So you want to go on a surf trip and your mission simply is: improve my surfing.
For beginners and intermediate surfers there are a few factors to take into account:
- wave consistency: more waves = more practise, which in turn = greatest potential for improvement. It’s all about time in the water, preferably with good waves.
- crowd factor: more crowds = less waves (and vice versa).
- wave quality: good waves provide more opportunity for practising new manoeuvres.
- what”s beneath: reefs generally create better waves but could also cut your trip short.
Durban, South Africa
Durban is Africa’s surf city. The Golden Mile is a sublime stretch of sandy beach interspersed with concrete piers between which break consistent, world-class waves. The sandy bottom is perfect for beginners, but the waves are powerful enough for you to progress quickly. When you’re not surfing you can go on safari, party with friendly locals at Joe Kools or road trip down to Jeffreys Bay and Cape Town. Crowd factor is medium to busy on a good swell. The locals are generally friendly, especially to foreigners.
Byron Bay, Australia
The most beautiful place in the world. Chilled out vibes, perfect beaches and endless waves never fail to draw a diverse crowd of hippies, backpackers, surfers and rich retirees. From The Pass to Wategos and around the corner to Tallows, a spectrum of delicious waves are waiting to be surfed. You can certainly find yourself an empty beach if you”re willing to hit a dirt track or two but, when you’re ready, there’s nothing quite like getting an infinitely long ride at the world’s hotbed of surfing talent – Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast – just an hour away. Crowd factor ranges from empty to paddle with a stress-ball chaotic at The Pass in Byron. but you choose where to cruise. Watch out for “the men in grey suits” below if you go way off piste all alone. Joking. Kind of.
Bali
The epicenter of surfing culture, tinged with hedonism and sweltering in tropical beauty. If you’re serious about improving your surfing there really is no other choice. Start off at Balian or Canggu just north of Kuta and get used to riding powerful yet forgiving waves beside sandy river mouths. After a month or so you’ll start eyeing up the impossibly beautiful, almost airbrushed lines wrapping into places like Uluwatu and Balangan or Sanur on the flip-side of the Bukit Peninsula. To progress fast these are the places you’ll experience your scariest and most elated surfing moments. Bali is it. Crowd factor ranges from light-ish at places like Balian to ridiculous at Uluwatu. When you’re bored of surfing or get too sunburnt and salty simply head to Kuta (Ibiza for Aussies) where you can buy the compulsory “jiggy-jig” cap, a mildly offensive t-shirt and a bag of magic mushrooms. Then go look at the pretty colours and people at the exquisite, otherworldly W Hotel in Seminyak. Or head up to Ubud for some Eat Pray Love reflection-time (and to escape the aforementioned braided-hair brigade of Aussies-gone-wild). Actually, do both.