What I Learned About Surf Spots Around the World

I recently lent a book about the basics of surfing because ever since I returned from our 5-day surfing course on Lanzarote in 2005, I’ve wanted to learn more. If you spot any errors, feel free to correct me.

Here’s what I learned:

Beach breaks are waves that break either on an offshore sandbank or directly on to the beach.

Good Beach Breaks

1. Puerto Escondido, Mexico

2. Hossegor, France

3. Duranbah, Australia

Reef breaks are waves that are steep, hollow, and top to bottom (the lip of the wave breaks directly into the base of the wave). The reefs can be rocky, volcano or coral, but the waves always break at the same point. The water is deeper around the reef where no waves break, so surfers are able to paddle around the breakline easily.

Good Reef Breaks

1. Pipeline, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

2. Cloudbreak, Fiji

3. Uluwatu, Bali

4. G-land, Java

Point breaks have the longest rides, and the take off can be difficult.

Good Point Breaks

1. Kirra, Australia

2. J-Bay, South Africa

3. Rincon, California

If the wave breaks along its whole lenght, it’s called a “close out”.

Waves that break on islands have more power and are faster. Demanding waves will require concentration, skill, and commitment.

Tube Riding

You get into a tube by:

1. Slowing down to let the breaking wave and the tube catch up with you. This is called “stall.”

2. You can take off right on the inside and you will actually surf into the tube from behind it. This is called “backdoor.”

Avoid wipeouts! Decide beforehand whether you’re going to take the wave or not. You can’t think “well, I’ll start paddling and see how it goes”, you have to give it everything you’ve got to actually catch the wave.

Surfing Big Waves

< 2 feet – Not real waves, but it might be better than just sitting on the beach.

< 4 feet – Fun small waves. Ideal for beginners and for practicing new moves.

5 feet – Less serious than fun. Some adrenaline.

6 feet – Bring a bigger board and don’t underestimate these waves. Lots of adrenaline.

6-8 feet – Watch out for larger sets, otherwise same as 6 feet waves.

8 feet – Intensive big waves.

8-10 feet – Full of adrenaline. If you manage 6 feet waves, give it a try. Put your fear aside, paddle out, and try to make it safely back to the beach.

10 feet – Don’t get caught by larger sets. You can’t paddle out if the waves are higher than 10 feet. What you want are clean conditions, well co-ordinated sets, clearly defined lineups and a smooth water surface.

10 feet > – Waves higher than 10 feet can be life threatening.

18 feet > – Waves higher than 18 feet are only for a really extreme group of surfers.

Best Known Big Wave Spots

1. Waimea Bay, Jaws, Hawaii

2. Todos Santos, Mexico

3. Mavericks, California

4. Margret River, Australia

Waves Around the World

Europe: France, Spain, and Portugal have surf all year, and is best at the end of the summer. In the winter it’s usually cold.

Hawaii: November to April is best with medium to monster-sized waves.

Bali: May to August is dry season on the west coast (Uluwatu) and December to March is monsoon season (Nusa Dua).

Australia: East coast (Queensland and North South Wales) is best during  the winter. The south and west coast are best during the summer.

South Pacific: Fiji and Tahiti are best throughout May to August.

Mexico: North Baja is best in the winter, South Baja and the mainland are best during the summer.

Ecuador: Surf all year. Best during the European winter, from November to January.

Costa Rica: Good surf all year round. In the winter it’s dry season on the Caribbean side and in the summer it’s wet season on the Pacific side.

California: Good surf all year round. In the winter, expect big, but very cold, waves.

Atlantic Coast – Europe

The best time for surfing is late summer to autumn, the water can be too cold for some during the winter.

Just above Bourdeaux to St Jean de Luz:

Hossegor/Seignosse has the most powerful beach breaks. The main surf spot is Estagnots that belongs to the village Seignosse. Biarritz is the surfing capital of Europe and offers often good surf by the stone pier at Plage des Cavalier. La Grand Plage isn’t that good because of water pollution.

San Sebastian towards Bilbao:

Mundacca is the best and longest left wave in Europe. The spot is located at Amorebieta. Turn off in direction of Guernica.

Portugal has super cold water, even in the summer. The best time starts in September. The surf spots are concentrated around the areas of Ericeira and Peniche peninsula.

The Canaries

The best surf spots on Lanzarote are Famara and La Santa on the west coast. Surfers traveling to Fuerteventura usually hang out at Corralejo.

USA

The west coast has surf all year, and the winter is the best time. California is one of the best surfing regions in the world.

Windansea – In La Jolla, part of San Diego. Stony bottom. Hollow left and right.

Blacks – Lies at the foot of the steep coast line between San Diego and Encinitas. Steep hollow wave, tubes.

Trestles – Past San Ofre. One of the most famous spots, usually two waves.

New Port - Many stone piers, crowded.

Huntington Beach - ”Surf city”, often crowded.

Rincon -Most well known point break in California. North from Rincon, expect colder water, larger waves and smaller crowds.

Morro Bay, Monterey, Santa Cruz.

Steamer Lane – Located at the foot of the cliff. Infamous because of sharks.

Maverick’s – Not far from San Francisco. Extremely dangerous and powerful big-wave reef break.

Hawaii

Hawaii is a surfing paradise all year. The main surf islands are Oahu, Maui, Kauou and Hawai. The North Shore is about 45 minutes from the airport. Pipeline is best between November to March, the main season is December. Come in January to avoid most of the crowds. You’ll find Pipeline directly opposite Sunset Beach school.

Ala Moana Bowl – Big left tube.

Lainakea - Right reef break, many hollow sections.

Tocko’s and Churi’s – Quick hollow left. One of the easiest waves on the North Shore, 2-8 feet.

Waimea Bay – Experts only.

Pipe – Ultimate left hand tube.

Backdoor – Right hander on the same wave as Pipe.

Sunset Beach – Right, 800 m out,  4-20 feet.

Maui is known for its windsurfing, especially at Hookipa Beach.

Honolua Bay – (north) best waves long right hand

Peahi (Jaws) - Tow in surfing, 30+ feet.

Australia

The focus is on the east coast.

Winter (June-October) is best in Southern Australia, Western and the East coast. Cold, but powerful, waves.

Summer (November-February). Often smaller waves, and onshore winds. Feb.-April has cyclone swell.

Sydney to Brisbane:

Kirra – 100 m north from Greenmount, the best and longest right hand tube, sand break.

Burleigh Heads – Right hand point break. Long clean tubes on a sandy bottom.

Surfers Paradise - A party town, not a surfing paradise.

Noosa Heads – Under the right conditions, this can be on the best waves in Australia.

Surfing Trip Tip: Fly to Australia after the end of January, buy or hire a car in Sydney, and drive up the coast.

Victoria, South Australia: Best March to October (autumn and winter). Many white and tiger sharks, colder water.

Torquay – Surfing Mecca.

Bells Beach – Long big waves.

North South Wales has good surfing all year. The best spots in Sydney are Manly, and Bondi Beach. Further north, there are two good reef breaks called Freshwater and Avalon.

The Australian Pipeline is located south of the town Nowra. Take the turn off to Jerris Bay, and follow to Wreck Bay.  Called “Summer Cloud Bay”. Walk 20 minutes through the bush until you’re there.

The weather and water gets warmer north of Sydney.

Crescent Head – Long right hand point break.

Byron Bay – Popular among longboarders.

Queensland is best between October to April.

Duranbah – One of the best beach breaks.

South Pacific (April to October)

Fiji:

Cloudbreak is one of the best lefts in the world, it’s a fast hollow beach break that lies in the middle of the ocean on a coral reef, 15-30 minutes by boat.

Teahupo’o gets their swells from the Antarctic storms from south west.

Haapiti is a left hand reef break. Bluest, cleanest barrels in the world. Great, but expensive.

Indonesia:

Bali (2-12 feet waves)

Uluwatu – South, near the temple with the same name.

Padang Padang and Bingin - Fast hollow, break in shallow water over coral reefs.

On the south east tip of Java is Garajigang (G-Land), a left point reef break. Take a boat from Jimbaran Bay to Plenkung. The warm water is a big plus.

Mexico

Surfing is possible at Baja California, Mainland, and Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico). During the summer, surf at the southern tip of Baja or mainland. In the winter, the best surfing is at the northern tip of Baja.

Todos Santos – Big wave.

Puerto Escondido – The Mexican Pipeline.

Playa Zicatela – Beach break.

Cabo San Lucas – Popular party town.

Good point breaks are “Shipwrecks”, Cabo Wabo, Squid Roe, and Killers (only reachable by boat, 20+ feet).

Ecuador

Casa Blanca in the province Esmeraldas has good surf. Manabí, Río Chico and San Matero are the best locations. Montanita in Guayas is seen as the surfing capital of Ecuador, Montanita is a right hand barrel that is close to great beach breaks.

In the morning, the winds are light or non-existent and the rest of the day has tropical glassy conditions.

The beautiful Galapagos islands have some spots for experienced surfers. Try El Tongo, Loberia, El Canon and Carola. Many of them are only a short taxi ride from the main town.

Costa Rica

Good surfing all year.

Jaco – 2 hours from San Jose on the Central Pacific coast.

Tamarindo – 5 hours north peninsula de Nicoya.

The dry season is from December to April, and the rainy season from May to November.

The Pacific coast has good point breaks and long sandy beaches.

Further south in the direction of Panama you’ll find one of the longest waves in the world, Pavones.

South Africa

Number one surf spot in South Africa is Jeffrey’s Bay (J-Bay), about 100 km south of Port Elizabeth.

Réunion

Good surf between June to September. The west side has 10-12 spots, mostly reef breaks.

The Perfect Surf Conditions

Morning sessions are often the best. The perfect conditions is just before the wind turns around, when it’s still with no wind at all – “glassy”.

Tides

Low tide and high tide go in a 6 hourly rhythm. The time jump is 1 hour each day. King tides means that it’s an extreme difference between high and low tide. Before surfing, you must always know if the tide is going out or coming in.

Surfing Terms

I also found a few great sites with surfing terms, Surfing terms glossary, Surfing Terms, Surfing San Diego Surf Terms, and a special surf lingo lexicon called Riptionary.

Pictured above, Surfing by Eva Morris.