Updated on 14 October 2024
Deciding where to go on holiday with teens can be tricky. They want freedom, we want family time. They want TikTok, we want time off screens. They want lots of food, we want local food. Thankfully, a surfing holiday is the perfect solution for families with teens, offering the winning combination of adventure, adrenalin and quality time together?
So, where are the best destinations to go surfing with teenagers, where there’s waves and wifi on tap, as well as plenty of activities that will keep even the most temperamental teens happy on holiday.
Here’s our top surfing destinations for holidays with teens:
Sri Lanka
Family-friendly Sri Lanka isn’t just a great destination for younger kids; it’s a winner with teens, too. There’s plenty of beginner-friendly spots if you’re first-timers in the surf, as well as challenging reef breaks for the more competent teens in your tribe. What’s more, the food in Sri Lanka is cheap and delicious, so you don’t have to worry how much they eat to fuel up between sessions.
When you’re not surfing, even hard-to-please teenagers can’t fail to be impressed by seeing elephants and leopards on National Reserves, handling boa constrictors on snake farms, and taking train rides to the ancient cities of the north. While they might complain about getting up at the crack of dawn to go adventures, no doubt they’ll look up from their phones when a pod of spinner dolphins leaps into action off the bow of a boat on a wildlife watching trip.
Plan your trip with our Family Surfing Guide to Sri Lanka.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is quite simply one of the coolest countries in the world for a surf trip. It’s teeming with waves and wildlife, and has an array of adrenalin activities for teens – from waterfall jumping and whitewater rafting, to zip lining through rainforest canopies and spotting crocs. Plus, many of the family surf houses and hotels are kitted out with everything teens could wish for on holiday – whether that’s surf sessions with other teens, lolling around the pool with their phone in hand, beefing up in high-tech gyms or hanging out playing table football.
There’s loads of trendy surf towns to choose from, but we’d recommend Santa Teresa as the top spot with teens, with its array of surf camps, hotels and apartments, breaks for all levels, and the ease of hopping between beaches on an ATV loaded up with your surf kit.
Plan your trip with our Family Surfing Guide to Costa Rica.
Morocco
Just three hours’ flight from Europe’s capitals, Morocco tempts teens into its vibrant African culture with easygoing, all-inclusive surf hotels where everything’s on tap right beside the waves.
Taghazout is the most convenient base, where you’ll find waves for all levels and surf camps for all budgets. Plenty of set-ups offer packages with full board, surf lessons and guiding, and are happy to arrange any teen-pleasing extras from sandboarding and camel riding to canyoning and kitesurfing. Whether you’re first timers or experts, there are world-class spots from Anchor Point and Boilers, to the sandy-bottomed peelers at Crocro Beach, and when you’re not at the beach you can seek shade in the colourful souks and practise your French haggling with the vendors.
Indonesia
Indo – the holy grail of surfing and often the jumping off point for independent surf travellers in their twenties. But did you know that Indonesia is also one of the best places in the world to take teens on a tropical surfing holiday?
Swerve the crowds of Bali and discover waves for all abilities in Lombok and Sumbawa, where you’ll find family surf camps with all mod cons from skate ramps and surf lessons, to waterfall tours and wifi. But believe us, even teens will be less hung up on the internet connection when they can be jet skiing, snorkelling with whale sharks and manta rays, or hiking up volcanoes between surf sessions and time out in their hammock under the palms.
Newquay, Cornwall
You don’t have to take teens on a tropical surf trip to tick all the boxes for an unforgettable family surfing holiday. Whether you’ve got a long weekend or a week to spare, hop down to the UK’s super-cool surf capital, Newquay, for a fun-packed break with teens keen to hit the waves.
There are plenty of surf hotels and apartments where you can check the swell from bed, and many of them are kitted out with their own surf schools, high-tech surf gear to fast track your progress, and all-day eateries serving up delicious dishes to keep your energy stoked. Base yourself near Fistral Beach – where many of the UK’s pros cut their teeth – and you don’t even need a car to skip between the surf, swanky eateries and stunning scenery, and teens can cut loose in town for a few hours at the amusement arcades, smoothie parlours and seafront attractions.
Plan your trip with our Family Surfing Guide to Cornwall.
Barbados
If you’re looking for easy-peasy barefoot beach life with teens in tow, we’d recommend Barbados for a foray into family surfing holidays. Teens can plug-in for the direct 8-9 hour flight and will find very little to moan about when they arrive on a laidback, palm-fringed island hemmed with waves and white-sand beaches. Whether you’re surfing Slater’s favourite, Soup Bowl, or catching family-friendly peelers with the sea turtles at Freights, you’re never far from a waterpark or chic beach bar where you can fuel up on rum and rotis, while they brag about their latest surf adventures on social media.
Plan your trip with our Family Surfing Guide to Barbados, and read our blog about surfing in Barbados with teenagers.
Portugal
Quick to get to, easy to get around and littered with surf for all abilities, all year round, Portugal is our go-to for a surfing holiday with our teens. Both Peniche and Ericeira boast a cool surfy vibe that will lure turn any teen’s frown upside down, but we usually head to Sagres in spring and autumn. In this cool fishing village turned surf town you’ve got waves you can walk to, easy access to both south and west coast breaks according to the conditions, and there’s just enough going on for teens – from a skate park to trendy beach cafés.
While it’s easy to go self-catering in Portugal, if you opt for Memmo Baleeira or Martinhal, you can have the flexibility of self-catering and hotel service, and they can organise all your surfing lessons, kit and agenda, as well as all sorts of other activities from mountain biking to windsurfing – so you get more time to loll beside the pool after your surfing sessions.
Find family-friendly accommodation and plan your trip with our Family Surfing Guide to Portugal.
Mozambique
If you’re looking for a full-throttle family adventure, get your teens off the beaten track on an African road trip to Mozambique. Patchy internet access is easily mitigated by a reeling right-hand point break, epic scuba diving and regular sightings of manta rays, whale sharks and humpback whales.
Out of the water you can hoon into the sand dunes on a quad bike, and dine on fresh lobster at dirt-cheap prices. When not being roped into a game of football with the locals, we’re pretty sure your teens will quickly adjust to the real meaning of chilling out with just a 3G connecting them to the wider world. The downsides? It’s an arduous 1,000km journey from Johannesburg airport and you do absolutely need to take anti malarials in Mozambique.
Whether you’re thinking of going on surfing holiday with tots or teenagers, tap into our family surfing guides and find the most family-friendly beach accommodation on Family Surf Co.
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