Best Surf Trips from Toronto
Six months of winter is a strong motivator. The best surf escapes from Pearson.
27 spots featured
Toronto surfers have a strong incentive to leave: half the year is unsurfable on the Great Lakes. Pearson Airport (YYZ) makes the escape easy, with direct flights to most of North America's warm-water surf and one-stop access to the rest of the world.
The closest reliable options are quickest: Cabo and Puerto Vallarta are 5 hours, Costa Rica is 6, Barbados and Puerto Rico are 5. Air Canada Rouge runs seasonal direct routes to almost every Caribbean and Mexican beach town worth visiting. These are the February escapes that keep Canadian surfers sane.
For longer hauls, YYZ offers direct flights to Lisbon (7 hours), Tokyo (12 hours), and Hong Kong — opening up Portugal, Japan, and the entire Asia-Pacific surf region. The Toronto-to-warm-water flight inventory is better than most Canadians realize.
Portugal(5 spots)
Coxos
Ericeira, Portugal
Coxos is arguably Portugal's best wave—a heavy, hollow right-hand reef/point break in Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve. The wave produces thick, grinding barrels over a rocky...
Nazare
Praia do Norte, Portugal
Nazaré is where surfing's largest waves are ridden—a Portuguese beach break that produces mountainous surf thanks to the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater trench that amplifies...
Supertubos
Peniche, Portugal
Supertubos is Portugal's answer to Pipeline—a savage beachbreak that produces some of the heaviest barrels in Europe. The wave breaks over sand banks shaped by the Nazaré Canyon...
Ribeira d'Ilhas
Ericeira, Portugal
Ribeira d'Ilhas is the crown jewel of Europe's first World Surfing Reserve—a long, reeling right-hand point break that has hosted Championship Tour events and produced countless...
Sao Torpes
Sines, Portugal
São Torpes is Portugal's quirky surf anomaly—a consistent beach break made famous by a nearby power plant that warms the water several degrees above normal. While this industrial...
Costa Rica(5 spots)
Witch's Rock
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Witch's Rock is Costa Rica's most famous wave—a perfect A-frame beach break inside Santa Rosa National Park that gained worldwide fame in Endless Summer II. Getting here requires...
Pavones
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Pavones is one of the longest left-hand point breaks in the world—a legendary wave in remote southern Costa Rica that can run for 800+ meters when conditions align. Getting here...
Salsa Brava
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Salsa Brava translates to "angry sauce," and this Caribbean reef break lives up to its name—the heaviest wave in Costa Rica. When N-NE groundswells hit the east coast during...
Playa Negra
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Playa Negra is Guanacaste's reef break crown jewel—a long, peeling left that offers some of the most consistent quality surf on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The wave breaks over a...
Santa Teresa
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Santa Teresa is Costa Rica's open secret that's no longer much of a secret—a once-remote beach town that has blossomed into a world-class surf destination with the yoga studios...
Puerto Rico(5 spots)
Rincon
Rincon, Puerto Rico
Rincon is the undisputed capital of Caribbean surfing—a legendary stretch of coast on Puerto Rico's western tip that lights up during winter NW swells. The area hosts multiple...
Gas Chambers
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Gas Chambers lives up to its name—a heavy, hollow reef break that produces some of the most intense tubes in the Caribbean. Located on Puerto Rico's northwest coast near...
Domes
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Domes is Rincón's most photogenic wave—a super-pitchy right that throws over shallow reef right next to the decommissioned nuclear facility dome. When winter swells light up...
Middles
Isabela, Puerto Rico
Middles is Puerto Rico's most challenging wave—a fast, powerful reef break that delivers Hawaiian-style barrels on the north coast. The wave breaks hard and fast over shallow...
Marias
Rincón, Puerto Rico
Marias is Rincón's long, spread-out right—a wave that connects through multiple sections when good NW swells hit Puerto Rico's west coast. The reef produces fast walls with...
Barbados(5 spots)
Soup Bowl
Bathsheba, Barbados
Soup Bowl is widely considered the Caribbean's best wave—a powerful right-hand reef break on Barbados' rugged east coast. When NE groundswells hit this exposed section of...
Freights
South Coast, Barbados
Freights is Barbados' most accessible quality reef break—a fun, playful right on the island's mellower south coast that offers a welcome contrast to the east coast's intensity....
Maycocks
North West Coast, Barbados
Maycocks is Barbados's answer to J-Bay—a long, perfectly lined-up right that peels along a coral reef on the northwest coast. When clean N-NW swells arrive in winter, the wave...
Box by Box
Bathsheba, Barbados
Box by Box is Soup Bowl's heavier neighbor—a grinding left that breaks into shallow reef with serious consequences. This is where Barbados prodigy Zander Venezia honed his skills,...
Batts Rock
St James, Barbados
Batts Rock is Barbados's west coast secret—a Pipeline-esque reef break that only turns on when rare N swells wrap around the island. When it works, the wave produces thick,...
Mexico(5 spots)
Sayulita
Nayarit, Mexico
Sayulita is Mexico's surf town sensation—a once-sleepy fishing village that has transformed into the country's most popular beginner surf destination. The right-hand point break...
Scorpion Bay (Third Point)
San Juanico, Mexico
Scorpion Bay is one of surfing's legendary destinations—a remote desert point break system where rides can connect for over 2 kilometers on the right swell. Third Point is...
Las Islitas (Matanchen Bay)
San Blas, Mexico
Las Islitas in Matanchen Bay holds the Guinness World Record for the world's longest rideable wave at 5,700 feet. When conditions align—typically needing a large, long-period...
El Faro (Punta Mita)
Punta Mita, Mexico
El Faro at Punta Mita is a world-class reef break that produces powerful A-frame peaks with hollow sections on both the left and right. Located at the tip of the Punta Mita...
Punta Burros
Punta Mita, Mexico
Punta Burros is a powerful left reef break near Punta Mita that delivers fast, hollow waves when WNW swells push through. The wave is known for its speed and power, challenging...
St Martin(1 spot)
St Lucia(1 spot)
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