Best Intermediate Surf Destinations
Waves that push your surfing to the next level without punishing mistakes.
30 spots featured
You can paddle out confidently, catch green waves, and work your way down the line. But you're not ready for triple-overhead reef breaks or the heavy slabs that make the highlight reels. You're in the sweet spot — intermediate — and the right destination will accelerate your progression faster than a year of sessions at your home break.
The best intermediate destinations offer waves in the 4-6 difficulty range: enough power and shape to demand good technique, but forgiving enough that wipeouts don't send you to the hospital. You need walls to practice turns on, shoulders to practice cutbacks, and the occasional pocket to test your tube-riding instincts.
These 30 spots deliver exactly that — with warm water, manageable crowds, and the kind of consistent surf that gives you dozens of waves per session instead of fighting for scraps.
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Australia(6 spots)
Snapper Rocks
Gold Coast, Australia
Snapper Rocks is the starting point of Australia's legendary Superbank—an artificial sand formation that can create rideable waves stretching over 2 kilometers to Kirra. The...
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Noosa First Point
Sunshine Coast, Australia
Noosa First Point is Australia's longboarding mecca—a sequence of five points that produce some of the longest, most perfect right-hand peelers in the country when the rare NE...
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Angourie Point
Northern NSW, Australia
Angourie Point is a historic right-hand point break that helped birth Australian shortboard surfing in the 1960s. The wave breaks over a basalt reef into a deep channel, producing...
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North Narrabeen
Sydney, Australia
North Narrabeen is Sydney's premier beach break—a long stretch of sand where lagoon run-off creates ever-shifting sandbanks that produce world-class lefts on their day. The...
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Strickland Bay
Rottnest Island, Australia
Strickland Bay is Rottnest Island's premier wave—a quality left-hander that breaks along a limestone reef shelf off Western Australia's quokka-inhabited island paradise. The wave...
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Crescent Head
Mid North Coast NSW, Australia
Crescent Head is the quintessential Australian point break—a long, walling right that peels along a rocky headland for 400+ meters on its day. The wave is forgiving and...
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Pacific(5 spots)
Raglan
Waikato, New Zealand
Raglan is New Zealand's most celebrated surf destination, a series of volcanic point breaks that peel along black sand beaches on the North Island's rugged west coast. The main...
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Restaurants
Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Restaurants is Fiji's hidden gem—a perfect left-hand tube that serves as the go-to alternative when Cloudbreak gets too intense. Named after the resort restaurant overlooking it,...
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Namotu Lefts
Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Namotu Lefts is one of Fiji's most consistent high-performance waves—a hollow left-hander that breaks right in front of the Namotu Island Resort. The wave produces powerful,...
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Teahupoo (CODE RED)
Tahiti Iti, French Polynesia
Teahupo'o CODE RED is the ultimate expression of the wave's power—a condition declared only twice in history (2011 and 2022) when enormous swells transform the already-heavy slab...
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Teahupoo (Regular)
Tahiti Iti, French Polynesia
Teahupo'o at regular size (6-12 feet) is surfing's ultimate barrel—the wave that sets the standard for hollow perfection. The horseshoe-shaped tube that forms over the living...
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Southeast Asia(5 spots)
Macaronis
Mentawai, Indonesia
Macaronis is the Mentawai Islands' most user-friendly world-class wave—a forgiving left that produces 4-6 second barrels followed by rippable walls, working in virtually any...
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Telescopes
North Sipora, Mentawais, Indonesia
Telescopes is a Mentawai gem—a long, wrapping left-hander that offers 200+ meter rides through multiple barrel sections. The wave starts with a steep, hollow drop before...
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Kandui Left
Playgrounds, Mentawais, Indonesia
Kandui Left holds the ominous title of "most dangerous wave in Indonesia"—a fast, hollow left-hander that breaks over a razor-sharp reef in the Playgrounds region of the...
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One Palm Point
Panaitan Island, Java, Indonesia
One Palm Point is an Indonesian legend—an 800-meter left-hand barrel located on remote Panaitan Island off the western tip of Java. Named for the single palm tree that marks the...
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Nias
Lagundri Bay, Sumatra, Indonesia
Nias is one of the most perfect right-hand point breaks on Earth—a mechanical barrel machine in Lagundri Bay, off the coast of Sumatra. The surrounding hills funnel offshore winds...
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Central America(4 spots)
Popoyo
Rivas, Nicaragua
Popoyo is Nicaragua's flagship surf destination—a reef break that catches virtually every SW swell and offers multiple peaks to choose from. The setup is perfect for a surf trip:...
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Punta Roca
La Libertad, El Salvador
Punta Roca is El Salvador's world-class gem—a long, peeling right-hand point break in La Libertad that has hosted WSL events and produced some of Central America's best surfers....
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Lance's Left
Rivas, Nicaragua
Lance's Left is the Emerald Coast's most accessible long left—a point break that provides 200+ yard rides on bigger swells and welcomes surfers of all skill levels. Unlike the...
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Todos Santos (Killers)
8mi off Ensenada, Mexico
Todos Santos (Killers) is Mexico's answer to Jaws—a powerful right-hand point break on an island 8 miles off Ensenada that's been designated a World Surfing Reserve. An underwater...
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Europe(3 spots)
Nazare
Praia do Norte, Portugal
Nazaré is where surfing's largest waves are ridden—a Portuguese beach break that produces mountainous surf thanks to the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater trench that amplifies...
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Aileens
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Aileens is Ireland's most dramatic big wave—a right-hand reef break that detonates beneath the famous 700-foot Cliffs of Moher on Ireland's west coast. The setting is almost...
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Supertubos
Peniche, Portugal
Supertubos is Portugal's answer to Pipeline—a savage beachbreak that produces some of the heaviest barrels in Europe. The wave breaks over sand banks shaped by the Nazaré Canyon...
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Africa(2 spots)
Seal Point
Cape St. Francis, South Africa
Seal Point is where modern surf travel began—the wave that captivated the world in Bruce Brown's Endless Summer (1966). This long right-hand point break in Cape St. Francis once...
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Anchor Point
Taghazout, Morocco
Anchor Point is Morocco's legendary wave—a long, perfectly peeling right point in Taghazout that can deliver 500-meter rides when NW Atlantic swells hit the coast. The wave needs...
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North America(2 spots)
Lower Trestles
San Clemente, USA
Lower Trestles is the world standard for high-performance surfing—a cobblestone point break in San Clemente that produces perfect, rippable waves with mechanical consistency. The...
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Mavericks
Half Moon Bay, USA
Mavericks is Northern California's big wave proving ground—a cold, shark-infested, boulder-strewn reef off Half Moon Bay that produces some of North America's most dangerous surf....
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South America(2 spots)
Punta de Lobos
Pichilemu, Chile
Punta de Lobos is Chile's crown jewel—a powerful left point break designated as a World Surfing Reserve that produces rides of 800+ meters when massive SW Pacific swells hit the...
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Chicama
Puerto Malabrigo, Peru
Chicama is officially the world's longest wave—a left-hand point break in Peru that can deliver rides of 2+ kilometers when all four sections connect. The wave peels along the...
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Indian Ocean(1 spot)
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