A breakdown of the world's cheapest surf destinations. Please let me know of any tips/tricks for saving money in these places! And of any other #cheapsurfdestinations, you've been to!! Let's help each other get as many waves as we can, for as little $$$ as possible!! Yew!
Just got back from a trip to Morocco, specifically Imsouane. It was during the off season so the waves weren't up to their world-class point break level, but theres still plenty of good stuff. It is also dirt cheap in terms of food and housing, but beware of the hygiene. Super friendly people, but knowing Arabic will definitely help tons.
Sick!! Haven't been up that way, yet! But yeah I guess you've got to wait for swells to score the world class stuff! And good shout on the Arabic.. I don't know a word of it hahah!
I was in Sri Lanka in the years from 1992 to 2000 in Arugam bay every year It was a fishing village, without restaurants and accommodation. We slept on the beach in front of the spot and it was the villagers who fed us. There were 8 to 10 of us surfing the spot, it was friendly. We surf from sunrise to sunset. I went back in 2015, there are 60 restaurants and accommodations. 50 surfers at sunrise. It's madness, It's war on the lineup. The Israelis snake the waves I disapprove of Sri Lanka too many people
I was in Ecuador about a year ago, I planned on staying in Montañita, but got stuck in Ayampe for days due to civil unrest and the locals burning whatever they could get there hands on in the streets. Had to combat drive outve there in the middle of the night 4 hrs back to Guayaquil. Craziest trip of my life. I will go back, but it’ll be sometime. It is insanely affordable.
Hey Wesley! Yeah wow, I actually got to Ecuador the day after this (as in the day after they lifted the alert/travel advisory! Bet that was so gnarly! Sick story though hahah...
Great vid, mate. Love it when RU-vid drops gems like this in my feed. I can recommend the Philippines. Mainland Luzon, San Juan, La Union was good for beginners/ intermediate. Its pretty popular now, so costs have shot up, but still budget friendly. Works best from Oct to Mar, perfect for European winters. Thanks mate, from a new subscriber!
Hey David!! Stoked you enjoyed it and yes, good shout! I'll try and go to the Philippines later this year and maybe do a full budget video on the place! Thanks for the info :))
You should definitely come over to south Africa. Really fun waves to heavy barrels and points like the bluff and obviously jbay. Compared to other places it also pretty cheap and if you want something different between waves go on some safari's
Sri Lanka is not super super cheap anymore would not say cheap even if compare from 8 years ago... But we have waves all year around. I live in Unawatuna down south. From Hikkaduwa down to Hiriketiya you have a lot of good breaks. Remember Sri Lanka went bankrupt after the government robbed the Island. Inflation is super high and Locals really struggling to get around. BUT... SRI LANKA is Stunning the weather, nature, animals, waves, food. Support the locals and come and surf! You can still find cheap hostels and so on, just need to search and hustle little more.
Hey mate!! Epic, Im hoping to come back later this year (so maybe I'll come down that way). Ahhh ok, yeah I realise there have been some issues there in past few years!! But yeah I guess some surfing/tourism dollars can go along way!! Looking forward to coming back :))
The quality of your videos are getting really good! Surprisingly I’ve been already in all of those countries, just El Salvador is missing. I feel like now I need to tick that box hahaha
Hey man! I've been to Sri Lanka for last two years and it's quite more expensive than 130$ for now. It's fully packed with tourist right now. Shortly 'bout prices. We stayed in Mirissa for surfing. I've been there for a one month (two weeks alone and two weeks with a girl) Together stayed in a private room with a/c, balcony and bathroom. First line, just on a beach, clean room and very nice staff of the hotel (named Brizo) costed 20$ for two and it was pretty cheap. For the first two weeks I tried hostels and good ones with a/c costed like 12$ per night. For the same price you can get a private room but little bit further from the beach and cafes. Bike rental - around 3.5$ per day if you take it for more than 3 weeks. Fuel - around 5$ to make your moped full. Food Local bakery is the cheapest. You spend less than 1$ for a spicy bun. It's so hot so you'll hardly get two. I ate them for breakfasts when traveled by bake somewhere. Cheap and fast. Veggie buffets is pretty cheap too. You spend 5-7$ and eat as much as you want. Average meal in Sri Lanka costed 7$.You can get rice or noodles with meat or roti, something to drink. Nice restarants, like italian pasta or some sushi will cost you from 10 and up to 20$ per meal for one. Meal for two in sushi restaurant in Mirissa was around 35$ without alcohol. Black coffee in coffeeshops wil cost 1-2$, capucino 3-4$ Beer in a store will cost litlle bit less than 1.5$ but if you want to order it in some places where you having dinner or breakfast it will cost at least 2.5 and up to 4$ Also I've met some guys who've been staying there for a longer time and they cook by themselfs its realy cheap. After surfing we've been to Ella to see Lipton tea plantations, Ella is little bit cheaper for food, but more expensive to rent a bike and a room.
Just got back from EC 🇪🇨 super fun stopped at Salinas, Montanita, and Manta. Can go up to Canoa for heaps of beach break surf.. very affordable gas $2.30/gallon. Cheers 🌊
Great job man. But you should never forget to mention the safety factor. I live in Ecuador and have been to Nicaragua and both have their own safety complications. I believe mexico and morroco definetely suffer from this as well to say the least.
Hey Fernando! Yeah of course! All of these places (as you know first hand) have their share of problems and an element of danger. I'm gonna break down each in more detail later this series so I'll make sure I mention that :)
That’s true. But all of these places are safer now than they were in times past. And with the internet and all the information available travel has never been so easy.
My WORLDS CHEAPEST SURF DESTINATION is a two minute walk from me casa front door, doesnt cost me anything! Surfs not always pumpin but it does in Typhoon season which we are now in, and when theres no surf the snorkelling and spearfishing is great and NOT A SINGLE KOOK OUT!🏄♀️ 🏝️ ☀️ 🐟 🦞
A good cheap spot that I know of is in Cartagena, Colombia; I go surfing there every summer and it has two point breaks from different directions since it is a peninsula, you should include this on the list as it has an amazing point break for beginners and advanced surfers.
Perfect list -> bucket list ;) For pueto escondido, La punta waves are deep and loooong surf (restaurant Chicama so tasty). For Morocco, Sidi Infni in the south could be a fun adventure (less crowed). Just looking your Indonesian videos to chose the best surf destination (Bali already done). Do you think Banyak could be a good solution to avoid crowed spots and quality waves ?(intermediate lvl)
Very thorough list, thank you. Just arrived in the UK from Cape Town and already missing the waves. I think price wise it would compete with a lot of the places on this list. If you haven't been before you should check it out! Water is UK summer cold though so not a warm water spot in the slightest!
Hey mate!! Good shout, and yeah I've been to South Africa actually and should have included it on the list! Perhaps I'll do a full budget breakdown video of SA later in the series! And totally agree, prices are super cheap (after you get there)!!
@@DanHarmon123 100%, the flights are what push it out of an ultra budget list of destinations unfortunately. Looking forward to the rest of the series and start my own surf travel journey from the UK soon!
Why come to uk from South Africa? I'm just wondering? Cornwall and parts of devon are proabaly the best here but never that great overpriced everywhere here just fsr better places to visit i just returnd from Cornwall was a crap weekend to be honest was either unsurfable or just crap weather so many place betrer than the uk
Hey @DanHarmon123 , i've been to Sri Lanka this year, March 2023, SW season, so Ahangama, Mirigama, Kabalana, Mirissa, etc... Amazing place for all good reasons. It´s my surf destination number 1 for sure. In terms of costs, the prices have tripled since 2019 or 2020 because of country bankrupt in that period, but still, very very affortable. Comparing to your reference prices: Beer - 2 dolars; Plate - 5-7 dolars; Rooms - depends on your demands, but i spent 140 dolars a week in a very nice hotel with great breakfast included and 5 min walk form the beach of Kabalana ;) ; Train: i have no idea, i rented a bike. And yes, bus drivers are still f##ck#ing crazy, tho you don´t see accidents :) Cheers
Hey mate! Sick! Thanks for the updated price info! Sick and yeah $140 per week for good hotel sounds pretty fair to me hahah!! And that spot is super fun!! And yeah that's true, somehow the crazy driving and traffic seems to flow haha!!
You definitely need to travel to Colombia, you have surf on the pacific in Nequi Chocó. And in the caribbean in Puerto Colombia, also in Costeño Beach in Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta, great destination, awesome people and also really cheap
Hey mate!! Yeah there's are some good starting points in here for sure!! I'm gonna make full breakdowns of each which will hopefully give you more info for where to surf, stay and some tips for navigating each!! Stay tuned!
Northern Spain is a massive wave zone, AirBnB with full kitchens is cheap ($800/month) and maybe $200 a month for food, that's $33 a day for room and board, and public transport is excellent. A cheap hostel is one thing, but if you cook most of your meals you are saving huge money.
Hey Dan that was superb mate, I'm quite literally salivating, all of those destinations seem brilliantly accessible. such a much needed piece of travel journalism. I spend so much time in travel wonderland on RU-vid, All of the destinations seem just slightly out of reach on my budget, but this has made it clear there not. leaving broken Britain on a budget can still be done. I have recently started using Tik tok and have seen many flight hacks using google etc and not typing a destination and referring to there small map. What would you suggest for cheap flights, I know you've suggested some websites and its a hobby of yours to perfect the art of searching for cheap flights, but all i do is enter rabbit warrens and get pretty lost and lose confidence on making the call. The gap you've filled seems to me quite unique in its placement regarding surf travel. I'm not big on social media, but when you see such generosity in knowledge and advice, it seems crazy not to benefit from this inclusive approach to life, avoiding the pitfalls of screen sapping energy seems less of an issue. I appreciate this, thanks for keeping the dreamies alive mate Cheers.
Hey Nick!! So stoked you found this one helpful as really wanted to make something that showed people what's possible for getting waves on a budget! But yeah, if you're willing to live below your means, stay in hostels, and live modestly, it's insane what you can do!! Yeah, in terms on booking cheap flights, there's a few tricks like suing incognito mode, booking on specific days, but to be honest, I just check it so often and just book whenever I want to go! Maybe this could be a future video idea haha!!
I studied english language and linguistics and have a teaching degree. I've been an english teacher for over 20 years and when I saw what you wrote in the description (teach english = no experience / qualification needed), I clenched my fist seething with anger. Unfortunately, you're accurate in that regard. Any native english speaker can work as a "teacher" and "teach" because people will simply pay for it. But make no mistake, it takes years and passion to become a competent one.
Hey mate!! Yep, you're totally correct. It does take years to build up the skills and knowledge to be a great English teacher (as you have done through studying the language and linguistics). However, the company I mention here is a very basic level company for tutors, which is reflected in the pay (around $8 per hour). So as someone as qualified and knowledgeable as yourself, you'd be in a much better position to earn more money and have access to way better jobs. Mentioning this was never meant to take anything away from those who are more qualified :)
@@DanHarmon123 Nothing against you man, all love. I want to thank you for your dedication and for taking the time to put all this information together. You seem like a friendly down to earth guy. keep doing what you're doing.
@@Pseudosurferit doesn’t matter though does it? the more experience and skill you have the less less stress as you have the skills to deal with it, and have more fun with it, less prep for classes because you’re a pro, what does it matter how good someone else is, it’s free market competition, being less qualified only makes the job harder, but an open market allows a range of people in, and there is a market for the unqualified teachers that’s why it exists. Qualifications don’t necessarily make you good at something either. They make you knowledgeable in certain areas.
boom subscribed! this is perfect ive recently landed a 3 year gig that gives me 4 months off a year in the winter so this is info i need. my mental short list was nica, sri lanka, mexico, moroc and panama (got a pals house i can crash at so makes it mega budget) so pretty close to your list ill be tuning into the following vids, cheers in advance.
Very good job summarizing those spots.,I've been surfing in all of these places except Morocco (yet) .... how did you missed the Philippines (Siargao)?
Hey mate!! Sickkkk... Yeah good point actually. I've not been to the Phillipines yet, but when I do (hopefully later this year) I'll make a budget surf trip vid!!
You missed out Brazil loads of surfing spots and very affordable. The Philippines could be another options although is not cheap as it used to be 10 years ago. For wicked surfing Siargao and Catanduanes
Thank you!! I went in February which (although there were waves) is actually the windiest month for Nica and the water was weirdly cold, so if you can I'd try and got slightly later in the year!! There will be waves though even in Feb!!
Thanks, Jeffery!! Yeah, sorry, I'm actually giving my website a huge revamp for next year so the course isn't up at the moment. Will let ya know if I post it again :))
Just returned from El Tránsito, Nicaragua. Maybe a little harder to get to. But only 1.5 hours from Managua. Area is growing with restaurants and hostels. Great people . Was a great trip.
Just great !!! Thanks - all these RU-vid surfers like Jamie Onrien do epic videos BUT they say “this place in Mexico is secret , not gonna tell ya “ Thank you
Stoked you enjoyed it Steve! And yeah I guess if they're surfing secret spots, that's fair enough and I'd be the same. But these spots are already super well known!!
Srilankan southcoast is not cheap. After the currency crisis there last year. Local places are generally run down and they are charging triple markup on whatever they can.
I agree it’s changed so much and not for the better, on my last trip last in November I jumped on a flight to the Maldives and scored awesome waves, nice people and way better accommodation
Hey mate!! Yeah I've flown with Sri Lankan Airways before and boards were free as checked baggage. But definitely check as I know some airlines have different rules depending on origin/destination. Also, I'm gonna be releasing a "surfboard friendly airlines" video this week so stay tuned for that :))
Hey mate! Yep, you definitely can! If you go early in the morning, it should only take an hour or so to get from Canggu to Uluwatu, but with traffic sometimes double that! Nowhere is that far away but it usually ends up taking ages because of the traffic!!
Another very important quick note on destination surf trips. IF YOU ARE RENTING A BOARD, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH IN LOCAL CURRENCY TO PAY FOR IT. We know it isn’t always practical to travel with your own board and a rented board is always a crapshoot as there are varying levels of quality and it is very hard to assess any internal preexisting damage. Whilst the local board rentals aren’t typically scammy, if you break a board they will have you pay for it and you will get a lot further with dollars rather than trying to put it on a credit card. It may take you out of surfing for a few days but I have heard horror stories of people ending up in jail when they either refused or couldn’t pay up. I have also heard stories of them just letting you go if you can clearly see that the board broke on a fiberglass/epoxy repair line. You don’t want to end up in jail in a third world country.
Yeah, you'll need cash in all these places, but thats hectic!! I've hear of guys having to pay $100-200usd (equivalent) for broken boards but never anyone ending up in jail haha! But worth checking your hire board as much as possible!
Hey mate, Sri Lanka has become slightly more expensive, still manageable though. I'd be wary of scammers as the recent laws and political turmoil have left their mark on the people when I was there in April. Some surfing spots are crowded others are empty. Go in the mornings, good surf all year round. Morocco is brilliant surf, you forgot to mention one really cool surf spot - Imsouane! Africa's longest break. Cheers
When did you last go to Bali? I went in 2000 and 2009 and rode mopeds. I’m going back in a few weeks and am hearing about having to get an international driving permit now. Do you have any info on that? Cheers boss
Hey James! I'm in Bali now actually, and to be honest I don't know... I don't have one myself but haven't been pulled over. I just try and be careful when i drive, always wear a helmet, drive slow to the left of the road and try and not give any cops a reason to pull me over!! But It's probably not a bad shout getting one to be safe :)
TBH, Indonesia offers much more cheaper alternatives for surfing besides Bali, especially areas that's not populated by common tourist 😅 But no doubt Bali is much more convenient compared to the rest I would say.
Hey mate!! For the most part, hostels will let you keep boards in the room, sometimes they have areas to keep them. However for smaller hostels (like capsule style beds), you might have to keep them in a storage area, which is annoying if you're surfing everyday! As for getting to/from surf spots, I'd suggest arranging a life back beforehand if there isn't regular taxis and buses to/from the place! Hope that helps :)
Good info. I was wondering if you could share some info on travelling with a board. How do you get around with a board. Can you buy a reasonable board in these surf destinations. As the cost of travelling with a board can add up. Also I’m gonna be in countries with no surf for a month before I head to countries with surf. Seems like it’s more hassle than it’s worth to carry the board around until you get to the surf location. What are your thoughts on this sort of thing? For example buying a board in mexico for a South America surf trip?
Hey mate! To be honest I always travel with boards, just because I like to have my own and the bag doubles up as my suitcase. And yes, you're right, it is annoying, and I've spent thousands over the years on board bag fees haha! In many surf towns you'll be able to find half decent boards but it can be tricky depending on what you're looking for. Like affordable high performance boards are pretty rare in these places. I'm going to make a full video on this topic as it's something I get asked about heaps, so stay tuned for that, and I'll break everything down!
@@DanHarmon123 if you could describe your bag, and how you pack your stuff between beaches, how do you protect your board while doing bus rides in countries etc. I'm planning to buy a board once I arrive in central/south America, and use it as I travel he countries, do you have to take foam tape etc how do you keep and pack the board before you move to next place?
@@hipsonsogbowell, depends on how much protection you want. I just travelled centralamerica for the last half year and brought my own gear (two boards). I always use a proper travel boardbag, because they offer the best protection and packing space (especially when flying). There are also lighter bags available with less protection which are good if you have only one board and dont fly. I usually pack my boards in a surf-sock and wrap them with bubbletape. Then I add my cloths, towels etc and also a yoga mat for added protection. Never had issues bringing the boardbag on busses, taxis,boats etc. Big tipp: get some tie down straps for mounting the bag on car roofs.
I bring 3 boards when I travel to Central America, American Airlines charges $30 for a board bag, and buying a board in Mexico isn't going to work for a South America trip, different continent
@@kevingrandyify not sure what you mean? How would it not work? I do hear the price of buying a board in Mexico can be expensive, however carrying a surfboard around for one to 2 months in landlocked countries seems more hassle than it's worth.
there is at least 1 or 2 boats + or 15 in the lineup in se asia everywhere unless the conditions are bad lol. place is packed top to bottom. but its firing and there is plenty of waves for everyone
Ecuadors surfer towns are not really cheap. The groceries im the supermarkets are quite expensive. $2 for a can of beans or sweetcorn. $1 for 400g pasta. Alcohol is expensive too.
