Top 31 spots around the world! How many have you surfed?
What do you consider as a good surf spot? And what do you consider as the best? Surfing Atlas presents you with our top 31 best surf spots. These include the deadliest waves, the biggest waves,the busiest and the most remote breaks.... check it out and figure out which breaks you have yet to surf. Let us know how we did in calling it by dropping a line in our forums HERE
Doing so puts you in the running for a brand new RESIN8 Surfboard shaped by Sam Egan. Simply click on the spot names below and you are off on your own World Tour of Surfing Atlas.
One of the most deadliest waves in the world, the crows factor often pushes surfers to take off on impossible sections where serious injury is the only possible outcome. Are you ready to try it?
Located half a mile out off Pillar Point, Half Moon Bay, Mavericks is a very scary and dangerous wave to attempt to surf and should only be taken on by solid, experienced surfers. Are you experienced enough?
This is a world famous classic point break setup. It offers long, righthand, barreling perfection purpose built for the surfboard rider. During the higher tides it's more popular with longboarders on the inside sections, but Rincon will always be super busy.
Puerto Escondido is not your average beach-break, otherwise known as the Mexican Pipeline, this wave is serious. The reason this freak of nature surf location exists is simple, there is no continental shelf, therefore nothing slowing or reducing the energy of the swell before it reaches the coast.
Santa Catalina offers easily the best wave on the West Panamanian Coast. The blend of super consistent waves with often superior surface conditions ensures that there is no shortage of takers
The most famous wave in Barbados and easily one of the best in the Caribbean. Soup bowls is a classic right hander reef break that occasionally offers a left hander on acute northerly swells.
This is a serious wave, holding real size up to 5 metres but quality in any swell from 1m+. The wave tends to section around the point with the outer takeoff a great steep drop into the oblivion of freezing water with another two often hollower peaks closer to the shore. An incredible sight when it all lines up perfectly.
The wave itself is very easy to find. This break can be very heavy on larger days. Suprisingly the banks often make a good job of a thumping swell though getting out the back can be a morale breaking experience.
Jamestown Harbour is the most popular break and being right in front of the only main settlement on the island will mean if there are any other surfers in port, you will meet them here. A strong NW swell produces a long gliding left hander, take the wave in as far as you dare but beware the seawall laddie - she is a harsh mistress.
The wave itself is a wrapping right hander that peels steadily along a point / reef set-up before a fast section that breaks into deeper water in the bay. The break can handle size up to 4metres, beyond that the faster section just tends to close out. anything around the 3 metre mark will produce a ride that will deposit you well into the bay fully surrounding you with land - a remarkable surfing experience.
Safi has to be one of the best-known surf spots in Morocco and holds its place well on the world stage of surfing classics. It’s a long, sometimes exceptionally long wave, which breaks with speed throwing out a powerful sucky barrel. It remained a secret closely guarded by those in the know for a while, but now it has found itself under some limelight.
One of the finest breaks in the Hossegor region and one not for the faint hearted when strutting its stuff. Holds huge swells and can be the only place breaking north of Capbreton when swells reach there maximum. Access is a one way conveyor in the form of the rip in the sand channel, and then it's up to you. Bigger boards are necessary and bring a spare or two.
A very heavy right hand wave breaking in super shallow water with a nasty reef i.e. the experienced only need apply. It's a long paddle to this wave from Doolin Pier and you'll be greeted with a heavy tubing ride, with an east wind; this wave is world class.
Nias of the north as it has been described in the past. Thurso East is a classic wave that holds its place respectively on the world waves score board and lets face it, if you're travelling to northern Scotland to surf then this is the wave on your mind.
This point is a solid and consistent left that break in the more common SW swells. SW swells tend to be a little more consistent which equals left handers in this region. The break itself is a car / long scenic walk from the village. rocking off is fairly sketchy. This isn’t the kind of spot you can hang around and see how one of the locals does it either.
One of the best waves in the eastern Mediterranean. Sadly, this break is often silent but that is all part of the deal when it comes to surfing in the Med. . Be prepared to do some serious waiting if you plan on surfing here, time your visit around the main dominance of the Sirocco winds typically around either March or November.
‘The best right hander in the world,’ is a phrase often thrown around when discussing South Africa’s Jeffery’s Bay. While the truth in this statement maybe argued between surfers the world over, (probably whilst drinking beer), one thing cannot be disputed- Jeffrey’s Bay is a world class wave. It’s fast, powerful, and long - the crown jewel of South Africa’s surf rich coastline.
One of the premier waves in the world. The ride itself is a heavy left hander whihc barrels shortly after takeoff. Conveniently, there is usually enough time to set your ideal line and push through for what can easily be a 100m barrel section. If you are happy to spend three hours in the water for about as many waves just to say you have surfed Tamarin than give it a shot.
Sultans Rights is the right hander across the pass from Pasta Point. The crowds can get intense but there are plenty of waves, just take your time. When you get one it is worth it!! Take care on the inside as they do tend to end in a close out that can see you caught inside on shallow coral.
Macaronis is quite possibly the best wave found in Indonesia’s, Mentawaii Islands. Macaronis is a long peeling left-hander, a barrelling wave, that also allows a surfer to crack the lip. Macaronis is truly one of the wonders of the surfing world. They don’t call it, ‘the most fun wave in the world’ for nothing.
Grajagan epitomises perfection. A long, fast, left-hand barrel, you surf in board-shorts while living in the dense jungle of east Java, Indonesia. For a surfer, it doesn’t get much better than this. The wave itself has three main sections. Up the top is Kong’s, where the swell is at its largest. The waves do barrel, but big open faces are more common. It’s a good place to escape the pack further down the line up.
Definitely one of the jewels of the South Western Australian Crown. World renowned, world class and even worldly in the cultural respect given the regional glut of top shelf vineyards. But that is beside the point when Margerats is on, which is relatively often, depending on your personal preference and overall benchmark for quality.
Getting here is the real challenge. The wind chill factor from the ever present westerly winds will restrict you to surfing in the middle of the southern Hemisphere summer only (Dec-Feb) in full dry suit. The wave itself is a heavy left hander that offers excellent protection from the prevailing westerly winds and handles any size the Southern Ocean can throw at it.
Far more generous than the lightning fast Teahupoo and not quite as life or death as Backdoor Pipe, this wave gives hope to the multitude of 'good' but not 'exceptional' surfers that they too can surf a perfect wave. In a perfect NE swell the wave will break both ways but often the left will offer the better ride due to the more common easterly swell component.
The wave itself at Schitovaya Bukhta is a superior beachbreak, very dependent on SW swell within the Sea of Japan. Typhoon season is your best bet for quality swell in the area (Dec-Feb). The more South in the swell the better, the southern point here will begin to work in any swell over 1.5 metres and hold anything up to 4 metres.
Habara is one of the better beach breaks in the area but often very crowded. Even on flat days there will be a multitude of some of the most unusually shaped boards you will ever come across in a line up. When it all comes together here however it is a sight to behold. The left hander will often be the better option though there are several reef / rock combos at the extremes of the beach worthy of inspection during a crowd peak.
The wave that has become known as the world class "Superbank" could almost come under the banner of a "man made" surf spot. The Gold Coast Council decided it would be a great idea to dredge and pump sand out of the Tweed River to make it more navigable for the fleet of fishing boats that reside there. This sand was deposited behind the rocks at Snapper. The quality of the wave is now in slow decline as the sand pumping is winding down, but make no mistake, it's still a quality wave for every surfers hitlist.
There are few, if any, surf locations around the world with the sense of history, significance, and aura that surrounds Bells Beach. By today’s standards, the wave itself may be out-classed by neighbouring Winki Pop, but don’t be fooled into thinking Bells is an average wave. At six to eight foot (double to triple overhead), Bells is classic.
The waves at Cloudbreak are world class, the island of Tavarau is a luxurious paradise, the climate is tropical perfection, the crowds are nonexistent. During the mid 1980’s the resort owners struck a deal with the local people, and secured exclusive rights to the waves, which under Fiji tribal law can be done. If you are lucky enough to visit Tavarua make sure you enjoy it, you are one of a privileged few who experience the dream that is Cloudbreak.
Over the past decade no one location has received more attention from the surfing world than that of Tahiti’s awesome Teahupoo. No matter how much footage you’ve seen of Teahupoo, when you see it with your own eyes at triple overhead plus, you will be absolutely awestruck. Swell direction can change things dramatically at Teahupoo, basically the more easterly the swell direction, the better.
Easily one of the best left hand point breaks in the world. A naturally occuring reverse superbank. This spot was the star in Bruce Brown's epic 'endless summer'. Back then there wasnt really a crowd to contend with, times have changed somewhat. When all of the peaks here are firing you can see up to 100 surfers in the water.
