Regions
🇪🇸 Spain
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇫🇷 France
🇮🇹 Italy
🇲🇹 Malta
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇬🇷 Greece
🇨🇾 Cyprus
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇩🇰 Denmark
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇳🇴 Norway
🇮🇸 Iceland
🇲🇦 Morocco
We keep adding regions little by little: more European coastlines are coming soon.
🇪🇸 Galicia
Galicia is the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula and takes Atlantic swells head-on: it is the most consistent region in Spain. Between Ferrol and Vigo there are hundreds of beaches, from wild stretches of sand such as Pantín, Doniños or Razo to city breaks like Orzán, right in the centre of A Coruña.
🇪🇸 Asturias
Asturias has more than 300 km of coastline facing the Bay of Biscay and far fewer crowds than Cantabria or the Basque Country. Between Llanes and Tapia de Casariego there are estuaries with quality sandbanks, such as Rodiles, surf-minded city beaches in Gijón and Salinas, and wild coves surrounded by cliffs.
🇪🇸 Cantabria
Cantabria has around 200 km of coastline facing the Bay of Biscay and one of the highest concentrations of quality waves in Spain: long beaches to learn on, powerful beach breaks and a handful of reefs that only wake up with big winter swells.
🇪🇸 Basque Country (Spain)
The Basque coast, across Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, packs some of Europe's most famous waves into little more than 150 km: the Mundaka left, the big-wave reefs of Meñakoz and Roca Puta, and very surf-minded beaches like Sopelana, Zarautz and La Zurriola.
🇪🇸 Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are the «Hawaii of Europe»: volcanic lava reefs that take North Atlantic swells head-on, warm water all year (18 °C in winter, 22–23 °C at the end of summer) and world-class waves such as El Quemao on Lanzarote, El Confital on Gran Canaria or the Lobos right off Fuerteventura. There are also sand beaches for learning, such as Famara, Las Canteras or El Cotillo.
🇵🇹 Northern Portugal
Between the mouth of the Minho, on the border with Galicia, and the beaches of Aveiro, northern Portugal is an almost straight sandy coast open to the Atlantic. Porto has a very big surf scene: Matosinhos, 20 minutes from the centre, is one of the beaches with the most surf schools in Europe, and to the north and south there are much quieter beaches such as Moledo, Esmoriz or Furadouro.
🇵🇹 Central Portugal
The coast between Figueira da Foz and Ericeira holds many of the most famous waves in Europe. At Nazaré break the best-known giant waves in the world; in Peniche, Supertubos hosts a world tour event every year; and Ericeira was Europe's first World Surfing Reserve, with reefs such as Coxos or Ribeira d'Ilhas a few kilometres from each other.
🇵🇹 Lisbon area
Lisbon is one of the few European capitals with good waves less than half an hour away: by train to Carcavelos, over the bridge to Costa da Caparica or through the hills to the Sintra beaches. There are waves for everyone, from the Caparica surf schools to the Cascais-line reefs or Praia Grande's powerful right.
🇵🇹 Alentejo and Algarve
South of Sines begins the Costa Vicentina, one of the best-preserved stretches of coast in Europe: a natural park of cliffs, wild beaches and small villages such as Milfontes, Zambujeira, Aljezur or Carrapateira, running down to Cape São Vicente, the south-western tip of the continent. From there, the Algarve's south coast turns east towards Lagos.
🇫🇷 French Basque Country
Between the mouth of the Adour, in Anglet, and Hendaye, on the border, the French Basque Country packs almost everything European surfing has to offer into barely 40 km: sand beaches with barrels in Anglet, the historic scene of Biarritz, where surfing arrived in France in the 1950s, classic reefs such as Lafitenia or Guéthary and one of the most famous big waves in the world, Belharra.
🇫🇷 Landes
Landes is more than 100 km of straight beach between Biarritz and the Arcachon Bay, with dunes and pine forests behind it and sandbanks that change with every storm. In the middle is Hossegor, one of the capitals of European surfing and the usual home of the world tour's French event.
🇫🇷 Gironde
The Gironde coast, between Cap Ferret and the mouth of the estuary at Soulac, is more than 100 km of wild beaches, dunes and pine forests. Lacanau, an hour from Bordeaux, is its surf capital and hosts an international contest every summer; to the north and south there are much emptier beaches, such as Le Porge, Carcans, Hourtin or Le Gurp.
🇫🇷 Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime brings together the Côte Sauvage at La Tremblade, a wild beach of more than 10 km between La Coubre lighthouse and the Maumusson strait, the Royan beaches at the mouth of the Gironde estuary and two islands linked to the mainland by bridges: Oléron and Ré.
🇫🇷 Vendée
Vendée has about 250 km of coastline between Noirmoutier and La Tranche-sur-Mer, with sand beaches, dunes and some rock slabs that produce high-quality waves, such as La Sauzaie at Brétignolles-sur-Mer, the most famous spot in the area. Les Sables-d'Olonne, start of the Vendée Globe sailing race, is the main town.
🇫🇷 Brittany
Brittany has more than 2,700 km of jagged coastline, with beaches, granite points, reefs and bays facing every direction. It's one of the birthplaces of French surfing: La Torche, in the Pays Bigouden, is its capital, and the Crozon peninsula, the Pointe du Raz and Quiberon's Côte Sauvage hide powerful waves in spectacular landscapes.
🇫🇷 Normandy
Normandy isn't the first place that comes to mind for surfing, but it gets waves fairly often. The west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, between La Hague and Carteret, takes Atlantic swells head-on as they come up the Channel, with long, wild beaches such as Siouville, Sciotot or Le Rozel. Further east, the white cliffs of the Pays de Caux hide lefts over pebbles at Étretat and Yport.
🇬🇧 Cornwall and Devon
South-west England is the heart of British surfing. The north coast of Cornwall and Devon takes Atlantic swells head-on, with sand beaches between cliffs such as Fistral, in Newquay, the UK's surf capital, or Croyde, in Devon. On the south coast, Porthleven has one of the most powerful reefs in the country.
🇬🇧 Wales
Wales has a long and very varied coastline, with two main surf areas: Pembrokeshire, in the south-west, with wild beaches such as Freshwater West or Whitesands inside a coastal national park, and the Gower peninsula, near Swansea, which was the UK's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Further north, the Llŷn peninsula has Hell's Mouth, north Wales' big beach break.
🇬🇧 Scotland
Scotland is the cold frontier of European surfing and one of its best-kept secrets. The north coast, between Thurso and Bettyhill, has world-class slab reefs such as Thurso East, one of the best rights in Europe; the Hebrides and Tiree take the Atlantic head-on on almost empty white-sand beaches; and the east coast, from Aberdeen to East Lothian, wakes up with North Sea storms.
🇬🇧 North-East England
The North Sea coast between Northumberland and Yorkshire is one of the UK's most surprising surf areas: castles above the beach, such as Bamburgh, slab reefs such as Hartley or Staithes and a very active surf scene in Tynemouth, near Newcastle, and in Saltburn, in Yorkshire.
🇬🇧 Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's surfing is concentrated on the Causeway Coast, the north coast of Antrim and Londonderry, famous for the Giant's Causeway. Portrush is its surf capital, with three beaches a few minutes apart, and to the west come the big beaches of Portstewart, Castlerock and Benone.
🇮🇪 Ireland
Ireland takes the full force of North Atlantic storms and has some of the most powerful waves in Europe, set among cliffs and green fields. The west coast holds almost everything: Bundoran, in Donegal, is the capital of Irish surfing; Sligo has classic reefs such as Easkey and the big wave at Mullaghmore; and Clare has Lahinch, the powerful Crab Island right and Aileens, below the Cliffs of Moher.
🇩🇰 Denmark
Denmark has the most active surf scene in Scandinavia, centred on Thy, in north-west Jutland: the area between Hanstholm and Agger is known as «Cold Hawaii» for its boulder reefs and powerful winter waves, and Klitmøller has hosted a windsurfing World Cup event for years. Further south and north there are long beaches by breakwaters, such as Hvide Sande, Løkken or Hirtshals.
🇸🇪 Sweden
In Sweden you surf the storm: there's no Atlantic groundswell, only waves whipped up by the wind in the Kattegat or the Baltic. The west coast, between Halmstad and Varberg, is the centre of Swedish surfing, with beaches such as Tylösand or Apelviken; Skåne has breaks by harbours such as Mölle or Kåseberga; and in the Baltic, Torö, near Stockholm, and Gotland get southerly and westerly storms.
🇳🇴 Norway
Norway offers some of the most spectacular surfing in Europe: beaches between mountains and fjords, northern lights in winter and midnight sun in summer. There are three main areas: Jæren, south of Stavanger, with long beaches open to the North Sea; the Stad peninsula, on the west coast, with bays such as Hoddevik; and the Lofoten Islands, above the Arctic Circle, where Unstad has become world-famous.
🇮🇸 Iceland
Iceland sits in the middle of the North Atlantic and gets swell from almost every direction, in a landscape of lava, glaciers and black cliffs that few surf destinations can match. Most of the known spots are on the Reykjanes peninsula, less than an hour from Reykjavík and the airport, with Þorlákshöfn as the main wave; there are also waves on the east coast and in the Westfjords.
🇲🇦 Northern and Central Morocco
Morocco's Atlantic coast between Kenitra and Essaouira has waves for every level a few hours' flight from Europe: city beaches with surf schools in Rabat and Casablanca, right points such as Bouznika, the calm lagoon at Oualidia and one of the most powerful and famous rights in the world, Safi.
🇲🇦 Southern Morocco
Southern Morocco is one of the world's great winter surf destinations. Between Imsouane and Agadir, a chain of right points (Anchor Point, Killer Point, Boilers, Hash Point, Banana Point) breaks along an arid coast of ochre cliffs, with Taghazout as the base village full of surf camps. Further south, Mirleft and Sidi Ifni offer quieter waves and landscapes of rock arches.
🇪🇸 Catalonia
The Catalan coast faces east and south onto the Mediterranean and lacks the steady swell of the Bay of Biscay: here you surf when an easterly (levante) storm or a good southerly blow comes through. Even so, Barcelona has one of the biggest surf communities in Spain, with Barceloneta and Bogatell right in the city, and the Costa Brava and the Garraf hide beaches that work well with an easterly groundswell.
🇪🇸 Valencia and Murcia
The Valencian coast is a run of long sandy beaches facing east, from Castellón to Alicante, carrying on south to La Manga del Mar Menor. The waves depend on easterly (levante) storms, which in autumn and winter bring short but sometimes decent swells, and on a westerly (poniente) wind to clean up the sea.
🇪🇸 Mediterranean Andalusia
Andalusia's Mediterranean coast, from Málaga to Almería, faces south onto the Alboran Sea. It gets no Atlantic swell, but the easterly (levante) and westerly (poniente) storms funnelled through the Strait raise short waves that support a very active surf community, especially in Málaga.
🇪🇸 Balearic Islands
Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza have coasts facing every direction, and that's their great advantage: almost any Mediterranean storm leaves waves on some beach. The north coasts of Mallorca and Menorca get the north and north-east swells raised by the tramontana and mistral, and the southern bays work with southerly winds.
🇫🇷 French Mediterranean
France's Mediterranean coast runs from the Pyrenees to Italy: first the long sandy beaches of Languedoc and Roussillon, then the coves and headlands of Provence around Marseille and Toulon, and finally the Côte d'Azur. There are waves with east and south-east storms, and in Provence also with the mistral, which raises a westerly swell on the beaches exposed to it.
🇫🇷 Corsica
Corsica is probably the island with the most surf potential in the western Mediterranean. Its west coast, between Ajaccio and Calvi, is open to hundreds of kilometres of sea and gets the west and north-west swells raised by the mistral and the libeccio: gulfs with sandy beaches, river mouths and rocky points.
🇮🇹 Liguria and Tuscany
Liguria and Tuscany have one of Italy's oldest surf scenes. The Ligurian Riviera faces south, with mountains plunging into the sea and reef and point waves that work with the libeccio and scirocco; the Tuscan coast, open to the west, has long sandy beaches in Versilia and rocky bottoms around Livorno.
🇮🇹 Lazio
Lazio's coast, from Civitavecchia to Gaeta, opens onto the Tyrrhenian Sea and gets south-west and west storms. Rome has one of the biggest surf communities in Italy, spread between the reefs of Santa Marinella to the north, the beaches of Ostia and Fregene by the city, and the dunes of the Circeo park to the south.
🇮🇹 Sardinia
Sardinia is the Mediterranean's big surf destination. Its west coast looks out over hundreds of kilometres of open sea and takes the full force of the maestrale, the north-westerly wind that raises the most powerful and consistent swells in the area. The Sinis peninsula near Oristano is home to quality reefs like Capo Mannu, which has hosted European contests.
🇮🇹 Sicily
Sicily has three coasts facing different seas, so there's almost always a side with waves. The north coast, around Palermo, gets the maestrale and tramontana from the Tyrrhenian Sea; the south coast, open to the Strait of Sicily, works with the libeccio and scirocco; and the east coast, facing the Ionian Sea, with easterly storms.
🇮🇹 Apulia
Apulia, the heel of Italy's boot, has coastline on two seas: the Adriatic to the north and east, and the Ionian west of the Salento. That double orientation is its strength, as almost any storm leaves waves somewhere on the peninsula, often less than an hour's drive away.
🇲🇹 Malta
Malta sits in the middle of the central Mediterranean, between Sicily and Africa, so it gets swell from almost every direction. The north-western bays, like Għajn Tuffieħa and Ġnejna, work with the majjistral, the north-westerly wind; the east coast around Sliema and Marsaskala, and the island of Gozo, wake up with the gregale, the north-easterly storm.
🇭🇷 Croatia
The Adriatic is a narrow, almost enclosed sea, but when the jugo, the south-easterly wind, blows, it builds windswell over hundreds of kilometres that reaches the coasts of Istria and Dalmatia. Croatia's surf community is small and enthusiastic, concentrated in southern Istria and around Split.
🇬🇷 Greece
Greece has thousands of kilometres of coastline and two very different surf seasons. In the Aegean, the north-facing island beaches like Tinos or Ikaria get windswell in summer from the meltemi, the northerly wind that blows hard in July and August. In winter, the Ionian coast, Corfu, Lefkada, the Peloponnese and western Crete get westerly swells.
🇨🇾 Cyprus
Cyprus, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, gets waves when winter storms cross the sea from the west. The south and west coasts, between Paphos and Limassol, have sand and pebble beaches and a few reefs that work with a west or south-west swell.