Best Surf Trips from Zurich
Zurich has the income, airport, and Alps-to-ocean crossover for serious surf travel.
30 spots featured
Zurich is far from the ocean but close to the exact customer profile that makes surf travel work: high income, international flight access, and a mountain-sports culture built around conditions.
Portugal, France, Morocco, and the Canary Islands are the practical short-haul set. The Maldives and Bali become the bigger-ticket warm-water plays when a longer break opens and the forecast is strong enough.
From Zurich, the smartest surf trip is not the most exotic one. It is the destination where swell direction, wind, tide, and travel effort line up inside the actual forecast window.
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Indonesia(5 spots)
Uluwatu
Bali, Indonesia
Uluwatu is Bali's most famous wave, a long, walling left-hander that breaks over a shallow reef at the base of dramatic limestone cliffs. The wave offers multiple sections—from...
Padang Padang
Bali, Indonesia
Padang Padang is Bali's version of Pipeline—a short, violent, left-hand barrel that explodes over a dangerously shallow reef. Unlike Uluwatu which works on small swells, Padang...
Desert Point
Lombok, Indonesia
Desert Point is one of the longest, most perfect barrel rides on Earth—and one of the most fickle. When SW swells combine with low tide and offshore winds, this Lombok left...
Impossibles
Bali, Indonesia
Impossibles earned its name because it's usually too fast to make—the wave races down a shallow reef so quickly that most sections close out before you can reach them. But with...
Uluwatu (Bombie)
Bali, Indonesia
Uluwatu Bombie is Bali's big-wave arena—the deep-water outer reef that activates when massive Southern Ocean swells march north. While the famous inside sections of Uluwatu max...
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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...
Les Cavaliers
Anglet, France
Les Cavaliers is one jewel in the crown of Anglet's legendary beach break chain—a stretch of sand that has produced French surf champions and hosted competitions for decades. The...
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...
Spain(5 spots)
El Quemao
La Santa, Lanzarote, Spain
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 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...
La Santa Right
Tinajo, Lanzarote, Spain
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...
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...
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...
Maldives(5 spots)
Sultans
North Male Atoll, Maldives
Sultans is one of the Maldives' most consistent waves—a long, peeling right-hander in the North Male Atoll that works on a wide range of swell sizes. The wave offers multiple...
Honky's
North Male Atoll, Maldives
Honky's is Sultans' powerful neighbor—a left-hand reef break across the channel that comes alive when bigger swells hit the North Male Atoll. The wave is heavier and more intense...
Cokes
Thulusdhoo, Maldives
Cokes is the Maldives' most accessible quality wave—a fun right-hander named after the Coca-Cola factory on Thulusdhoo Island. The wave is forgiving on smaller days (perfect for...
Pasta Point
North Male Atoll, Maldives
Pasta Point is the crown jewel of Maldivian surfing—a long, multi-section left-hander in the North Male Atoll that's widely considered the best wave in the country. Access is...
Chickens
North Male Atoll, Maldives
Chickens is the Maldives' most accessible quality wave—a fun, forgiving left-hander in the North Male Atoll that's open to all surfers (unlike resort-exclusive Pasta Point). The...
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...
Safi (Le Jardin)
Safi, Morocco
Safi Le Jardin is one of the most feared waves in Morocco—a heavy, slabbing right that breaks over a shallow reef just outside Safi harbor. When massive WNW swells arrive, usually...
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...
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