Top Five Destinations For Intermediate Surfers

The most asked question we get, other than when is the next mag out, is from surfers wanting travel advice, so we put together a top five, warm water destination, for the average surfer. You could have been surfing for a while, all your life even, but work gets in the way so you just ride waves, or you're a novice progressing quickly who wants to put in a stint to improve more.

This isn't our opinion only,  as always it's a collective get together, and there isn't really an order.

The Algarve

In Europe this is the best destination to just go surfing. It may not have the glamour spots of northern Portugal or France, but it is a very rare day when you can't go surfing on fun waves. It is one of the most consistent surf zones on Earth, it gets, north, north west, west, southwest and even a very occasional southerly swell. it has beaches and the odd point facing in every direction, sheltered spots for winter days, open spots that hoover in all swell the Atlantic has to offer in the summer. 

The south coast has really cheap accommodation, you can stay with legends like The Surf Experience, or you can camp. Weather year round is good, and whilst you need a wetsuit the water is never cold cold. Plus for us in the UK, or anyone in Northern Europe it's just a couple fo hours flight. 

Morocco

Just a tad further away is the fabled land of Morocco in North Africa. It isn't as consistent as The Algarve but isn't far off. It has the mellow beach breaks that get continuous swell, and are great places to improve, but what it has that nowhere in Europe does is miles of epic point breaks. What's more they are on the whole pretty mellow, but good enough to really improve your surfing, and they are great all winter long. It may not be quite the all year round destination that Portugal is, but it's a place to take your surfing to the next stage, and keep improving in the winter months.

Costa Rica

There are so many options in Costa Rica. If you're into beach breaks, which will give you boardhsort conditions year round, which will challenge you somedays, but just let you improve on most days, then CR is epic. It's a bit more pricey than Portugal or Morocco, but the tropical vibes, food and weather are well worth it. If you want more than Santa Teresas' classic beaches, then you can also feast on point breaks like Pavonnes. CR has everything and is one of the most beautiful countries on Earth, it's quite pricey from Europe though.

Sri Lanka

The old favourite of British Surfers, the south coast of Sri Lanka. It's incredibly consistent, it gets the same pulses of swell that Indonesia gets, so year round, but they have the edge taken off them. There are also a lot more sand bottomed breaks, with some soft reefs thrown in for good measure. Sprinkle in with an incredibly beautiful country, great culture and food, and definitely the cheapest place to live once there, then Sri Lanka is heaven for the surfer who wants to improve in warm water and board shorts. 

Indonesia

Indo is famed for high velocity very serious reefs, a place where you go to get shacked out of your melon and get the best waves of your life. It deserves this rep, and it is this reputation that probably keeps a few intermediate surfers away, but it shouldn't. In between the likes of HTs, Kandui Left, G-Land and Apocalypse there are literally thousands of mellow reef breaks and beaches, in bath tub warm water just waiting for you to improve on. It's cheap once you get there, the food is epic and as you progress, and you will quickly, there is always a world class barrel just round the corner for you to get shacked on. 

That's our top five, Costa Rica is probably the most beautiful, The Algarve the best value, but really you should save up and do them all..

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