We focus in on five of the best summer surf camps of all. We’re going by the North American and Euro summer here, so talking May-September destinations. Some have the best swell of the year and weather that’ll have you applying sunscreen every minute. Nice.
They called it The Endless Summer for a reason, you know?
Dreams of glassy water and beaming sun rays abound when May turns to June and the Northern Hemisphere gets drenched in Vitamin D. Yes, there are flat days as the swell slackens, but there are also waves aplenty – if you know where to go.
That’s what this guide can help with. It runs through five of the very best summer surf camps for 2023. It’s got options all over, with a particular focus on some of the more reliable spots in Europe, Central America, and Asia.
We’ve picked out the places that we think have some real allure for the hotter periods of the year. That could be because they sit on beaches that stay reliable throughout the summer months. Or it could be because they have downright fantastic swimming pools, sun-drenched rooftop gardens, and the like.
Let’s get started…
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 overall guide to surf camps
Best destinations for summer surf camps
When it comes to summer surf camps, some destinations are in and others are most definitely out.
First, a caveat: We’re talking about summer in the Northern Hemisphere here. We’re talking that because about 90% of our readers are from the US and Europe, so it sorta’ makes sense.
Anyway, the fact is that during the period between June and August, there are places where the surf takes a real tumble. They include:
- Morocco – Onshore winds get real strong in Morocco for the summer. This is very much a winter surf destination.
- The Canaries – Same story as Morocco. It’s too windy.
- The Med – To be frank, you’re risking getting skunked if you go surfing in the Med no matter when you go. Summer is all but guaranteed to be flat in these parts.
- Southwest Sri Lanka – Summer shifts the action over to the whole other side of the island, as you’ll see.
But to every ying, there is a yang. And so there are some places that are very much in when it comes to summer surfing…
- Portugal – All that exposure to the western Atlantic swell channels means that Portugal has waves when other parts of Europe don’t in the summer. You’ll want to skip the Algarve in the south, but the Silver Coast and Estoril are usually great for beginners.
- France – Same as PT, France gets great Atlantic action in the summer and the Hossegor pipes convert into something more family friendly up Moliets way.
- Indonesia – Peak, peak swells fire up some of the world’s best breaks in Indo. It’s the place to be if you’re Intermediate+ and looking for a summer surf camp.
- Arugam Bay – Sri Lanka‘s other major surf territory; the east coast on the Teardrop works its best from about May onwards.
Of course, it’s not always that simple. Some destinations are just better for different sorts of surfers when the summer comes around. That’s the case in Central America for example, when these wet-season months favor more advanced surfers as S swells start marching up the Pacific.
We’ll deal with all that as we get through our picks…
The Salty Pelican Yoga & Surf Retreat, Peniche, Portugal
- Location: Peniche, Portugal
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $889 (£715) per person
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that it’s the Salty Pelican name that kick starts this list of the best summer surf camps. This brand has made serious waves (pun totally intended) since opening their first outlet about seven years back. They’ve now got options in Ericeira and Peniche, but it’s the latter that we recommend for summer.
The reason for that is that Peniche has north-facing, and west-facing waves, which means there’s almost always something offshore when S winds start brushing up from Africa in June, July, and August. But that’s also not the only reason…
The Salty Pelican camp in Peniche is hot, hot property. It’s got just about everything you could want from a summer stint on the Atlantic coast – a rooftop bar area with a yoga deck, a shaded dining space and grassy garden, and a location that’s literally one dune away from the waves. Niceeee.We also love that they throw in guided tours of two of the region’s most amazing attractions: The isle of Berlengas, with its Game of Thrones-style fort, and the ancient town of Obidos, complete with Moorish castle and crooked cobbled streets.
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.
Pura Vida Lodge, Mimizan, France
- Location: Mimizan, France
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $661 (£532) per person
Despite the distinctly Tican name, the Pura Vida Lodge is actually set just back from the forever-frothing waves of Mimizan Plage in western France. It’s a cozy little French townhouse with a mid-sized swimming pool in a grassy garden, a private bar, and a series of well-renovated rooms that are suited to couples and twins alike.
The 8-day package includes six hours of guided surf tuition with a qualified English-speaking guide. That’s the backbone of it all, but really the hallmark of this camp is the freedom that guests have to pick and choose their own itinerary. Want a yoga sesh this morning instead of a surf? No worries. Prefer to chill in the library reading? That’s cool. Want to fill all your time with free surfing? They’ll even give you a beach cruiser bike to help you find a peak to yourself!
Summer is a cracking time to come here because Landes gets some of the most reliable swell in Europe. It’s the same NW-W stuff off the low-pressure Azores systems as Portugal. Morning and evening surfs do tend to be best, though, to dodge any offshores that might crank up.
Shadow Mentawai, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
- Location: Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
- Price: 11 days/10 nights starting at $1,980 (£1,593) per person
If you’re an upper intermediate or advanced surfer, then we cannot stress this enough: YOU HAVE TO GET TO THE MENTS AT LEAST ONCE. Preferable do that in the peak season, which – you guessed it – runs parallel to the European and North American summer, from May to August.
The Shadow Mentawai has lead the way with on-land surf camps in these parts. It used to be a case of boarding a charter boat but now there’s this downright Robinson Crusoe-esque lodge with beach cabanas built of driftwood and suites with outdoor bathrooms. Oh, and did we mention it sits on its own private island!?
It sits smack dab in the heart of the Siberut region. To most, that’s known as Playgrounds because there are something like 35 breaks within speedboat ride (and the camp have 2x speedboats of their own). You’ll surf basically all day long – 2x two-hour sessions – and relax under coconut palms for the rest of it. Wave wise, you’re looking at rifling barrels in the cleanest tropical water around.
Lapoint Surf Camp, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
- Location: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $1,189 (£956) per person
Like Bali before it, Costa Rica too hits its stride when the strong summertime S swells start pushing up from the roaring 40s and beyond. They send the biggest waves of the year into the beaches of Santa Teresa and join up with nice E offshores form the surrounding sierras. But it’s not only for size chasers. There shape of the coast here means there’s always some great whitewash for learners, and nearby Hermosa Beach is usually a foot shorter than the rest.
So, the spot’s great in summer. What about the camp?
Cue Lapoint, one of the biggest brand names in the surf-camp world. We really like their pad here. Nested between the palms on the hills behind Carmen Beach, it’s got a lagoon-style pool and a breezy hangout space. The style is tropical-chic through and through, and the package includes healthy buddha bowl breakos and whatnot.
Oh yea, and that package is also comprehensive on the surf front. It can be tailored to surfers of a variety of levels, includes 10 hours of tuition in groups of no more than six a pop, and free use of the in-house gear.
Star Rest Beach Hotel, Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka
- Location: Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka
- Price: 9 days/8 nights starting at $865 (£695) per person
When the monsoon hits the famous southwest shores of Sri Lanka, the waves get choppy and the beaches get windy. Thankfully, this gorgeous isle has an ace up its sleeve because while its pouring down on one coast, it’s the dry season on the other.
Cue Arugam Bay. That’s the hub of the surfing in the Eastern Province, and it gets a nice whack of SE swells off the bottom end of the Indian Ocean from about late-May onwards.
There are oodles of surf packages to pick from in those parts, but we like the down-to-earth Star Rest Beach Hotel. They’re a basic motel-style bungalow stay that have branched out to offer surf packages in conjunction with local Sri Lankan guides.
That adds an ethical element, but we aren’t recommending for that. We recommend it because their 9-day Learn to Surf program is exceptionally comprehensive. It includes 16 hours of surf lessons and all your transfers to the breaks (which is one of the main things to look out for in this area, where different breaks might be 30 minutes’ drive by tuk-tuk apart).
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!
