April Low-Intermediate Surf Trip

[sammyst110]

Hi,

I am planning to take a few weeks off around end of March/beginning of April and want to do a surf trip somewhere I can progress. I’m surfing a mid length, catching green waves and working on turns. My partner isn’t a surfer so ideally I have to find somewhere he can golf or hike or snorkel too. I’m looking at a few places and could use some insider advice:

Tamarindo, Costa Rica —main concern is wave consistency/quality that time of year. Seems like a spot with point/reef break would be easier for me to really progress vs the CR beach breaks?

Lombok, indo —not sure about visiting in the rainy season. I see days of thunderstorms on the weather forecast

Namotu, Fiji — march/April is their shoulder season but I’m worried even the “intermediate” surf breaks like Namotu Left could be too intense for my skill level. How gnarly are the reefs?

Byron Bay — the flooding in Australia right now looks so bad (hope everyone is safe) and am not sure how long things will take to recover.

Sorry that was such a long post! I’ve been doing so much research and just keep getting more confused thanks for the help!

[jaffa1949]

Sammie, I can help you with the Lombok part of the question, May Lombok is starting to dry out and the Indian ocean begins it‘s swell cycle, since we have a double La Niña happening storm patterns may be more pronounced. That is where the East Coast Australian storm systems are being generated.
Staying on the subject of Lombok at your level the south coast, Kuta Lombok to Gerupuk is the coast to go, there awesome open beach waves and further east waves in bays.
You will need to be clear on current Indonesian Visa requirements and Golf probably not so likely ( considered a very wealth person's game.
Diving yes but get clear advice, some big currents to deal with, swell can jump dangerously without warning too.
You will both need to be self sufficient in surf safety.

Now Byron Bay, a the moment you would be dodging brown infectious water from flood runoff , sprinkled with plant , gutter and dead cow debris and was down p… off snakes, sharks will be in shore for the free feed, surfers and their legs entering the food chain.
if there are no more floods then the water will clear and be clean by May.
My guess is the tourist zoo will swing heavily into action, the southern Aussies have been locked down for over two years, purists are just being allowed back into the country, prices will be catastrophically high and probably already booked out, and traffic snarls in the water.
Lifeguards on the main beach!
No coral diving just snorkel,around rocks, a bit sharky, even after the floods are gone.
There are golf courses. As an Aussie I would avoid , Byron, gold coast, Noosa Sunshine coast for the same reason, crowded out.
Their popularity has made them unreasonable SADLY they are beautiful surf spots.

Namotu, Fiji , nice swell, dependant stay on the island is the best way, getting a boat out everyday a bit costly, no golf but diving around the reef.
Depending on where you are traveling from it is always a bet
Tamarindo not really known to me beyond Endless Summer 2, so no help there , but there are so many surf guides advice on line that it is little easier.

MY PICK Lombok

[HeleonDomnus]

Cool idea. I would go to Lombok if I were you.

[jaffa1949]

Cool idea. I would go to Lombok if I were you. There are really cool waves and beaches there, but I wouldn't go there if I were you if you don't have a lot of surfing experience. If you are a beginner, then perhaps this place will be dangerous for you. And as for your partner, why doesn't he try surfing with you together. You could train him in a shallow place. Such activities bring people very close together. Moreover, I do not know about the golf course in Lombok. Recently, a friend of mine gave me a discount coupon at a hotel near Lombok. Talking about Lombok made me want to go there again. I will definitely visit it this summer, thanks for giving me the idea.