surf skools in europe

mags345

Hey guys,
Thinkin of goin on a surfing holiday next easter or summer. can ye reccoment any gud skools in Europe???

spider77

Check out www.ripar.pt. Went there in June 2 summers ago. Couldnt recommend it enough. The town of Praia de Areia Branca is a little quiet and that would be the only drawback but you can get a bus to Peniche in the evening. The accommodation is great and you get to surf morning and evening for the week. It is an hour from Lisbon and was really cheap for eating out etc. The surf instructors we had were great. They constantly are in the water with you unlike other skools I saw where the instructors just stood on beach giving the odd comment.

mags345

thanks Spider i'll check it out.:)

sickpuppy32

best one i've ever been to is the surf experience in protugal - there are two schools witht he same name - one is german run, and u stay in the holiday home outside the twon of lagos, the other is in the town and run by a mad english guy - absolutely amazing fun

youngblood

Really interested in heading out to one of these places for a surf holiday early next year. Only learning here so nothin too extreme
Who would you recommend? Not sure if i'll be able to get many to go so can you go solo??Any good deals?
Any advice appreciated!

sickpuppy32

i went on my own to the place in portugal, had great fun, a lot of single people there so we all hung out - highly recommend it

will3k

I just booked a trip to Morocco with this place - surfcamp

Going by myself at the minute, fed up waiting for others to decide

Really looking forward to it

youngblood

Just had a look at that site, looks savage
Sent em an email re availability for when Im looking to go
Sickpuppy- Where did you go to in Portugal?
Any info? Links?
Really wanna get as much as I can before bookin
Fed up waiting for others too!!

will3k

Aerlingus fly to+from Agadir in Morocco every Sat over the winter for €60 each way, so about €180-190 return incl taxes etc. Happy days..

suzr

I went on a surf tour to Spain last summer. We traveled around the north coast and had tuition every morning. The guys running it are English. It was great to get to different beaches and see a bit of the country. I'm booking again for next year. The company are called Surf Atlantico.

mags345

ta guys for all the links, checked few of em out and that place in morroco looks class, just wondering about the accomadation these surf places offer, have ye guys stayed in em, i presume there decent enough, not lukin for anythin fancy just bit of privacy tho at same time.

will3k

mags345 wrote: »

ta guys for all the links, checked few of em out and that place in morroco looks class, just wondering about the accomadation these surf places offer, have ye guys stayed in em, i presume there decent enough, not lukin for anythin fancy just bit of privacy tho at same time.

I was onto the crowd in Morocco, they said they have double rooms, not dorm style like a good few of the other camps. They also said I'd probably have the room to myself with no extra single supplement. That's what they said though, I'll let you know if it's true when I get back :pac:

mags345

do let me know please. enoy the hol!!:)

Kryx

Foz do Arelho in Baleal in portugal is cool. Right next to Supertubos too!

http://fozcamp.com/v1/content/view/16/28/lang,english/

foxymarrylou

will3k wrote: »

I just booked a trip to Morocco with this place - surfcamp

Going by myself at the minute, fed up waiting for others to decide

Really looking forward to it

Howdy, when you heading there? Thinking of booking for the end of Jan. I went on a Surfari with a crowd called surf-atlantico (www.surf-atlantico.com) in Spain last year & it was awesome. Went alone that time too coz as you say,waiting for people to decide is a headache. Met really cool people & had an amazing week. Craving sun & waves

will3k

foxymarrylou wrote: »

Howdy, when you heading there? Thinking of booking for the end of Jan. I went on a Surfari with a crowd called surf-atlantico (www.surf-atlantico.com) in Spain last year & it was awesome. Went alone that time too coz as you say,waiting for people to decide is a headache. Met really cool people & had an amazing week. Craving sun & waves

I'm heading over from 31/01/09 - 07/02/09
Should be great craic, really looking forward to it.

SaabClubIreland

Hi all,

i just came back from Portugal /Ericeira 30 minutes from Lisbon, even in the winter is great and sunny!!

i love Portugal, and the surfing !! Portugal for sure one of the best place in Europe for surfing!

spurscormac

Thinking of going on a beginners surf holiday in May so that the weather will have got to a nice warm level.

Looking for somewhere with a good beginner school. Done a few days lessons, have my own beginner board, but want somewhere that will hopefully have me able to stand consistently once the week is out.
Also, as it will be a couple going, would need accommodation to be of the non-dorm type.

Have been to Lisbon area recently, though didn't surf, so looking at other locations than Ericeira region, France, Algarve, etc.

Anyone got any recommendations on the above?

pendragon_y2k

mags345 wrote: »

Hey guys,
Thinkin of goin on a surfing holiday next easter or summer. can ye reccoment any gud skools in Europe???

Perhaps one that teaches spelling/English as well as surfing?

SaabClubIreland

i know these schools and there's a lot of fun, you can meet people from all over the world.

these are in Portugal

Watch "surf portugal-ericeira-nazare (gipsyonthemove.com)"

Watch "Peniche Surf Camp promotional video"

Watch "Portuguese Surf Girls"

SaabClubIreland

i found this link

http://www.nomadsurfers.com/en/europe/portugal/ericeira/surfcamp/20.html

spider77

SaabClubIreland wrote: »

i found this link

http://www.nomadsurfers.com/en/europe/portugal/ericeira/surfcamp/20.html

I was in Ericiera last summer and saw this surf school taking beginners in at that beach with NSP boards. The beach Ribeira de L'Ilhas is a seriously heavy beach break (from what I saw) where the ASP tour is held. I would not consider this a beginner beach in my opinion. They did go in off rocks where it was a little shallower but still think it was dangerous. The guys I saw in the surf comp had difficulty gettin in and out of the water here. You need your own board in this town as I learnt the hard way (if you are not a beginner).;)

lg123

i think Ericiera was reviewed in no frontiers this evening, looked good to me.

Woofer

Maybe a stupid question - when is the optimum time to go for a surfing holiday in south of france/north spain/protugal? I'd like to go during the summer when the weather is nice, but would you be guaranteed good surf? (i know this is never really guaranteed!)

ibh

lg123 wrote: »

i think Ericiera was reviewed in no frontiers this evening, looked good to me.

It was also in the Aer Lingus In-flight magazine this month. Probably the same guy syndicating it. The Eco-lodge accommodation looked really cook, but it’s dear as fcuk. Can’t remember exactly but something like €700+ a week in mid-high season! Ok if u got it full of people. Lots of private accom on the net for there as well.
Looks great as a whole.

pendragon_y2k

Woofer wrote: »

Maybe a stupid question - when is the optimum time to go for a surfing holiday in south of france/north spain/protugal? I'd like to go during the summer when the weather is nice, but would you be guaranteed good surf? (i know this is never really guaranteed!)

Go to magicseaweed.com and choose an area, then if you look through the options you can get a year/month by month review chart of average air,sea temps, swell heights and periods, directions etc.

spider77

ibh wrote: »

It was also in the Aer Lingus In-flight magazine this month. Probably the same guy syndicating it. The Eco-lodge accommodation looked really cook, but it’s dear as fcuk. Can’t remember exactly but something like €700+ a week in mid-high season! Ok if u got it full of people. Lots of private accom on the net for there as well.
Looks great as a whole.

I stayed in the eco lodges last summer for the week. The accommodation is really nice and it worked out cheap for us as there were 4 of us. The only draw back was that the surf schools in the area in my opinion are a good bit below par. The selection of surfboards was poor and I found some instructors just had no interest (im sure some schools there are good but not the ones we used). Some of us have surfed for over 2 years and they still wanted to give us foam boards. Nice town though and its def worth going there while the ASP competition is on as the clubs and pubs are busy.

roberb

we booked in surfholidays.com last year, saw them on no frontiers last week, we didnt stay in the eco lodges although they look class. We did a more self catering option. We didnt bother with lessons as had all surfed before - stayed in the apartment up by Ribeira d'ilhas - had some great sessions, it was july so werent expecting massive swells but the area was great as a base, apartments were perfect and cheap - drove up to Peniche and down around Lisbon throughout the week as there's an endless amount of surf spots. Ericeira is really nice town - really laid back.

Looking at northen spain this year - heard great things about it. Anyone been?

Surfing_Xboxer

Quiksilver surf in Fuerteventura is very good !

Decos

I'm heading over from 31/01/09 - 07/02/09
Should be great craic, really looking forward to it.

hey man,
i also booked a week in morocco on my own except its 21-28 feb im goin. Cant wait, i was also tired of waiting for people to make up their minds!

Praying to god for waves that week. The recent pics from taghazoute look really really good. Are you staying in taghazoute?

will3k

Decos wrote: »

hey man,
i also booked a week in morocco on my own except its 21-28 feb im goin. Cant wait, i was also tired of waiting for people to make up their minds!

Praying to god for waves that week. The recent pics from taghazoute look really really good. Are you staying in taghazoute?

Hey man,
I'm staying in a place called Tamraght. Think it's pretty close to Taghazoute. The reports are looking perfect alright 5/6ft offshore rights peeling off forever!!
I'll post up how I get on.

Surfing_Xboxer

Hey , Im looking to go there...where are you staying ?

Longboard

Went to a camp a few years ago near sagres with some mates.

They had a makeshift bar downstairs where all drinks were €1

You had to drive 20 min + to find shops, tourists or any form of life for that matter.

Instructors were well clued in.

Best holiday i've ever had.

foxymarrylou

will3k wrote: »

Hey man,
I'm staying in a place called Tamraght. Think it's pretty close to Taghazoute. The reports are looking perfect alright 5/6ft offshore rights peeling off forever!!
I'll post up how I get on.

How was the trip Will3k?!!

will3k

foxymarrylou wrote: »

How was the trip Will3k?!!

Well folks,
Had a good week on the trip, unfortunatly the weather didn't play ball. There were 2/3 storms that hit in the 1 week I was there, swells were 5/6M and winds onshore and strong.
I got out a few days, most time on some days spent fighting the white water, others when the wind was not so strong were nice. And the last day, when the storms passed, was great , best waves I've ever been on.

The weather kinda ruined it to be honest, but fortunatly I did get a glimps of what it can be like when it works in Morocco, and its fantastic. Perfect rights.

The place I stayed was nice, and run by great folks, but the village was real quiet. That wouldn't have been such a problem if I was surfing all day, but coz I wasn't, I wasn't tired and wanted to go boozing which meant taxis to Agadir / Tagahoutze (SP?) There was literally 1 restaurant in walking distance of my camp, but you could get grup + beer etc in the camp, perfect for chilling out but kinda dead.

The surf can be awesome by the looks of it, and it was the week before I arrived, and is the week after I left - feicin typical!! :mad:
I didn't think it was a good beginner place though, I'm not a beginner, but no expert either and found the waves heavy, fast, and steep. Most of the breaks are point breaks - meaning you gotta climb down the side of rocks / cliffs to jump in off boulders etc. making entrys and exits interesting :rolleyes: The couple of beachies I did surf were heavy too, and breaking on shallow banks.
There is a lack of sheltered spots so if the swell is big, there's nowhere to hide.
I got a lot of rain too, which ran down the side of mountains + villages into the sea and because towns can be quite a dirty the sea was pretty manky too.

Fed up typing now, so if you got any specific questions I'll answer them no probs.

foxymarrylou

Ah poop bout the weather. Were there many others in the group & did you have instruction or did you just do your own thing?

Last question - what board were you riding?

Still toying with the idea of Morocco...but a brief stint on my snowboard in Wicklow last wknd has me gagging for powder liiiiittle bit more than waves right now

will3k

foxymarrylou wrote: »

Ah poop bout the weather. Were there many others in the group & did you have instruction or did you just do your own thing?

Last question - what board were you riding?

Still toying with the idea of Morocco...but a brief stint on my snowboard in Wicklow last wknd has me gagging for powder liiiiittle bit more than waves right now

There were others in the group yup between 5-10 depending on the day, mostly fairly handy surfers.
No instruction, just transport to the breaks.
I was on a 7ft shortboard.

foxymarrylou

Cheers dude!

Decos

There were others in the group yup between 5-10 depending on the day, mostly fairly handy surfers.
No instruction, just transport to the breaks.

Hey man,
Do they just drop you off at the break early in the morning and pick u up on the evening or do they hang around for the day? I was just wondering how the whole surf camp side of it works. What breaks would you recommend for an improver? Ill be heading over on saturday for a week.

learnerplates

I'm interested in something myself.
Is there any where with a surf school beside a town on the beach where you don't have to travel to by bus or whatever?

I'd like somewhere for 4-5 days, for slightly more than a beginner, a 2hr lesson in the morning then use of the board all day but I don't want the hassle of hiring a car or being shipped around by bus.
A one bed in a hostel or whatever would do.
Safe beachs are a must too as I'd probably be venturing out most of the day alone.

I don't want to bring me own board either, any Bic will do, don't mind messing about on different types either.
Of course some sort of nightlife at night would be great, something like a bar or a couple of restuarants. North Spain or Portugal would seem to be the best option mainly due to the price of provisions.

sickpuppy32

i'd recommend the-surf-experience in lagos portugal, There are 2 surf experinces, one run by a german crowd which you live in a house out in the country and the other is a hostel type accomaodation in the town center run by a mad english guy, You pack up ur stuff on a few jeeps every morning and head to whereever the bestbreaksare, they provide breakfast and lunch and you usually get back to the town about 4 - totally recommend it
http://www.surf-experience.com/index.html

learnerplates

Looks interesting, I'll get back to you thanks.

Anywhere in Spain/Portugal where you don't have to drive or be driven to to get to the surf?

sickpuppy32

the problem with staying by the same beach is that you probably wont get good surf every day - even tullan strand has its bad days!

learnerplates

sickpuppy32 wrote: »

the problem with staying by the same beach is that you probably wont get good surf every day - even tullan strand has its bad days!

understood, would be great to have the freedom to head out whenever you want though. 3-4ft is good enough for me, also safe beach.

will3k

Decos wrote: »

Hey man,
Do they just drop you off at the break early in the morning and pick u up on the evening or do they hang around for the day? I was just wondering how the whole surf camp side of it works. What breaks would you recommend for an improver? Ill be heading over on saturday for a week.

Probably bit late for you, but the place I stayed brought you to the breaks and hung around waiting for you.
The camp will know the best places for your level, but I found Panaroma, Killers, and Airports (think thats what it's called, near Boilers) to be good. Devil rock is bit of a more mellow beachy for the afternoon sessions. Have a good one.

On another note, I didn't bring my own board this time, but definitly will the next.

learnerplates

I've found this one "Arrifana Surf Lodge" http://www.arrifanasurflodge.com, 450 for a week, includes surf lessons and gear, food too. Still haven't booked but will have to decide this week.
Any know anything about these guys?
They say they're just beside Arrifana beach which suits me, they also say they transport other other spots, all surf dependant, looks promising to me anyway.

Daisies

Decided to bump this.
Me and a friend (both complete and total beginners) are thinking of going on a surfing holiday in May. We're looking for somewhere that will offer good tuition but that will also have a good social aspect ie not in the middle of nowhere. All suggestions welcome

sickpuppy32

the surf experience - the english one in ( as opposed to the german one) in portugal. best time ever and really learnt to surf too

learnerplates

Daisies wrote: »

Decided to bump this.
Me and a friend (both complete and total beginners) are thinking of going on a surfing holiday in May. We're looking for somewhere that will offer good tuition but that will also have a good social aspect ie not in the middle of nowhere. All suggestions welcome

I'm heading to Arrifana Surf Lodge, mentioned 2 posts above, the week after next. i'll let you know how I get on. It came recommended on irishsurfers.com. It's a small setup, only 10 or so surfers, they provide accomodation, all food, tuition, gear, what more can you ask for. Hopefully it's as good as advertised and hopefully the surf is good, supposodly a great location.

Nanoman

I love it when a good thread goes back so long! I went on a solo trip to Lagos last year with those guys www.surfholidays.com. Stayed in the surf house - basically a house that sleeps about 15 in the centre of town.
Its a cool town (actually a city but not sure why cos its all cobblestone streets).
Ther's no surf in the actual town - they take you out every morning in the jeeps and go to the best surf beaches based on conditions -
usually 20-40 minutes. Its a mixture of beginners getting lessons and for others taken out back to the green waves. Spent all day on the beach for a week surfing - got some really quality waves.

They take you back, you go for a quick powerkip and then out for a few beers. Its a kicking town, loads of bars and that cool vibe of walking up and down the old town at night in and out of bars with a beer in your hand.Sweet.

3 of us are going to Ericeira in May (based on recommendations from this thread!!!) Will report back

sickpuppy32

Nanoman wrote: »

I love it when a good thread goes back so long! I went on a solo trip to Lagos last year with those guys www.surfholidays.com. Stayed in the surf house - basically a house that sleeps about 15 in the centre of town.
Its a cool town (actually a city but not sure why cos its all cobblestone streets).
Ther's no surf in the actual town - they take you out every morning in the jeeps and go to the best surf beaches based on conditions -
usually 20-40 minutes. Its a mixture of beginners getting lessons and for others taken out back to the green waves. Spent all day on the beach for a week surfing - got some really quality waves.

They take you back, you go for a quick powerkip and then out for a few beers. Its a kicking town, loads of bars and that cool vibe of walking up and down the old town at night in and out of bars with a beer in your hand.Sweet.

3 of us are going to Ericeira in May (based on recommendations from this thread!!!) Will report back

thatr sounds like thesurf experience place - is it run by this mad dreadlocked english guy?