Anyone been to europe? (Spain, Portugal, France)

whatever you do, make it amsterdam. Skip paris, its a rip off, especially solo. Watch your stuff like a hawk and wear skinny jeans to fit in. Dont forget that exchange rate, or the rate that you bank or credit card will charge also. Check out Austria if your in switzerland... its so close, and possibly my fav european country. There is amazing surf in france and Portugal this time of year, enjoy!

 

If you can find a cheap flight from Madrid to the Canaries do it. Lanzarote is awesome and you should be able to find any number of hostels or hotels. If your interested send me a PM and I can dig up the name of the hostel I stayed at a couple years back. Lots of different breaks and a good mix of people from all over europe.

Tenerife is supposed to be worth the trip too although it is a little better known for kite boarding I think.

 

Northern Spain has mundaka, and a bunch of other surf spots... not sure there is much surf in southern Spain. The south was also warmer (really close to Africa too, i hear morocco has awesome surf), and more touristy. Portugal could be awesome too.

 

Its Tarifa thats known for kiting in Spain. Those euros are effing crazy about it over there

 

if you make it to spain and want to try something completely different, head south to morocco. take the train to marrakech and then catch a bus out to essaouira. craziest place i've ever surfed - there's a place that rents (crappy) boards there and the waves were nothing special (crazy desert winds most of the time) but the cultural experience out of the water was a total trip. also, i was traveling alone for a few weeks but found life much easier after i met a guy from denmark and traveled with him. the freedom of traveling alone is intoxicating but having someone to watch your backpack (and vice versa) while you get sh!t done is key. have a great trip no matter where you go!

 

Basque Country in Spain or southern Portugal. Enjoy!

 

I second the latter. I am in Algrave, Potrugal now for a week. Its +20 and the water is +16-17 and surfed today in a light 3/2 w/o booties. 6-8 foot waves. If you need any info on the region send me a mssg will be happy to provide info. I will also be returning to Portugal, to Peniche in late Jan and am always looking for pple to surf with. Até já.

 

europe trip

western coast of portugal will be great, canary islands also and not too crowded. i agree skip paris and definately wear skinny jeans and a scarf! you just cant miss amsterdam for many reasons. have fun.

 

where are you goin in switz? get out to interlocken.
skip paris, lame.
def southern coast of spain and portugal has got waves to offer.
amsterdam is gona be really cold but hey its amsterdam. oh and dont buy herb from shops quality is ****. better to find it outside a shop and know how to take care of it yourself. i stayed at the flying pig hostel and liked it. the bull dog is fun as well.
everything is expensive in europe but enjoy!

 

I was in Europe this past summer for 2 months. If you start out in Switzerland, go south to Italy. The ladies are disgustingly good looking and there is tons of stuff to do in cities like Florence and Rome. Also make sure to go to Munich (beer gardens and there is a concentration camp just outside which is cool) and if you have time make it to Prague, completely worth it and cheep compared to Euro and especially the Swiss Frank. Go to Amsterdam for the sluts and blow. Additionally, think about going to Bruge (Belgium) its one of the prettiest cities in Europe with so much history. I don't know why people are saying to skip Paris, stop there especially if your going to Spain. There are tons of stuff to do in Paris and if by yourself you can do a lot in 2 days. Spain, Barcelona is a MUST. Go to Camp Nou (stadium of Barcelona FC) and take the tour. Be careful though pick pockets are all over the place. Valencia (just south of Barcelona) is nice as well, but you don't want to spend too much time there. Madrid is cool too. Lots of Art Museums and such.

http://www.blogger.com/profile/14809022554051632295 -- here is a blog me and my friends made this past summer, it is pretty helpful especially if you haven't traveled Europe before.

 

dont forget eastern europe - budapest and prague are awesome - full of hot women and prices are great and so is the food

 

Don't skip Paris, it's one of the more impressive cities in the world. I also agree on checking out Holland. In Spain, Barcelona is a must; if it was summer I would highly suggest stopping by Ibiza.

 

Did a similar trip a bunch of years ago but during September. Started in Madrid, went to Portugal, Northern Spain, SW France, Paris, Nice, Rome, Switzerland, Brussels, Amsterdam and finished in London. Surfed in Portugal, Northern Spain and SW France. Saw waves in the med on the train from Nice to Rome but didn't end up surfing it. You could get lucky surfing the Med during the winter. Portugal has quality waves all over the place and Peniche is a good place to check out. One word describes it well, supertubos!

Seeing European cities are cool as is banging random chicks in hostels so you will have fun, just depends how much surfing you want to do. It is difficult to pop into a place for a day or two and expect a good swell. And is challenging without a car. Throw in a beautiful Parisian/Italian/French chick and you could be easily distracted.

Wine is cheaper than water in many places. Never been to Eastern Europe but could be fun and the girls are beautiful. Please bring one or two back for me...

Learn some French, Italian and Spanish before you go if you don't know already.

My advice would be to fly into Switzerland and out of Lisboa. Hit some cities in Italy (maybe try and surf near Rome which would be cool, Rome is pretty happening as well), head along the coast, turn up into Paris, down to the SW coast of France like Biarritz or Hossegor, stop in Northern Spain to see if Mundaka is breaking, and make your way down to Portugal and crash on the beach somewhere for a week to closeout your trip. Amsterdam and Brussels are cool to visit and can probably be chosen over going to Portugal. But I would choose surfing in Portugal over going to Amsterdam. Flying within Europe is pretty cheap so you could factor that in as well. Sleeping on trains can help save some money on hotels/hostels.

Don't forget your wettie as it will be chilly in January. A 3/2 with boots might be sufficient but definitely check. Just watch your stuff because pickpocketers are all over the place and they are professional. Especially on buses and trains.

 

$

if you dont already know, find out what kind of fees your bank will charge you for using a debit card at a non-institution atm.

i like td bank since they dont charge fees for using another bank's atm (although you will probably have to pay fees to the owner of the atm or whichever bank owns it). it still helps you save a little. Ive used my td card in australia, fiji, and brazil and it works for me because i personally prefer not to carry large quantities of cash, especially when traveling and it also helps you avoid getting ripped off by money changers.

also a safety tactic: if you ever feel like you are in a sketchy place, empty your wallet of all bank/credit cards and cash except $10 or $20 and maybe an expired visa gift card and stow those items in waist band of your underwear at your hip. if you get mugged give him your wallet and hope he moves along

 

Portugal

In lieu of starting a new thread, I'm trying to piggyback onto this thread so I don't get flamed for starting the umpteenth travel thread. Portugal has been mentioned a few times in this one. I will be doing a Mediterranean cruise this summer that will end up in Portugal. My plan is to stay in Portugal (not too far from Lisbon) for a few days and score some surf. I realize summer in Portugal is not ideal swell season but it's still a chance to surf a new place which I'm all about. I've checked out wannasurf and have browsed the Europe surf guide. I've read good things about Peniche and Ericeira. I have an idea where to go, but I wanted to see if there's anyone that's actually been there, has heard good things about a particular town or beach, or has any positive feedback. Any takers?

 

I spent some time in Portugal in 2008. Great place, great waves, great food. I got all of my stuff stolen out of our rental car at supertubos, so don't travel with valuables. Mohle Leste (sp?) is a fun little wave that breaks off a wall, not really a wedge but a fun wave non the less. Ericieria was sick, some really good-heavy reefs there, if your man enough and there is a decent swell, surf Cave in Ericiera. The locals compare it to shark island. Nazare was epic too, there is an offshore canyon that just tunnels swell into Praia do Norte in Nazare. Peniche and Ericiera was 4-5 ft that day, and Praria do Norte was 20'+ huge perfect A-frames. The other side of the cliff, Praia de Nazare was 10-12' with big scary death defying clean-up sets that came through. The locals are super aggressive in the lineups and really put their spots on lockdown, but if your there long enough you'll start to get a few set waves. Good luck!