Making these common mistakes when booking a surf trip can turn your wave riding adventure into a flat-out disaster. So to avoid blowing that precious vacation time on the wrong call, check out our latest article below.
There’s nothing more exciting than going on your first ever surf trip with friends. The promise of a little time off work combined with fun waves in an exotic location is enough to make anyone’s frontal lobe flicker with excitement. But if you really want to milk your surf trip for all it’s worth, you can’t just go booking any old destination and expect to have the time of your life.
Surf trips, like any trip you invest time and money into, take a little planning in order to pull off. With that in mind our team here at Southwest Surf House have come up with some of the most common mistakes we see beginner surfers make when booking a surf trip to France. Although to be fair, these oversights can be applied to surf trips to pretty much any other destination around the world as well.
Going during the wrong time of year
This may seem like an obvious one to most people. But if you’re only just getting into surfing it’s definitely worth mentioning that the seasons play a major role in dictating the type of waves you can expect. For example; booking a surf trip to France in winter is probably not the ideal time to visit if you’re a beginner surfer. Given that the conditions will most likely be more challenging than rewarding.
On the other hand, booking a surf trip to France in summer is perfect if you prefer smaller, more manageable waves. With weather that’s undoubtedly more conducive to hanging out at the beach and sharing the stoke with friends under the sun. As a rule of thumb, remember that the colder months generate bigger waves due to the stormier weather while summertime will see wave size reduced.
Bringing equipment that’s not suitable
If you insist on bringing your own equipment when booking a surf trip to France, then make sure you’ve got the right gear. There’s no point bringing a 7-foot rhino chaser and a 4/3 wetsuit to Hossegor in July. Nor will you last very long in the water when November rolls around without some decent rubber and a high-performance board.
If you’re unsure as to what constitutes the right equipment, get in touch with our friendly team members at Southwest Surf House before you start packing. We’ll be happy to give you advice on what we think is best for your skill level and offer suggestions on what to bring. We’ll even help set you up with some decent gear when you arrive. Saving some dough on airline baggage fees in the process.
Staying too far away from the ocean
This won’t derail your surf trip in the same way that booking out of season or bringing the wrong gear will. But staying too far away from the ocean can be a hassle if you want to make the most out of your surf safari. So while a 30 minute walk or 45 minute drive may not seem like much if your nearest beach back home is 3 hours away, trust us… when booking a surf trip to France it can be a killer.
The reason for this is that you’ll probably want to check the surf throughout the day, which means multiple trips to the beach. You’ll also most likely want to spend as much time as possible doing as little as possible. Which isn’t going to happen if you’re always in the car going to and from your accommodation. Our advice? Book somewhere that’s no more than roughly 10 minute’s walk to the shore.
This way you can keep an eye on the surf all day and get in the water quickly when the conditions turn on. Better yet, stay with us and enjoy the fact it’s possible to take a freshly brewed coffee with you when you check the surf in the morning, only for it to still be warm in your hands when you come back to grab your gear. If that’s not living, then we don’t know what is.
Book a surf trip to France with Southwest Surf House and let us ensure your wave riding experience is memorable for all the right reasons