Our pick of the best surf camps for beginners ferrets out the lodges that we think offer the best packages for newbie surfers in 2023. These are the places that will take you from zero to green-wave rider in the space of a week. And there are options all over, from Bali to Costa Rica…
Surf camps for beginners are one of the very best ways to start surfing. It’s as simple as that. These tailored vacation packages take care of all the admin and logistics so you can focus on one thing: Getting to grips with this sport we love so much.
We get loads of questions from people looking to break into surfing about what destinations and waves, surfboards and wetsuits are best. We often say that they’re asking the wrong questions. People should be asking, simple, what surf camp is best?
This guide has you covered on that front. We’ve canvassed The Surf Atlas team for their picks of the very best beginner surf camps around the world, with options in Europe, Central America, Asia, and beyond…
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
What makes a great beginner surf camp?
What surf camps offer is an oven-ready route into the sport. They have in-house instructors that are very seasoned in helping beginners take to the water, and usually split up groups by skill level, with one cohort often filled with total novices who need to learn everything from the ground up.
So, what a good beginner surf camp look like? Usually, it means in-water and out-of-water training. It means theory session to show what pop ups should look like. It means on-beach warm up sessions. And it means lessons in surf etiquette.
On top of all that, the very best surf camps for beginners will also take care of all the bare bones of a vacation. From transport to and from the surf spots themselves to accommodation and even meals, it’s a no-hassle way to do it. And there are some FANTASTIC options out there right now…
The Salty Pelican Yoga & Surf Retreat, Peniche, Portugal
Best for: Pretty much everyone!
- Location: Peniche, Portugal
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $895 (£714) per person
We don’t really think beginner camps can get much better than this.
Some don’t like the mass-brand image of The Salty Pelican guys. We don’t really see it. In fact, we think this is one of the few major chains of surf camps that’s still managed to keep it real, keep it local.
And they’ve very much cut their teeth offering camps for complete beginners, especially this iteration, which sits between the starter waves of Baleal (Peniche‘s main learner zone) and the bigger waves of the central beach.
Basically, what we’re saying is that you’ll have plenty of spots to enjoy when your starting out, but also lots to graduate to as you improve throughout the week.
The Salty Pelican flagship deal is an 8-day, 7-night package that includes buffet breakfasts in the morning and unlimited yoga classes (yep, unlimited!). There are five surf lessons in all, which is a good number for beginners because it means there’s no overload of info.
Finally, the stay here has it nailed on. It’s a multi-story hotel-hostel with dorms and doubles (you can pay more to have a private room) with an epic rooftop bar space. You’ll love it.
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.
Mojo Surf Canggu, Canggu, Bali
Best beginner surf camp for nightlife
- Location: Canggu, Bali
- Price: 5 days/4 nights starting at $435 (£347) per person
Mojo Surf is one of the OGs of the surf-camp scene in South Bali. What’s nice is that it shuns the uber-famous (and largely challenging) waves of the Bukit Peninsula for everybody’s favorite hipster digital nomad town: Canggu. That’s a land of palatable beach breaks with some nice points and reef waves worked in for when/if you do get confident enough throughout the week.
The main 5-day package from these guys has been crafted explicitly for beginners who want to hone skills and get out on the green waves. They use a mix of both local and international guides to achieve that, over a series of four guided surf lessons than officially last up to 2 hours but are often a lot more than that.
The pad here has the air of a Balinese hostel circa 2004. It’s been updated and refurbed since then, so don’t worry – the dorms and doubles are comfy. The selling point is the central pool and the social vibe. Guests here seem to just click instantly. Before you know it, you’ll be glugging Bintangs at the onsite bar and planning your nights out around the boho bars of Canggu. Yeewww.
Jakera Adventure, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Best for: Learning Spanish and surfing at the same time!
- Location: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
- Price: 4 weeks’ stays starting at $3,316 (£2,646) per person
The guys at Jakera Adventure have designed a full on, four-week package that’s intended to fuse together language learning and surf learning. We think what they’ve come up with is downright fantastic, largely because it takes place down in Santa Teresa, where long beaches mean you can surf morning until night without anyone hassling you.
But there’s also more to it than that. First off, a price tag of around just $3,300 gets you whole month worth of tuition in both Spanish and surf. That’s 16 lessons on the water and a mega 40 lessons in the classroom learning your vamos from your ariba. It’s good value for those lessons alone, but this package also throws in 28 night’s accommodation and breakfasts and lunches.
The accommodation isn’t luxury by any stretch. You’ll be staying in same-sex dorms. But it’s also not without frills – there’s a pool and views of the Costa Rican jungles.
The Surfer, Weligama, Sri Lanka
Best beginner surf camp for backpackers
- Location: Weligama, Sri Lanka
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $336 (£268) per person
Anyone who’s been to Weligama in the last five years will know that it’s now among the most built-up corners of the southwestern surf zone of Sri Lanka. But there’s a reason for that. The town is now the de facto learner hub of the region, and it’s got an abundance of surf schools to show for it.
Sadly, not all of them are that good. One that does stand out is The Surfer Weligama. Consistently highly rated, they run an 8-day Surfer Beach Camp package that’s curated for total beginners.
There’s not an overload of surfing here, which is a good thing since too many pointers in too short a time can ruin the whole process.
You’ll do 6 lessons of two hours a pop throughout the week, leaving plenty of time for theory, fitness, and skill honing in between. You’ll also be literally one block away from the sands of Weligama Beach and have free use of in-house surfboards, so you can do free surfs with other guests whenever you want.
The lodge itself has the feel of a sort of half hostel, half backpacker guesthouse. That creates an uber-sociable vibe that’s fueled by the nightly parties and fire pits and whatnot. Packages also include daily yoga, which takes place on an awesome rooftop shala overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Croco Surf Maroc Surf House, Tamraght, Morocco
Best budget beginner surf camp
- Location: Tamraght, Morocco
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $392 (£313) per person
There are oodles of surf camps in Morocco that we could have picked for this list of finest beginner camps out there. But we plumped for Croco Surf Maroc Surf House for two reasons…
One: It’s right on Tamraght Beach, where you get endless knee-high waves that are PERFECT for learning on. Two: It’s really great value for money, and who wants to spend an arm and a leg on surf camps that are really only going to be about getting whacked around in the whitewash for a few days (sorry, but that’s part of learning – and it’s fun!).
The surf camp itself is a homey pad with great views of the ocean. They include the full board of healthy Moroccan breakfasts, lunches, and dinner throughout (just wait until you sample those tagines!), and even throw in excursions to the Paradise Valley (an amazing part of the Moroccan mountains with wild swimming and more).
There’s a surf lesson every single day. Being an “initiation” course, those sessions should be good enough to lay all the ground work, iron out the technical aspects of surfing, and get you popping up on green waves by the end of the stay, all with the right technique.
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!
