Surf "honeymoon" ideas - Tonga? Samoa? June/July

[tdullien]

Hey there,

my wife and me are looking for a place to spend June / July as a sort-of surf-honeymoon. Neither of us
is very good (catching waves consistently, but very limited maneuvering on the wave, comfortable to slightly
around head-high, still a good chance of wiping out, most experience on beach breaks and a few not-so-
shallow reefs).

We're looking for a place to spend June / July, and ideally we are looking for:
- Consistent, uncrowded surf
- Relaxation - no need to have much party etc. around

We were thinking about Tonga, but I have heard very mixed reviews about the wave consistency, and Samoa -
where the wave consistency seems to be good, but the problem is rather the very shallow reefs.

I was contemplating Indo, too, but the timing seems to be off and I worry about it being overrun / too crowded ...

Cheers,
Thomas

[dtc]

Where do you live at the moment?

If you are looking south pacific, what about PNG - look up Nusa Island, it seems to have what you want. Oh, except you are going at the wrong time of year, so scratch that.

There are some islands off Bali that could be good - Jaffa might chime in. Not sure about timing.

I don't recall that either Tonga or Samoa will have what you want. Sri Lanka maybe?

[jaffa1949]

Congratulations to you both, but some sad news neither Tonga nor Samoa are suitable for pretty much raw beginners , both live coral reef, hard hitting surf although in Tonga you have get a boat out to it.
Nuba island in PNG and the associated islands around PNG poor time of year.
I would suggest Heaven on the Planet in Lombok as a possibility still a little crowded but you will be fully looked after and the surf is with your abilities. There is camps at Gerupuk too but more crowded and I don't know what they are like.

There is a coral sand beach at HOTP that beginner friendly and inside Ekas can have small days but needs reef booties! Look them up.

Hope that helps

[tdullien]

Hey there,

thanks for the advice. On the question of where we're living currently: We'll start the trip in Europe, and the South
Pacific was one of the options mainly because it's a destination that's hard to reach when you have less time -- e.g.
will be harder to reach in the future.

We're spending March in Taiwan and early April in Okinawa, perhaps our surfing ability will have picked up by end
of April. Either way, thanks a lot for the recommendations above, I will check them out

What do you guys think about Costa Rica or Panama? I kinda like environments where I speak the local language,
and French / Spanish is no problem, Bahasa Indonesia on the other hand is .

Cheers,
Thomas

[waikikikichan]

In November i surfed in Taitung, Taiwan. The waves were so good and not so crowded. Reminded me like some parts of the West side of Oahu. Much better surf than Taipei area.

[tdullien]

Hey there,

yeah, we're headed to Taitung, and I am quite psyched. Wind forecast is onshore for the first days, but we'll see.

One more note: I thought about my initial post again, and noticed that I may not have been terribly descriptive of where
I am surfing-wise - "beginner" or "intermediate" doesn't mean so much, as another thread on this forum aptly explained.
So concretely:

On a clean-ish break of less than 6ft faces I usually take off, manage one bottom turn and then either go down the line or fail
during the top turn and go over the wave. I am used to both more mellow waves (spent a few weeks surfing "La Aguada" in Uruguay
last fall) and more pitchy / punchy waves (I started surfing near Hossegor in France). None the less, I have zero reef experience,
although I've dealt with rock-shelf bottom with ~5ft of water over it.

When looking at Tonga, I was specifically looking at "The Pass", which appears to be an improvers-friendly reef break. Has
anyone here been there?

Apologies for the long discussion

Cheers,
Thomas

[jaffa1949]

Recommend the Taiwan, the entire east coast around Taitung, almost the entire population are natural footed learners, if you both are above just learners then you will have a ball, Kenting Nanwan area has good beginner surf as does Jaileshuer
Have a look at Surftaiwan site gives you a seasonal check of where at what time!
I obtained my Chinese signature there,
I had a great time as did my wife, will give you more details if you need!

Happy honeymoon

The pass is not as friendly as you would believe but on the smaller days ok .Who were you thinking of staying with, honeymoon type hotels haven't a clue on surf there!
I stayed at Ha'tafu beach resort, just a walk from the pass, not quite honeymoon level but other waves out front as well, and paid boat to breaks.

[tdullien]

Hey there,

awesome, thanks for the tips regarding Taiwan. We're planning on staying around Taitung and travelling up & down the coast as needed - but more details are always welcome . I happen to be goofy-footed, but I don't mind going backside, so I should be fine.

And thanks !

We were debating Ha'tafu beach resort, too -- a hut on the beach sounds like a honeymoon to me. I'll need to check some statistics about wave sizes in June / July to see the odds of "smaller days" (although I suspect southern hemisphere winter swells will be abundant).

Regarding taking a boat to the breaks: Was that a convenience or a necessity?

Thanks a lot for all the advice!!

Cheers,
Thomas

[jaffa1949]

The pass lefts and rights, is just that a pass in the reef about 300 yards from Ha'tafu there ar a couple of breaks just in front and a really punchy break called the corner a leftwhere the boats go out again about 300 yards walk. When the boats didn't go out , the reefs are easily effected by wind! Corners was my favourite left.
Watch out for broken glass on the walk there!

If you go to Ha'tafu there is nothing much else to do except hang out, watch surf movies and eat , the huts are basic thatched roof inside and out concrete floor and bed and mosquito nets
The outer islands have surf at Vavau and at the right time of you may not get surf but you can go diving with humpback whales. Much more memorable!
It is an major undertaking to get further from the main island Tongatapu , smaller aircraft do flights to Vavau

Taiwan
An Epic left near Taitung is Bashiendong I'm sure BaNZ will come on and give you some local advice too. Have a look at the site I suggested in my last post!

After Patagonia it should all be a breeze!

[dtc]

Not having been there, but Costa Rica does look fun - surfing and otherwise.

Don't ignore Sri Lanka as an option; it's not the isolated getaway of,say, Samoa; but it does have surf and an amazing culture. Although it might be going the wrong way if you are coming from Japan / Taiwan

As an Australian I suppose I should encourage you to come here. Although June is winter, if you go to north New South Wales or Queensland it will be low 20C air temp and water temp not far below that. Plenty of surfing for all levels.

[Marky]

What do you guys think about Costa Rica or Panama?

There are a lot of nice spots in Costa Rica! An uncrowded, beautiful beach would be Playa Avellanas. Uncrowded and no party. Easy beach break with lefts and rights.