Beach Surf Spots: 5 Reasons Why We Love Them

Beach breaks (surf spots where the waves break over the sand) are a surfer’s bread and butter. Unless you are fortunate to live in the Maldives, Indonesia or Samoa, these will be either your local, or the nearest surf spots.
Last week I talked about the pros of the reef breaks but there is plenty to love about beach breaks too. Here’s our Top 5:
5. They usually are easier to access. Sand is everywhere. You could travel halfway across the planet to surf the world’s best sandbars, but if you live close to the coast, chances are your go-to spot is a beach break.
4. Sand-bottom waves come in all shapes and sizes.  Puerto Escondido and Super Tubes aren’t triple overhead every day. When the swell is a more user-friendly size at the big name spots, the locals usually can’t be bothered to paddle out. So, you’ll pretty much have the joint to yourself… or if it is crowded, at least you’ll be one of the better surfers in the line-up!
3. They are great for learners. Sand is soft. As a result, you don’t have to think twice about throwing yourself over the edge on the big sets, pulling into an overhead tube or trying to get an air off that ramping end section at your favorite beach break.
2. They are relatively safe. Not much can be done when there’s absolutely no motion in the ocean. But, even when it’s ankle-snapping small, you can still go for a paddle without the risk of breaking your fins off on a rock or a coral head at a beach break.
1. Many of the world’s best beach breaks are located in places where life is almost as exciting on land as in the sea. Puerto Escondido is never flat, but when it’s too small to wax up your 7’0” you’re still in Mexico where tacos and tequila abound, not to mention some of the best sport fishing in the world waiting just offshore. Stuck in a summer flat spell in Hossegor? Lose yourself in the fine wine, the famous French cuisine, or spend a day discovering the Pyrenees mountain range, and if you’re single why not find a local eager to teach you the finer points of French kissing? Last but not least, if Australia’s Surfers Paradise or the much higher quality sandbars of Duranbah aren’t pumping, you can always look forward to taking selfies with koala bears, golfing with kangaroos or discovering the wild life in any of the numerous watering holes hidden in plain sight throughout New South Wales and all up and down the Gold Coast!

Portugal. It gets pretty good at Ericeira.