Best Surf Trips from Amsterdam
Schiphol is one of Europe's great hubs. The best surf escapes from Amsterdam.
23 spots featured
Amsterdam itself sees real waves only a handful of times a year — the North Sea is a fickle beast. But Schiphol is one of Europe's three most-connected airports, and the surf trips out of AMS are world-class.
The classics are short: Lisbon is 2.5 hours, Marrakech is 3.5, the Canary Islands are 4. KLM and its codeshare partners run constant routes to every European surf coast and most of the warm-water alternatives. Bordeaux and Biarritz are 2 hours. Faro is 3.
For longer missions, Schiphol offers direct flights to Curaçao and Aruba (10 hours, KLM's Caribbean flagship), Bali (16 hours via one stop), and Cape Town (11 hours direct seasonally). The Dutch airline network punches well above its weight for surf-trip access.
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France(5 spots)
Belharra
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Belharra is France's premier big wave—a deepwater reef 2.5 kilometers offshore from Saint-Jean-de-Luz that only wakes up during the most massive North Atlantic storms. The wave...
La Graviere
Hossegor, France
La Graviere is arguably the world's heaviest beachbreak—a freight-train of a wave that breaks with reef-like power over shifting sand banks in Hossegor, France. The Gouf de...
Guéthary
Basque Country, France
Guéthary is where European surfing ventures into serious territory—a powerful reef break tucked beneath the charming Basque village that transforms into a genuine big wave arena...
La Nord
Hossegor, France
La Nord is Hossegor's heavy hitter—arguably Europe's most powerful beach break, where deep-water canyons funnel Atlantic swells into peaks that explode with oceanic force. This is...
Guethary
Pays Basque, France
Guéthary is the Basque Country's big-wave playground—a powerful right-hand reef that comes alive when larger swells shut down the surrounding beach breaks. The wave is a magnet...
Portugal(5 spots)
Coxos
Ericeira, Portugal
Coxos is arguably Portugal's best wave—a heavy, hollow right-hand reef/point break in Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve. The wave produces thick, grinding barrels over a rocky...
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...
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...
Ribeira d'Ilhas
Ericeira, Portugal
Ribeira d'Ilhas is the crown jewel of Europe's first World Surfing Reserve—a long, reeling right-hand point break that has hosted Championship Tour events and produced countless...
Sao Torpes
Sines, Portugal
São Torpes is Portugal's quirky surf anomaly—a consistent beach break made famous by a nearby power plant that warms the water several degrees above normal. While this industrial...
Morocco(5 spots)
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...
Imsouane
Souss-Massa, Morocco
Imsouane is Africa's longest wave—a right-hand point break in a sheltered Moroccan bay that produces rides of 300 meters or more when conditions align. The wave is impossibly...
Tamri
Souss-Massa, Morocco
Tamri is Morocco's quieter choice—a consistent beach and rivermouth break between Agadir and Essaouira that offers an escape from the crowds that have descended on Taghazout. The...
La Source
Taghazout, Morocco
La Source sits just north of the famous Anchor Point, fed by fresh water springs that give the spot its name. The wave is a long, peeling right that can connect through multiple...
Mysteries
Taghazout, Morocco
Mysteries is the middle section of the famous Taghazout point break system, sitting between La Source to the north and Anchor Point to the south. When the swell is big enough and...
Spain(5 spots)
La Izquierda
Playa de las Americas, Spain
La Izquierda is the Canary Islands' high-performance showcase—a fast, hollow left breaking over volcanic reef right in the heart of Playa de las Américas' tourist zone. The wave...
Los Lobos
Fuerteventura, Spain
Los Lobos is the longest wave in the Canary Islands, a right-hand point break on the small island of the same name that can offer rides of 500 meters or more when conditions...
El Hierro (The Bubble)
Fuerteventura, Spain
El Hierro, also known as The Bubble, is the heaviest wave in the Canary Islands—a shallow, hollow right that has been compared to Pipeline. The wave breaks over volcanic rock just...
Famara
Lanzarote, Spain
Famara is a 6-kilometer beach break that serves as Lanzarote's surf capital. The dramatic cliffs of the Famara massif provide a stunning backdrop to the multiple peaks that dot...
Spew Pits
Fuerteventura, Spain
Spew Pits is named for the urchin-covered reef that will make you wish you hadn't wiped out. The wave is a hollow reef break that produces fast, punchy barrels, but the shallow,...
Canary Islands(2 spots)
El Quemao
La Santa, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
El Quemao is the "Pipeline of Europe"—a thick, square-barreling left that breaks over ultra-sharp volcanic lava reef in La Santa, Lanzarote. The wave produces some of the heaviest...
La Santa Right
Tinajo, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
La Santa Right is Lanzarote's training ground—a quality right-hand reef break directly in front of the famous Club La Santa sports resort that provides consistent waves for...
St Martin(1 spot)
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