Ever dream of waking up in a beautiful villa overlooking coconut groves on the edge of the Pacific Ocean– a place with little development or people– with just you and a few friends, your surfboards, and perfect waves waiting for you each morning? There is such a place– it is called Kalon Surf in Dominical, Costa Rica.
Visiting Kalon is a one-of-a-kind surf experience. First, everything is included: a luxury villa, private chef, drinks, transportation, surf instructors and equipment, post-surf yoga, pilates, and massage– everything. You’ll even get a fun new surf family with the handful of other guests staying at the villa with you.
I visited Kalon with the goal of improving my extremely rusty surf skills. Learning to surf is really about knowing a few key steps for getting up on the board and then a lot of repetition. Having a whole week to practice is a good way to get better. Each night after dinner, the Kalon instructors walkthrough a video of your performance that day and provide feedback and things to work on the next day. I was able to get up on the board more consistently by week’s end. I have to say, being out on the water, waiting for a wave, is pretty therapeutic, so I wasn’t pushing myself too hard. I also wandered the beach in between sets to hunt down fallen coconuts and crack them open for a drink of fresh coconut water. Perfection.
The Kalon villa sits up on a hill, nestled in the Costa Rican jungle, overlooking the beach. It’s island modern with private guest rooms sitting atop a large open common area. I think there are only six rooms in total, so there are no crowds here. The rooms are large, comfortable, and have sweeping views overlooking the water. Downstairs in the common area, there is a lovely open-air dining room and lounge that steps out onto an infinity pool with a stunning view of the jungle and ocean below.
If you get a good group of surfers during your visit, expect to spend a lot of time in the common area each night. The fun starts with a delicious gourmet chef-cooked dinner and then continues, with wine flowing, into game night. We played a lot of Monopoly and cards that week. We had two Wall Street guys in our group who tended to dominate the Monopoly board. There was a lovely couple from New York City, who also worked in Finance. A couple from England, a documentary film-maker for the BBC and her boyfriend, a software engineer– who both made excellent surf progress over the week. And lastly, another solo traveler, a young woman recently out of the military. You never know what you’re going to get when you sign up for a group experience like this. Fortunately, this group was A+. We all bonded over the surf experience, travel stories, and great food. By the end of the first night, I knew it was going to be an excellent week. Something like The Real World meets surf camp. I can’t wait to do it again.
