Best Surf Trips from New York

East Coast surfers don't have to fly far. The best destinations within reach of JFK and EWR.

30 spots featured

New York is closer to world-class waves than most East Coasters realize. JFK and Newark are two of the most-connected airports on the planet, with direct flights to the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and even the Pacific in under 11 hours.

The closest scores are easiest: Puerto Rico is just 4 hours, Barbados is 5, Costa Rica is 6. These are the long-weekend trips that don't require leave-of-absence planning. Mexico's Pacific coast is 6-7 hours via a connection. Hawaii is 11 hours direct on Hawaiian Airlines.

For longer missions, JFK has direct flights to Lisbon (6 hours — gateway to Portugal's entire Atlantic coast), Tokyo (14 hours — Japan and easy onward to Indonesia), and the Maldives via one stop. The math from New York is better than most surfers think.

USA (HI)(5 spots)

Portugal(5 spots)

Puerto Rico(5 spots)

Costa Rica(5 spots)

Barbados(5 spots)

Panama(3 spots)

St Martin(1 spot)

St Lucia(1 spot)

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