Dein erstes Surfcamp
If this is your first surf camp, you probably have two thoughts at the same time: “This looks sick” and “There’s no way I’ll stand up.”
Both are completely normal. Before your first surf trip, it’s easy to imagine that everyone else will somehow know what they’re doing. Maybe they’re fitter than you, have better balance or have already spent half their life around the ocean. Then you arrive and realise that most beginners are thinking exactly the same thing.
That’s also why going to a surf camp for the first time can be such an easy way to get into surfing. You’re not expected to arrive knowing what you’re doing. Your first week is about getting comfortable in the water, understanding how the board feels underneath you, learning the basic movements and slowly putting everything together.
Some things will click surprisingly quickly, while others will take a bit longer. So if you’re wondering what your first week is actually going to look like, here’s a realistic idea of what to expect.
Das „Aufstehen“ ist realistischer, als Sie denken.
One of the biggest worries beginners have is whether they’ll actually manage to stand up. The reality is usually much more encouraging than people expect.
We’ve had guests from 18 up to 63 learning to surf for the first time, with completely different bodies, fitness levels and levels of confidence. It’s part of why Fuerteventura can work so well for beginner surfers: you don’t need to arrive with years of experience behind you to start learning.
Of course, that doesn’t mean standing up is guaranteed at a particular moment. Surfing still depends on the ocean. Conditions matter, timing matters and some days simply make learning easier than others.
But if you’re arriving convinced that you’re going to be the one person who can’t do it, you’re probably putting too much pressure on yourself. Most people are much more capable than they think. They just haven’t had the chance to find that out yet.
The first time you stand up might only last a couple of seconds, and it probably won’t look particularly impressive from the beach. But when you’ve spent the morning trying to put all the different movements together, those few seconds can feel pretty good.
Sie müssen nicht „superfit“ sein.
A lot of people assume they need to get fit before going on a surf trip, but you don’t need to run marathons or spend the next three months in the gym.
A basic level of body control is enough to get started. If you can move comfortably, get yourself from lying down to standing and keep yourself relatively stable, you already have a decent base. Surfing as a beginner is much more about coordination, timing and repetition than raw strength.
Paddling can definitely be tiring, especially during your first few sessions. You’re using your shoulders and upper body in a way you probably don’t in everyday life, while also trying to think about your position on the board, where the wave is coming from and what your instructor just told you.
That’s often why the first sessions feel difficult. Most beginners aren’t struggling because they’re too weak; they’re struggling because everything is new at once. As the movements become more familiar, you have fewer things to consciously think about and the whole process starts to feel more natural.
If your first trip is getting close and you’re starting to think about the practical side as well, we’ve also put together a guide on what to pack for a surf camp in Fuerteventura, including the things that are actually useful and what you can comfortably leave at home.
Balance sports help, but they’re not required
If you’ve done sports like skating, snowboarding, skiing, slacklining, wakeboarding or windsurfing before, it can definitely help. Your body already has some experience dealing with balance, movement and instability, which can make certain parts of surfing feel a little more familiar.
Being comfortable in the water helps too. The ocean is constantly moving underneath you, and getting used to that feeling is part of learning to surf. Staying calm when things don’t go exactly as planned can make a bigger difference than people realise.
But none of this means you need experience with another board sport before you can learn. If you’ve never skated, snowboarded or done anything remotely similar, that’s completely fine. As long as you can swim and you’re willing to learn, you can start surfing.
Someone with years of board-sport experience might pick up certain movements more quickly, while someone else might need a little longer to feel comfortable. That’s normal. Everyone progresses differently, and surfing doesn’t reward rushing.
Dein erstes Board wird sich groß anfühlen.
Beginners start on big boards for a reason. Most people begin on something around 8’0, with plenty of volume, because the extra size makes the board more stable, helps it float easily and gives you more time to make mistakes without immediately falling off.
It might not be the surfboard you imagined yourself carrying down the beach, but during your first week that really doesn’t matter. A bigger beginner board makes paddling easier, helps you get into waves earlier and gives you a much more stable platform when you’re trying to stand up.
Most importantly, it forgives mistakes. Your feet don’t have to land in exactly the right place every time and your balance doesn’t have to be perfect from the beginning. That gives you the chance to repeat the basic movements until they start becoming familiar.
There will be plenty of time for smaller boards later. During your first week, the board that gives you the most opportunities to catch waves and practise is usually the board you want.
Der Großteil der ersten Woche findet im Wildwasser statt.
This is probably where expectations need adjusting the most. When people picture themselves surfing in Fuerteventura, they usually imagine riding sideways along a clean green wave. Your first sessions probably won’t look like that.
Most beginners spend a lot of their first week surfing whitewater, which is the broken part of the wave after it has already crashed. You’ll probably be going mostly straight towards the beach rather than making beautiful turns across the face of the wave, and that’s exactly what you should be doing.
Where you surf also depends on your experience and the conditions, which is why different surf spots in Fuerteventura suit different skill levels. As a beginner, the goal isn’t to find the most impressive wave on the island. It’s to have conditions where you can actually practise.
Whitewater gives you a much more forgiving place to learn the basics. Instead of worrying about choosing the right wave, positioning yourself perfectly and taking off at exactly the right moment, you can focus on paddling, popping up, finding your balance and understanding what it actually feels like when a wave starts moving the board underneath you.
From the beach, it can look simple. Once you’re actually on the board, there’s suddenly quite a lot happening. Those repetitions in the whitewater are what eventually give you the foundation to move on.
Grüne Wellen kommen später – manchmal früher, manchmal nicht.
Some people start trying green waves during their first week, while others need more time. Neither one says much about how good a surfer you’re eventually going to become.
Once you move away from whitewater, there are suddenly more things to think about. You need to understand where to position yourself, when to start paddling, which direction to go and what the wave itself is doing. All of that becomes much easier when you’re no longer using most of your attention just trying to stand up.
That’s why there’s not much point forcing the progression. If you leave your first week able to pop up more consistently, paddle with better control, understand where you should be in the water and fall without immediately panicking, you’ve already made a lot of progress.
Maybe you catch your first green wave during the week. Maybe that happens on your next surf trip. The important thing is that you leave with a foundation you can continue building on.
Über Sicherheit
Surfing is an ocean sport, so there are risks. Beach breaks can be shallow, reef breaks exist, wipeouts happen and surfboards can move around unpredictably in the water.
But beginner safety isn’t mainly about being fearless or particularly strong. It’s much more about learning a few good habits early and understanding how to behave around other people in the water.
Things like not diving headfirst into shallow water, knowing when to let go of your board, paying attention to the people around you and listening to your instructor make a big difference. Learning how to fall properly matters too. It might not be the most exciting part of your first lesson, but during your first week you’re going to fall far more often than you’re going to perform perfect manoeuvres.
The ocean deserves respect, but being nervous about it doesn’t mean surfing isn’t for you. Good instruction and awareness help you understand what is happening around you, which is one of the most important parts of becoming comfortable in the water.
Wenn Sie Gelenkprobleme haben, sagen Sie es frühzeitig.
If you have loose shoulders, unstable knees, hypermobility or another issue that could affect your movement, tell your instructor before getting into the water. It doesn’t automatically mean surfing isn’t for you, but it is useful information to have.
Surfing involves a lot of repeated movements, particularly paddling and getting up on the board. Knowing about an existing issue means more attention can be paid to how certain movements feel and whether anything needs to be adapted.
If you’re unsure whether an existing injury or condition is compatible with surfing, it’s also worth discussing it with an appropriate healthcare professional before your trip.
The important thing is simply to communicate. There’s no benefit in hiding something because you’re worried it might stop you from joining in.
Die ehrliche Erwartung
Your first week surfing probably won’t look like the surf videos you watched before booking the trip. It will be repetitive at times, your arms will probably get tired in a completely new way, and there will be moments where you understand exactly what you’re supposed to do and somehow still do the complete opposite.
You’ll fall a lot, and some waves will feel like nothing went right. Then, every now and then, something suddenly clicks. Maybe you stay on your feet a little longer than before, catch a wave without someone helping you or notice that your pop-up has started feeling like one movement instead of five separate instructions running through your head.
Those small moments are where most of the progress happens. You might not notice how much you’re learning from one wave to the next, but by the end of the week things that felt completely unfamiliar on day one usually start making a lot more sense. It’s one of the reasons surfing can teach you quite a lot about patience, confidence and dealing with things you can’t control, even when you originally came here just to learn how to stand on a board.
Standing up during your first surf trip is a realistic goal. Becoming a great surfer in one week isn’t, and it doesn’t need to be. For a lot of adults, simply getting comfortable with being a beginner again is part of the experience, especially when you’re used to knowing what you’re doing in everyday life.
The best thing you can do is arrive without putting too much pressure on yourself, listen to your instructors and accept that being bad at surfing is part of learning how to surf. If you finish a session tired, salty and already thinking about getting back into the water the next day, you’re doing pretty well.
The rest comes with time.
