lahinch or achill island??

noeleoreid

Where has better surfing and is more reliable to get waves?? Living in galway and I surfed in achill island before , was pretty good, but plan on doin a bit more on my holidays. Would lahinch be better??

Also , which surf school would ya recommend ??? And for how long does a lesson last or can ya just go at it alone?? Also is there wetsuit hire ect.... all the general information basically and the usual questions.....

Thanks in advance....

CRenegade

Lahinch would be more consistent in my opinion.
It is also a lot better for beginners as the choice of lessons and surf equipment hire is very good.
There are plenty of places to get lessons, they usually last 2 - 3 hours and wetsuits provided.

I know a couple of guys - http://www.benssurfclinic.com/ is there a long time and he is a great guy and you also have Liams - http://www.lahinchsurfexperience.com/ a young local who has built up this business over the past few years - the choice is yours.

I always stay at West Coast Lodge: http://www.lahinchaccommodation.com/ Duncan is a great guy but be sure to book well in advance as its very popular.

Good luck with the surfing!

rambutman

CRenegade wrote: »

Lahinch would be more consistent in my opinion.
It is also a lot better for beginners as the choice of lessons and surf equipment hire is very good.
There are plenty of places to get lessons, they usually last 2 - 3 hours and wetsuits provided.

I know a couple of guys - http://www.benssurfclinic.com/ is there a long time and he is a great guy and you also have Liams - http://www.lahinchsurfexperience.com/ a young local who has built up this business over the past few years - the choice is yours.

I always stay at West Coast Lodge: http://www.lahinchaccommodation.com/ Duncan is a great guy but be sure to book well in advance as its very popular.

Good luck with the surfing!

More consistent based on what? Have you actually surfed achill? Lahinch faces 1 way NW. Achill has a few breaks Keel and Doogort to name 2 - both face different directions so you have more options. Achill IMO picks up more swell based on its location....Keel can be a bit dumpy and can get windy but during the summer is grand.....and there's a surf school there on Keel beach. Once you get a board and a suit there's 4uck all difference between 1 surf school and another. It's you and the waves. Lahinch has a much bigger chance of being jammers, the attitude in the water is not always the best and no matter what ya say Achill is hell of a lot more scenic than Lahinch................the only drawback to Achill is that its a bit more out of the way.

A lesson will normally consist of 15 minutes on the beach with a guy showing you how to pop up and then you are out to the water, which a little bit of instruction. 95% of learning surfing is down to yourself.

Mickeroo

Lahinch is a better wave. Achill is a lot quieter and more scenic though. I'd say make a call based on the forecast for the weekend you're going, if the wind is any way northerly then go to Achill. I'm not sure on best forecast for Lahinch.

Though there are quite a few beaches on achill it's rare for any of them to have a wave apart from keel during the summer.

FlashD

rambutman wrote: »

Lahinch faces 1 way NW.

That's news to me, last time I looked at a map it was SW.

CRenegade

rambutman wrote: »

More consistent based on what? Have you actually surfed achill? Lahinch faces 1 way NW. Achill has a few breaks Keel and Doogort to name 2 - both face different directions so you have more options. Achill IMO picks up more swell based on its location....Keel can be a bit dumpy and can get windy but during the summer is grand.....and there's a surf school there on Keel beach. Once you get a board and a suit there's 4uck all difference between 1 surf school and another. It's you and the waves. Lahinch has a much bigger chance of being jammers, the attitude in the water is not always the best and no matter what ya say Achill is hell of a lot more scenic than Lahinch................the only drawback to Achill is that its a bit more out of the way.

A lesson will normally consist of 15 minutes on the beach with a guy showing you how to pop up and then you are out to the water, which a little bit of instruction. 95% of learning surfing is down to yourself.

Ok Im dont want to get into an arguement with you. But yes ive surfed achill on many occasions - on both sides of the island.

But this guy is a beginner and In my opinion Summer time Lahinch is more consistent for beginners and has more choise for surf schools, rentals etc. You have lahinch beach obivously and then Fanore and Spanish close by and when the OP gets more advanced then down the coast from Spanish.

I love achill island so dont think Im one sided - had some great trips there. But in the summer beginners are pretty much limited to Keel as rentals and lessons are there.

In the winter time I would not advise a beginner to surf Achill unless it is with an experienced surfer and also the rentals will not operate if the weather is bad for safety reasons.

Regarding getting lessons and doing it all yourself I'd like you to say that to the many surf instructor companies who take pride in their operation, Tell this to Ben in Lahinch and Im sure he'll give you a very good answer.

I dont claim to know it all or be very experienced but after going through the initial beginner stages in the past few years and done a lot of research into the activity I would advise a beginner to go to Lahinch for the weekend over Achill and pencil Achill in for when you have your own gear.

OldGuysRule

I would very strongly back up what CRenegade said above, particularly about getting lessons.

Brandog

Contentious issue.Good points on both sides too.I'd lean more to the side of going were your beginner mate gets the best instruction/advice.That's the key point as he finds his feet and Lahinch in my opinion has that in the likes of Ben,McC et all.Doesn't really matter about the conditions as he's there for solid theory,paddle technique and pop up in a safe environment.2 cents worth

rodento

Your talking about two completely different beasts here

Achill is your man if you want a relaxed day in a beautiful surround, lahinch is a tad more built up and manic but nothing beats hanging around with a coffee on the prominade after a surf in the sun.

Both work best with southerly swells and easterly winds, lahinch is more consistent but can get messy if winds are not right where as keel is a tad more sheltered and suits a wide range of winds directions from north west to easterly

Worth talking to a couple of schools to see if they operate in other areas if conditions are not right

Both offer surf schools and gear hire and both advanced lessons.

http://www.achill-surf-lessons.com/about_coaching.html
http://achillsurf.com/surf-kayak-lessons.asp
http://www.benssurfclinic.com/

ROZLYN

Hi Noeleoreid,
I've only gone surfing a hand full of times but to add my tupence worth...A friend brought me surfing and after flapping around in the water the first couple of times, she 'advised' me to get a lesson so she didn't have to baby sit (she has surfed a bit more!!). We had travelled down to Lahinch from Galway and it took just over an hour which wasn't bad. I ended up getting a lesson with bens surf clinic and stood on my first lesson My friend has ended up getting a lesson too but in the more advanced group because unlike me she knew what she was at..