Planning a surf trip can quickly go from being an exciting event to an overwhelming experience. There are so many surfing destinations to chose from and they all offer different surfing conditions depending on the time of the year.
Luckily, picking the perfect surfing destination for a surf trip shouldn’t be this hard, as long as you know what you are looking for…and where to look.
The MyWaveFinder search engine is a perfect and free tool to filter out over a hundred surfing destinations and see which ones meet your criteria.
What to look for when choosing a surfing destination
skill level
The first step is knowing your skill level. A beginner surfer will not chose a surfing destination the same way an expert would.
For instance, reef breaks can potentially be slightly more dangerous than sandy beaches, which can be an important thing to look at when picking a surf spot.
Time of the year
Depending on the season, surfing destinations will offer different surfing conditions. Therefore, if you want to surf Pipeline, on the North Shore of Oahu, you want to go from December to March, otherwise you might not even see an actual wave!
As beginners, you want to chose surfing destinations when conditions are smaller. For instance, learning to surf in Portugal is totally possible in summer, but if you show up mid winter, waves could very well reach over 10 feet in size!
It is crucial to factor in the time of the year when looking at a potential surfing destination for a surf trip.
Budget
Knowing your budget is crucial when going on a surf trip as some surfing destinations will be much cheaper than others. For example, a day in Hawaii or Tahiti will cost you the same as a whole week in Indonesia or Nicaragua.
On a surf trip, money spending can easily ramp up, especially when carrying your own surfboards and having to hire boats to reach some remote surf spots.
Weather and temperature
On the comfort side of things, some people picture a perfect surf trip to be in a tropical environment. Another big turnoff for some people is the whole wetsuit thing. if you don’t want to carry any neoprene, stick to water temperatures above 75°F (25°C).
Other activities
Another important thing is to decide what matters for you on a surf trip. Do you want to just surf day in, day out regardless of what else there is to do around or do you want a balanced surf trip with some visiting, partying, yoga etc.
Some surfing destinations like Bali or Costa Rica offer several possibilities to enjoy yourself beside surfing, whereas remote places like Micronesia or Tahiti might leave you more depending on the surfing conditions.
Making the final call
Once you have established all those parameters, simply find the surfing destinations that suit all of them. The best way is by using the free WaveFinder search engine, which will filter over a hundred potential surfing destinations for you!