California in October - where should I go/surf

[salsa]

Hey folks, first time poster here.

I'm going to be in California from Sep 26 to about the end of October (I fly down to Costa Rica ). I'm a 19yo New Zealander, and it will be my first time in the states.

Anyway in my month in Califronia I want to get as much surfing in as possible along side with seeing some sights, meeting new people, exploring and partying. Now I have very little idea about surfing in California in terms of surfing localities, crowds, good breaks etc so I'm after some advice!

Where do people think I should go in my month? Travel around, or base myself somewhere? Rent a board or buy one?

I'll be honest I'm a pretty poor surfer, only started the year before last and I live in a damn inconsistent place. I'm at the stage of dropping in on waves, and riding along the face sometimes but I'm not able to do much. I don't have much of a bottom turn at all. I ride a 7'6 mini-mal too, however I plan to dropped down to a 6'6 or so for this trip and just surf heaps to get used to it.

What would be ideal for me would be waves around chest to head high - overhead all good though if pretty easy waves and paddle out isn't too bad. Minimal crowds, or at least non-aggressive ones who won't mind me going for a wave from time to time. And most of all consistent, clean surf. I should be able to find the time to surf every day pretty much, so consistent swell is ideal. Guessing it's going to be hard/impossible to find a combo this good, but is there anything close to it?

Warm water is nice, as is warm weather. I would love to be able to get by in boardies or a 3/2 no booties, but it's not the main factor for me. Currently where I am the water sits a tad over 50F and air temp is about 55F, so worst case scenario I'm comfortable surfing in temperatures that cold.

I'm also on a pretty tight budget, so backpackers/camping is more my sort of thing and I'd be looking at bussing or hitching to get from place to place. Won't have a car unfortunately, so I will be relying on breaks that are walkable from where I'm staying, public transport and meeting people with cars who can take me places.

Anyway with that all out there, where do peope think I should go?

p.s. I've had an offer from a hostel in San Diego saying if I do 4 hours house keeping for them 5 days a week I'd get free lodging and meals 3 times a week. I'm slightly hesitant as it's in central San Diego which looks pretty far from beaches? Also I need to commit to a month there which would mean I probably wouldn't get much time to surf the rest of california's coast. What do people think though?

I'm also considering basing myself in Santa Cruz for like 2 weeks, finding a place to WWOOF, and then taking 2 weeks to travel down to San Diego surfing along the way and then catch my flight to Costa Rica. better idea?

Hope some people can help me out here.
Thanks!
Sam

[billie_morini]

salsa,
You've got the locations sorted out! They certainly should include Santa Cruz, San Diego, or both.
I like the surf and surf-oriented small-town aspect of Santa Cruz. There is nearly always surf some place there and the vibe is cool because a lot of surf history is based there. San Diego has surf nearly all year somewhere because different portions of the coast face different directions. If it were me, I'd probably go to Santa Cruz first where the water is much, much cooler. Then when you get to San Diego, you will really appreciate the much warmer water. You should find surf at both locations in October.
When in route from Santa Cruz to San Diego, be sure to stop in:
1. northern Ventura County and surf Rincon
2. northern San Diego County and surf at Trestles or San Onofre
I’d buy a used board. Whether you go to Santa Cruz or San Diego first, you have two options for finding a good board at a good price in a short period. Go to the more prominent board shops. They sell used boards, as well as new ones. Also, get on the internet and use Craigslist. Simply type “surfboard” into the search bar. You can even try it from home:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/
You’ll find many breaks in the Central Coast and SoCAL are not difficult to paddle out. Seems like you can just paddle around the breaking waves. In NorCAL, you have to paddle through the breakers and the currents are stronger there.
I use a 3/2 suit pretty much all year in the Central Coast. You’ll be fine with that, too.
Not having an automobile is a problem. I would not advocate hitchhiking in the US. In the past, you could do it safely. Today, it seems totally mad. Probably the only way I’d recommend it is if you are just within Santa Cruz. Due to not having a car, I’m going to suggest you remain your entire safari in Santa Cruz. Get a bicycle, as well as a board through Craigslist. With a bicycle, you’ll be able to access a lot of Santa Cruz’ surf breaks.
What is the address for the San Diego hostel? I’ll take a lot at public transportation and surf breaks there for you.
billie