The Other Side of the Pond

Id love to hear some feedback on this. Im thinking about planning a trip to Europe in the next year or 2. I've heard Portugal is a must see, awesome culture and amazing waves.

 

let me start out by saying Im extremely jealous. I have had this dream trip in my head for the last couple of years which includes France, Spain and Portugal, ending in Morocco. I dont know much about the areas but know they get more surf than the east coast. Please share when you get back, im stoked for ya!

 

Hi There!
I have never done this but if you got some thing new then please share with us. I would love to hear feedback on this from you. and i am sure you will definitely got that.
Thanks
John Rica

 

Yes, a 3 mil will work for this time of year. And acutally its going to be really comfortable if your used to east coast temps (Europeans are P*ssies lol). You ARE going to score this time of year but you may spend a fortune. Those towns are really expensive but its looking like you may be in good shape considering the Euro is losing value.

For anybody curious about Portugal, it is another EPIC place to visit. I went to the south, Algarve (Sagres) area. It reminded me of the isolated parts fo Australia. There are epic waves to be had in this area and you are most likely going to get at least 1-2 days of really fun surf. They have a 180degree wind options so its almost always side shore or offshore somewhere. I know camps are a bit weak but if you do go I suggest going to Freeride surf camp. Speak to Carlo, he is an AWESOME surf coach even though he isnt that talented himself. Really helped my surfing.

Enjoy your trip overseas...Give us an update on the surf...Shaka

 

The summer before my senior year, I lived in Spain for two months. When I was over there, I surfed Mundaka a few times. Surfing Europe was an amazing experience. Such a different vibe over there. Best of luck on your trip and keep me informed - make sure to take a lot of pictures. I was having "too much fun" to snap a few pictures and I regret it everyday.

 

been to that part of France and surfed yes a 3/2 is plenty. Surfing is huge over there so it is not a lot unlike any other detestation, once you are at the beach towns. Ask any bar tender or surf shop where to surf. I ended up surfing beaches near hossegor that rivaled in quality but didn't have the pecking order. It's tough to be in a aggressive line-up over there when everyone sounds like the french guy on ricky bobby. Top notch waves all over the place and it is a daytrip to the best wine growing region in the history of earth. One thing though, they hate Americans there, especially Yankee's. Don't trust the cabbies (same ride to the same place every day ranged from E5-E40...), watch your passport, and everyone does speak english so don't let them fool you.

 

Sadly, so true. Mostly away from the beaches though. I have relatives in Belgium that speak perfect french but the frenchies don't like it because they don't have a perfect accent too. I always try to make up for the average "dumb american travelers" poor attitude when abroad by not acting a fool but I was ready to dump on a few frenchies before I left. I'm not normally a hater but I ran into too many arrogant bastards.

Another story, I asked an english speaking cop for directions to the train station in a small french town. He walked me into the station, brought me to the janitor and said to get directions from him. Needless to say the janitor was probably the least educated person in the station and he sent me in the exact opposite direction that I needed to go.

That being said, Biarritz is a very cool beach town. There is/was a mexican restaurant on the beach run by a lady that went there on vacation from san diego and never left. She called her roommate and said mail my stuff I'm not coming back. Great food. Check it out if you go.

 

Yes... October in the Basque part of France is good for surf, and the water's still warm enough for a 3/2, or even a springer if it's a really nice day. But... it's also fairly wet that time of year. You'll likely get some rain. Food and wine, of course, is some of the best in the world. If you speak ANY French at all, use it. They'll respect that, and might even refrain from talking about you or insulting you thinking you might understand what they're saying. But maybe not... they might just do that anyway. Take the train to get out of town, (consider Paris for a night or two when it's flat - amazing) but do plenty of walking. Avoid the buses if you can. They suck. And taxis are expensive and most will try to rip you off if they can. The surf is solid, and the places are beautiful. Oh... and many of the beaches are topless!

 

I was in Biarritz earlier this year.
Quite an interesting town - its a very upper class town but still focused on surfing.
The girls are hotter in Spain though