Zafira Sailing Costa Rica

Tourism Service in Surfside, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Zafira Sailing Costa Rica operates a 46-foot Fountaine Pajot Bahia catamaran, a 2006 model moored in Potrero, Guanacaste. The boat is 25 feet wide and legally holds up to 40 passengers. From Surfside and Playa Potrero, next to Beach House Restaurant, the crew meets guests on the sand, ferries them out by dinghy, and gives a short security briefing before sailing the Pacific coast between Flamingo, Brasilito, and Tamarindo.

Meeting the boat in Surfside and Potrero

Boarding is a beach operation, not a marina walk-on. Someone greets you on the sand, the dinghy runs you out to Zafira, and only then does the trip start. That pattern is useful if you are staying in Surfside, Potrero, or Flamingo: you can walk or take a short taxi along Ruta 911 and be on the water without a long transfer.

Once underway, the route follows Guanacaste's rugged shoreline and looks for a cove or beach where wind, swell, and crowd levels look right that day. The stop is for snorkeling, swimming, paddleboards, a kayak, and time floating with noodles, what the crew calls flinking if you would rather drift than cover ground. They try to use a beach that is hard to reach from the road and water that other catamarans are not already filling. The sail home is slower, with a chance of marine life in the bay.

If the mood is right, music comes up and disco lights go on for the last stretch into Potrero.

Four-hour sails and eight-hour private days

Private morning, private sunset, open morning, and open sunset tours each last four hours. Full-day private tours last eight hours. A morning trip leaves the rest of the day free for Potrero or Flamingo. A sunset trip follows a beach morning and still returns in the evening. The eight-hour private day is the one to take when you want extra coves, a longer lunch, and more time in the water.

Open tours put separate parties on the same boat. Private tours keep the catamaran for one group and are the format used for corporate incentives, wedding parties, birthdays, and family trips. Forty guests is the legal cap. On open trips the operator tries not to go above 30, which on a 25-foot beam is enough room to move and sit without stacking people on every cushion.

The program is largely the same from trip to trip: briefing, sail, swim stop, food, sail back. If you want to add or drop a piece to fit a smaller budget or a special occasion, say so when you book rather than on the sand.

Snorkel gear, boards, food, and the bar

Every tour includes full snorkel gear, two stand-up paddleboards, a kayak, and noodles and floats. You do not need to rent those items separately. Food is made fresh on board for that departure: fruit, chicken pinchos with passion fruit barbecue sauce, guacamole, pico de gallo, bean dip, and chips. The grill and a shell horn are how people get called back from the water.

The bar covers Coke, Sprite, local natural juices, and bottled water, plus Pilsen, Imperial, and Imperial Silver, vodka, gin, tequila, light and dark rum, Cacique, Cacique Sandia, prosecco, rose, and Sauvignon Blanc. Non-alcoholic drinks are available, including Imperial Cero. Crew numbers rise and fall with the guest count so service stays in proportion to the load.

If anyone in the group does not drink, or does not eat chicken, say so early. The listed menu is specific, and the dinghy ride is a poor time to discover a gap.

Private boat or open tour

The useful choice is not which coastline you will see. It is how many people you want around you, and how long you want to be out. Couples and small families often prefer an open four-hour sunset because it is simpler. Larger families, wedding groups, and companies usually want the boat to themselves, either for four hours or for the full eight.

Guest count on an open date changes how the deck feels even when the legal limit is still far off. For a private date, say whether you care more about snorkeling time, a quiet sail, or a celebration, so the crew can set the pace.

Inclusions are part of that decision. Snorkel sets, two paddleboards, a kayak, floats, the grill menu, and the bar are part of the trip here. Pickup from your beach may or may not be, depending on where you are staying, so settle the meeting point before you go.

Pickup from Tamarindo to Playas del Coco

Zafira is moored in Potrero, close to Playa Flamingo, Brasilito, Surfside, and Tamarindo. Pickup can also be arranged at other beaches, including the Riu hotels, Playas del Coco, Ocotal, and Playa Hermosa. Guests at Conchal, JW Marriott, Las Catalinas, Sugar Beach, Riu Guanacaste, Riu Palace, and Potrero Beach fall in the usual Guanacaste service area.

If you are already in Surfside, meet on the beach near Beach House Restaurant. If you are coming from Tamarindo, Hermosa, or Coco, get a clear meeting beach and a buffer for Ruta 911 traffic, which thickens in high season and after rain. Morning trips mean an early car. Sunset trips mean a ride home after dark, so arrange that return before you board, especially if you are not staying in Potrero or Flamingo.

Taxis along the Flamingo-Potrero corridor are the straightforward option when you do not have a rental car. Give your hotel or rental host the beach meeting window rather than a marina slip number.

A sail inside a Potrero and Flamingo day

Keep the rest of the day light. After a four-hour morning sail, lunch in Potrero or Flamingo and a slow afternoon on Playa Potrero is plenty. After a sunset sail, do the reverse: swim or walk Flamingo in the heat, then board for the cove stop and the run back as the light falls on Potrero Bay.

An eight-hour private charter is the day's centerpiece. Skip stacking it with a long inland tour. Wind and swell decide the swim beach, so nobody should count on one named cove. Guests who prefer to stay dry can remain on deck while others snorkel or float.

When you step off the dinghy, you are already next to the Beach House stretch of Surfside. Flamingo's denser restaurant row is a short hop up the road. Sail, rinse, eat. That sequence fits this coastline better than trying to add another paid activity the same evening.

What to bring, and a few questions

Wear a swimsuit and clothes that can take a dinghy splash. Pack sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, a light layer for the return, and a dry pouch for phones. You do not need to carry snorkel gear or a cooler for the listed drinks. Mention allergies and non-swimmers when you reserve.

The details that matter are the meeting beach, open versus private, how many guests are already on the list, and four hours versus eight. WhatsApp +506 8315 9374 and info@zafiracostarica.com are the contacts for those details. High-season morning and sunset slots go first; if your dates can move, a weekday open tour is often the easier fit. Leave the rest of the day flexible enough that a later meeting time does not undo the plan.

Location

Phone: +506 8315 9374