The Swell Show

Edition 11 · Sunday, October 25, 2026

Sunday holds up almost like Saturday

Tomorrow, Sunday, more than half of the rentals have guests, about 2,000 people. Over the last six days, about 130 more rentals were booked for that day. The dip only comes on Monday, and it's a small one.

Morning, line-up.

Tide alerts

  • Heads up

    Drought red alert in Cóbano. The National Emergency Commission put Cóbano and Paquera on red alert for El Niño, and for the first time the sea as well. Check for leaks and go easy on water and power: the dry season may start with lower reserves. Source

Today’s story

Sunday kept filling up all week

Today, Saturday the 24th: 55% of rentals have guests, about 2,100 people, and almost 4 in 10 hotels have no room left.

Tomorrow, Sunday the 25th: 53% of rentals have guests. Last Sunday, for this same date, it was 44%: about 130 more rentals booked in six days.

For your business: Sunday works almost like a Saturday. After that, the week is even: every day, between 47% and 53% of the area booked.

What to do today

Lodging
If you still have space for Sunday, hold your rate: bookings kept coming in all week, right up to today.
Restaurants
Run Sunday like a Saturday, with the same floor staff and full stock. Showers on and off: have something warm for the afternoon.
Shops and services
Sunday brings 1.4 m waves and the area more than half full: boards, lessons and tours on display from early on.

The numbers

29%of hotels are full for Sunday. For Saturday it was 38%: about 15 more hotels with space. Hotels ease off before rentals do.
US$77is the typical nightly price of what's still free for Sunday. For Saturday it was US$79: nearly the same, nobody is slashing prices.
47% to 53%booked, every day next week. From Sunday to Tuesday the gap is about 90 rentals: plan purchases and staff like a normal week.

By price

The pricey places fill up, the budget ones don't

For Sunday, almost 7 in 10 places over US$350 already have guests. For those up to US$60, fewer than 4 in 10.

Budgetup to US$60
36%
Mid-rangeUS$61 to 150
54%
UpscaleUS$151 to 350
57%
Luxuryover US$350
67%

Share of places booked for tomorrow at each nightly rate. Every place in the area, classified one by one.

What the tide brings in

  1. Around here

    Cóbano and Paquera on drought red alert

    The National Emergency Commission raised the El Niño alert to red in Cóbano, Paquera, Lepanto and ten cantons of Guanacaste, and for the first time it includes the Pacific sea. It asks people to fix leaks and cut water and power use.

    Source: The Tico Times

  2. Around the world

    Canada keeps pushing

    From January to September, 227,497 Canadians arrived by air, 24.6% more than in 2025. More than two in three came in through Guanacaste airport.

    Source: Monumental

See you in the water.

How we measure · Occupancy = 1 − places free for 3 nights ÷ total inventory. It’s a ceiling: some places block dates without being booked. Sources: the main booking platforms, Open-Meteo and the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Measured October 24 at 6:00.