Our curated list of the best surf camps for kids showcases five surf camp packages that are top for people in the 5-18 age group looking to get on the water this year.
So, you’ve got a couple of wave-hungry groms on your hands, eh? Not to worry. We’ve gone and searched out the best surf camps for kids so you don’t have to. These are places where you can send the little ones for a stint on the oceans this year. And they are pretty darn fantastic at what they do…
Yep, packages – typically lasting between four and 11 days – include highly specialized tuition that’s aimed at helping your kids hone those skills on the board. That might be through small-group practice, out-of-water theory sessions, or one-on-one grom training with a trained children’s surf tutor. Either way, every camp below is sure to help with improvement.
What you should also notice is that surf camps for kids are about much more than just surfing these days. They’re a chance for wild adventures in coastal pine forests, for educational eco courses about the ocean, for meeting likeminded surfers from all around the world, and spending time in nature, not glued to the computer screen (you know, just as all the Boomers think kids these days are!).
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
Emocean Surf Camp, Seignosse, France
Our top pick among the best surf camps for kids in 2023
- Location: Seignosse, France
- Price: 7 days/6 nights starting at $1,491 (£1,200) per person
As grom camps go, there’s hardly a better option than the Emocean Surf Camp down in Seignosse, western France. We simply LOVE what these guys are doing.
It seems obvious really: Appeal to young, active, adventure-hungry kids in the 11-17 age group and give them an all-round experience of surfing on some of Europe’s best waves, all with a backdrop of ecological education and environmental learning.
It’s like Greta Thunberg meets Ozzie Wright and the outcome is brill.
The 7-day all-inclusive package has five days of surfing on the Landes beach breaks. Groups are divided up by skill level and matched with instructors who really do know how to iron out the kinks and bad habits that can creep in at a younger age. Later on, classes on ocean awareness and eco-educational activities take over to dust off the day.
Even the stay is sure to enthrall the little ones. They call it the Ocean Shelter, and it includes a series of forest-shrouded tipis, belltents, and log cabins, all with access to their own saltwater swimming pool.
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.
Surf School Cantabra, Cantabria, Spain
- Location: Cantabria, Spain
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $827 (£666) per person
Whenever parents ask us about great locations where they can kick it with a drink on the beach while the kids expend their energy surfing day to day, we’re consistently drawn back to Cantabria.
That’s not so much for the fantastic beaches, which are both WAY emptier than the Costa del Sol down south and have pretty consistent surf, as it is for the quality of one particular surf school: Escuela Cantabra De Surf Quicksilver Roxy (or just the Surf School Cantabra, for short).
These guys offer an 8-day package that’s all for the young ones. Their daily routine goes something like this: Breakfast, two hours of surf classes, surf-skate classes, lunch, supervised activities, a surf debrief, then dinner at the campsite. It’s calibrated for ages 8-17 and does wonderful things for groms looking to improve throughout the warmer months.
All accommodation is tented, in an enclosed area near the surf school and Somo Beach, one of the best learner beaches in the whole of northern Spain.
Cornish Wave Surf and Adventure, Cornwall, UK
- Location: Cornwall, UK
- Price: 3 days/2 nights starting at $359 (£289) per person
There’s two sides to this adrenaline-pumping package from Cornish Surf and Wave. There’s the surf side. Then there’s the coasteering side. Put them together and you get a 72-hour holiday that’s sure to entertain any nature-loving grom out there!
Over three days, you’ll go on two guided surf lessons and do one full coasteering session. The first takes place in the bona fide capital of English surfing, Newquay. The latter will take you along the craggy, rock-ribbed shores of northern Cornwall, which you’ll conquer by clambering up rocks, skirting ledges, and leaping straight into the sea.
It’s good that the surfing itself takes place on consecutive days, starting with beach safety advice and pop up basics. You’ll pick that up on the final day to push even further, and hopefully start catching green waves.
Oh, and then there’s the accommodation. It’s pretty cool – think a wild camping site in the middle of the Cornish woodland. Stays are in belltents and you’ll wake to the sound of buzzing bees out in the forest.
Climb and Surfcamp Quinta Formosinho, Praia da Luz, Portugal
- Location: Praia da Luz, Portugal
- Price: 8 days/7 nights for one adult with a child starting at $1,010 (£814)
The Algarve doesn’t have to be all seedy resorts and body packed beaches, you know? The region sees some of the best beginner waves throughout the year and is generally seen as one of the finest locations for learner little ones to start their journey on the ocean.
Talking of starting a journey on the ocean, we can’t really think of any surf camp more suited to helping you do that in this sunny corner of south Portugal than the Climb and Surfcamp Quinta Formosinho. They have a handful of lovely self-catering pads in a villa complex with its own pool a short trip back from glimmering Praia da Luz beach.
You’ll stay there as a family but the kids will be whisked away each day on surf adventures to the surrounding beaches. All the surf lessons are run by the local Algarve Sea Adventures (ASA) school, who specialize in teaching younger ages and teens. They manage that with easy-to-access, fun session in the whitewash that never have more than six kids per instructor.
Villa Taguluche Famara, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
- Location: Lanzarote, Canary Islands
- Price: A week’s stay for a family of up to five starting at $1,222 (£985)
We’ve gone for something a little different for our final pick here. Cue Villa Taguluche Famara. It’s a standalone home rental in the Urbanization area of Famara Beach in northern Lanzarote. And boy is it a beauty. It’s done out in sleek Scandi-cool style, has a breezy porch area with sunbeds, a volcanic-rock garden, and a lounge with a big flat-screen TV.
Basically, there’s everything you need for a fantastic family holiday to Lanzarote, plus the beach is a minute’s walk in one direction and the smoke-belching volcanos are 20 minutes’ drive away through the heart of the island.
When it comes to surfing, you can organize packages with the local schools in Caleta town. You can book those online before you arrive (wise in the peak summer season) or just rock up on the day. The beach here is known as arguably the finest learner spot in Europe for a reason, and the surf schools do packages tailored specifically to groms.The offering here is a bit of a DIY surf trip. You book the villa separately, book a car hire to get around the island, and sort the lessons yourself. It adds in flexibility and freedom to have a family vacation with a bit of surfing for the kids at a prime location on the side.
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!
