Surfing Waves

I have recently become unemployed and I wanted to take some time off (like months) to learn to surf properly. I have done several weekends here and there, loved every minute of it, but never went consistently enough to get the hang of it, so now's my chance.

I can go pretty much anywhere in the world, no matter how remote, although hopefully somewhere not too expensive to stay (I can deal with the cost of getting there). I want somewhere with consistent waves, and where i can stay out of the way of hostile locals (and out of the way of the kind of tourist idiots that make locals hostile). Obviously Jaws and Pipeline type waves are not what I am looking for.

My first idea was maybe Arugam Bay, since its not too heavy and not too crowded, plus basically a budget friendly tropical paradise. I may also consider Northern Australia.

Any suggestions / advice hugely appreciated.

Come with me to South America.

I am going to Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil to surf in 5 weeks for 3 months. I am backpacking around south america, so my trip will include doing the Machu Picchu, and seeing volcano's as well but the large majority of it is going to be surfing. I have my tickets booked :D

There are surf schools/camps that i have researched, and also surf hostels where you can stay and rent a board. There is this great place in Brazil im gonna go to, that looks sweet.

May - Ecuador/Peru
June - Travelling through Bolivia, Chile, Argentina (non surfing)
July - Brazil

Thats a really rough approximation, but if your interested in meeting out there at any time for a bit that'd be cool. By the way i am 18/m, just for your information.

I don't know much about Sri Lanka but from what I can gather it is warm water and cheap - two big plusses for a surf trip. Not sure about the locals situation though.

Northern Australia is a different matter. pretty crowded (and if you are surfing right up north it is crowded with killer stingers) and on the east coast can an outsiders nightmare.

You might not have considered Morocco but I reckon for someone who wants uncrowded waves and cheap living you could probably do worse. In winter things are pretty consistent.

If you can go anywhere in the world let's hear some more suggestions.

Thanks for the input !

Duncs I'm pretty set on Asia but I'm looking at a round the world ticket option which might make it possible to hit south america for at least part of the trip. i have definitely seen some fantastic shots of central america, south america i hear its good too but never seen much in the way of photo spreads in the mags.

SF that is bad to hear about the stingers, i'm more afraid of those things than sharks. bad local scene is a problem because i have mates in sydney so it is much more practical to be based there, but that is going to be the worst scene of all i imagine. i'll be going there anyway, i guess just best not to get my hopes up.

And funny you mention morocco - that's the first place i ever got up on a board! north of agadir. it was pretty cool, definitely where i got hooked. BTW what's to choose between morocco and the canaries?

Hey ive never been anywhere but I watched a show and I saw this place called witches rock surf camp and it looked pretty rad you should check it out. www.witchesrocksurfcamp.com Yea costa rica seems pretty cool im planning a month trip to there after highschool