The 25 Best Places to Surf in the World

Ask ten surfers to name the best places to surf in the world and you'll get ten different answers, ten different arguments and, usually, at least one person going quiet because they don't want to give up their spot. After two decades of running surf trips across four continents, we've built this list the way we build our trips — around wave quality, consistency, water temperature, ease of travel, and the intangible quality that makes a place worth going back to. These are the twenty-five destinations we'd send our own family to.

1. Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia — The archetypal Indian Ocean left. A limestone-clifftop wave that peels for hundreds of metres over a shallow reef when the trade winds blow offshore between April and October. Uluwatu is the single most influential wave in the last fifty years of surfing, and the surrounding Bukit Peninsula stacks up more world-class breaks — Padang Padang, Bingin, Impossibles — than most countries manage in total.

2. The Mentawai Islands, Indonesia — If Uluwatu is the front door, the Mentawais are the vault. A remote chain west of Sumatra where a two-hour boat ride between waves is normal and Macaronis, Lance's Right, Kandui and Rifles deliver the most concentrated cluster of world-class reef passes on the planet. Best accessed by charter boat between April and October.

3. Cloudbreak, Fiji — A heavy, mechanical left on a reef three kilometres off Tavarua Island. Cloudbreak has hosted some of the most iconic days in professional surf history, and when the Southern Ocean fires between April and October, it holds size as well as any wave in the world.

4. Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii — The most photographed wave on Earth. A shallow lava reef bends North Pacific groundswell into a flawless, deadly barrel just metres from the beach. Pipeline is where reputations are made and, occasionally, ended. Peak season runs November through February.

5. Jeffreys Bay, South Africa — Supertubes at J-Bay is the perfect right-hand point. A long, fast, tapered wall that peels for close to a kilometre on the right day, hosting a stop on the WSL Championship Tour every July. Cold water, big sharks, endless rides.

6. Nazaré, Portugal — The mother of all big-wave arenas. A deep offshore canyon focuses Atlantic swell onto Praia do Norte to produce the largest surfable waves ever ridden. Best watched from the cliff unless you're one of the fifty or so tow-surfers on Earth ready to charge it.

7. Ericeira, Portugal — Europe's only World Surfing Reserve. Seven world-class breaks in a 4km stretch — Coxos, Ribeira d'Ilhas, Pedra Branca and more — plus a walkable old town, great food, and dependable autumn swell. Our vote for the single best all-round surf town in Europe.

8. Hossegor, France — Deep-water canyons offshore of the Landes coast focus Atlantic groundswell into some of the heaviest beach-break barrels on the planet. September and October is when the town — pine forests, oyster shacks, shaping bays — comes alive.

9. Mundaka, Spain — The classic Basque left. A sand-bottomed river-mouth barrel that, on the right autumn swell, rifles for 400 metres into the estuary. Rare when it happens; unforgettable when it does.

10. Anchor Point, Morocco — A long, powerful right-hander that put North Africa on the surf map in the 1970s and still delivers rides of a minute or more on a clean winter groundswell. The wider Taghazout area — Killer Point, Boilers, Mysteries, Imsouane — makes Morocco one of the best-value surf trips on Earth.

11. Supertubos, Peniche, Portugal — Portugal's answer to Hossegor: a hollow, punchy beach break that has hosted a WSL CT event every October since 2009. Short paddle, short walk, and when it's on it's as heavy as it gets.

12. Puerto Escondido, Mexico — The Mexican Pipeline. Zicatela Beach delivers some of the heaviest, most perfect barrels in Central America. Not a wave for beginners, but if you want to feel small in the ocean, book a ticket.

13. Pavones, Costa Rica — On the right south swell, Pavones is one of the longest left-hand point breaks in the world. Three-minute rides are possible. Your legs will remember it for weeks.

14. Playa Guiones, Nosara, Costa Rica — A gentle, sand-bottomed beach break that runs almost every day of the year. The best all-round destination in Central America for surfers of every level and families.

15. Rincon, Puerto Rico — The 'Point' comes alive from November to March, when winter storms in the North Atlantic light up the west coast. A right-hand point with a Caribbean twist.

16. Ditch Plains, Montauk, USA — The eastern tip of Long Island and one of the great East Coast surf towns. Cobblestone points, right-hand rollers and autumn hurricane swell.

17. Trestles, California, USA — Lower Trestles, at San Onofre, is the perfect performance wave. A high-lined, contestable right and left peak that has hosted WSL finals for a reason.

18. Ocean Beach, San Francisco, USA — Not the easiest wave on the list, but one of the most iconic. A four-mile stretch of cold, powerful, unforgiving beach break that separates the surfers from the tourists.

19. Byron Bay, Australia — The Pass is the archetypal Australian longboard wave, wrapping around the headland lighthouse into a dolphin-filled bay. A different, gentler energy to the rest of this list.

20. Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast, Australia — The Superbank on its day is a two-kilometre right-hand sand-bottomed point break. When it lines up, it's simply the best point in the world.

21. Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia — The oldest surfing contest on Earth has been run here every Easter since 1961. A long, powerful right-hand reef break in the Southern Ocean's front row.

22. Raglan, New Zealand — Manu Bay's left-hand point holds rides of two minutes or more when the swell aligns. Green hills, black sand, minimal crowds, maximum soul.

23. Cokes, North Malé Atoll, Maldives — Long, racy, right-hand reef pass a 30-minute speedboat ride from an international airport. The whole Maldives archipelago is a strong contender for the most consistent surf on Earth from April to October.

24. Weligama & Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka — Warm water, mellow points, and one of the friendliest beginner-to-intermediate coastlines in Asia. Reef breaks like Lazy Left add spice when you want it.

25. Skeleton Bay, Namibia — The longest sand-bottom left-hand barrel on Earth. Two-kilometre rides are documented. A pilgrimage wave, and a reminder that the world is not done producing new best places to surf just yet.

How we chose them — this list weights wave quality first, then consistency, then travel ease and vibe. If you're picking your next surf trip, filter by season: April to October leans Indonesian, Fijian, Central American; November to March leans Portuguese, Hawaiian, Moroccan and Caribbean. And if the wave you love isn't on this list, that's the point — the best places to surf are always partly personal.

Ready to go? Every destination above is covered somewhere on Ocean Fever — from our Maldives boat charters and Sri Lanka south-coast weeks to our Ben Gravy novelty trips in Mallorca. Pick a wave, pick a season, and we'll build the trip around you.