Surfing – getting started

Last updated on February 8th, 2024 at 02:57 am

So, a couple of days spent surfing obviously doesn’t make us professionals. However, we did learn a few things and would like to make some recommendations to anyone wanting to start and not quite knowing where or how.

For starters I wanted to say, anyone can learn how to surf and it is a lot of fun, especially once you catch a really good wave. To make this happen, you need to go to a suitable beach. They are found quite easily via google, that’s also how I found the one we spent the last weeks at (Aow Yai Beach). Articles recommending beaches will usually say for what level of surfers they are suitable, so make sure to pick a beginners beach. While big waves are more fun, they are also more stressful and even dangerous and to get started, you really just need some small waves.

Once you are at your designated surfing beach, you have to rent a board. We decided to go for a “foamie”, which are lighter in weight and less hard (thus less hurtful when hitting you after you fell off – and you will fall off, I promise you). They are recommended for beginners, however, you could probably start with a normal one too. We had the opportunity to borrow a longboard later on, which was great, as it was a really good board with little weight. From what we have learnt, it is generally recommended to get longer boards to start with, so we haven’t tried shorter boards yet – hopefully we will soon though 🙂

One last thing to consider is clothing. Especially when using a foamie, be aware that you will rub against the board, which leads to raw and sore skin. This can be very painful and burn, especially when combined with sea water (or sweat from Kung Fu training). Therefore, we strongly recommend wearing at least a shirt and some knee length trousers. Ideally, the shirt would cover the arms as well, as to avoid excessive sunburns. Also, dont forget to apply sunscreen on your face and any other parts of your body, that aren’t covered by clothes, time flies when chilling in the water and the sun is unforgiving.

Anyways, these are our first tips when considering to go surfing. Have you ever tried it? What would you recommend? Is there anything you would want us to try or talk about? Let us know in the comments! xxx