With summer just around the corner, it may be time to start planning this year’s surf adventure. One of the big questions we often get asked is what surf camp guests can expect from their week-long surf courses. Here are the in and outs.
3. What level surf course can I book?
— Beginner Surf Course
— Improver Surf Course
— Intermediate Surf Course
4. What other surfing options are there?
— Surf lesson upgrade
— Surf equipment hire
5. What are the wave like in the surf camps?
During your weeks’ surf course and your practical surf lessons, our surf instructors teach you the essentials of surfing, such as how to paddle into waves, catching waves, standing up and controlling your surfboard. We offer three surf course levels you can choose from for your surf holiday week, and we provide all surf equipment free of charge for the duration of your practical surf lessons.
We always start our surf lessons with a warm-up on the beach. During the practical surf lessons, we use soft-top surfboards, called ‘foamies’, which are great for surfers starting out as they help you to catch the most waves.
Your first surf lesson will be on Sunday. We all meet at the surf tent for an introduction and wetsuit allocation in the morning of your first day surfing. Your surf lesson times are displayed on our notice board in the surf camp.
The maximum group size for our surf lessons is eight surfers per one instructor, plus one surf assistant if required. The use of surf equipment (surfboard, leash and wetsuit) during surf lessons is included.
Your surf lessons also include a surf-based fitness workshop which focusses on breath work and balance training to help improve your surfing and increase confidence in the water. Each class is 90 minutes long and starts with an animal flow warm up to decompress the body before moving onto some balance training and functional movement patterns, finishing with a breath-work training session.
Good balance is crucial to surfing waves, however it is difficult to practice this in the ocean with so much else to focus on. Our Breath & Balance Workshop offers functional exercises to improve your balance, strength and stability by using balance boards, bodyweight exercises and surf-skates to learn skills and movements transferable to surfing. Functional movement patterns such as squatting, lunging and pressing help to build a solid foundation for human movement. Combining these movements with rotation and unilateral (single arm / single leg) exercise variations help to improve our stability and balance on a surfboard.
We finish each Breath & Balance Workshop with a guided breath-work part where you learn techniques that will help you to stay calm and hold your breath for longer. This will help to improve your confidence in the water, especially when surfing bigger waves.
Included in your surf course is also a session on Surf Theory which we hold in the surf camp. During this 90 minute session, one of our surf instructors will talk you through some of the basics of surfing. This includes a brief overview of the history of surfing, where surfing started, its path into today’s popular culture and how it became an Olympic sport. Surfing has it’s own “lingo” and we give you an insight into what Shakas are and why onshore winds are epic.
As with any sport, there are risks involved in surfing, and surfing can be dangerous if you don’t learn in a safe environment. We want you to be save when you’re surfing with us but, in particular, we want you to be save when you go surfing on your own. This is why during our surf theory sessions, we teach you about surf and water safety, rip currents, the different types of waves and breaks as well as surfing etiquette and more.
All our surf instructors are qualified, fully licensed in the country they teach surfing in and have a lifeguarding qualification. They have a very good understanding of the wave conditions and local surf spots and are always ready to lend you a helping hand. Our surf instructors are in the water with you, pushing you into waves and helping you progress quickly.
We handpick each surf instructor based on their experience, qualifications and stoke. We only employ licensed and qualified surf instructors (ISA, ASI, SGB, FCS) as well as professional lifeguards (SLSGB). With us, you won’t find a too-cool-for-school attitude. Our surf instructors are in the water with you, high-fiving you, encouraging and helping you every step of the way.
In our summer surf camps in Moliets-Plage in Southwest France and in the North of Spain in Oyambre, we offer three surf course levels you can choose from for your surf holiday week. All surf courses include 4 practical surf lessons, one Breath & Balance Workshop as well as one Surf Theory Session in the surf camp, each 90 minutes long. We provide all surf equipment free of charge for the duration of your surf lesson.
Perfect for those of you who have never surfed before or have only done a few surf lessons/ a surf course, but have not surfed in a while and would benefit from starting with the basics. You will be learning the technique of paddling, standing up on a surfboard in white water and how to get the timing right to catch a wave.
The right choice for those of you who have done several surf lessons or courses and have good confidence in the white water and an understanding of the basics: paddling, standing up on a surfboard and catching a wave. The focus of our improver courses is on learning how to steer your surfboard with the right technique in both directions and on how to create speed.
Ideal for those of you who already have good confidence in the water, experience “out back” surfing green waves and can perform manoeuvres, like bottom and top turns. You have a good level of fitness and an understanding of currents. We will focus on more advanced surfing techniques, and participants use our premium range of surfboards with our most experienced surf instructors
If you’re looking to spend more time surfing when on surf holidays, you can add our Surf Lesson Upgrade during the booking process.
Our Surf Lesson Upgrade includes 2x 90 minutes of additional surf lessons in the water with our surf team. If the conditions are right, we schedule at least one of these sessions at sunrise or sunset.
Suited to both beginner and intermediate surfers, our Surf Lesson Upgrade allows for more time in the water with your surf instructor to further improve your surfing skills.
You can now rent your own surfboard, wetsuit and leash while on surfing holidays with us. With our local surf beaches only a short walk from our surf camps in each summer camp location, you can go surfing in your own time whenever you please and make the most of your surfing holidays.
We have a good range of beginner surfboards in the surf camp. For safety reasons, all rental surfboards are soft ‘foamie’ surfboards, not hard surfboards. If you are an intermediate to advanced surfer, we recommend you bring your own equipment.
Between April and October, the coastline around Moliets-Plage is hit by consistent summer swells that offer great surfing conditions for both beginner and intermediate surfers.
Beach breaks are generally the safest type of waves for surf beginners to learn to surf on as they form and break over sand. The shape of the wave that is formed is that of the sandbank underneath the water. What makes Moliets unique is the river mouth joining the beach which helps give the sandbanks shape and consistency.
Different stages of the tide allow for different quality of waves and different surfing conditions. Generally on a low tide, the waves in Moliets are faster, more powerful and suited to intermediate and advanced surfers. On the higher tide, these waves break in deeper water and are therefore slower, softer and more suited to surf beginners.
The beach in Moliets is sheer endless and, on any stage of the tide, a simple walk up or down the beach will provide a large variety of waves suited to any ability level. This means we can find good waves for all surf levels nearly every day over the summer.
Our Surf Chill holiday package with a 6 session surf course is our most popular surf camp package in Moliets. It includes 5x 90 minutes practical surf lessons on Plage de Moliets, the beach just a short walk from the campsite, as well as 1x surf theory in the surf camp, also 90 minutes, teaching you about water safety, rip currents and the intricacies of French beach breaks.
The Oyambre area is a great place to learn to surf. In the summer months, the northern Spanish coast around Santander is met with consistent swells that bring gentle rolling waves to our local, Oyambre Beach.
In Oyambre, the beach is very sheltered providing softer, gentle rolling waves. These are some of the best beginner conditions that we have ever found and why we decided to start our surf camp here.
Oyambre beach is generally suited to surf beginners to intermediate surfers. However, a short drive away you will find many more waves suited to advanced surfers. We generally teach on the lower tide in Oyambre to give us more space as the beach is wider at low tide.
It is very rare that the waves and Oyambre become too big or too dangerous to surf. The waves are extremely consistent in the small to medium range allowing us to surf almost every day in the summer.
With our most popular surf holiday packages in Oyambre, our surf camp guests receive a 6 session surf course. It includes 5 sessions of surfing (90 minutes each) the gentle waves of Playa de Oyambre, the beach just outside the surf camp, as well 1 sessions of surf theory (also 90 minutes) in the surf camp.
