hello everyone, would appreciate any advice / input for our 5 week road trip mid Aug to mid Sept .
The crew are 3 couples mid fifties to sixties , 2 ex surfers , "the wives" and me 58 year old competent ,frothing 
supper,easygoing in the water ,can do crowds but prefer not to ,will always choose the lesser wave for less people ,double overhead max . Trying to scam as much surf as I can out of the trip. Start and already booked Vertheuil Bordeaux then San Seb ,looking for nice towns to stay in North/South Spain ,Portugal and Morocco.They are giving me 6 days dedicated surfing Southern Portugal looking at staying Aljezur , Raposeira or Sagres . We have a 9 seater staying mainly in houses , I can take the car early mornings while they are recovering from the inevitable "night before " we all like partying on holidays . Not sure about 7 nights Morocco, no car there. Also not sure about flying with paddle ,have travelled many times over the years with boards but not with SUP ,thinking about my 8.10 speed or 9.2 JP pro. Thanks in advance for any replies .
Hi,
I would advise to a stop at Hossegor for partying. In the Summer, Hossegor is the regional "Surf City" with plenty of people from all parts of the world.
This means that the spots are crowded, the best place I heard for uncrowded spots in summer is Galice (Northern Spain), with plenty of sheltered bays to be able to surf even with the afternoon thermal winds of the summer.
A stop by Biarritz is nice too, the town is very scenic, and driving south from them by the small road on top of the cliffs is gorgeous. But spots are even more crowded than Hossegor :-)
Morroco is special in that it is a third world country, people love it or hate it. We hated it because we could not overcome our guilt feeling seeing all this misery, and the petty thieving got old fast: people are not agressive, in our experience they will not try to break into your car, but be prepared to have people trying to open the doors constantly at night just to see if they weren't unlocked by chance, not fun when you sleep in your van. Seems that to have a good experience in Morroco you must either stay in tourist hotels/resorts, or be guided by a local that will keep away the swarms of beggars.
But the waves are world class. Be wary of the quality of water, though (factories, slaughterhouses, sewers can go directly in the ocean), and that medical help can be complex to get.
Thanks for the reply Colas .Hadn't realized Morocco was that poor.Interesting point you raise about the guilt we feel in third world countries , I actually haven't any great desire to travel anywhere overseas for exactly that reason .Having traveled a bit at different stages of life , I now feel that it is quite a decadent thing to do. I am mainly going for my wife's sake although she would probably enjoy it just as much without me.
You can travel with a respect and generous spirit to people worse off than you and have a rewarding experience . I won't be crying in my beer all the time
Hossegor is great for partying and has some heavy waves (and really crowded waves). Used to go there every year with friends. Rented a nice house, party hard (some times way too hard!) and surf some heavy waves (scored some great ones) when not hangover 
Southwest Portugal has a more laid back attitude and some nice waves (also spent a few days every year there). Much cheaper, less crowded and the food is way better than in Hossegor (and also cheaper). My favorite place is Praia do Amado (between Sagres and Aljezur). It's a good option since it has better waves and you it's close to both.
I'm based in Oporto, in Matosinhos. We have a great city surfing spot, downwind runs and flatwater loocations. And a lot of other surf spots really close by. Oporto is one of the trendiest cities in Europe (research a bit about it) and can offer sightseeing, wine tasting, shopping, surfing, etc
Hope you can score on your holidays!
Hello Supnorte thanks for your reply. We wanted to see Porto but we are generally thinking of avoiding cities, would you recommend a nice town near by for a few nights or where would be the best area in town if we should stay there. Is there somewhere nice near surf?
Select to expand quotesudsy said..
Hello Supnorte thanks for your reply. We wanted to see Porto
I only went once in Portugal, but didn't surf. It was in Porto, and the city is gorgeous (the views atop the hills above the rivers that run in the city), and quite relaxed. Water is insanely cold in summer, however.
You must do a tour of the wineries there! Porto wines are world class.Select to expand quotesudsy said..
Thanks for the reply Colas .Hadn't realized Morocco was that poor.
Actually, Morocco itself is not a poor country, the agriculture is quite developed. But as with many african countries, the ruling class hoard all the money, and keep the population in a middle-age condition with a vicious and corrupt police force. It is a strange experience to travel at night in the country and not seeing any light (villages do not have electricity). And once you know that "Ali Baba" is an hate insult directed at occidental people, you hear it muttered everywhere you go in towns (rural people are extremely friendly, though).
But by staying in tourist resort you wont see any of this.
PS: The food in Hossegor is one of the best in the world (southwest France is home of the best wine, cheese and "foie gras")... but you must go find it in the countryside. The restaurants in Hossegor in summer are just overpriced crap for the huge crowd of tourists.
I would recommend the north part of Spain since there are waves most of the time. San Sebasti?n is beautiful don't miss it, then going towards west you will come to Noja and Somo close to Santander, cute towns with good surfing and lodging. You can continue more west or go southwest to Portugal, Peniche is a good town for surfing. More southwards comes Ericeira another world class surfing spot. There I would recommend you to stay at Mauka Lodge (www.maukalodge.com). Tiago has great collection of boards, local knowledge and good instructions. Lisbon is worth to visit and possible to surf. Further south Sagres is beautiful and there are some really good spots but limited SUP rental. From south of Spain it is possible to take a ferry to Marocco but I am doubtful you can take a rental car from Spain outside of European Union. You can fly from Lisbon to Marocco otherwise.
I have been in Marocco couple of times. On motorcycle and latest for a SUP surf trip. It has really beautiful parts such as the desert area etc but can be overwhelming in the city markets etc. For surfing I would not recommend the Casablanca - Rabat area in the north. The better option would be to fly to Marrakech and then reach Agadir. Around Agadir there are nice spots. Agadir SUP center has a good selection of boards and services. www.agadirsupcenter.com/?lang=en
Thanks Colas and Viatormundi for your input. , it is helpful to get as much as possible when planning for areas where you have no experience. If someone was coming to Victoria I would certainly be able to recommend the better spots to stay and surf .
Whole north coast of Spain is unreal. Spent 7 summers just nipping about in my camper , surfing and supping empty spots and you can always find somewhere offshore with all its various reef and beech brakes. I found the locals very friendly and still very cheap to eat out in the local harbors and villages! Would love to go back every year
Got the ferry from Santander and headed west , beautiful ! Storm riders guide was very helpful
Hi Steve
thanks for reply , sounds like some good times , definitely will be doing a few days Northern Spain after San Seb ,will check out storm riders guide
hi sudsy,
having grown up in morocco and going back there for sup surfing from Europe whenever I can .I can only advise that as the guys said before the best spots are around Agadir , Casablanca rabat region have some decent spots also but the world class one are Agadir and essaouira region (killer point, boiler, anchor point, mystery, la couronne etc..), but be aware that usually summer season in Agadir is mostly total flat ,except some occasional swell . Therefore going to morocco in summer is risky if your aim is to surf ..Anytime between October to March is the safest bet in term of swell. If unlucky you may end up without a single day of swell during your stay.. As for Colas comments they are not wrong unfortunately. but by targeting a rent next to the spots in thagazout (small city near Agadir where most of the spots are located you should be fine).
In any case Royal air maroc the local airline accept SUP on boards as their official policy is to accept Up to 32 Kg/300 cm( approx. 9.5 feet), I recently traveled with a gong curve 8.4 and a sunova speed 8.10 , cost was 150 euros in one case and nothing in the other case..i wouldn't know about other airlines but I guess all airlines traveling to morocco are used to surfers/supers/kite surfers bringing their gear with them..i guess their website should inform.
I would also recommend mauka lodge in portugal as it will optimize the spots and conditions as tiago knows where to go and avoid the crowd and the lodge is beautiful also.
hope that help..
Hi Anchorpoint
thanks for your reply and advice re Morocco , its not really a surf trip , and from what your saying maybe wont get to surf in Morocco.Am thinking with all the surf forecast apps now days i shouid be able to know a few days in advance if areas are likely to be on and then make last minute plans to leave the rest of the group .As just tourists ,not surfing, keep getting conflicting reports re Morocco , some people love Fez dont like Casablanca or Marrakech or the other way around , we are also looking at staying in Chefchaouen
