I'm thinking about studying abroad for a semester; does anyone know of some countries that have good waves and a solid nightlife?
Ive researched more than 30 places available through my school and ive found only 3 places that were located most 10 or 15 minutes or from the beach. My best bet was bondi university in Australia. My other choices were lima peru, and christchurch new zealand. I personally am leaning to go to peru in the future for more of a experience with a different culture and the university included more than 10,000 students.
Do you habla espanol? If so, I would advise checking out Spain. I studied just outside of Madrid & had a blast. I did not base my studies around surfing, but Spain totally surprised me with great breaks & awesome local vibes. Most of Spain's breaks are in the northern region, close to France. This creates a very diverse lineup with Spaniards, French & a fair share of Americans. Very friendly lineups, but you will have to watch out for the gypsies on the shore. Plus, the cities are ancient - a bonus for any surf expedition. One of my friends had a great time in Austrailia, but the whole shark factor does not sit too well with me. Wherever you end up, I'm sure you will have a great time.
University of the West Indies has campuses throughout the Caribbean. The Barbados campus overlooks Batts Rock (awesome wedge) on the West Coast. Hossegor, FRA Morocco What Mr. Rouen said Sao Paulo, BRA
dlrouen, I've been to Spain a couple times so I was hoping for somewhere I'm less familiar with. Australia is definitely on my mind but it's also mad far so idk. Barbados and Morocco seem interesting and I was sort of leaning towards Brazil too, thanks for the advice guys
Since you have already ruled out Spain, I would make plans for Australia. If you think Australia is far now, wait until you're living the post-grad life. Are you going to be able to justify a surf trip to Australia when you're out of school? If the opportunity is there, I would definitely make the trip to the world's jail. Once you graduate, then you can concentrate on closer surf regions like Mexico & Brazil.
It is not technically abroad but I went to study at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Awesome environment and I don't have to mention the surf. Your school may have a National Exchange Program that offers it.
you would probably want to research how far each campus is from the beach the 3 that i mentioned were extremely close proximity to the beach. I looked up morocco and if i remember correctly from where i couldve studied to the beach was probably an hour and a half away. same with spain. the campus was 6 hours away from the beach
Very valid point dlrouen , I have a lot to consider. And Hawaii is in the picture too but i need to find out if my school only does international or not
About an hour and a half north of Christchurch is a town called Kaikoura, very cool surfy town, and there is a great point break not far.
Australia hands down. Yes it's far and expensive to get there...but it will be well worth it. I did my last semester of my MBA there and it was the experience of a lifetime. Plus Bali is near so you can do a trip on the way back home. UNSW is a great school and in the heart of Sydney if you can get in. You can live at the beach and take a bus to class (approx 20min). As far as nightlife goes...well...hopefully you'll see for yourself!
I studied abroad at Bond University on the Gold Coast of Australia. I can't recommend it enough. As for proximity to surf you are very close to a handful of amazing breaks (within a 10-15 minute drive). There are buses that run from the school to town/beach but I highly recommend buying a car if you decide to go. I know it sounds crazy but a friend and I bought a used car for $2K the first month we were there and it literally made our trip. Could easily dawn patrol before class and just made the whole experience much more enjoyable. It’s a huge country with lots to see, having your own transportation made this so much easier. The flight is crazy expensive but well worth it, like others have mentioned when are you ever going to have the chance to spend that much free time so far away. I’d say go for it. If I happen to get laid off anytime soon I know where I’m heading for a while. Oh and also the nightlife is amazing, there is a bar on campus, the school sponsors bar crawls and runs buses to surfers paradise every weekend where you can pretty much find any type of nightlife you’re looking for. If you have any other questions feel free to reach out.
I spent a semester in Chile and got the best waves of my life. Valparaiso area has some pretty good breaks, especially just north of the city, and you can pretty easily get to a lot of very uncrowded, top-notch waves for weekend trips....Pichilemu for Punta de Lobos and Infiernillo, Puertocillo, Arica has good waves (go during the downseason unless you plan on bringing a gun). The swell window is gigantic and they get a lot of massive swells.
