Natural Rhythms: Off The Beaten Track Surf Spots

Answer the call of the ocean and escape to surf breaks where you can find your flow on uncrowded waves with paradise backdrops. Surfing’s become a popular escapism, and after all, who wouldn’t want to walk on water and live to the beat of the tides? 

Finding her freedom in the ocean and surfing, yet never keen to follow the crowds to a busy line-up, Hayley Lawrence takes us to her favourite global spots off the beaten surf track (without giving away any secret spots...).

Imagine dawn painting the waves with its pinky hues, the coffee pot steaming up the van windows, and a solitary longboarder skipping down the dunes into glassy peelers lapping a horseshoe bay.

The wild Hebridean outpost of the Isle of Lewis, adrift off the northwestern tip of the British Isles, is as remote as some of the long-haul island destinations I’ve travelled to in search of waves. In the shadow of the Butt of Lewis, the white-sand beach of Eoropie catches even a glimmer of Atlantic swell, so when the UK’s surfing beaches are prone to crowds and flat spells, here you’ll find waves aplenty. 

Only adventurous souls cast away from the mainland to discover the secret; quiver-topped vans parked up on the machair, wetsuits hanging from their wing mirrors between sessions. 

Escape here in spring or summer, when the days here are longer than anywhere else in the UK. Even once you’ve surfed until your arms are like spaghetti, there’s still time to roam zawn-hewn cliffs and deserted beaches, keeping your eyes peeled for golden eagles and man-sized seals. Regardless of the surfing conditions, the scenery and sunsets are mesmeric.

Trust me, if you’re seeking solitude and surf, all you need is your dog and your longboard as travelling companions. And being in Scotland, a changing robe is a good idea, too.

Have you watched The Endless Summer and dreamt of following Robert August and Mike Hynson on their globe-trotting surf odyssey? The first time I saw it, the footage of the pair pioneering the peeling lefts of Senegal’s N’Gor Island, left me with a hankering to visit this West African surfing Mecca. And more than half a century after these trailblazers sowed the seed of the surfing culture here, Senegal still isn’t a destination on the radar of everyday surf travellers.

Blessed with rolling lefts and rolling rights groomed by the southerly winds, the island paradise of N’Gor, just off bustling Dakar, is at the heart of the action. But if you’re looking for something a little more mellow than urchin-studded reefs and mighty paddle outs, road trip 60km further south. 

Eyes wide open, escape the city chaos and the myriad of reef breaks around the Almadies Peninsula, and bump along dusty tracks until you reach Pierre de Lisse.

This remote longboarding paradise is what you, the modern-day August and Hynson, have been looking for. Bask under the palms as you wait for the tide to turn, and enjoy the bounty of a sandy-bottomed A-frame peak that delivers again and again. But only for the souls that wander far enough to find it.

Padding down the dunes at daybreak to surf La Palue, reminds me that the road less travelled isn’t always the one furthest from home.

The European road trip is a must for any surf traveller. Just don’t be tempted to roll off the ferry and hightail it straight to famous Hossegor and the South of France. You see, if you follow the crowds, you’ll miss out on beautiful Brittany – and the surfing enclave of the Crozon peninsula. Fuel up on croissants in pretty French villages, and strike out – on two wheels or four – along a coastline punctuated by pine forests, rugged promontories and wave-lashed beaches. 

Pull up at La Palue, and – armed with your board and a baguette – slide down the dunes to meet a vast sandy beach made for surfing and shell-hunting. No car park charges. No cafés. No surf cams. In bigger swells, there can be rip currents to contend with, but often you’ll find rideable ripples beckoning longboarders and leisurely surfers into peeling lefts and rights. If it does get busy on the peak, with over a mile of beach, you can drift south a little and bag a wave to yourself.

Costa Rica has long been lauded a dream destination for longboarders, boasting consistent waves and a laid-back Latin American lifestyle. However, far from trendy Santa Teresa where the digital nomads and yogis hang out, seek out the pure beauty of the Osa Peninsula. For it’s here, on the border of Panama, you’ll find Pan Dulce.

 Journey this far south, to where tropical rainforest tumbles to the edge of the ocean, and you’ll be rewarded by long, long right-handers in one of the most bio-diverse environments in the world. 

Being a reef break, Pan Dulce can be powerful on its day, but needing a big south swell to light up, you can often get friendly longboarding conditions and 300-metre-plus rides. It’s rocky, so reef boots and a sense of adventure are recommended. 

Putter offshore in an outrigger and dance along impossibly turquoise ripples, when you venture to this tiny, tear-drop island on the edge of the Philippine archipelago.

Fringed by reef and palm trees, Siargao has been on the radar of surfers since Kelly Slater named its Cloud 9 one of his favourite waves. But you don’t have to surf Slater-style or hit the gnarly breaks to island-hop your way to this tropical paradise that beckons longboarders and shortboarders alike. 

Strap your board to your scooter, and just outside the main town of General Luna (think Kuta in the 90s before Bali went ballistic) you’ll find Secret Beach – or Guiwan – where crystal-clear waves peel across a trio of peaks. 

Once you emerge through the thickets of palm trees, if you’ve had enough of an adventure, there’s really no need to step beyond Guiwan’s paradisiacal shores to fill your surfing boots. However, bearing in mind it’s no longer a secret, you’re unlikely to score it to yourself unless you get up before the sun.

So, if you’ve still got the legs to search a little further, you might want to hop on an outrigger from General Luna to Daku – an offshore break that delivers such long rides it’ll turn your legs to jelly.

Or, if you’re determined to escape the crowds, fuel up on ulam wraps and coconut coffee and head to the north of the island. If you’re lucky and you're nice to the locals along the way, you might just strike gold. 

Wherever I’ve travelled in search of waves, near or far, well-known or remote, there’s usually a place where you can fuse surfing and solitude. Just follow the tracks less travelled, chat to the locals and be prepared for adventure. For it’s not always the waves we stumble upon that matter, but the journey to get there and the souls we meet along the way.