Surf week or surf group trip? The differences

Search "surf week" and you find dozens of offers: a week in a surf camp, lessons in the morning, yoga in the afternoon, evenings in the camp. Then you find surf group trips, which cost a bit more and last longer. They are two different things and suit different people. Here is how to tell which one is yours.

The surf week: one base, one beach

A surf week works like this: you arrive at the camp, sleep there, eat there, surf on the beach in front. Lessons are daily, the group changes every week, evenings are spent in the camp. It is the right choice if you want to focus only on surf, if you have few days, if you want to spend as little as possible.

The limit is that of the country you see the beach and the camp bar. In Sri Lanka, Morocco or Tenerife, that is a pity.

The surf group trip: surf inside a journey

A surf group trip keeps surf in the morning and uses the rest of the day, and of the trip, for the place. You change area at least once: the train through the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, the desert in Morocco, the volcano in Tenerife. The group is the same from start to finish and someone leads it.

It costs more because it lasts longer and includes transfers, activities and people working with you for two weeks. It does not cost more per day.

Quick comparison

• Length: surf week 7 days; surf group trip 7 to 14.
• Transfers: none, versus two or three base changes.
• Surf: one or two sessions a day in both; on the group trip on the days at the base.
• Local culture: optional and separate, versus part of the programme.
• Group: changes every week, versus the same from start to finish.
• Who it is for: those who only want to surf, versus those who want to surf and travel.

How to choose

If you have seven days and want to be in the water as much as possible, a surf week is perfect. If you have two weeks and want to come home with a country in your head, not just a beach, the surf group trip is the answer.

With Jiwa we do the second thing: surf group trips with a fixed base on the coast, local instructors for every level and the rest of the trip in the country. The first is Sri Lanka in March 2027, then Morocco and Tenerife. If you have never surfed, that is fine: we start from the beach.