Roam Chronicles
Costa Azul Surf Shop in Cabo is the kind of place you wish was everywhere you needed to drop in and rent a surfboard. Especially compared to most surfboard rental outfits in Mexico and elsewhere in Central America, the quality and variety of surfboards available for rent at Costa Azul Surf Shop are really unparalleled.
To be honest, you would be hard-pressed to find a shop here in the States that can compare either.
Renting Surfboards in Cabo – Go With Costa Azul
The reality is that most surf shops at this point only rent out foam, soft-tops, or epoxy surfboards. I get it, these types of boards are more durable and stand up to the abuse that most of their clientele are going to dish out.
Costa Azul has foam boards and SUPs if that’s what you are looking for, but there’s so much more.
If you aren’t a beginner but are still looking for a little added convenience in your surf trip by not bringing your own board, it can be tough to find something good to ride.
Additionally, if the surfboard rental place actually has fiberglass surfboards, we all know the drill of looking through the rack for the least-destroyed one of the bunch – the one without a broken nose put back on, maybe a fin glassed on almost correctly.
Again, I get it. These boards get absolutely abused. So it can be tough.
So this is where showing up at Costa Azul Surf Shop at the direction of the guy running the shop across the road at the Cabo Surf Hotel was such a surprise. There were racks of new and almost new fiberglass boards and an assortment of sizes and shapes to choose from.
Why Was I Renting A Surfboard?
I generally try to bring my own surfboard on my surf trips, but we all know that it is inviting trouble. Airplane fees, broken boards, racking up all that gear…
On this particular trip, I was on a multi-leg mission that took me from Colorado to New York City, to Mexico, and California (where I already had a surfboard stashed in Venice Beach). With all of the flights and legs, I figured I would just grab a board in Cabo where I was staying near the Cabo Surf Hotel (but not actually there).
My expectations were sufficiently low. I had been to the Cabo Surf Hotel before and knew that they pretty much only had epoxy boards for rent. They get the job done, but I don’t particularly like the way they ride. Just personal preference. Also, I know that soft-tops have come a long way so I figured more places might begin stocking those as rentals.
That first afternoon I got settled into my Airbnb in the hills right above Costa Azul Beach with its easy access to the well-known breaks of Zipper’s, La Roca, and Pescadito with Old Man’s just around the point in front of the Cabo Surf Hotel. The first order of business was finding a surfboard for that evening’s surf and the rest of my stay there.
This turned into a bit of a mission as I walked along the beach all the way to the Cabo Surf Hotel, then back out and under the highway to get to Costa Azul Surf Shop.
Getting Around Cabo
I didn’t have a car for these first few days. I like trying to get by without one whenever possible. It was fine for surfing the breaks in the area, but I ended up taking Uber’s into San Jose del Cabo in the afternoons to eat and just wander around. These Uber rides ended up being just a couple of bucks each way, so pretty easy.
The 6’4 quad I rented from Costa Azul Surf Shop more than got the job done. It was the perfect board for catching tons of rides over at Pescadito, a right point that is much more fun and less crowded than Old Man’s but isn’t as sketchy as Zipper’s or La Roca.
After returning the board and leaving the Cabo area, I headed up to Cerritos and Todos Santos. I spent a couple of nights at the Cerritos Surf Town Beach Hotel and Spa which is right on the sand and has an amazing pool. My family had arrived for this second part of the Mexico surf trip, so some extra amenities and added convenience were called for.
Once again, the search for a surfboard to rent was on. Once again, Costa Azul Surf Shop came to the rescue. Right on Cerritos Beach Costa Azul has a small stand for renting boards. It isn’t the flagship store that is in Cabo and the selection is a bit more limited. But the quality of the surfboards were there and the selection sufficient to find something that would work for me.
Now, dealing with the water temperature that had dropped about ten degrees by moving from the cape to the open Pacific was another matter.
Book your surfboard rental or lesson with Costa Azul Surf Shop here.
Surf Trip to Mexico in your future? Here are some of our other Mexico guides and resources:
Cabo Surf Hotel – The Perfect Cabo Surf Trip Hotel?
Costa Azul Surf Shop – The Place to Rent Surfboards in Cabo
Surf Travel Insurance – Should I get it?
