Trip guide

Best spots to learn to surf

Gentle beaches and surf-school towns across Europe

Learning to surf is all about the right beach: a sandy bottom, gentle waves that break slowly, room to spread out, and a good school nearby. Europe's coasts are full of them, and several of its most famous surf towns started out as places where people learned.

We have picked beaches that tourism offices and surf guides recommend for beginners, and that the SurfCams catalogue rates as beginner-friendly: sheltered bays in Portugal, the long beaches of the Bay of Biscay, the surf towns of Cornwall, Wales and Ireland, and cold-water schools on the North Sea. Check the live cam and forecast on each spot before you go: even an easy beach can be too much on a big day.

When to learn

Regional guides to south-west France put May to September as the best period for beginners, when the swell is smaller and the water warmer. The Asturian tourism office also calls summer the best season for learning, and the sheltered bays of Portugal, like Baleal and Arrifana, are full of schools from spring to autumn.

Spring and early autumn are a good compromise if you can handle cooler water: schools are open, the waves are still friendly on many days, and the beaches are far less crowded. In winter, head for the Canaries, where Famara and Las Palmas' city beach have waves on most days, or for sheltered city beaches like Matosinhos in Porto.

The North Sea and the Kattegat work the other way round: Tynemouth, St Peter-Ording and Apelviken get most of their waves from autumn and winter storms, so they are cold-water schools.

Stay safe

On the sandy beaches of Gironde, the Landes and the Basque Country, rip currents called baïnes form in the hollows between sandbanks. Rips form on sandy beaches everywhere, from Cornwall to Portugal. If one carries you out, do not fight it: let it take you, then swim or paddle parallel to the beach and come back in with the waves.

Surf in the zones the lifeguards mark for surfing, stay away from swimmers, and take a lesson or two before going out alone. Popular learner beaches get very busy in summer, so keep your distance from other boards.

The route

Pays Basque

The Côte des Basques is where European surfing began, and travel guides recommend Hendaye and Bidart for beginners.

Landes

Long sandy beaches with schools in every resort. Capbreton's beaches between the groynes are sheltered and suit beginners.

Gipuzkoa

Zarautz is the home of the Basque surf-school scene, and Basque tourism lists Deba among the good places to learn.

Cantabria

Somo and Loredo, across the bay from Santander, are among the classic places to learn in Spain.

Asturias

The regional tourism office recommends Salinas and Gijón's San Lorenzo for beginners.

Portugal Centro

Baleal's Cantinho, next to Peniche, is the busiest surf-school corner in the area. Baleal island shelters it from the north, so the summer wind is nearly offshore.

Algarve

Arrifana and Amado on the Costa Vicentina are cliff-backed bays full of surf schools for most of the year.

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

Famara, a long beach under high cliffs, is the centre of surfing on Lanzarote, where most of the island's schools teach. A winter option, with mild water.

Cornwall

Polzeath is one of Cornwall's best-known learner beaches, and the Newquay beaches and Sennen have schools all summer.

Ireland North West

Rossnowlagh, deep in Donegal Bay, has smaller, gentler waves than Bundoran and is one of the best places to learn in Ireland.

22 spots

  1. Biarritz – Côte des Basques

    Biarritz · Pays Basque · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    The cradle of European surfing: a long, gentle beach break with mellow lefts and rights, ideal for learning and longboarding.

  2. Baleal – Cantinho da Baía

    Peniche · Portugal Centro · Beginner · Beach break

    The corner of the Baleal bay next to the isthmus, a safe, fun beach break and the busiest surf-school spot around Peniche. The island shelters it from the north wind; crowded in summer, but friendly.

  3. Hendaye – Grande Plage

    Hendaye · Pays Basque · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    A long beach sheltered from most swell and wind, recommended for beginners by travel guides. Fun, easy waves when the open coast is head high.

  4. Arrifana – beach

    Aljezur · Algarve · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    A curved, cliff-backed bay south-west of Aljezur and one of the best-known beginner beaches in Portugal. Sheltered from the north wind, with peaks at either end and surf schools for most of the year.

  5. Zarautz

    Gipuzkoa · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    Almost three kilometres of open sand with peaks that spread along the beach: the home of the Basque surf-school scene.

  6. Playa de Famara

    Caleta de Famara · Lanzarote and Fuerteventura · Beginner · Beach break

    A long golden beach under the Famara cliffs and the centre of surfing on Lanzarote. Sand peaks along several kilometres leave room for everyone; most of the island's schools teach here. Go early, before the wind.

  7. Somo

    Ribamontán al Mar · Cantabria · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    One of the cradles of Spanish surfing, with forgiving waves, many schools and surf camps, and waves on about 150 days a year.

  8. Polzeath

    Cornwall · Beginner · Beach break

    A wide, flat beach on the Camel estuary and one of the best-known learner beaches in Cornwall. The waves are usually gentle and it works on most tides; very busy in summer with families and schools.

  9. Rossnowlagh

    Ireland North West · Beginner · Beach break

    A 3 km beach deep in Donegal Bay, where the bay takes much of the power out of the swell. Lots of easy peaks, rarely crowded, and a relaxed, family mood.

  10. Ericeira – Foz do Lizandro

    Ericeira · Lisbon coast · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    Ericeira's best beginner spot, where the Lizandro river builds sandbanks with A-frame peaks along the beach. Surf schools use it every day; the beach is big and the locals friendly.

  11. Capbreton – Le Prévent

    Capbreton · Landes · Beginner · Beach break

    Boxed in by jetties and relatively sheltered, with fun peaks; popular with families and surf schools. Capbreton's groyne beaches are a classic place to learn.

  12. Lahinch Beach

    Lahinch · Ireland West · Beginner · Beach break

    Ireland's best-known surf town, with sandbanks for every level and a promenade full of surf schools, shops and cafés. The waves are easy to catch, so there is almost always a crowd.

  13. Gijón – San Lorenzo

    Gijón · Asturias · Beginner · Beach break · 5 live cams

    Gijón's city beach below the promenade, recommended for beginners by the Asturian tourism office, with a strong surfing community.

  14. La Cícer (Las Canteras)

    Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Western Canaries · Beginner · Beach break

    The southern end of Las Canteras, the city beach of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. Waves break on most winter days, from gentle whitewater to steeper close-outs, and many schools teach here. Very crowded.

  15. Llangennith

    Wales · Beginner · Beach break

    The best-known surf beach in South Wales, facing straight into the Atlantic, with peaks along kilometres of sand. Schools teach near the main path; walk away from it for space.

  16. Salinas

    Salinas (Castrillón) · Asturias · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    Spain's first surf school opened here in the 1960s, and the Asturian tourism office still recommends it for beginners.

  17. Saunton Sands

    Saunton · Devon and the south coast · Beginner · Beach break

    Three miles of sand backed by the Braunton Burrows dunes in North Devon. The waves are slow and gentle, a classic longboard and learner beach; walk south from the car park for empty peaks.

  18. Matosinhos

    Portugal Norte · Beginner · Beach break · 3 live cams

    Porto's big city beach, sheltered by the Leixões breakwater, so it is gentler than the open coast. Full of surf schools and learners all year; crowded on good days, but beginner-friendly.

  19. Lacanau – Plage Centrale

    Lacanau · Gironde · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    Gironde's busiest surf spot, with jetties that keep the banks fairly stable and plenty of schools along the seafront.

  20. Tynemouth – Longsands

    Tynemouth · North East England · Beginner · Beach break

    A long beach a short Metro ride from Newcastle, with waves that are rarely powerful, so it is busy with beginners and schools. Mellow and usually hassle-free, but very crowded at weekends.

  21. Apelviken

    Varberg · Sweden · Beginner · Beach break

    Sweden's main surf beach, a long sandy bay just south of Varberg, with schools, rental and shops. It needs a westerly blow to make waves, then suits all levels; busy on good weekends, but friendly.

  22. St. Peter-Ording

    Sankt Peter-Ording · Germany · Beginner · Beach break

    A huge, flat sand beach on Germany's North Sea coast, over a kilometre wide at low tide, with soft, usually small waves. Surfing is allowed in a water-sports zone shared with kiters; empty in the week.

Tips from the line-up

  1. Take lessons. A few sessions with a qualified instructor teach you safety, etiquette and the basics much faster than going alone.
  2. Start on a big, soft board. Volume makes paddling and catching waves far easier.
  3. Small days are your friend. Waves between knee and waist high are ideal for learning.
  4. Learn to spot rips: darker, calmer water between breaking waves often marks a current heading out to sea.
  5. Stay in the whitewater at first, away from the surfers on the outside peaks.
  6. Check the cam before you go. If it looks big and messy, come back another day.

Sources