So Cal beginner surfing

[guitar_player]

Greetings everybody,
I just started surfing I am live in North Hollywood,CA.
I am looking for some starters like me who would like to surf with me (we can share rides, etc...). I haven't surfed in CA yet so I don't know of beginner spots around the Los Angeles coast. Any tips on where to go where I can learn and not get beat up by locals? lol
Thank you and happy new year to you all.

[Sneakytermite]

Hey man, I surf down in Orange County and if you're ever down here, I'd be happy to show you around. We got some friendly waves down here: Newport Beach Pier, Bolsa Chica, and the likes.

Have you check out surfline.com? They got good info on the surf locations. Good luck man and I hope you find surfing to your liking!

[guitar_player]

Thanks for the reply. I might take you up on the offer maybe next week. We're supposed to have a LOT of rain this weekend. Too bad, was really excited to try my new funboard.
I was looking for beginner spots on the web and came up with these:
dockweiler and santa monica in LA county, and Doheney in OC. Do you think these are good spots?
Also what type of wetsuit do I need to get for now?
Thanks a bunch for the feedback. Greatly appreciated.

[Sneakytermite]

I haven't surf Dockweiler or Santa Monica. When you said Santa Monica, did you mean Malibu? Malibu is a great break, but you need a little experience for it. Haven't surf Doheney either, but passed by there several times and it looked like a nice place for a beginner... so you can definitely try there.

As for the wetsuit, it depends on how well you can handle the cold. You can definitely survive with a 3/2, but a 4/3 will be nice and warm for those extra long session. Of course, a 4/3 will be great for the winter, but you'll be in a hot tub during the summer. Also, booties and gloves are nice additions too. Go talk to your local surf shops and get to know them, since they might be able to cut you a good deal on a suit.

Yeah, it's supposed to start raining on Thursday night for OC, so I'll try to get in a morning session before. And you never know, Friday morning might be good!

I hope this helps you out.

[surfernoob]

doheny is good for beginners, but just a little further south is san onofre which is a great place to start, real friendly vibe never localism there and soft rolling waves usually, but can be a little hard to catch even with a funboard/beginner. on smaller days anywhere is fine really, in la anywhere from venice pier north to the jetty is good with surfers of all levels so you don't have to worry bout locals, which really goes for anywhere. malibu is cool too for beginners specially if you're a regular foot as most likely going frontside (facing waves while riding) will be easier for you. yea and surfline is a great source for checking out spots/forecasts too. and like termite said, if you can stand a little cold, a 3/2 is fine for winter, which you can also use year round. 4/3 is nice to have for winter but would be uncomfortably warm/thick for spring and fall.

[guitar_player]

Thank you guys for all the feedback. I'll check Doheney and San Onofre next week or maybe Faria beach. Bought a 3/2 full suit (O'neill heat) and booties. I went this morning to dockweiler and manhattan beach (as recommended by the surf shop guy) but it was pretty dead. Hopefully next week it'll be better.

[HBsurfer4life]

If your surfing Los Angeles, you can surf El Porto or Manhattan Beach 25th street or Rosecrans. During the week days are best for beginners. If you head to Orange County, go to Seal Beach or Bolsa Chica...good small waves to learn on.