Surf Fuerteventura – is it really worth it?

We want to dispel the prejudices surrounding surfing on Fuerteventura and convince you of how beautiful this island of ours really is. The special features that this beautiful Canary Island offers definitely outweigh the little things that might be interpreted as disadvantages. Let’s see what you hear and what you associate with Fuerteventura.

Content Overview Surf Fuerteventura

1. Apart from surfing Fuerteventura has not much to offer – exept for its moon landscape and beautiful beaches
2. If you don”t like water sports, Fuerteventura does not much
3. Surfing on Fuerteventura is only possible during the winter months. The waves are not good all year round!
4. Surfing on Fuerteventura is impossible due to the wind. Its always windy and the wind is to strong for good waves.
5. There are only huge hotel cities on Fuerteventura and hardly any small towns or villages close to the ocean.
6. Fuerteventura is very expensive and has higher prices than other islands.
7. Fuerteventura is very touristy and hardly authentic
8. Fuerteventura has no culture of its own
9. Surfing on Fuerteventura is only good for beginners, Fuerteventura is a destination for beginner surfer only
10. Surfing on Fuerteventura exclusively works at the North Shore. The good surf spots are only here.
11. The Line-Ups are crowded and there is no space anymore for even more surfers on Fuerteventura.

Surf Fuerteventura: Why we love it and why it could become your home away from home by the ocean!

1. Apart from surfing Fuerteventura doesn’t offer anything – only moon landscape and beautiful beaches

It is true that beach lovers in particular get their money’s worth on Fuerteventura. Fuerte offers over 100 kilometers of the finest white sandy beaches. This coupled with crystal-clear, turquoise-blue or emerald-green water that invites you to swim, surf or do anything else – is a dream. When you arrive, you will be greeted by a coastal landscape where the sun and a gentle sea breeze have a relaxing effect on the body. They give you the feeling that you have truly landed in paradise. For this reason, and of course because of its spectacular volcanic landscape, it is not surprising that the island has been declared a biosphere reserve.

Unlike the almost entirely rocky neighboring islands of Tenerife and Lanzarote with their predominantly black sand beaches, our home by the sea offers beautiful, light-colored powder sand. In addition to surfing on Fuerteventura, you will also find other water sports such as kite surfing, SUP, sailing, diving and snorkeling on offer on the Canary Island. Of course, the ocean is one of the main attractions where you can go fishing, watch dolphins or go on various excursions by boat, but more on that later. In any case, you won’t get bored here.

When you land on the island for the first time and descend over the dusty expanse towards the runway, the preconception that Fuerteventura is a lunar landscape is confirmed. But a calming, “endless” expanse, interrupted only by isolated volcanic mountains and craters, has its charms. There is much to discover. Overgrown barrancos (valleys reminiscent of oases), hidden gems and many details that only reveal themselves to the observer on closer inspection will cast a spell over you. Grab a mountain bike or e-bike, go hiking, skateboarding or relax on a longboard and explore the long roads and rolling plains of the island. As you can see, there’s more to Fuerteventura than just surfing!

Let someone tell you again that Fuerteventura has nothing to offer apart from water sports and surfing. Just close your eyes when you’re out and about on Fuerteventura. When you open them again, you’ll be a different person. Just the right moment to grab a surfboard and dive into the crystal-clear water. Or to discover the gastronomy of the local villages and relax with fried sardines, papas arrugadas and excellent cheeses.

While we’re on the subject of beaches, let us briefly introduce you to a few more:

Natural sights apart from surfing on Fuerteventura

Playa de La Concha in El Cotillo

A natural reef inhabited by unique species provides protection from the waves and is ideal for swimming. The beach “La Concha” in El Cotillo is another gem among the island’s beaches. Here you will find all the amenities that the proximity to the town makes possible. La Concha is without a doubt one of the most beautiful beaches on Fuerteventura. The sand is white and the sea is clear and refreshing.

Parque Natural Corralejo

The desert-like appearance of the landscape makes it hard to believe that one of the most paradisiacal beaches on the islands is located at the end of the dunes. With its fine, white sand at the foot of the dunes, Playa del Morro offers a beach with turquoise-blue water. The entire dune landscape stretches over 9 km across the nature reserve and the long beaches and small bays invite you to soak up the sun, swim and relax.

Playa Piedra Playa in El Cotillo

Piedra Playa is located approx. 1 km south of Cotillo and can be reached via a gravel road. You can park above the cliffs and from there you can already see the long, steep coastline. Choose one of the many bays with their inviting stone castles and nooks and crannies. Set up camp and plunge into the water. However, watch out for the lifeguard flags – don’t enter the water when it’s red, as the waves and currents are too strong. Piedra Playa stretches over 1,500 m and consists mainly of sand. It is interspersed with small rocks and stones in some places, which makes the beach appear even more natural and rugged. This beach is particularly popular with surfers. Especially in the winter months, the waves can be perfect in the right conditions and are reminiscent of Hawaii.

Ok, beaches upon beaches, did I understand you? But what else does Fuerte have to offer?

The Place – El Cotillo is perfect for surfing on Fuerteventura

FreshSurf with its Surfcamp Fuerteventura is located in the north of Fuerteventura. The North Shore stretches from Corralejo to the Cotillo lighthouse and is probably the most popular and best-known surfing spot on the island (Fuertventura). You can reach the reefs here via gravel roads to go surfing.

Directly in front of our surf school is our house beach Piedra Playa, which offers good conditions to learn to surf on Fuerteventura, especially for beginners. With its wide white water, it is perfect for beginner surfing courses – surfing on Fuerteventura made easy. But that doesn’t mean that only beginners can learn to surf with us.

The surf spots in the north of Fuerteventura also have a lot to offer intermediates and advanced surfers. In addition to the reef surf spots on the North Shore, the Cotillo beach break turns into a real pro surf spot in the winter months, offering great surfing opportunities on Fuerteventura for more advanced surfers.

In addition to our surf school, El Cotillo is also home to our yoga studio and surf training center. Cotillo is a place of tranquillity, characterized by its sparse charm. In contrast to places like Corralejo, Cotillo is not characterized by mass tourism. Small cafés and wonderful fish restaurants truly enchant every visitor. Discover your #homebytheocean!

We have 3 insider tips for you!

Trip to the Barcanco de los Enamorados

One of the most interesting hikes on Fuerteventura is located in a dry riverbed: the so-called “Barranco de los Enamorados” gorge. The best way to get there is by car along the gravel roads directly to the entrance of the gorge. You can then park at the side of the road and continue on foot.

Coming from the direction of Tindaya, Google Maps will tell you that you have already reached your destination. If this is the case, follow the track for about 1 minute longer until you see the dried-up riverbed on the right-hand side. If you follow this riverbed for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how fast you are walking, you will come to places where you will discover the first sandy formations. Water, wind, sand and shells have created rocks with interesting shapes and hollows. The further you go, the more impressive the sandstones become. In total about 30 minutes. Have fun exploring.

Daytrip to Playa del Valle with its seawater lava pools

If you are looking for a change from surfing on Fuerteventura and the island’s beaches, then you should take a short trip to Playa del Valle. You can reach the secluded, small beach via a gravel road after a 5-minute drive. The beach consists mainly of stones and you will also find a few houses there. On the right-hand side of the beach you will find impressive lava rocks, where you can still clearly see the shapes and flow directions of the cooled lava. If you’re feeling adventurous and have a bit of a climb, the natural lava pools filled with seawater await you. The so-called “Aguas Verdes” (green waters) consist of lava pools of different sizes with crystal-clear water. Pay attention to the tides. You can go swimming here at low tide. Be careful when entering the pools, as the lava here is very slippery. Have fun exploring!

Daytrip Playa de la Solapa – A true gem of a beach

You can reach Playa de la Solapa in around 7 to 8 minutes by car via a dirt road that leads off the FV-605. This natural beach is particularly worthwhile at low tide. Not only is the beach particularly wide at low tide, but you also have the opportunity to walk through the various rock formations. A great experience to explore this landscape. Where do the rocks come from? Well, they have fallen down from the cliffs higher up and partly crashed to the ground. As a result, some interesting crevices have formed. During the week, the beach, Playa de la Solapa, is not very busy. With a bit of luck, you can therefore have the 400-metre-long sandy beach all to yourself. If you’re lucky, a few chickens and cockerels will keep you company here. Please note: the ocean current is very strong here and you should therefore not go swimming. A great alternative to surfing on Fuerteventura!

2. If you don’t like water sports, Fuerteventura doesn’t offer much

I think I can directly refute this statement here. Fuerteventura has a lot to offer, even for those who don’t like water sports. Of course, as a surfer on Fuerteventura – whether you’re a surfer, kitesurfer, SUP surfer or water sports enthusiast – you have a few more options for spending your free time on Fuerteventura.

Excursion tips for the Canary Island of Fuerteventura

In addition to surfing, Fuerteventura also offers you numerous excursion options. The island offers small, cute towns, larger, somewhat livelier places with nightlife, bars and shopping opportunities, but also excursion destinations in nature, such as various lighthouses, volcanoes, the pirate cave of Ajuy, viewpoints or the island of Lobos, to which you can take a glass-bottom boat. During the crossing, you have a direct view of the underwater world of the Atlantic around the island. We have listed the island’s gems in our excursion tips on the following page. Have fun trying them out.

In addition to the small and cute towns, the slightly larger, not quite as cute towns, which offer a little more life and a variety of nightlife and shopping options, Fuerteventura also offers the opportunity to book a wide range of tours in addition to surfing on Fuerteventura.These tours can be with a beach buggy, with a quad bike, by mountain bike or e-bike or even with a 4×4 jeep.This is a great way to explore the hinterland and the dune landscapes, stopping off at places you like. Fuerteventura also offers a go-kart track, the OASIS Park (animal park and cactus garden), various bowling centers, a casino and several golf courses. Fuerteventura also offers a little diversion for culture lovers.

3. Surfing on Fuerteventura – Surfing is only possible in winter. The waves are not good all year round!

Fuerteventura – the easternmost Canary Island after Lanzarote – impresses with its multitude of surf spots that are perfect for surfing.There are a whopping 35 beach and reef breaks spread across the whole of Fuerteventura. Every single spot has its own magic and at the right time, every surfer will find their favorite spot to improve their surfing on Fuerteventura.

But it’s not just the multitude of surf spots that makes the Canary Islands so unique – the consistency of the climate is also a major incentive for surfers to come here and go surfing. In summer, it doesn’t get too hot on Fuerteventura thanks to the pleasant wind, with average temperatures of around 27 degrees, and in winter the thermometer only rarely dips below 20 degrees. It can get a little colder at night, so pack a thick sweater. As the water retains the temperature better than the land, we also have water temperatures of around 18 degrees in winter, which is ideal for surfing on Fuerteventura. The climate is otherwise relatively dry and very sunny all year round. There are hardly any higher mountains or volcanoes on the island, so clouds cannot accumulate there. Fuerteventura is also known as the island of eternal spring.

The waves are probably more consistent and bigger in winter, from November to March, than in the rest of the year, as there is a lot of swell and bigger swells during this time. Many surfers come to the island during the winter months and spend the winter season on the Canary Island. During this time, a stronger offshore wind often blows on the west coast and provides a playground around the Cotillo beach break.

In summer, the picture changes somewhat and Fuerteventura offers a lot for windsurfers and kitesurfers. The trade winds blow constantly from June to mid-September and can sometimes drive you crazy: “oh man, wind again!”. But you should take this with a sense of humor and remember that the island always offers an opportunity to surf. The east coast works consistently for surfing, spots such as Puerto Lajas or Playa Blanca as well as various surf spots around Corralejo and Puerto del Rosario come to life.

Do you need a wetsuit for surfing on Fuerteventura?

It depends on the time of year and whether you are a frostbite or not. In winter you need at least a 3/2 wetsuit, but on windy days a 4/3 wetsuit would also be an advantage. In summer, you can try out the whole range of surf clothing. You can surf Fuerteventura in board shorts or a bikini, a shorty or a thinner wetsuit – everything works here – depending on how cold you feel.

4. Surfing on Fuerteventura is impossible because of the wind. It is constantly windy and it is too strong for good waves

Fuerteventura is definitely an island where there are only a few windless days a year. However, you need wind to create waves and so we can look forward to many days with great swell and waves. The trade winds, which are particularly strong in summer, can easily destroy an otherwise “clean” swell due to their constant effect on the crests of the waves. The end result is choppy waves that no longer break on the beach in an orderly fashion, but rather tattered. These would not be particularly good conditions if Fuerteventura were not an island. Surfing on Fuerteventura means having alternative options.That’s why you can always find a suitable wave somewhere.You can find out where it is in the list in our spot finder   The following pages offer you great tips for finding waves on Fuerteventura:

As a little tip for you, before you start looking for waves, take a look at the wave forecast. You can find the forecast for Cotillo at Magicseaweed, for example. When interpreting or reading the wave forecast, you should consider the following before surfing: The greater the easterly component in the wind direction, the nicer the spots on the west coast will run, e.g. Flagbeach, Playa del Morro or Glassbeach. If the wind blows more from the north, you will only find clean waves on Lobos or on the reefs of the south coast. The more wind comes from the west, the more likely it is that El Cotillo or Esquinzo in the north of the island will be running.

5. There are only huge hotel resorts on Fuerteventura and hardly any towns or villages near the ocean

Are you looking for accommodation that is nice and cheap and close to a surf spot that you can ideally reach on foot? There aren’t many of them, as Fuerteventura doesn’t have many hotels or hostels for surfers. However, this is not due to demand, but to the legal regulations, which make it impossible for operators to offer such a service or some operators find themselves in a legal gray area when they do so. In El Cotillo and Lajares you will find many accommodations on Airbnb.com as well as private offers. Here you can find a relaxed room with breakfast or a cozy apartment away from the hotel castles in Corralejo or in the south of the island. The choice has increased considerably in the meantime, as the VV (Vivienda Vacacional – vacation accommodation) now provides a legal basis for apartment rentals.

In addition to some smaller hotels, many surf schools on Fuerteventura offer a wide range of accommodation options. Just take a look at our own accommodation options and choose the one that suits you best. This could be accommodation in a surf house, Surf-WG, surf villa, or your own apartment with more privacy. Our offers outside of surfing, e.g. our “Get Together” or joint BBQ evenings and restaurant visits, also offer you opportunities to get in touch with other surfers.

6. Fuerteventura is very expensive or has a higher price level than other islands

The Canary Islands have a special status in terms of prices and taxes thanks to a special zone, the Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC). This means that products and services are not subject to the 21% IVA (impuesto al valor agregado), which is standard on the Spanish mainland, but to the so-called IGIC (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario), the indirect Canary Islands VAT, at 7%. You will definitely notice this when buying food, alcohol, tobacco products or gasoline. Ultimately, the price level is the same as in Germany or Spain because all products have to be imported. This is done both by airplane and by ship and here again higher transport costs are incurred, which ultimately have to be added to the price.

When it comes to surfing and surfing equipment, you’ll find cheaper prices here than on the mainland. Get a board shaped by a local shaper and you’ll be surprised how cheap this board can be here on Fuerteventura. All in all, you can say that the price level on Fuerteventura won’t put a strain on your surfing on Fuerteventura or your surf trip here, but will rather be easy on your wallet. Fuerteventura is great for eating out as the variety of good restaurants, with their reasonable prices, will let you put cooking at home on the back burner with a clear conscience. You can find our recommendations for restaurants in El Cotillo in our restaurant guide.

If you’re a money saver and want to save money, we have a few more tips for you:

Stay in a private apartment instead of a hotel

Hotels are great and beautiful. You can feast on a large breakfast buffet every morning, your room is cleaned daily and you have someone to talk to around the clock, but a hotel stay is often not cheap. An alternative would be a private apartment, which you can find on the relevant websites. Vacation apartments and rooms in private accommodation are offered for rent here. This is usually cheaper and also more personal. You can find beautifully decorated apartments with lots of attention to detail here and quickly feel at home. There are many private accommodations here on Fuerteventura. The cheapest option is to rent a room in private accommodation, an apartment or a house. Here you can sometimes pay less than in a hostel.

Save on a rental car

As Fuerteventura is almost 200 km long from north to south, a rental car is perfect for exploring the island. You can get comparatively cheap offers from various Internet providers. Well-equipped cars, including insurance, are available for around 10 euros per day, sometimes even cheaper. The most important thing is to make sure you book as early as possible. A longer rental period also ensures that the daily rent is reduced. Before you book, however, we recommend that you always carry out an online price comparison. We use the Billiger Mietwagen portal for this. A rental car is always more expensive on site than online. The maintenance costs for a car are also relatively cheap here on Fuerteventura. As there is no tax on petrol, you pay around 1.20 EUR for a liter of diesel and petrol is around 1.30 euros.

Do not refuel in the south of the island

If you are planning a trip to the south of the island, e.g. to visit the Jandía peninsula with the towns of Morro Jable or Costa Calma, you will find that fuel is generally much more expensive there than in the rest of the island. If you are traveling longer distances, you can definitely save money here by filling up in the north of the island or around the airport and avoiding the petrol stations in the south.

7. Fuerteventura is very touristy and offers hardly any authenticity

Life on Fuerteventura also existed before tourism. A simple life, characterized by hard work in fishing or agriculture. Wringing something out of the barren soil is hard work, but potatoes, bananas, peppers and other vegetables are still grown here on the island. Goats and chickens are kept as well as some farm animals. However, tourism is the island’s main source of income. If you look at the island’s tourist strongholds in the south, Costa Calma and Jandía, as well as Corralejo in the north of the island, Fuerte appears to be very touristy. However, the center of the island is hardly inhabited and offers an absolutely authentic landscape. The mixture of lunar landscape, dusty steppe, volcanic craters, barrancos and the unique beaches and coastal landscapes make Fuerteventura a beautiful destination with its own culture. In one day, for example, you can discover different, unique sides of the island.

Starting in the unspoiled west of Fuerteventura, with one or two charming fishing villages, with whitewashed fishermen’s houses surrounded by the lashing waves of the Atlantic. On the same day, you can pay a visit to the historic town of Betancuria. The former capital of the island is now a sleepy village. Here you will find the church of Santa Maria, a typical example of colonial-religious architecture, surrounded by picturesque cobbled streets. Afterwards, you can visit the Finca Pepe. If you drive north in Betancuria, a road branches off to the left shortly after leaving the village. Finca Pepe & Isabel” is located a few hundred meters further on the left-hand side. There is a large parking lot in front of the entrance to the farm where you can park your car. On the right-hand side of the farm are the goat pens. On the left-hand side you will find the sales room where you can taste goat’s cheese. It is offered here pure, with paprika and/or smoked. You can also buy Canarian specialties such as goat’s milk liqueur, honey rum, palm honey, cactus jam, mojo rojo, mojo verde and more.
Admission to the goat farm is free. Here you can end your day with a glass of sparkling wine and enjoy the fantastic view. If that’s not authenticity, then I don’t know what is.

8. Fuerteventura has no culture of its own

Culture on Fuerteventura

The unique landscapes of the island and the endless white sandy beaches of Fuerteventura are certainly the most beautiful sights of the island. But Fuerteventura also has numerous cultural highlights to offer, giving our guests the opportunity to gain an insight into the history of the island of Fuerteventura. As you will see over the next few days, Fuerteventura not only offers a good environment for learning to surf, but also has much more to offer. The people of Fuerteventura are proud of their culture and local customs. The Spanish culture, paired with the customs of the Majoreros and other influences from South America, is a particularly appealing mix. In addition to various museums, which we will introduce over the next few days, the fiestas, the festivals, are particularly important. Folklore groups maintain the traditions and the dances and music, which are passed down from generation to generation, are an important part of every fiesta.

Museums on Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura’s interesting museums and exhibitions provide information about the culture of the Majoreros. In addition to traditional crafts, agricultural tools and historic mills, the island also has modern art to offer. Here you will find a selection of the museums and exhibitions on Fuerteventura. Over the next few days, we will introduce you to some of the sights and museums, including

• The Casa Mane cultural center
• The Agricultural Museum
• The mill and parish church of Antigua
• Ecomuseo de Algocida in Tefia
• Villa Winter

9. Surfing on Fuerteventura is only good for beginners, Fuerteventura is a destination only for beginner surfers

With El Cotillo and other beaches, Fuerteventura offers great conditions for beginners all year round. El Cotillo beach is a great beginner spot and the soft Punta Blanca reef break gives intermediates the opportunity to make rapid progress. This very gently breaking and long running beginner wave is great for practicing paddling techniques, positioning in the line-up and take-off. The many beach breaks on the west and east coast also offer great surfing conditions for surf beginners and intermediates. Just be aware of the currents, which can often be very strong here. Any local surf school will help you with this.

But is Fuerteventura only good for beginners? Definitely not, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many surfers here. With its incredible number of surf spots, Fuerteventura offers a surf spot that works for almost all conditions. First-class reef breaks on the North Shore or the more hidden spots in the south of the island. With a rental car, you can search for waves every day and discover many new surf spots. Even the odd inconspicuous bay is worth a visit. With the island of Los Lobos, which can only be reached by boat, Fuerteventura also has one of the best surf spots that advanced surfers could wish for. If you see yourself as such a surfer, please make sure you follow the rules and respect the locals in the water.

10. Surfing on Fuerteventura only works on the North Shore, only here are the good surf spots located

One misconception about surfing on Fuerteventura is that all the good surf spots are only on the north shore of the island. This beautiful coastal strip with its rapidly sloping seabed and offshore lava reefs offers many constant waves. You’ll also find plenty of waves on the west coast of the island – it’s also worth checking out the smaller bays here. For a surf holiday on Fuerteventura, it is therefore advisable to position yourself between the north and west, e.g. in El Cotillo, Lajares or Corralejo (if you want more nightlife).

The surf spots on the east coast of the island only work after the trade winds have been blowing constantly and with pressure for several days. Then the beautiful beaches between Corralejo and Jandia are transformed into playgrounds for surfers under the influence of strong wind swells. The south coast of the surfing island between Morrjo Jable and the outermost tip of the island – Punta del Tigre – also offers great waves. Unfortunately, many spots are very remote and can only be reached via a long drive on a gravel road. The surf spots in the far south only work when a big winter swell or other large groundswell releases its energy.

11. The line-ups are overcrowded and there is no more room for more surfers to surf on Fuerteventura.

As in the whole of Europe, you can see from the last few years that surf tourism is booming and the line-ups are getting fuller everywhere. Fuerteventura, which is one of the best surfing regions in Europe, has not been spared from this development. Many surfers on Fuerteventura prefer the easily accessible surf spots in the north of the island, but with a bit of luck you can head to surf spots in the west or south of the island, where you can be in the water with just a handful of other surfers. If you have a slightly higher surf level, you will get plenty of waves during a surf session and still find a spot in the lineup. Try to avoid surf spots where surf schools give surf lessons at peak times. Don’t necessarily go surfing between mid to high tide at the Punta Blanca surf spot when all the surf schools are giving lessons there. El Cotillo is also often overcrowded with surf schools. If you go into the water with the surf schools, remember that you also started out small and didn’t know all the rules back then. Go into the water in a relaxed manner and forgive if a surf student drops you into the wave and don’t shout at the top of your voice.

On Fuerteventura, you will also find very good surfers in the water at the best surf spots, especially on very good days. You may also come across the type of surfer that we hope we won’t find in the line-up – the local with a sense of ownership. Bubbles is such a spot on the North Shore and Secretos in the south, for example. Follow the rules, don’t paddle to the first position in the line-up and if you paddle out, sit on the Inside first and wait for a while, when the locals feel respected enough, to surf a wave. However, it’s better not to mess it up at the take-off. If you do, do yourself a favor and paddle back to shore.

Surf Fuerteventura: Why we love it and why it could become your home away from home by the ocean!

As you can see, I think I was able to disprove all preconceptions about surfing here on Fuerteventura and show you how diverse, authentic and great this beautiful island is. It is not without reason that we have chosen this island as our adopted home and it is our #homebytheocean and we hope that we can also offer you a second home by the sea. Surfing on Fuerteventura promises variety, diversity and one of the best reef waves in the world. The island of eternal spring has a lively cultural scene, an interesting landscape with the most beautiful, miles of white sandy beaches and will cast a spell over you. Fuerteventura offers the right conditions for every level of surfer.

We look forward to getting to know you on your next surf trip.