Music and surfing have always belonged together. There is something about being in the ocean, moving with something bigger than yourself, that puts you in exactly the right headspace to feel music differently. At South Surf School, we think a lot about the soundtrack. The vibe on the beach matters, and around here music is part of the culture. Our founder Josué moonlights as a DJ, so you can trust that the playlist is taken seriously.
Here is our honest answer to what belongs in a surf playlist, filtered through years of early mornings at Playa Hermosa and late afternoon sessions when the light turns gold over the Southern Zone.
Reggae: The Foundation
There is a reason reggae and surfing found each other. The rhythm is unhurried, the bass sits low and steady, and the whole thing moves like a wave that has already decided where it is going. You are just along for the ride. For sessions in Uvita, reggae is the natural starting point. Artists like Chronixx, Sizzla, and Stick Figure set a tone that matches the pace of the Southern Zone perfectly. Nothing forced, nothing rushed. Just the ocean and the groove.
Costa Rica has its own deep reggae roots too, with a strong tradition on the Caribbean coast that bleeds into the Pacific side. When you hear reggae playing from a speaker on a beach in the Southern Zone, it does not feel imported. It feels like it grew here.
Afro House: For When the Swell Picks Up
If reggae is the warmup, Afro house is what happens when the sets start rolling in and the energy on the water climbs. The percussive drive, the layered rhythms, the way a good Afro house track builds without ever losing its center, it mirrors what a good surf session feels like from the inside. Artists like Black Coffee, Themba, and Enoo Napa carry that energy well, and they translate directly to the beach. Put on a deep Afro house mix and watch how differently people paddle out.
There is something specifically right about Afro house on a tropical beach. The rhythms carry that same connection to nature and movement that surfing asks of you. Music made for bodies in motion.
Latin Sounds and the Costa Rica Feeling
You are in Costa Rica. Let the music remind you of that. Cumbia, Latin funk, and the kind of lo-fi tropical beats that artists like Nicola Cruz and El Buho have built their sounds around all carry that unmistakable Southern Zone feeling. Sun-warmed, unhurried, and alive. These are the sounds that make you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be, which is the whole point of a day on the water in Uvita.
Build Your Own Surf Playlist
The best surf playlist is the one that puts you in flow before you even touch the water. Whatever genre does that for you, lean into it. Our suggestion is to build something that starts slow and warm, picks up energy in the middle, and ends somewhere spacious and open. Give yourself time to arrive at the beach mentally, not just physically.
A few artists worth exploring across these genres to get you started: Chronixx, Sizzla, Protoje, Black Coffee, Themba, Nicola Cruz, El Buho, Boddhi Satva, and Osunlade. Mix freely. There are no wrong answers when the ocean is in front of you.
Come surf with us at Playa Hermosa.