Surfing in San Diego

Surfing is a huge pastime in Southern California. Every beach I visited seemed to have some link to surfing but none more so than Pacific Beach in San Diego.

Each evening I would sit on the cliff top at Pacific Beach and watch loads of locals rushing into the water to catch the last few waves of the day before sitting around and chatting on their boards as the sun set into the Pacific Ocean. It reminded me how great surfing is. How free it makes you feel. The rush you get from catching a wave. Basically surfing is amazingly exhilarating.

Sat on that cliff top I decided that I had neglected going surfing over the years. It was something I did a lot when I was younger but I had kind of stopped, what with the trappings of modern life giving me less time. So I persuaded my new wife to come surfing with me whilst in San Diego. She had never done it before so was actually very nervous………….something about getting bitten by a shark seemed to scare her. I promised her she would love it……………and the next morning we headed off to meet Souf from the San Diego Surfing School  who had kindly arranged a private instructor for us.

Now as the new wife had never surfed before and I hadn’t in a few years I sorted a beginners lesson and we had some nice big nine foot boards. I figured I should stand up easy. After all surely surfing is like riding a bike. There is no way I’d have forgotten.

Well the truth is I was a little rusty but after 2 or 3 waves I pretty much remembered everything and was almost catching every wave. I even managed to catch a sweet one from the break to the beach which was a great feeling!

The wife was standing up too and whilst she struggled to punch out through the waves we both had an amazing time and both agreed we should definitely make a lot more time for surfing in the future .

The fact she was standing and getting on so well was all down to our amazing  instructor. We had a young guy named Connor who was brought up in California and was at college in San Diego. He really took his time to make sure we were catching waves and explained everything simply so it was easy to learn. The wetsuits whilst a little big for us seemed brand new and boards were in great condition too. Pacific Beach is busy with surfers so don’t expect to be out in the waves on your own. There were plenty of pros out there and loads of people learning too.

We were lucky with the weather on the day we surfed. Clear blue skies and 4-6ft waves. It was all pretty perfect.

I honestly can’t thank Souf and his team for reminding me how much I loved surfing. I loved the vibe at Pacific Beach too and will definitely be back one day to chill on the beach and surf.

If you are in San Diego and want to go surfing then check out San Diego Surf School – https://www.sandiegosurfingschool.com/collections/surf-lessons-1

They come highly recommended and not just by me they have some great reviews from others on tripadvisor, yelp and google too.

Full Disclosure – I was kindly given a discount on my surf lessons however they were not free and I tipped generously as the service and experience was way above my expectations  It wasn’t a freebie and my opinion is all my own. I would highly recommend San Diego Surf School if you are in the area.