For April -May 15th I can live anywhere and I want to take up surfing. What would you guys recommend considering the following: 1. I'll be able to surf every day so I really want to minimize the number of consecutive days without decent waves. 2. I really don't want to have to drive all over; I'd like to be able to walk to the beach and then no more than a couple miles up or down the coast. 3. I'm a fast learner when it comes to these things so a place where an intermediate would be satisfied with. 4. I kind of gather that the surfing culture can be a little more ****ish than the skiing and dhmtb cultures that I'm used to so definitely a place that isn't notorious for that. And not too incredibly busy on weekdays at least. 5. I'm not stuck on Florida, I'll go anywhere but when I used to do triathlons I always had a hard time with cold water so probably not CA in April. I know that's a lot but I'm a pretty analytical guy. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.
Florida can be kinda inconsistent. If you're looking at continental US, CA would be a much better choice for consistent surf IMO. It definitely is localized in places, but many of those are places you will want to avoid as a beginner. Do your homework on spots, understand the etiquette, etc. If you are not limited to the US, I definitely think you should check out Costa Rica. Lots of warm water breaks that are great for beginners. Re: cold water, have you worn a modern wetsuit? With the right suit, cold water is not that big of a deal (and trust me, I am a real wuss about cold water).
what's "DMCO"? Thanks tonylamont that helps. Yeah, I had a wetsuit for triathlons and I still couldn't handle cold water but then again I had to put my face underwater for that...
PR rocks PR can satisfy all your requirements check out www.vrbo.com #214129 I own it rent it for cheap and it includes surfboards best deal on the island
dhmtb - down hill mountain biking SoCal, def. not anywhere on the east coast, this is just misery I'm going through.
Costa has some friendly waves and some advanced ones too. Hawaii is for advanced surfers period (except Waikiki). ps. dhmtb,imo,dmco; I have no clue what your abbreviating because I'm dumb.
Def. Waikiki If you can afford it, Waikiki has an amazing soft rolling wave at Canoes. There are also a lot of lessons and rentals availible there and it is consistent. Get a place to stay in Waikiki, and you can walk to several breaks. Its also touristy, so the locals are kinda used to outsiders. Unlike Makaha. Stay out of Makaha. Craigslist and VRBO.com have places to rent. Craigslist also has room shares, rent a couch, and sublets where locals rent their residence out while they are on vacation. Rental tax there is crazy expensive, like 17% I have found some great places to stay on VRBO both in Hawaii and Florida.
Kauai also has a good beginner wave at Kalapaki Beach, so you could try there also. But as noted above by and large Hawaii is not that beginner friendly. Lots of shallow reefs, lots of potential for dangerous situations in the water, and can be pretty localized in places, esp. in Oahu. Hawaii's an amazing place, but Costa's far better for a beginner, plus less expensive.
learn to surf while your at home in FL and then spend that time to take a trip to some place like PR and take advantage of all the different breaks. Get some fundamentals like turns, reo's, cutbacks, floaters, trimming, planing, ect. Then when you go to where ever you go, you'll be able to really experience the type and variety of wave that place has to offer. Good fundamentals will allow you to go anywhere. Don't forget to surf with a buddy, that'll make progression faster and more fun.
