Where to stay

Taghazoute is 45 minutes from Agadir’s international airport and home to the famous righthand point breaks of Anchors and Killers that come alive in the winter months.

It’s not the prettiest of towns with its surf ghetto vibe, but it does offer accommodation for all budgets: from small, bare rooms for $10/night to luxury apartments with pools.

Many people choose to stay with one of the numerous surf camps in the area that offer accommodation, meals, and transport to the surf. Prices start at around $300 with surfboard hire and lessons extra.

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You can walk to most of the surf breaks around Taghazoute, but the you’ll be sharing the waves with a crowd. Renting a car with a few friends opens up miles of coastline, much of it rarely surfed.

The area around Cap Rihr, 30 minutes north of Taghazoute, has a variety of reefs for experienced surfers.

For a day trip, try Imessouane, a small fishing village home to a long righthander. Or to the south, the former Spanish outpost of Sidi Ifni has a fun beach break in small swells.

The roads between Moroccan towns are mostly good and traffic outside the big cities is relatively light. Just keep an eye out for the occasional mountain goat, donkey, or camel.

And whatever you do, don’t drive at night. Potholes, livestock, and erratic drivers make it a risky proposition.

Post-surf refuel

After a long day of surfing, there’s no better feeling than tucking into fresh and tasty Moroccan cuisine.

The country’s most recognizable dish has to be the tagine, where meat (usually lamb, chicken, or fish) and vegetables are cooked for a couple hours in a clay pot. Follow the locals and eat it with your hands, using big chunks of Moroccan flat bread to mop up the gravy.

Kefta brochettes (spicy minced meat formed over metal skewers) are also a great option and are available from food carts and restaurants.

The seafood in Morocco is fresh and very cheap. For a post-surf snack you can pick up a bag of steamed mussels from a local fisherman for a few dollars or dine in style at Chez Brahim on the beach at Devil’s Rock, where they do wicked fish skewers with fries and salad for $8.

After, enjoy a super-sweet mint tea or, for a less sugary beverage, try the avoca au lait — an avocado milkshake that should taste weird but is strangely delicious.

Night life

Alcohol can be scarce and expensive in Morocco. Taghazoute itself doesn’t have any bars or liquor stores and the closest nightclubs are in Agadir. Apart from the slightly cheesy British Pub (the name says it all) most Agadir nightclubs are attached to luxury hotels and charge practically London or New York prices for entry and drinks.

An alternative is to stock up at a supermarket (look for the Marjane sign) and have a party in your apartment or hostel. Budget about $1 per small can of Flag Speciale beer.

Four great waves

Anchor Point
Named after the now disused anchor factory on the point, this wave ranges from a gentle, peeling longboard wave when small to a world-class righthander breaking up to 15 feet in big swells.

There’s usually a crowd as Anchors is walking distance from Taghazoute, but if you get a good wave here you won’t forget it in a hurry. Entry is from the rocks on the point or around the front at Mysteries Beach.

Boilers
Another righthand point, this wave breaks close to the rocks and leaves little margin for error. Getting in and out of the water is best done beside the submerged ship’s boiler. The wave is a fast, high performance wall with the occasional barrel. Just don’t get stuck behind the section or you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place, literally.

Imessouane
Swells break down a long, perfectly groomed sandbar in the middle of the bay. Surfers from the various surf camps and guesthouses convene en masse to surf it the few hours either side of low tide. Consequently, it can be a busy break with longboarders, shortboarders, wave skis, and stand-up paddle boards (SUPs) all competing for the set waves.

Tamri
After tricky rock jumps, shallow reef bottoms, and urchin dodging, it can make for a nice change to surf a beach break. Tamri Plage, 45 minutes north of Taghazoute, often has fun waves in small, clean swells.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

For more waves, give Matador’s surf guides to Vietnam, Hawaii, Portugal, and Argentina a go.

If you’re just starting out, you might want to visit our “Newbie’s Guide to Surfing,” or take a look at the “World’s Best Surf Spots for Beginners.” Experts can head straight for the “Top 10 Most Dangerous Waves in the World.”

And these days learning to surf doesn’t have to be the fearful, difficult proposition it once was. Forgiving foam surfboards and qualified surf instructors mean standing up and riding a wave in your first session is very likely — and then you’re hooked.

Read on for Matador’s list of the best surf spots to start your new addiction…

Byron Bay, Australia

This onetime sleepy dairy town turned hippie-surfer-stockbroker enclave is quite possibly the best place in the country, maybe the world, to learn to surf. There’s a variety of waves to suit different levels, from gentle rollers off Watego Beach to the beach breaks of Tallows and The Wreck (in small swells).

Byron Bay Surf School offers both lessons and accommodation. Or stay at the Byron Bay YHA (formerly J’s Bay), complete with pool.

Best time to go: March to May for warm weather and consistent swell .

Kuta, Bali

On an island famous for its grinding left hand reef breaks, Bali still offers great options for learners. The long sandy stretch of sand in front of the famous Kuta and Legian tourist strip can turn on fun waves for beginners in small swells – but watch the currents when its bigger.

Various beach huts rent old surfboards for about 20,000 rupiah per hour. For complete novices try the School of Surf.When the wind picks up in the afternoon there’s a bunch of options to keep you busy, from practising yoga in Ubud to partying late at Ku De Ta in Seminyak.

Best time to go: May to September for offshore winds and a party atmosphere.

Photo by mikebaird

Lagos, Portugal

While there are rarely waves in Lagos itself, this picturesque Algarve town is the base for many surf schools in the region, and it’s not hard to see why. A variety of great waves are within a 30 minute drive, including the protected break at Arrifana – a favourite for learners at low tide.

Among the surf schools based in Lagos, Surf Experience is the longest established and one of the best.

After a day spent learning to surf, refuel at one of Lagos’ cheap but delicious restaurants, from cook-your-own €8 steaks at Retiro da Trinidade to fiery hot piri piri chicken at O Franguinho. After 10 PM, the clubs come alive, the clientèle spurred on by cheap cocktails and refreshing bottles of Sagres beer for just €2.

Best time to go: Northern hemisphere spring and autumn to avoid the summer crowds and higher prices.

Surfer’s Point, Barbados

Located on Barbados’s more protected southern coast, Surfer’s Point in Inch Marlowe is the perfect location to learn to surf in an idyllic, tropical setting. Former competitive surfer and Barbadian local Zed Layson runs the popular Zed’s Surfing Adventures. Zed offers two hour lessons on easy-to-ride foam surfboards, plus a range of accommodation options near the point.

Best time to go: Anytime, although the rainy season from June to October may limit your tanning time.

Photo by marcodede

Waikiki, Hawaii

What better place to learn to surf than the home of surfing itself? Hawaii’s ancient kings rode the surf on crude wooden boards before missionaries in the 19th century frowned on the sport for being a godless activity.

Thankfully, surfing is back bigger than ever. The gentle rolling waves of Waikiki are perfect for beginners, offering long rides and a (mostly) fun, easy going atmosphere. Canoe’s is the most popular, and consequently most crowded, break but you’ll be among beginners so catching waves is relatively easy.

Boards can be rented from the shacks on the beach by the hour or take a lesson from one of the many surf schools in the area.

Best time to go: There’s waves year round although the Hawaiian summer from June to August sees consistent south swells.

Taghazoute, Morocco

Thanks to its long, righthand point breaks, Morocco has been a popular winter destination for European surfers since the 1970s, with convoys of VW campervans parked beside the various breaks.

These days, you don’t need to be a hardcore surfer to enjoy the waves, with a variety of surf schools to choose from. Pure Blue Water, between Casablanca and Rabat in the north of Morocco, offers a range of beach and point break waves.

In the south, Taghazoute almost has more surf camps than surf spots, so you’re bound to find one that suits your budget. Hash Point and the beaches around Agadir can throw up an easy wave for learners. If it’s flat, the chilled port town of Essaouira is just three hours north by bus and makes a great day trip.

Best time to go: The big swells roll in from November to February, but early autumn has smaller waves and warmer weather.

Photo by sub_lime79

Newquay, UK

For a country known for its crap weather, the British sure love their surfing. Newquay’s Fistral Beach is surfing ground zero in Britain, with a variety of backpacker hostels, surf cafes and surf schools in and around the town.

Newquay’s headlands mean there are surfable waves in most conditions, from the swell-exposed Fistral to the protected Watergate Bay just around the corner. If you have access to a car, the crystal clear peaks at Sennen Cove an hour south are worth the drive in clean swells.

Best time to go: September to October are the most consistent months. You’ll need a 4/3 or even a thick 5/4 wetsuit to brave the chilly water in winter and spring.

Bundoran, Ireland

Ireland is the new surfing hot spot in Europe; its world class, uncrowded waves now lure surfers from around the world.

Bundoran in County Donegal on Ireland’s west coast is a great place to learn the basics, with a variety of beach breaks on offer. If the swell is small, try Tullan Beach in town. If it’s too big, head 10 km. north to the more mellow Rossnowlagh Beach. The respected Bundoran Surf Co. offers lessons as well surf-and-stay packages.

And five places to avoid

• North Shore, Hawaii: With waves regularly reaching above 10 feet in winter, this coast is no place for the novice. Hell, even experienced surfers regularly come to grief here.
• Coolangatta, Australia: Home of the Superbank. When it’s on it’s so crowded you can almost walk out to the surf on the back of paddling surfers.
• Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Would you surf in the same waters where tourists flock to go swimming in shark-proof cages?
• Fuerte Ventura, Canary Islands: Sharp lava reefs, sea urchins, strong winds, localism and thumping Atlantic swells. Experienced surfers only.
• Puerto Escondido, Mexico: Has a reputation as one of the heaviest beach breaks in the world. The waves here are consistently above head high and routinely snap surfboards like twigs.

Community Connection

Keen to catch a wave on your next trip? Here are a few of Matador’s destination surf guides: Surfer’s Guide to the Algarve Coast, Portugal, Surf Vietnam: China Beach and Beyond, Surfer’s Guide to Asturias, Spain, or Surfing Argentina: An Insider’s Guide to the Breaks of Mar del Plata.

Landlocked? You can still take a look at our 5 Best Surf Films of All Time.

Portugal’s Algarve coast is sometimes mentioned in the same sentence as Cancun or Benidorm in Spain – synonymous with the package tourist and concrete resort hotel.

But the Algarve has two things going for it that Cancun and Benidorm don’t. One, most of the ugly resorts and their clientele in the Algarve are confined to enclaves out of sight and out of mind. Two, it has some serious surf.

Whether gentle white water rollers, hollow beach breaks, or thumping reef breaks are your thing, the Algarve offers it all.

Where to stay

The Algarve region stretches across the south of Portugal. With both south and west facing coastline, it’s perfectly angled to pick up Atlantic swells from almost any direction. It also means that to escape an unfavourable wind on one coast, it’s just a short drive around the southwestern tip to beaches facing the other way.

Lagos is a good compromise between enjoying Algarve culture and being close to the surf. The consistent beaches of the west coast are a 30 minute drive away.

If you can look past the English language menus and throbbing backpacker bars (and visit outside of August), this historical port town offers a laid back existence among the narrow cobblestone streets and whitewashed terraces. Dorm beds at any of the several hostels (Lagos Youth Hostel is among the newest and best) start at around €10. Rooms in guesthouses start at €30 per night.

Sagres is another option, located near the south west tip of Portugal and home to a variety of beach breaks in medium to big southerly swells. Unlike Lagos, Sagres has retained its fishing port roots and apart from a few surfer bars on the one main road, it remains a quiet town outside of peak season. Rooms in guesthouses start at €20 per night.

The west coast is dotted with a variety of pleasant beachside towns: Carrapateira, Arrifana, and Monte Clerigo are all excellent surfing options. Arrifana’s brand new youth hostel, Pousadas Jueventude offers beds from €10 per night.

Bring your own board, or rent?

Surf schools are a great option for people who are backpacking through Portugal and are keen to get into surfing for a couple of days to a week.

The schools provide wetsuits, soft foam mini-Malibu surfboards, and coaching. In some cases, schools also provide accommodation, like the long-established Surf Experience in Lagos.

Surf schools also have the added benefit of surf instructors’ local knowledge: many spots in Algarve are hidden at the end of rough dirt tracks or beneath steep cliffs.

Experienced surfers should consider bringing two boards. If the rocks at a spot like Arrifana Reef don’t get your board, the shallow beachbreaks just might.

Tides

The Algarve beaches experience a huge a tidal range, so knowing when to go is almost as important as where. A beach break at dead low tide could be one long close out and six hours later be miraculously transformed into a series of beautiful peaks.

As a a very rough guide, the southern Portuguese beaches tend to be best an hour or two either side of high tide. It’s for this reason that you’ll arrive at midday and find no one around until, like clockwork, surfers start arriving en masse for the high tide session before disappearing just as quickly again.

Learn the language

Some guidebooks encourage learning a few simple phrases of the local language to endear the traveler to the local population. In Portugal, this is more of a necessity than simply a nicety as English is not widely spoken outside of the main tourist and surfer haunts.

A basic grasp of Portuguese might help you find that hidden surf spot or order lunch successfully.

Post surf refuel

For a filling snack, try a bifana, a bread roll filled with garlic roast pork, which is sold at most cafes for a couple of euros. The Algarve also has some of the best, freshest and cheapest seafood in Europe.

Budget on €8-10 for a main course dinner of whole grilled fish with salad and vegetables. The Portuguese wash it down with madronha, a local moonshine served in a small brandy balloon that goes well with a strong espresso.

Localism is alive and well.

It’s worth mentioning that while the majority of Portuguese are friendly, some are less than stoked about having their waves regularly invaded by touring surfers. Sagres seems to be the worst area of the Algarve for localism, with reports of drop ins, intimidation and occasional damage to cars.

Problems often stem from European surfers traveling in large groups and hassling for waves. By traveling alone or with a friend and showing respect, you should have no problems.

Four great waves

Arrifana Reef is perhaps one of the best rights in the country. This point break needs a big swell before the wave breaks wide enough to clear the rocks sticking out of the water halfway down the line. Entry and exit is relatively straightforward through the fishing harbour, but watch out for the currents.

Just next door is Canal, which offers both an intense right hander under the shadow of a cliff and a more mellow right further south breaking over sand-covered boulders.

Zavial is one of the best spots on the south coast when there is a huge swell running. It can also be one of the most crowded. Zavial is a right hand point break that in northerly winds peels cleanly for a couple hundred metres.

Another protected spot in big swells is Beliche in Sagres, a beach break that can throw out perfect left and rights depending on the sand banks.

Feature photo by REUTERS/Mike Hutchings. Photo above by kanaka

What makes a wave dangerous? Is sheer size an accurate indicator for how hazardous a surf spot is? Read on for our roundup of the top ten most dangerous waves in the world.

1. Cyclops (remote south coast Western Australia)

This ultra square-shaped, below sea level, one-eyed monster tops the list for good reasons. It’s impossible to paddle into on a surfboard and almost unrideable towing behind a jet ski.

If you blow a wave here you’ll be washed straight onto the dry rocks, which is a bummer because the nearest medical help is hours away.

Photo by REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

2. Teahupoo (Tahiti)

The scary thing about Teahupoo (pronounced Cho-poo) is that as the swell gets beyond 10 feet the wave doesn’t so much get taller, it just gets more enormous, often looking like the entire ocean is peeling over with the lip.

Falling off here is almost a guarantee of hitting the razor sharp coral reef below, which wouldn’t be so bad if the locals didn’t insist on using fresh Tahitian lime juice to sterilise the reef cuts. Ouch.

3. Shipsterns (Tasmania, Australia)

Set along a remote length of pristine Tasmanian coastline, you could almost call this area picturesque if the wave itself wasn’t so ugly.

Raw Antarctic swells come out of deep ocean and jack up into a roaring righthander in front of the cliff which gives the spot its name. The uneven reef causes weird steps and bubbles in the wave, which are always a pleasant surprise when you’re still trying to navigate the drop down the face.

Photo by jurvetson

4. Dungeons (Cape Town, South Africa)

It’s not that shallow and it doesn’t break in front of any rocks, but it is located off the tip of South Africa in the freezing Southern Ocean in shark infested waters. Dungeons regularly holds waves up to 70 feet, which is why organisers have chosen to hold the annual Big Wave Africa contest here since 1999.

5. Pipeline (Oahu, Hawaii)

The shallow lava reef that shapes Pipe’s famous round tube is actually full of trenches and bumps -meaning a nasty old time for anyone falling out of the lip from 12 feet above. Which happens with surprisingly regularity, even to the experienced locals.

Perhaps almost as dangerous are the insane crowds that flock to Pipe any time it gets good, with fearless Hawaiians competing with pros, wannabes and tourists for the set waves.

Photo by felipeskroski

6. Desert Point (Lombok, Indonesia)

This beautiful lefthander peels over very shallow coral somewhere off the dusty island of Lombok. The wave is less dangerous than the hazards of extreme boredom during flat spells (there’s nothing on land but a few run down losemans), overcrowding, contracting malaria and the fact that medical access is hours away.

7. The Cave (Ericeira, Portugal)

With all the ingredients that a dangerous wave should have, including a shallow reef, urchins and hot-tempered Latino locals, its not surprising The Cave has been described as Europe’s heaviest wave. It was once the preserve of Portugal’s bodyboarding set, but pros like Tiago Pires have been taking it on in recent years – and surviving.

Photo by bevankoopman

8. Lunada Bay (California, USA)

Perhaps one of the best right handers in California, Lunada is a great performance wave at six feet but it also handles swell right up to 20 feet. It’s not an overly dangerous wave in itself, but the locals are another matter.

Visiting surfers have reported slashed tyres, rocks thrown, fist fights and a seemingly disinterested local police force. You’re on your own here.

9. Gringos (Arica, Chile)

Chile has a bunch of waves as equally as heavy and urchin-infested as this one but El Gringo is included in this list because of the damage it did to the pro surfers who surfed it in 2007’s WCT event. There were numerous broken boards, embedded urchin spines and slashed heads. And they surf for a living. Imagine what it’d do to you?

10. Tarqua (Lagos, Nigeria)

The good news is that this beach break located at the entrance to the Lagoon of Iddo in Lagos is often a fun, wedging peak. The bad news is the 60 million litres of raw sewage and tonnes of industrial waste produced by the 8 million inhabitants of Lagos every year that flows out into the ocean. Other hazards include floating carcasses, rubbish and the occasional mugging on the beach.

Community connection

Looking for waves for mere mortals? Check out Spencer Read about searching for surf in Vietnam with Rhys Stacker’s “China Beach and Beyond” article here.

And for an all around great surf story and guide to Central America, check out Spencer Klein’s classic Another End of the Road.

Photo by Rhys Stacker

With more than 3000 kilometers of coastline, the potential for finding waves in Vietnam is limited only by time and motivation. Oh, and a pretty serious language barrier. And some very inaccessible coastline. And unexploded bombs.

Surfing in Vietnam is possible from Vung Tau in the south right up to Dong Ha and beyond on the central coast. There are some established surf spots around China Beach and Mui Ne, but the rest of the coastline its still mostly unexplored.

Weather

The best time for surf is between November and March, when the winter monsoons blow in from the north.

This is also the best time for typhoons to develop, with several forming in the South China Sea each year and lashing fishing villages and coastal towns.

For surfers, it’s these typhoons that produce the biggest swells. Typically it’s short period wind swell, rather than groomed ground swells. They also tend to disappear almost as soon as they arrive, usually within a couple of days.

For much of the year the water is bathtub warm, with the temperature hovering between 25 C (dry season) and 30 C (wet season).

Board-shorts are about all you need, along with a shorty or rashguard for windy days.

Dangers

photo by Rhys Stacker

As you’d expect for a country that saw some of the most ferocious fighting of the 20th century, dangers are still present today.

Unexploded ordinance (UXO) litter the countryside, so straying off the beaten path is not advisable, particularly around the Demilitarized Zone north of Dong Ha.

This presents a challenge for anyone searching for new waves in Vietnam, as there are actually very few beaten paths to some beaches.

In comparison to unexploded ordinance, hazards in the water tend to be less life threatening (at least not immediately).

The trash that is a feature of many cities and towns in Vietnam tends to find its way into the ocean, along with nasty storm water runoff and industrial pollution.

After several conversations with expat surfers and locals alike, I didn’t hear of a single shark sighting, let alone a shark attack.

Da Nang and China Beach

The epicenter of surfing in Vietnam is China Beach, a long, sandy beach that stretches 30 kilometres south from Da Nang.

American GI’s stationed at the base here regularly surfed China Beach in the 1960s. These days you’ll find expat engineers and English teachers in the line-up, along with a small but growing number of Vietnamese locals.

China Beach can get good too. Very good. Typhoon Durian, responsible for thousands of deaths in the Philippines and Vietnam in 2006, was also responsible for producing clean, four to five foot peaks the length of the beach.

The options for surfboard hire are also good. Tam’s Pub and Surf Shop south of the Marble Mountains has a variety of boards for hire from $5 usd.

Gunnar, a German expat, rents fiberglass boards out of his home near the old U.S. air base.

In between these two options is Hoa’s Place, a must-visit destination.

Hoa and his lovely wife run a relaxed, ramshackle restaurant and guest house in front of a choice left and right sand bank.

Curiously, they are also right next door to a police training facility. The early morning reveille calls serve as a handy dawn patrol wake up for surfers.

Hoa rents three beaten up boards to guests and visitors. After the morning session, the open air restaurant becomes home base for post-surf analysis and Hoa’s freshly made spring rolls. For first timers he’ll even demonstrate how to roll them properly.

Mui Ne

photo by Rhys Stacker

A three hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City will get you to Mui Ne. The southern part of this quiet beach resort follows a single, palm tree lined road that runs parallel to the coast.

Quaint bungalow accommodation and thatch-roofed bars are located along this strip, including Jibes Beach Resort, a chilled-out bar that offers a great view of the sunset and ice cold beers.

Jibes is the focal point for traveling kite and wind surfers in Vietnam. You can also rent epoxy surfboards here from US$5 per hour. This south facing beach needs a pretty large swell to start working, but there is evidence it does get good – on the walls of the club are photos of surfers riding small but clean waves.

Further north past the fishing village is an east-facing beach that picks up more swell and is offshore in westerly winds.

The only problem here is how to get your hire board from Jibes to this beach. A twenty minute scooter ride means you’ll either need to be adept at riding one handed or have a passenger who is able to hang onto the board for you.

Nha Trang

photo by Rhys Stacker

The high rises, beach bars and bright lights of Nha Trang are certainly not to everyone’s taste. I know I was glad to leave after just one week. But that was partly because my body was sore from the poundings the ocean delivered each morning.

Along the main beach a ferocious shore dump made for some exciting body surfing. I didn’t see it drop below four feet the entire time I was there.

North of Nha Trang’s main strip is the Cai Rai river mouth, which in the right swell and tides could have surfable waves peeling off the outside sand bars for the brave or adventurous.

Beyond the river is Hon Do Island and Hon Chong peninsula, both of which feature shallow rock ledges with fast right-handers spinning down the reef, offshore in west north-west winds.

The problem wasn’t a lack of swell, it was a lack of surfboard hire. It was only on my last day in Nha Trang that I found a surfboard for rent. A beat up epoxy model, it had no fins and no wax. Go figure.

Transport

Getting from A to B in Vietnam is often an exciting challenge in its own right. Scooters (also known as motos or mopeds) are the cheapest and fastest way of exploring the coastline around towns. They usually cost from US$5 per day (cheaper for weekly hire).

For traveling between towns, Vietnam has an excellent bus and train service. However, they’re not geared for handling fragile surfboards.

If you do bring your own board, it may be best to hire a van and a driver. This won’t be cheap (in excess of US$30 per day) but it’s really the best option for getting off the beaten track.

Community Connection!

Matador’s Vietnam expert Delacouri knows more about the rare monkeys of northern Vietnam than just about anyone. As for surfing, Angie Takanami is an expert on the best breaks in Asia and Australia.

For a great surf story, you can’t do better than Matador editor David Miller’s classic “Notes On Los Pitayeros“.