUP paddle board tour on the river, Misael picked a cacao for us to try, we also went for a short hike and he climbed a coconut tree and showed us 2 different ways to open the coconut. We were also accompanied by Cindy & Polina who were filming the whole experience and were a great addition to the group, very warm and friendly and made it feel like we were on a trip with friends as opposed to on a tour.

I can't recommend this place enough, and I feel bad for anyone who misses out on this extremely valuable gem that is in Puerto Viejo. We will be back to see our friends for sure 🙂