We’ve scoured the lunar lands of the easternmost Canary Island to discover the best surf camp Lanzarote can muster – here are five top options for surf travelers this year.
Lanzarote is one of the top Canary Islands for learner surfers. We say that really because of one beach and one beach alone: Caleta de Famara. It’s a long, sweeping curve of dark brown sand that lies on the northwest shore, and we’d say it’s up there with Baleal and Moliets as one of the finest starter surf beaches in Europe.
Here’s what’s on offer: Super-consistent pulses of W and NW swell pretty all year round, punchy primary swell with lots of little lefts and rights, and a secondary swell that’s perfect for total beginners on those big foamies. The spot also has zero of the localism that plagues this archipelago and, frankly, the rest of Spain.
What’s more, when it comes to picking a surf camp, Lanzarote offers stacks of places, virtually all of them based in the whitewashed fishing town of Caleta itself. It’s a cracking spot with a real surfer vibe, cool cafés, a touch of nightlife, and streets covered in sand that’s blown right off the beach. You’ll love it here. We did.
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 surfing in Lanzarote and a wider guide to surfing in the Canary Islands
This is also a part of our complete guide to surf camps
Lanzasurf Surf & Yoga Camp
Lanzasurf are joint top here. They’d be the company that we look to first – or joint first – for all our surf camping on this wild island. Basically, they’ve consistently offered the highest-quality tuition and most hands-on surf training in the whole region since first opening in 2006 and then reforming as a dedicated surf school in 2012. And they’re super friendly – it’s all smiles and more smiles in their shop in the Urbanization of Famara.
They do a couple of different packages these days, but our favorite is probably the week-long surf and yoga mishmash. It’s a touch more expensive than their surf-only offering but adds five yoga classes and all your yoga gear on top of a surf lesson every day from Monday to Friday. The surfing itself is a whopping 4.5 hours of practical and theory surf tutoring, which could be as much as double what you get in surf camps up in mainland Spain.
The cherry on top here is the lifestyle and vibe. You’ll bed down in a coastal cottage in Famara town and your teachers will treat you like mates, not customers. They’ll help you get in with the locals, taste the local foods, and really feel like you live on this wave-based corner of the Canaries.
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.
Red Star Surf
- Location: Caleta de Famara
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $910 (£696) per person
Remember when we said that Lanzasurf would be our joint-top pick for our surf camp Lanzarote vacays? Well, it’s Red Star that comes in alongside it. These guys are pretty similar in that they’re a fantastically well-established name on the island, with more than 13 years of surf training and guiding to their back.
They offer standalone surf lessons that last a half- or full-day for people who don’t want to do a complete week. But there’s hardly a more comprehensive package than their 8-day surf and yoga retreat. It packs in 5x surf lessons and 5x yoga sessions. The first essentially last all day, from like 10am to 3pm. The latter is done either morning – to wake up – or evening – to stretch out – and often takes place in the stunning dune scapes of Famara Beach.
Red Star nurture a similar family vibe to Lanzasurf. They’re not about mass-produced camping but small-scale, intimate groups that always get to know each other. The accommodation is suited to that; it’s more like you and a bunch of mates rented a pad in Lanzarote together to be honest.
Calima Surf House
- Location: Caleta de Famara
- Price: 8 days/7 nights starting at $467 (£357) per person
The Calima Surf House have done something a little different with this freeride package. Instead of going for rigid schedules of practice, theory, and feedback, they’ve designed a wallet-friendly option for more advanced surfers who want to hit the Lanza breaks at their own pace.
Guests are given access to one of the most comprehensive in-house quivers on the island – seriously, it’s massive, with everything from logs down to nuggets, made up from world-leading pop-out brands and local shapers alike. That’s coupled with daily transfers to and from the beaches and other various spots.
Of course, seven nights’ accommodation is included at the Calima Surf House itself. It’s one of the most recognizable names in the town of Famara. You’ll find it tucked right into the middle of the town, complete with a surf-orientated fitness studio on site, a BBQ chillout space on the roof, and a bar out front. What more could you need?
School3S Lanzarote
- Location: Puerto del Carmen
- Price: 15 days/14 nights starting at $1,020 (£780) per person
If you’ve wrangled two weeks out of the Rat Race and want a slightly longer surf camp, Lanzarote has you covered. Cue the School3S Lanzarote. These guys run 15-day/14-night packages that are about equally weighted between surfing and yoga (any pro will tell you that’s a good ratio).
What’s different here is that you won’t be based in the surf town of Caleta itself. The School3S Lanzarote sits on the southeastern side of Lanzarote, in the popular beach resort of Puerto del Carmen. There’s a payoff there – you don’t get the surf-town vibes but you do get access to stunning beaches and other local draws.
In fact, they make the most of that by hosting the tri-weekly yoga sessions in the Zona de Los Pocillos, a pretty little overlook with ocean views. The package also includes daily transportation to Caleta for those lessons, which typically last 2-3 hours, or four if you include the cost of transfers.
Van surf camp with School3S Lanzarote
- Location: You decide
- Price: 7 days/6 nights in a private van starting at $1,199 (£917) per couple
We thought we’d finish off this guide to the top surf camp Lanzarote packages with something a touch different. Aforementioned School3S also do a drive-yourself campervan rental that lets you whiz around the isle to your heart’s content in a fully equipped vehicle.
It’s a great option for adventurous couples, because you’ll be able to hit all the highlights, from the cacti gardens of Jameos del Agua to the amazing Timanfaya National Park and it’s smoke-belching volcanos.
For surfing, you drive to the beach whenever you want. With wheels of your own, you’re free to explore all the other spots across the island – there are loads on the east coast that work in the summer and plenty further south of Caleta. (Just be wary of the infamous localism in Lanza if you venture out. Early surfs are the best).
It’s not all DIY, though. School3S do include 2x yoga and 2x surf lessons throughout your trip. You’ll meet back up with the crew for those and get some tuition from their in-house surf teacher who has more than 30 years’ experience.
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!
