This guide to the best luxury surf camps in 2023 covers five-star resorts in the Maldives and boutique surf camps in Indonesia alike. Get booking now for your upscale surf stay in 2023.
Luxury surf camps are just a cut above the rest when it comes to style and class. They’re the five-star resorts of the surfing world, offering pampering in chic spas, curated wine lists, and plush double beds alongside access to amazing waves.
This guide has done the legwork so you don’t have to. It focuses in on eight of the most opulent options around. We think you might just be pleasantly surprised at the sheer variety of luxury options currently on the menu.
Yep, there are overwater bungalow hotels to be had in the southern atolls of the Maldives, stylo coast lodges in Costa Rica, and boutique flashpacker stays in Indo.We’ve tried to get a good spread because we’re firm believers that luxury surf camps aren’t just for the Elon Musks out there. That’s why we’ve chosen some $500+/night digs but also some very nice pads that have dorm options that shouldn’t break the bank (well, they shouldn’t break it too much!).
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This is just one part of our complete guide to surf camps
Xanadu Surf and Yoga, Kuta Lombok, Indonesia
- Location: Kuta Lombok, Indonesia
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $1,100 (£885) per person
There are umpteen fantastic surf camps in the town of Kuta Lombok these days. We’d say the location makes them some of the best in the world for complete beginners and improving intermediates – the waves are abundant and not as busy as nearby Bali).
But Xanadu Surf and Yoga stands out on the luxury front. It’s designed with such care and craft that we’re surprised it’s not been in major architecture mags yet (maybe it has? We don’t read that stuff). Guest get double rooms flooded with light, tiled with Scandi-chic flagstones, and decorated with thought-provoking artistic touches.
The lodge is sat on the hillside above the fray of the town. That means the views from the infinity pool are downright epic, taking in the jungle-tufted coast hills and Kuta Beach in the distance. Included in the price, you get 3x yoga or meditation session, six surf lessons that can be up
A note on why we partner with BookSurfCamps.com: Book Surf Camps are probably the biggest online aggregator of surf camps and surf-yoga packages in the world. We sounded out a quite a few potential partners before we affiliated with them. But, in the end, the abundance of choice for beginners, intermediates, and female-only surfing sealed it. We also love the simplicity of their booking system and the trusted brand name, along with the focus on connecting with homegrown local businesses on the ground.
Ayada Maldives
- Location: Magudhuva Island, Maldives
- Price: Week-long surf stays starting at $3,780 (£3,038) per couple
The Ayada is a five-star resort through and through. A classic example of a Maldivian overwater bungalow hotel, it’s a consistent favorite among honeymooners looking for that taste of paradise in the Indian Ocean.
The stay never disappoints. They offer stilted villas with infinity plunge pools that are right on top of the tropical coral reefs, an on-site spa with a menu of rejuvenating eastern treatments, and an elegant fine-dining restaurant that stocks European wines.
When it comes to the surf, there’s plenty to get stuck into. The hotel can organize private boat tours (at an extra cost) to take you to some of the best spots in the south atolls. Within an hour, you can be scoring airs on Blue Bowls or ripping up the walls of Two Ways and Antiques, two intermediate-friendly A-frame peaks that are hugely consistent.
NIHI Sumba
- Location: Sumba, Indonesia
- Price: Week-long stays with full board starting at $9,119 (£7,333) per couple
Someone asked us the other day what we’d do if we won the lottery that evening. We thought. We pondered. A new shaped log? A trip to Portugal? Na, let’s go for a stay at the NIHI Sumba, arguably the most luxurious surf hotel in the world right now.
The resort spreads between the coconut jungles of southern Sumba, and island in Indo that’s just coming into the spotlight for its epic left-hand point breaks. One of those left-hand point breaks works right out front of the hotel, and the hotel itself has sort of claimed it, so you have to be a guest here to surf it and that means there’s only usually one or two other people in tow. Nice touch.
Then there’s the stay itself. Built with carved wood columns and thatched roofs, it emerges almost organically from the surrounding jungles. The infinity pool is concealed under rows of blooming palms. Wild horses run free on the white sands below. It’s heaven and it’s slowly creeping to the top of our bucket list.
Mondo Surf Lifestyle Village, Canggu, Bali
- Location: Canggu, Bali
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $584 (£470) per person
The Mondo Surf Lifestyle Village is a relatively new addition to the line up of surf camps in the hipster centre of Canggu, south Bali. But it’s been making waves because it offers a true luxury stay with whilst keeping things relatively easy on the wallet – a whole week’s stay with lessons here will only set you back around $600!
The hotel itself is plonked in the middle of 3,300 square feet of land between the lush rice paddies, about a kilometer back from the coast. It artfully blends local Hindu architecture with a touch of Mykonos-esque design – think moss-covered demon sculptures outside and jute rugs with polished concrete inside.
The pool is divine. It’s massive – one of the few we’ve found where you can actually do lengths in the morning. Plus, the package these guys run is jam packed with stuff, from daily surf lessons to double yoga sessions. They include airport pickups to boot, which makes things simple once you hop off that redeye.
Dreamsea Bali, Padang Padang, Bali
- Location: Padang Padang, Bali
- Price: 7 night’s surf stays starting at $223 (£184) per person
The flagship number in the Dreamsea brand is a ridiculously stunning hotel. It clutches the sides of the Uluwatu cliffs in southern Bali like something out of the pages of Robinson Crusoe. The lodge has roofs thatched with dried palm fronds. The decks are ringed by driftwood balustrades and perch right over the sloshing Indian Ocean.
Each of the rooms oozes a sort of Voodoo-boho charm. Painted white walls are strewn with dreamcatchers. There are vintage wicker chairs hiding in the alcoves. Whittled cupboards display local Hindu motifs. The whole space has been perfectly balanced and curated with an eye for unique yet soothing aesthetics.
We’re going to be controversial for a moment, too: Not all luxury surf camps need a pool. Dreamsea proves that because you only need to drop down two sets of stairs and you’ll be swimming in the clear turquoise seas of south Bali. The beach in question is Padang Padang, which has an epic right barrel that works in the dry season but also a baby left wave that’s good for learners.
Longleigh House, Devon, UK
- Location: Devon, UK
- Price: 3 days/2 nights starting at $808 (£650) per person
Whoever said you need tropical beaches and coral reefs to have a luxury surf camp. Nossir. Longleigh House in North Devon challenges that notion by whisking you away to what’s now the UK’s first official World Surfing Reserve for 72 hours of curated surf camping in style.
The lodge itself is downright gorgeous – whitewashed, minimalist, a bit Bauhaus. Within, you’ll find designer kitchen spaces and lounges where you can chill after days on the wild British waves. The views are spectacular, too, what with the lush green hills of England rising on one side and the salt-washed dunes of Croyde Beach (an EPIC surf bay) just in front.
The package isn’t just your usual rigmarole of surf lessons and yoga. You get 2x yoga here, with expert instructors. They’ll take place on the beach if the weather allows, too. When it comes to the surf, expect to arrive at the waves in mega style, because these guys run Land Rover tours to get you back and forth to the breaks.
If James Bond surfed, this is the camp he’d go for!
The Nomadic Hotel, Nosara, Costa Rica
- Location: Nosara, Costa Rica
- Price: 7 nights starting at $342 (£275) per person
Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any better down on the rolling waves of Playa Guiones, the main surf stretch in Nosara, the Nomadic pops up. It’s honestly changed the way we see surf camps in the 2020s, by offering something super simple but effortlessly luxurious at the same time.
The focus here is on the sheer quality of the stay. It’s a beautifully designed hotel with indoor-outdoor sections that meld seamlessly together under shaded walkways that echo with the calls of howler monkeys. There’s a pool, of course, set neatly under the shadow of a palm tree and dotted with plush sunbeds aplenty.
One of the great things about The Nomadic is that you can get that slice of classy vacationing for less. They offer dorm rooms that sleep eight people for just a fraction of the cost of double rooms. Surf lessons can be booked on site for an extra charge. The waves are literally one minutes’ walk down the road.
The Maki Boat, Mentawai, Indonesia
- Location: Mentawai, Indonesia
- Price: 11 days/10 nights starting at $3,480 (£2,798) per person
Despite the fact that there are now some seriously lovely on-land surf camps in the Ments, we’re still believers that surf boat charters are the real way to explore this region. But taking to the seas doesn’t have to mean sacrificing on creature comforts.
Cue the Maki Boat, a luxury surf charter with spacious double suites and shared dorm spaces on board. The whole thing was built in 2017 in traditional Tahitian style, with huge deck lounges that have 270-degree views of the surrounding Indian Ocean. It’s basically the perfect pick for a large group of surfers who want to hit the multitude of waves that exist in the northern Ments in style.
The surfing is, naturally, ridiculously good. With a crew at your command, you’ll be able to hit whatever around Playgrounds or Siberut you like, when the expert surf guides think it’s working best. Guests will also get access to SUP boards, fishing gear, even a jet ski on request!
to two hours a pop, and even curated events like a local sambal and coffee-making course.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
