Discover The Best West Coast Surfing in CanadaIf you're looking for a premium west coast surfing location, we strongly recommend Vancouver Island's Tofino area - specifically, Long Beach. Located on the western edge of the Island lies Long Beach, a 20-km stretch of spectacular beach between the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet. This beach is one of our favourite places to go for some serious "R & R." Long Beach is Vancouver Island's most popular beach destination for surfing. BC offers up some pretty fantastic outdoor adventures, and surfing here on the west coast is no exception. In the last five years, Long Beach has become the preferred destination for surfers.
Here's Why Long Beach Is So Popular: We're talking 35 kilometres of surfable beach break -- with left and right beach breaks and a few points. When you take those first few steps onto the open beach, you'll see miles of gorgeous smooth sand and breakers rolling in. We've heard that there are a good number of out-of-country surfers that return here every year.
Surf Conditions At Long BeachOne of the good things about west coast surfing on Long Beach, is that the conditions are quite suitable for beginners and still provide enough challenge for intermediate surfers.However if you're new at this, it's highly recommended that you sign up for a beginners surf lesson to help introduce you to techniques and strategies of surfing, and to local surfing conditions (which is always a good idea). Also for those new at surfing (or if you're surfing Long Beach for the first time), we'd recommend you try either North or South Chesterman Beach, which is located close to Tofino. Chesterman Beach usually has gentle waves and is a good place to learn. There's really easy public access to the beach entrance too, so all in all, it's a good place to start out. To get there, drive towards Tofino, then turn left on Lynn Road. Follow the signs for parking for North or South beach access. Both areas are equally good. One more thing we'd strongly recommend before you embark on your west coast surfing adventure: check in with one of the local surf shops right in Tofino to see what their opinion is of local conditions for that day. Conditions at Long Beach can vary from day to day. One day you may be surfing knee-high gentle waves, and return the next day to find double-overhead barreling waves.
Tofino Surf Schools and Surfing Camps
There are roughly five Tofino surf schools where you can pick up lessons. An excellent (and popular) Surf Camp that we'd recommend in Tofino is the Inner Rhythm Surf Camp which provides an adult and teen surfing camp, and group surfing lessons.
Here's a nice added bonus - The Inner Rhythm will provide pick up and drop off transportation from the Nanaimo ferry terminal if you're coming over from the mainland (Vancouver). They'll provide all the equipment, but you can bring your own stuff if you've got it. They'll teach kids as young as five and up, so the whole family can enjoy surfing adventures here on Vancouver Island. Some other Tofino area surf schools you can check out are: Bruhwiler Surf School , the Westside Surf School , Pacific Surf School , and Canada's only women's surf camp, Surf Sister . One more thing: You'll find plenty of excellent surf shops in Tofino if you need to rent anything: surf, skim and body boards, wetsuits, roof racks, and all that.
Surfing Vacation Vancouver Island / West Coast Surfing
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