Is Fuerteventura the right surf holiday for me?

In December I took my first trip to the Island of Fuerteventura, I am an experienced surfer (about 16 years) but all that time and effort does not shine through in my ability, I would class myself as very average. 

I have been told all the horror stories about the shallow volcanic reefs and  protective locals but I set off with an open mind, my 2mm wetsuit and my go to surfboard for all conditions. The forecast for my week was unbelievable, probably too good for me but after a string of bad trips i was stoked.  

We touched down on Saturday afternoon, picked up our trusty rental car and headed to star surf camps located in the town of Cotillo, after a long day of travelling I was stoked to be greeted with waves at the local beach break, I knew it was only going to be getting bigger for the next few days so it was great to get my feet on the wax, I had forgotten what it was like to surf in warm water with no boots....fantastic. The beach breaks are fun and relatively uncrowded so it was great to get some waves in there. 

I knew it was going to get much bigger on day 2, I awoke to the sound of crashing waves, took a look out of our balcony window and saw this mutant wave breaking with some local bodyboarders getting some crazy waves.

We watched this wave whilst eating our breakfast and deciding what the best plan of attack was going to be. Before we left I had been told so much about a wave that breaks alongside a smaller island, you can take a boat across to the island and if you are lucky you might just get the longest ride of your life, I thought with the swell peaking 7ft@16seconds it would be worth checking out. On the boat ride across this is what we saw...

I felt pretty intimidated but new I would be crazy not to give it a go. I was on my own so followed some other surfers who looked like they knew where to get in and started the long paddle up the point, I decided it would be better to take some insiders instead of going straight to the peak, its a challenging fast wave but even from the inside i got some incredible waves. I did make it to the peak but mainly just sat and watched the locals getting barrels on take off, I took my chances on a big wide set and had probably the longest wave I think iv'e ever surfed. Still stoked over a month later.

I had surfed more in the first 2 days of my trip than i had in the previous 6 months in the U.K. My arms, shoulders, chest and back were so sore the next morning but with a similar forecast I just had to go back to the island. When we got there it was smaller and a lot busier, I found it much harder to get waves as the standard of the surfers there was so high. I was happy to pick off a few waves and just be in the line up. I was 3 days in and this was fast becoming one of my best ever trips.

From then on the swell was set to drop off (which wasn't a bad thing) this gave me a few days to explore the northern track, i'd recommend getting a rental car just to experience driving the track, there are waves around every corner, some that are super fun and others that will hurt you if your not good enough, I surfed some reefs and a fun little right hand point style wave but also shot photos at some of the scariest looking waves if ever seen.

The final 2 days were spent at the beach breaks, shooting photos and getting as many close out barrels as possible. 

To sum up, Fuerteventura was definitely the right surf holiday for me. The waves that are available cover all levels, from never surfed to top pro. The guys at Star Surf Camps were super helpful everyday, pointing me in the right direction to score the best waves. I didn't even touch on the accommodation or food, but take my word for it. Its epic!!

At Mango we love to surf, so if you need any more help about which model or size will be best for you just drop us a call, an email or a facebook message. We want to help find you that magic board, set of fins or wetsuit: