The Ultimate Guide to Hawaii Surf

Hawaii, ay. It’s just legendary. Enough said.

This small island chain adrift in the Pacific Ocean is widely seen as the birthplace of surfing (though there are French lumberjacks and Peruvian fishing kayakers who might disagree!).

References to wave-riding Polynesians go back a whopping 1,600 years. In the 1770s, Captain Cook’s crew were awestruck by locals cruising the swells from the decks of their colonial convoys. This is 235 years before the Lords of Dogtown, guys!

So, Hawaii is hallowed territory in the world of surf. And the rich heritage matches with a location, bathymetry, and set of breaks that can face up to just about anywhere. Yep, including you Bali!

Of course, the Oahu North Shore leads the way. A seven-mile stretch of the most swell-sucking (at least by winter) coast in the US, it’s got thwomping behemoths like the Banzai Pipeline and Waimea Bay up its sleeve.

That’s balanced out by locations like Waikiki and the Lahaina Breakwall, which get kissed by slow-cruising rollers that have made them longboarding havens. There’s also umpteen intermediate playgrounds in between.

The swell hardly ever fades because Aloha is stuck between two warring halves of the Pacific. The north gets storms November-March that power Jaws and others. The south gets storms May to August that bring chilled, bowling sets for mortals who don’t want to paddle at 30 foot express trains.

On top of all that, did we mention that Hawaii is paradise on Earth? Cascading jungles meet taro plantations, black-sand beaches converge with sparkling reef gardens, volcanos belch and steam overhead, folk dance the hula. Life is good on the islands, despite maybe a surprising touch of localism.

Anyway, come here. Don’t hesitate. It’s bucket-list surf stuff and you’ll have the time of your life. Enough said.

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Brave Polynesian explorers might have kayaked their way across the ocean from Tahiti some 1,500 years ago, but today there’s only one way to get to Hawaii: Fly.

Because this is such a popular escape for US travelers, there are oodles and oodles of connections on offer from the contiguous United States. The shortest of them leave from California, which is the closest state on the West Coast. But you can also catch rides in from New York, Boston, Austin, and Denver.

And there’s a huge array of direct arrivals on international airlines that don’t go via the US, too. They include direct links with Jetstar to Sydney, with Asiana to Seoul, with Air Canada to Calgary, Air New Zealand to Auckland. Arrivals from Europe will almost always need to change somewhere, usually stateside.

Your best bet? Search for connections using Skyscanner, which has always been our go-to flight search engine. It’s quick and let’s you find the cheapest dates for flights within a whole month-long period to ensure you smash the best bargain to the Aloha State possible.

There are so many surf spots in Hawaii, both famous and unknown, that there’s only one efficient way to break them down: Island by island.

In all, the Hawaiian chain consists of eight major islands, plus a whole load of volcanic rocks that you won’t be visiting anyhow. From north to south, they are: Kauai, Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Big Island.

Of those, we’ve bolded the ones that really matter. They are the places that have really catapulted this region into surf stardom since, well…since the 4^th century AD.

Let’s take a little look at each and what they have on the surfing front below…

• 7-day Surfing and Glamping Adventure at the Pata Sudaka Surf Camp – Feel the raw tropical nature of the North Shore region by booking this acclaimed glamp-surf package. It’s a cracking option for couples, solo travelers, and even families. Surf lessons take place on beaches along the North Shore, and there’s yoga and hiking outings in the itinerary too.
• 7 Day Couple’s Surf and Yoga Retreat in Maui, Hawaii – It’s no secret that Maui is a bit of a honeymoon haven. Choose this couple’s surf trip to get daily surf coaching and yoga, plus Tantric healing and meditation on the side. Talk about a great start to married life, eh?

The peak surf season in Hawaii is the winter, but that’s better for advanced and expert surfers. The summer has better conditions for learners and intermediates, when swells come from the south.

Hawaii gets surf all year round. Really, it’s that simple.

You only need to consider where the state sits: Out in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. While mainland locations rely on certain swell windows, usually 180 degrees in the NW or SW direction, aloha has no such problem.

Hawaii gets the fruits of distant low-pressure storms no matter the month. In the summer, they originate in the wild 40s latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, sending big-period swells into the southern coasts. In the winter, they begin in the North Pacific and gather pace to thwack the biggest sets of the season into the North Shore.

Here’s a closer look at what to expect in both of the main surf seasons…

• Summer (May to August) – Southerly swells are the norm. The swing from SE to SW, with the latter being the best for the most famous breaks around Waikiki and Diamond Head. All work well because of the variety of east-coast, south-coast, and west-coast breaks. Sets at this time are generally smaller and less punchy than winter, though it’s still possible to get overheads and hollow conditions. The most famous XL spots like the North Shore won’t work in summer.
• Winter (November to March) – The south coast flattens a touch, as the northern engine room of the Pacific gets stormier. This is peak surf season in Hawaii for the pros and experts out there, as the north-facing bays really start pumping. By December time, the likes of Pipe and Jaws are liable to go off at any moment, and Red Bull teams are usually watching with bated breath for any low-pressure systems swinging around the tail of Alaska. The south does work in the winter, but winds can be unruly and it won’t be as clean as summer.