Seeking Quality Surf Camp

**Easy Rider** · 02-08-2005, 11:41 PM

I've got a month off between mid-May and mid-June and I'm looking for a good place to pick up a surf camp and do some traveling. I've only surfed for about 5 months while I was living in Costa Rica and I'd like to spend a good amount of time trying to improve. I'd like to hit up the South Pacific if possible but I'm open. Any ideas?

**Ripzalot** · 02-09-2005, 10:50 AM

the best surf trip of my life was in the maldives: http://www.atolltravel.com/
everything from mellow shoulder high waves to grinding overhead. waves are perfect and easy. the people at dhonveli (called tari village when i was there) are super cool. the whole trip was completely hassle free. highly recommended. not cheap tho.

another idea if you don't mind cold water - peru and chile. cheap and easy plus aweseom non-surf stuff to do and see. big waves tho. i have a friend working at a surf camp down in chile who could set you up. would need to hunt down his address and the name of the camp. may is a little early, june is good, july/august is best.

**Superstar Punani** · 02-09-2005, 12:34 PM

Personally I think surf camps are leeches in the surf world fueled my the mainstreamization of this lifestyle in recent years. You don't need surf camps. Just go to any uncrowded warm break- warm water lets you surf sunrise-sunset with nap/food breaks, whereas cold water sessions are limited to 3-4 hours at best depending on your wetsuit and how good the waves are

The majority of South Pacific surf destinations (Fiji/Samoa/Tahiti) are generally gnar coral breaks breaking heavy top-to-bottom. You get reef rash if you don't put something on those cuts. Not the best place to learn.

For the most bang for your buck these days, hit up Central America- where plane tickets can be as cheap as $300. Costa Rica is the most JONG-friendly- Tamarindo has loads of mellow beachbreaks in the area. The Jaco area is more pounding shorebreak, and Tulin is up the road.
Playa HErmosa:

Tulin:

If you're looking for more adventure and less crowds, hit up El Salvador http://www.junglesurftours.com - look up Chute (Choo-teh) and tell him Punani sent ya. ES has loads of untapped potential and point breaks ranging from mellow to double extreme gnar. For best results find an uncrowded pointbreak and plant your ass there for 2 weeks.

Salvadorean gnar

(Edit)
Another option that I highly recommend, though a little more expensive to get to, is the Philippines. JONG-friendly sand-bottom pointbreaks like La Union north of Manila abound. [shameless self promotion]HEY CHECK ME OUT!

[/shameless self promotion]

Depending on how much time you have, you can start exploring different islands or provinces. Southern Luzon has a plethora of beachbreaks on the PAcific side, then once you start progressing you can head on down to Mindanao and hit up Cloud 9 for some Backdoor Pipe like action.

Just don't wipe Vince out. He's someone you don't mess with, believe me I know.

**cj001f** · 02-09-2005, 01:47 PM

Baja and a rental vehicle. "Surf camps" are for EC gapers who "want to learn to surf" and never do again.

**Ripzalot** · 02-10-2005, 12:19 PM

yeah, all surf camps are for jongs.

http://www.surfchile.cl

i would recommend a package deal over the DIY adventure for a newbie. unless you like surfing alone in a foreign country, getting your shit ripped off, not knowing where the best spots are and what is breaking, etc... sometimes the jong deal is a good deal.

**Mulletizer** · 02-10-2005, 12:54 PM

I hung arond here for a few weeks in 2000. Definitely worth a look if you can deal with cooler water. They call it a surf camp but in reality it is a chilled out beach house for surfers. Very cheap, nice accommodation, cool people who are really happy to show you all the local breaks. Not into tuition for JONGS although Miguel taught me enough to be packed off with a longboard to some of the breaks. Some great parties too.

**cj001f** · 02-10-2005, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

i would recommend a package deal over the DIY adventure for a newbie. unless you like surfing alone in a foreign country, getting your shit ripped off, not knowing where the best spots are and what is breaking, etc... sometimes the jong deal is a good deal.

Too each their own. Yeah you can get good surfing, just like you can get good skiing on a package tour. You'll pay more and have a managed experience, which isn't my take on life. Fucking up occaisonally is part of the adventure - and if you've got time, part of the fun.

**Superstar Punani** · 02-10-2005, 01:34 PM

Duh....Freudian slips. I meant Surf SCHOOLS not Surf camps

There are package surf camps that teach and babysit for $$$$, then there's the no-instruction surf camp where you just get taken on all sorts of cool shit without JONGs clogging up the line-up and bailing their boards in front of you when a clean up set comes.

Edit #69
What Mulletizer says.

Just shop around for the camps and determine if the price is reasonable.

I've stayed at a place that included the lodging, use of 4WD, local spots, boat trips, local guides to take you to secret spots and strip joints, etc inclusive for $550/week. Separately it would have been $400 rental car, $400 hotels, $20 per boat trip, and out on our own in a foreign country where locals walk around with machetes and m-16s

Conversely I've done it on the cheap and got by on $100/week while the guys in the "surf camps" paid $80/day for the package that would have cost $15/day on your own.

**Big E** · 02-11-2005, 08:30 AM

SuPu, didn't you at one point or another rave about this place: http://www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com/

I really want to take a surf trip some time, but having surfed a grand total of 3 days my entire life (okay, that's a combined like 6 hours), I would be clueless w/o instruction. Seems like more of a problem than with skiing, where two people of wildly differing abilities could still potentially ride the lifts together and the gaper would at least have a trail map.

**Ripzalot** · 02-11-2005, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Mulletizer

I hung arond here for a few weeks in 2000. Definitely worth a look if you can deal with cooler water. They call it a surf camp but in reality it is a chilled out beach house for surfers. Very cheap, nice accommodation, cool people who are really happy to show you all the local breaks. Not into tuition for JONGS although Miguel taught me enough to be packed off with a longboard to some of the breaks. Some great parties too.

al, trip out on this......

that is "my friend" mentioned above! small world, eh? do you remember my friend dave from that night at bad_roo's room? well, dave and miguel are close. we met miguel in peru in 1996. long story but one of those funny non-surf stories that come out of a trip...

driving back to chicama one night at 2am, pretty well lit up (i think we were returning from a titty bar), dave gets lost and we end up in some dink town in the middle of the desert. the streets had been prepared for paving (probably been like that a loooong time) and the sewers were sticking up about a foot and a half above surface of the road. dave does a u turn at an intersection and catches the sewer with the side of the car under the driver door. big dent and scrape down the side. nice. and the car insurance is on MY credit card.

later in the trip we meet a guy named Otto in Pacasmayo who runs a surf hostel. very cool dude. we tell him our story and he hooks us up with his cousin in Lima - Miguel. a few days later we meet Miguel and he shows us an awesome time in Lima. he hooks us up with a garage to fix the dent. we drop off the car, go out for a long lunch (the most awesome cebiche i have ever had). we head back a couple hours later and the car is fixed, looks brand new. can't tell any damage at all. and to top it off - it cost us $25 USD. stoked!

anyhoo - Miguel is the man. a few years later he and his mom came to the USA and stayed with Dave. she was dying of stomach cancer and probably was hoping to get some better medical care here. <sad> she was in really bad shape. she died shortly afterwards. really sad, she was a really cool lady. she took us all into her home in Peru and totally took care of three strangers.

dave is still in touch with Miguel. i'll pass along the small world connection.

p.s. i'll try and track down some pics, that was a great trip.

**Ripzalot** · 02-11-2005, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by cj001f

Too each their own. Yeah you can get good surfing, just like you can get good skiing on a package tour. You'll pay more and have a managed experience, which isn't my take on life. Fucking up occaisonally is part of the adventure - and if you've got time, part of the fun.

agreed on the experience but i can do without the fucking up. getting ripped off is not fun on a surf trip. no boards = no surf. get some experience under your belt or go with experienced people if going to central or south america. costa rica is full of rip offs artists.

the best trip of my life was an all inclusive deal in the maldives (see above link). i literally did nothing but surf for 8 hours a day for two weeks. fully catered and guided by the local staff. i had zero "adventure" but i got more surf in those two weeks than i had in the previous two years.

**The Reverend Floater** · 02-11-2005, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by Big E

SuPu, didn't you at one point or another rave about this place: http://www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com/

I really want to take a surf trip some time, but having surfed a grand total of 3 days my entire life (okay, that's a combined like 6 hours), I would be clueless w/o instruction. Seems like more of a problem than with skiing, where two people of wildly differing abilities could still potentially ride the lifts together and the gaper would at least have a trail map.

Werd. I'm interested in the best "immersion" styled surf location/camp/school, too, Pu. Or would it be better to get a longboard and go to Baja with a couple of brohams who know how to surf for a week?

**cj001f** · 02-11-2005, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

agreed on the experience but i can do without the fucking up. getting ripped off is not fun on a surf trip. no boards = no surf. get some experience under your belt or go with experienced people if going to central or south america. costa rica is full of rip offs artists.

there's a reason they ask "Are you Swiss?" when you aren't willing to pay a bribe

**Big E** · 02-14-2005, 04:28 PM

Rev, this would be the way to go, if only you could get in. It's a women's-only camp

www.costaricasurfingchicas.com

I mean, this is the pic on their home page

**Mulletizer** · 02-15-2005, 04:43 AM

Some pics from my stay with Miguel in Iquique. Needless to say, I wasn't in the water when these were taken. If I remember correctly the break was Collegio, right opposite Mig's place.

**Ripzalot** · 02-16-2005, 03:49 PM

[QUOTE=Mulletizer]Some pics from my stay with Miguel in Iquique. Needless to say, I wasn't in the water when these were taken. If I remember correctly the break was Collegio, right opposite Mig's place.

QUOTE]

my god. i would rather live next to that spot than next to *gasp* la grave.

i'm passing this along to dave.

**Mulletizer** · 02-16-2005, 04:03 PM

Those conditions aren't typical, I think. Funny thing is, the morning when most of those pics were taken was the morning after the locals all had a big party. So the only people on the water at first were gringos who'd missed the fun.

**Superstar Punani** · 02-17-2005, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Big E

SuPu, didn't you at one point or another rave about this place: http://www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com/

I really want to take a surf trip some time, but having surfed a grand total of 3 days my entire life (okay, that's a combined like 6 hours), I would be clueless w/o instruction. Seems like more of a problem than with skiing, where two people of wildly differing abilities could still potentially ride the lifts together and the gaper would at least have a trail map.

Yeah I had a good trip with them. The guides were super cool and the boat dude was the bomb- he gave us extra tours and shit. He was also clued in to the local conditions, so as the day progress and winds/tide change, we'd haul ass to another spot that was going off.

He also took us to the most unique set up I've ever seen near the CR/Nicaraguan border, an island with a long finger shaped reef that got waves on both sides. When the tide is right, you get an hour window to surf waves coming from opposite sides of the reef, so you have like a natural halfpipe made up of two waves. It was the most surreal thing I've seen.

Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater

Werd. I'm interested in the best "immersion" styled surf location/camp/school, too, Pu. Or would it be better to get a longboard and go to Baja with a couple of brohams who know how to surf for a week?

Yep! Just like skiing, it's fun to surf with a group a little higher than your level so they push you and coax you and shit. I'm not a believer in surf schools. All the big name surfers you see today learned to surf before schools were invented. Schools are mainly for chicks, and a great way for the local surfers to pick up hot chicks

Here's some of the camps I've stayed at, and highly recommend
El Salvador http://www.junglesurftours.com
Costa Rica http://www.witchsrocksurfcamp.com
Peru http://www.picoalto.com.pe/index.html

**The Reverend Floater** · 02-18-2005, 10:56 AM

Dat's what I thought. Thanks, Pu!

**Helicrackjnky** · 02-18-2005, 04:03 PM

There is a spot I have heard about called Playa Kandahar that is supposed to be pretty good although I think it is more of a Long Board destination.They used to have a web site but it does not come up. It is located about an hour north of Ixtapa,MX.
You can find it here http://www.playa-kandahar.com/Pksurf1.html