Our friend Ross has written about his stay in our Moliets Surf Camp this Summer. We are so happy he had a great time on his Surf holiday with us. See you soon in Fuerteventura!
South West France is a holiday I take almost every year, it’s like a Mecca for travelling surfers. I have been in and around Hossegor for the past 5 summers, but this year I started working for Mango Surfing and got the opportunity to go and stay with our close friends at Star Surf Camps Moliets.
There are a few reasons why I keep returning to France. If you have been you will understand and if you haven’t it won’t be long until you are booking those flights.
The Cost:
We flew with Ryanair from Stanstead to Biarritz for £80 return. If you are taking your own surfboard like I did this will cost more than the flight :( It was £50 each way but if you are a surfer you will be used these outrageous charges.
The Ease:
Everything about a surf holiday in France is easy and staying with Star Surf Camps just made everything even easier (more about this later)
The weather:
The South west France in August is hot. Why fly 20 hours to Bali to get barrelled and surf in boardies when you can do it in just 3 in Moliets.
The Food:
I love Baguettes…enough said.
The waves:
From beginner to advanced you will be able to find waves to suit your surfing ability and the water in Moliets is much warmer than England. Win win.
I mentioned earlier about how easy surfing holidays in France are, I’ve been used to taking these trips on my own or with my surf buddys were getting lost on the local buses/trains was all part of the adventure. This year was different. I was with my girlfriend, so to take any stress out of the equation we booked transfers from the airport to the surf camp. The transfers did not cost a lot and i would definitely recommend them after a long day of travelling.
Star Surf Camps legend Herman was waiting for us in the terminal when we arrived, he took our bags and loaded them into the car. We hopped in and started the 1 hour transfer to the camp. When I told Jenny our summer surf holiday was going to be camping in the forest she was excited but also a little sceptical/nervous as she had never been camping before. The doubts were all laid to rest when we were shown to our “massive” bell tent. This is not what she was expecting, it even came with a double mattress. There was enough room to store all our baggage and my surfboard without feeling cramped.
Unfortunately after travelling for around 12 hours we had missed dinner so we took the short walk down through the forest towards the ocean. Before you reach the golden sand beaches you are surrounded by restaurants, supermarkets, bars, an arcade and the best ice cream I think i’ve ever eaten. This place literally has everything you could need/want. We set ourselves up with a little picnic and headed to the beach to relax and enjoy the legendary French sunsets.
After a well earned nights sleep we awoke to the sounds of the forest and really got to appreciate how much of a great setup they have at the surf camp. Breakfast was served in the communal area which became a frequent hangout for us, there was always a game of cards going on which made it really easy to meet new people and make friends. The food was good and you can make your sandwiches to take out with you for lunch.
Unfortunately we were not blessed with a pumping surf report, this is the risk of coming in high summer season, September/October will be a lot more consistent for waves but again this was not an all out surf trip so it did not dampen my spirits. When the waves were to small for my personal shortboard I was able to borrow a foamie from the surf camp at no extra cost. This was my summer surf holiday and I was not going to let the forecast stop me from surfing 2-3 times a day.
During the week we also signed up to the two trips they put on. One to Biarritz and the other to San Sebastian. I would recommend to everyone that they go on both. Not only will you get to experience two amazing cities (San Seb it one of my all time favourite places I’ve ever been) you will make new friends and memories that will last a lifetime. Some of our other highlights of the week were the bbq night in the surf camp and the live music sessions, the guys that performed were super talented and they way they set the surf camp up made for a really special evening.
Our week at Star Surf Camps Moliets was over nearly as soon as it had begun and we were on our way back to the airport with Herman. We had a great time on our holiday in Moliets, Star surf camps was well organised with friendly helpful staff, good food, great weather, fun surf and we made some amazing new friends. We are already planning when we can visit Star Surf Camps again but this time in their Fuerteventura Surf House.