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.
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USA(5 spots)
Pipeline
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Pipeline is the proving ground of professional surfing—a shallow, left-breaking barrel that has defined generations of surfers. The wave breaks just 75 yards from the beach over a...
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Sunset Beach
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Sunset Beach is one of surfing's most revered and challenging waves—a football-field-sized playing field of shifting peaks and deep-water power. West Peak is the classic heavy...
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Makaha
West Shore, Oahu, USA
Makaha is Hawaii's original big wave spot—the place where big wave surfing was pioneered before Waimea Bay. Multiple sections (Point, Bowl, Blowhole, Inside Reef) offer different...
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Honolua Bay
NW Coast, Maui, USA
Honolua Bay is Maui's crown jewel—Hawaii's best point break offering 200-400 meter rides through multiple sections (Coconuts, The Cave, Keiki Bowl). Molokai island shadows pure NW...
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Waimea Bay
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Waimea Bay is the birthplace of big wave surfing—a thundering right-hander that only truly comes alive when swells exceed 15 feet. When it's on, the takeoff is a heart-stopping...
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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...
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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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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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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...
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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...
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Puerto Rico(5 spots)
Tres Palmas
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Tres Palmas is the Caribbean's big wave proving ground—a powerful right-hand reef break in Rincón, Puerto Rico, that transforms into a legitimate big wave arena when massive...
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Rincon
Rincon, Puerto Rico
Rincon is the undisputed capital of Caribbean surfing—a legendary stretch of coast on Puerto Rico's western tip that lights up during winter NW swells. The area hosts multiple...
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Gas Chambers
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Gas Chambers lives up to its name—a heavy, hollow reef break that produces some of the most intense tubes in the Caribbean. Located on Puerto Rico's northwest coast near...
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Domes
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Domes is Rincón's most photogenic wave—a super-pitchy right that throws over shallow reef right next to the decommissioned nuclear facility dome. When winter swells light up...
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Middles
Isabela, Puerto Rico
Middles is Puerto Rico's most challenging wave—a fast, powerful reef break that delivers Hawaiian-style barrels on the north coast. The wave breaks hard and fast over shallow...
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Costa Rica(5 spots)
Witch's Rock
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Witch's Rock is Costa Rica's most famous wave—a perfect A-frame beach break inside Santa Rosa National Park that gained worldwide fame in Endless Summer II. Getting here requires...
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Pavones
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Pavones is one of the longest left-hand point breaks in the world—a legendary wave in remote southern Costa Rica that can run for 800+ meters when conditions align. Getting here...
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Salsa Brava
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Salsa Brava translates to "angry sauce," and this Caribbean reef break lives up to its name - the heaviest wave in Costa Rica. When E-NE Caribbean swells hit during winter, Salsa...
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Playa Negra
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Playa Negra is Guanacaste's reef break crown jewel—a long, peeling left that offers some of the most consistent quality surf on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The wave breaks over a...
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Santa Teresa
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Santa Teresa is Costa Rica's open secret that's no longer much of a secret—a once-remote beach town that has blossomed into a world-class surf destination with the yoga studios...
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Barbados(5 spots)
Soup Bowl
Bathsheba, Barbados
Soup Bowl is widely considered the Caribbean's best wave—a powerful right-hand reef break on Barbados' rugged east coast. When NE groundswells hit this exposed section of...
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Freights
South Coast, Barbados
Freights is Barbados' most accessible quality reef break—a fun, playful right on the island's mellower south coast that offers a welcome contrast to the east coast's intensity....
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Maycocks
North West Coast, Barbados
Maycocks is Barbados's answer to J-Bay—a long, perfectly lined-up right that peels along a coral reef on the northwest coast. When clean N-NW swells arrive in winter, the wave...
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Box by Box
Bathsheba, Barbados
Box by Box is Soup Bowl's heavier neighbor—a grinding left that breaks into shallow reef with serious consequences. This is where Barbados prodigy Zander Venezia honed his skills,...
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Batts Rock
St James, Barbados
Batts Rock is Barbados's west coast secret—a Pipeline-esque reef break that only turns on when rare N swells wrap around the island. When it works, the wave produces thick,...
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Panama(3 spots)
Santa Catalina
Veraguas, Panama
Santa Catalina is Panama's premier surf destination—a long right-hand point break in a remote fishing village on the Pacific coast. The wave wraps around a rocky headland,...
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Playa Venao
Los Santos, Panama
Playa Venao is Panama's surf capital—a consistent beach break on the Azuero Peninsula that has grown from sleepy fishing village to the country's most developed surf destination....
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Cambutal
Los Santos, Panama
Cambutal is Panama's wild card—a remote beach break beyond Venao that attracts surfers seeking bigger waves and genuine solitude. The seven-hour drive from Panama City filters out...
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St Martin(1 spot)
St Lucia(1 spot)
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