Surfing on Gran Canaria

Surfers flock to the Canaries from all around for the spectacular waves. Having been on a surfboard just once before – for my 23^rd birthday in fact, in Byron Bay, Australia – we felt that a second try five years later was a wonderful idea.

There are plenty of surf schools to choose from around Gran Canaria, as well as the other Canaries. My boyfriend has taken lessons with Oceanside Surf before and loved them.

You can select individual, couple or group lessons, each taught by qualified surf instructors. We opted for a two-day couple’s package, which included two hours of surfing each day. We also had wetsuits, warm up, cool down, and dry-land training with our coach Ismael. We found the surf shop clean, welcoming and well-organized and the teachers very confident and encouraging.

While I was really not as good as the below photos make me seem – I hit my head on my board, sunburned the back of my neck, bashed up both my needs falling on the sand, and swallowed at least half an ocean’s worth of salt water – but I really did end my lessons with a solid grasp on the basic technique of standing up in the waves.

You can book your lessons with Oceanside Surf here. The photos were an extra fee, taken by a member of the Oceanside crew and available for purchase after viewing. Of course, they were so epic, I had to have them for my blog!

And for a sweet tip, just a few doors down from Oceanside you’ll find Oakberry Acai where they make the most perfectly delicious acai bowls as a post-surf treat.