Surf Camps (3)
5 Day Surf Camp in Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Available from March till September
from US$ 549
3 Day Surf Camp in Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Available from March till September
from US$ 299
7 Day Surf Camp in Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Available from March till September
from US$ 799
About Damo Surf Camp
Damo Surf Camp is dedicated to providing everyone with the most advanced surfing techniques and equipment. They want to make this amazing journey unique.
Videos (1)
Instructors (1)
Damian Zilio
Damian is the lead instructor. He was born and raised in a small beach town in Patagonia, Argentina where he started to pioneer surfing in cold, isolated South Atlantic waters. Like most surfers, he loves traveling and has been teaching this amazing sport around the world in places such as Costa Rica, Australia, Hawaii, and the United States. Damian has more than 10 years of experience and would love to have you be a part of this sport. He is also a surf instructor and lifeguard certified by the ISA International Surfing Association (Costa Rica) and ASI Academy of Surfing Instructors.
Reviews (53)
Anonymous
from Switzerland, January 2025
"Excellent Stay in Damo Surf camp and learnt a lot"
The surf lessons were really good I came there as a really unexperienced surfer and was able to improve a lot. Good instructions and help in getting more comfortable in catching green waves. The instructors are really motivated to try to get your surfing to the next level. I‘d definitely recommend to surf at Damo Surf camp also as a solo traveller.
Christian Brown
from Canada, January 2025
"Damian is the man. Let him take care of you. "
Great team. Super convenient. Waves built for beginners.
Carolina Guido
from United States, December 2024
"Beautiful and unforgettable surf experience"
"We had an amazing experience at Damo Surf Camp! Over the course of 4 lessons, all the instructors were fantastic, but a special shout-out to Lucas. He took us out on the first day, and by the end of the first lesson, we were already catching waves. It’s clear that the success of your surf experience is all about the instructor, and Lucas excels at teaching surfers of all levels. He’s patient, dedicated, and makes sure you’re having fun every step of the way. But don’t just take my word for it—prove it to yourself!
We also got some incredible photos, capturing the best waves, taken by Max. And Damo was always around, paying attention to every detail to ensure we had the best possible experience. Highly recommend!"
Aiden Farah
from Great Britain, December 2024
"Surfing, beach and bars"
Joined Damo's surf camp for the week
Great bunch of people and very friendly and welcoming! Taught me a lot about surfing in the time I was there. Thank you very much!
Anthony Needham
from Canada, December 2024
"What a feeling ! "
Damian and Lucas don’t just teach you to catch your own wave, yet immerse you in Surf culture, you feel a part of something big right away !!
Very kind and knowledgeable, and if your Lucky, Bruna will go out with the group and keep you safe and explain where you can improve and share in the victories.
Flor Pires
from Portugal, November 2024
"Great experience"
The location is great and convenient. The free use of the bicycle is another plus. Loved the relaxed atmosphere of the camp, the fact that there were not too many guests at the time, and no crowd at the line up. Instructor was infinitely patient and my surf really improved. All in all I left the place stronger and with more confidence. Also, great photos of my session. ah, and there are dogs.
David Mallett
from Great Britain, November 2024
"Great time, great instructors! "
Damo and his team were amazing! I have massively improved my surf skills over the last week. On day two I was getting out to the line up and catching green waves which was a first for me - I can’t wait to use my new skills at my local beach when I get back home. I travelled on my own, but this was not a problem as everyone was super friendly - from the bar staff, to the surf instructors and other guests staying there. The camp location could not be better - right next to the beach. Thanks, once again for a brilliant week of surfing!
Shaye Mccauley
from United States, October 2024
"A great experience for complete beginners! "
Damo, Ron, and Cesar were great instructors! They were enthusiastic, encouraging, friendly, fun to surf with, and helped me catch waves the very first day! The school is less than 100m from the beach, which is convenient and makes for a great view from the hostel rooftop. I went during low season, so my lessons were just me and one other person; then the last two days it was just me! The instructors' feedback was always helpful and I started recognizing my own mistakes while on the board so I could self correct when catching a wave. I really appreciated the entire experience and will be back as soon as possible! Pura vida!
Schahin Zamankhan
from Germany, September 2024
"Warm hearted and cosy"
Damo and his team took care of everything. I had some really good surf lessons and sessions. With Damo and Ron I could definitely improve my surfing in the lineup.
Damon Hill
from Great Britain, August 2024
"Amazing Experience"
I'm not going to write about the waves or the boards...that can wait. The absolute best thing about my experience was with the people - Damo is brilliant and knowledgeable and does a great video feedback session. Lucas is perfection - and I don't say that lightly. First of all he is a seriously talented surfer himself but secondly he is just a superb man, passionate about what he does, invariably wears a big smile on his face and just understands the culture and ethos of surfing and is able to translate and transfer this in a way that make you also fall in love with surfing. He was able to challenge and advance my sons surfing over the course of a week and I stood up on my first wave and loved every second that followed. Both Damo and Lucas can tell a funny story and its well worth your time cooking dinner for them and sharing a drink or two. Jaco is a great location for beginning your surf adventure and there are plenty nearby breaks to advance and test yourself. Whilst they may not dress up at night in lycra and capes to fight crime, Lucas and Damo are a dynamic duo and I sooooo appreciate all that they did for me and my son. P.S. You should also take the time to talk to Lucas' incredibly talented future wife - she not only surfs but also shapes and creates boards so you could get the full surf experience and head home with a custom board the envy of your friends!
Sophie Rabinowitz
from Great Britain, July 2024
"You won't regret it!"
My instructors were Max, Damo and Lucas and all of them were incredible! They were so supportive and Damo is always available to text if you have questions or need to move a lesson. The waves in Jaco are perfect for learning to surf and I managed to make incredible progress in 6 lessons.
When I felt like giving up all the instructors were so understanding and managed to convince me to give surfing another go.
You can borrow the boards whenever you want while with the surf camp which makes it a lot easier to practice and it's a good way to make friends in the hostel too. I'll definitely keep surfing after this experience!
Marco Jovic
from Switzerland, July 2024
"Surfcamp"
Sehr Freundlich und Hilfsbereit. Gutes allgemein Wissen über das Surfen.
Auch die anderen Surlehrer sind sehr kompetent und wissen wie sie uns helfen können.
Ich hatte noch nie gesurft, und konnte extrem viel profitieren und lernen.
Elspeth Kirkman
from Great Britain, July 2024
"Amazing few days!"
Had a brilliant few days with Damo and the team. They are great instructors and lovely humans. Nothing was too much trouble and I felt instantly at home.
Alex Lovell
from United States, July 2024
Everyone was very nice, and the instructors gave good criticisms during each lesson, which helped me learn quickly.
Jason Rardin
from United States, June 2024
"Feels like family"
Great for every age and every experience level. All the instructors gave great advice, and were passionate about surfing and making you a better surfer. Perfect conditions to get comfortable and the professional photographer was a plus!
Jared Stout
from United States, May 2024
"Stellar Surf Camp"
I had a fantastic time with Damo and the other instructors at Damo Surf Camp and would recommend it to anyone! As an intermediate surfer, Damo immediately put me in a group appropriate for my skill and we worked on reading the surf, catching unbroken waves, and improving technique and fixing any bad habits I had picked up. Damo was very accommodating and flexible with my schedule. I was mostly with Lucas for lessons, and he was INCREDIBLE, he gave clear, useful feedback, provided great instruction, and was just all-around great to work with.
Veronika Axenova
from Canada, May 2024
"Damo Surf Camp - one love! "
It was amazing experience at Damo Surf Camp! Damo and Max are fantastic coaches, providing great explanations and support for beginners. The camp’s location is stunning, with beautiful beach and great waves for all skill levels. The daily schedule balances surf lessons with other activities like yoga, hiking, etc.. If you’ve never tried surfing before, I highly recommend starting with Damo’s camp. It exceeded all my expectations!
Anonymous
from Spain, May 2024
"Very good experience. Very good ratio Instructor - Sufers. "
I liked the quality of the surf lessons. The instructor was always ready to assist surfers during the class, with explainations and help.
Sean Campbell
from Canada, May 2024
"Great Experience with great people"
The Instructors were very helpful and encouraging. And all the other guests and workers at the hostel were very inviting.
Linus Mehringer
from Germany, April 2024
"Perfect Surf Camp, also for beginners "
Everyone is very nice and the teachers are very friendly and professional
Neil Reinhardt
from United States, April 2024
"Father / Daughter trip"
Damo and his staff exceeded expectations. They created the perfect atmosphere of fun and learning for my daughter and myself. They took care of scheduling everything from airport transfers to off site excursions. Fantastic experience.
Ngan Le
from United States, April 2024
"Everything was perfect "
Everyone there is super nice, friendly and welcoming. All of my instructors are so cool, Lucas helped me a lot, I’m a beginner but I didn’t feel like it’s too hard because they made it really fun to learn. I made a right choice of taking that lesson, if you like to experience something different, I totally suggest that you should try that. The food was so good too. Walking along the beach every morning and night made me feel so peaceful. I felt safe being there and will definitely come back soon.
Sylvain Michel
from Great Britain, April 2024
"Really good vibe"
I was end of March. The location is very close to the beach and the waves are pretty consistant (perfect for beginners and internediates who want to improve). The food served is not local but pretty good. There is a really good vibe with people coming form a lot of different places.
Anonymous
from Canada, March 2024
"Very good place!!"
Pool beach food surf and accommodation
Anonymous
from United States, February 2024
"Great experience and I learned a lot"
I loved the instructors and the focused feedback and attention I received during lessons.
Thomas Truesdale
from United States, January 2024
"Great trip great people great surf"
I was surfing with Damo and the crew for most of December, the accommodations at "room to board" were very nice, very clean and well maintained. The surfing was great, as surfing can be, some days better than others, but thats how waves are. But the people were amazing! all the crew was super helpful and friendly. Damo went above and beyond too get the things i was looking for and was always giving me helpful tips when we were out on the water. The crew he has with him as also great, Lucas, Max, Ron... all really cool. I switched boards and got to progress and Damo even helped me pick out a used board to buy at a local shop. I cant say enough about how great the service was, they truly care about their guests! Every evening was an amazing sunset, the beach and breaks were not crowded and the water was clean and warm! I also did some SUP paddling and SUP surfing, Damo helped me get the equipment i needed! I cant wait to get back. Pura Vida
Charmian Love
from Great Britain, January 2024
"Surf adventure of a lifetime!"
We’ve surfed many beaches with many instructors but Damian and his team are truly the best. We were all up and riding waves quickly thanks to his excellent instruction. He has a super positive approach and made sure we had both the skills and the abilities to start building muscle memory and catch waves on our own. Damian and Lucas were particularly good with our kids - aged 11 and 13 - and made them feel like total champions on their boards. We also booked a range of additional excursions with his team which exceeded all our expectations. We cannot say enough positive things about this experience - deep foundational memories were made for our full family
Anonymous
from United States, January 2024
"Damo and team are fantastic instructors!"
Damo and his team were very caring and phenomenal instructors for our group. We came with a large group of 10+ people and his team was able to cater our lessons to all our varying skill levels. We've been to a few surf camps, and the instructors here were the best and most attentive to details to help us all improve. The accommodations were nice in that we could take our boards and walk to the beach to surf, while also able to walk into Jaco and experience restaurants and things to do. Would highly recommend the camp for great value and great caring instructors!
Patricia Holder
from United States, January 2024
"Damo SurfCamp "
Damo is very organized he runs his camp vet professionally he is a knowledgeable and patience instructor . The accommodations and the food where as expected . The quality in in the instructor. The staff from rooms2board was very nice too.
Louis Bruce
from Panama, November 2023
"Awesome surf experience!"
Damo and Lucas are fantastic teachers and my surfing got so much better in the week I was under their guidance. The hostal is also an awesome spot with such friendly and helpful volunteers and staff. It was a great week in Jaco.
Loup Meric
from France, August 2023
"Excellent surf camp at Jaco"
Great vibes at the hostel room to board, met Nice people.
The surf teachers Damien and Lucas were really great and pushed me to next level. They were really Nice too and it felt like they really care.
Adam O' Kane
from Ireland, July 2023
"Improver course"
The instructors gave constructive feedback from start to finish and even took time out in the evenings to talk to us about how we were doing on the water. There was constant encouragement which was a great boost
Sunjue Li
from United States, July 2023
"It's an amazing trip"
The instruction was top-tier, with teachers demonstrating patience and deep knowledge of surfing.
It's easy to make friends from different countries in the hostel.
The camp offered an unforgettable surfing experience. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Nina Kleinlein
from United States, July 2023
"Nina"
We‘ve had an absolute blast last week! 🌴🏄♀️
Never done surfing before, but we all managed to stand up on the board and rode some waves after the first lesson.
Damo is an amazing teacher, who gently pushes you to go a bit further every lesson, but always keeps you safe on the waves!
Highly recommending this camp and his lessons to you!
Thanks so much, Damo !
We’ll be back! 🤙
Paulina Presse
from Germany, April 2023
"Amazing surf teacher, Damo SurfCamp 100% recommendation !!"
Damian is an awesome person and surf teacher! We were absolute beginners. Damian adjusted every single lesson to our personal skill level and feeling in the water. He made everything possible and did everything for us to feel comfortable and reach our best in the water! Also our other surf teacher, Joaquín, was great and helped us a lot!
Everyone in the surf shop was always ready to help also with questions not about surfing.
As well the sunset hike and the sunset yoga lesson with a wonderful teacher were great!
We are definitely planning to go surfing again thanks to Damo Surf Camp!
Alex Silchenko
from United States, April 2023
"Fantastic "
All around great hostel and surf instructors. Damo was awesome.
Pascal Jauch
from Switzerland, March 2023
"Very nice surfcamp right on the beach"
Very nice Hostel, Bar with very tasty food downstairs, comfy hammocks on the rooftop for chilling out and all of that almost at the beach.
Surf lessons were nicely structured, no problems (also for a beginner, like me) to get started in the sport and also going beyond the breach after a few days. One day when we were 6 "students" on the water, an additional instructor came along, so every single one was in very good care. In general a very good vibe that was spread by the instructors, can only recommend this surfcamp to anyone :)
Danielle Goldbach
from Mexico, March 2023
"Great time in Jaco"
The lessons were well structured and super fun. I can absolutely recommend the 6 days program. Also important to mention that the hostel is a great place for a solo traveler, short way to the airport and everything you need in Jaco accessibility on a walking distance. Thank you so much for the great time, Damian 🤗 Hope to come back very soon 💙
Joe Knowles
from Peru, February 2023
"Super surf camp with the best instructor!"
The best surfing experience I've had. I've done surf camps in Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, as well as surfed a small amount back in the UK...surfing in Jaco, Costa Rica, with Damo (fantastic surf coach!!) won hands-down on all fronts: the location, consistency and quality of waves, water temperature, accomodation, and of course the coach. All the other staff were also super friendly, and the food cooked by their own kitchen/restaurant was really good. There were also plenty of food options in town if you wanted to venture out.
Last thing I'd add is this camp is suitable for intermediate surfers as well as beginners. I know, I know, everyone who's jumped on a surfboard once in their life thinks they're now an intermediate surfer, but as someone also putting themselves in that bucket (lol), I can confirm Damo was really good at adjusting his coaching to my prior experience. We would head out together and with one or two others, and Damo would then help me identify the best waves and give me pointers on technique whilst observing me (some photo/video feedback days also included), as opposed to being a full hands-on beginner's coach...but which he can also do if you are starting out for the first time!
...If you're on the fence about taking your next surf trip here, I'd tell you to go ahead and book!
Angel Munoz Cerrato
from Great Britain, February 2023
"Great time and surf "
The surf class was better that expected,great location,great accomodation and great staff and food was amazing....I will repeat
Debby Ladouceur
from Canada, February 2023
"Best surfing experience"
My sons improved their surfing skills greatly and were treated very well by Damo.
Lahan Zemer
from Costa Rica, January 2023
"Amazing experience, Damo was professional!"
The surf lessons
Finn Beckmann
from Mexico, January 2023
"Comfortable on Ocean by Damian"
Damian is an absolute lovely guy that helped me to learn surfing in a period of a week.
I feel now very comfortable on sea and know how to act safely out there. The program is well planned, structured, always on time and funny! Had a lot of fun with Damian and was able to catch some good waves from the start on. His surfing background is amazing and helped me to understand the situations. The Hostel was very comfortable and a chilled place, would recommend that with 5 stars. You can relax, have good conversations and learn surfing the whole time. All in all it was an absolutely amazing experience within this camp. 5/5
Lydia Wenell
from Sweden, January 2023
"Damian is the best! "
Very cosy hostel, you easily connect to other travelers. The staff were very helpful! The food was very good. The surf camp was amazing! Damian is very professional and kind. Also helpful with so much more, ex shuttles, restaurants and other recommendations. Would 100% recommend you to go there! Thank you Damian for wonderful days! /Lydia, Emma and Hilde
David Logan
from United States, December 2022
"Made me love surfing!!"
I got to Jaco not really sure what to expect as I’ve never been to Costa Rica before and never surfed. Damien walked me through how to get from San Jose to the city, how to get to the hotel, and even met me outside when I arrived!
The next week was action packed with a 2 hour surf lesson everyday, group hikes, yoga classes, and food included for the extent of my trip. The whole thing was planned out, but Damien was flexible about when we went out as well. He taught us what different waves were, what to catch and what not to, as well as what it takes to be a proper surfer! In 6 classes I learned how to catch a green wave on the big board and even moved up to the smaller ones!!
I told all my friends about this surf camp and I genuinely would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn to surf in a beautiful beach like Jaco.