All articles

Best Places to Surf in the US (Honest 2026 Guide)

The US has more quality surf than most people give it credit for. The trick is knowing where to go and when, because the gaps between a flat day and a firing one can be wide.

How to Decide What Surfboard to Buy (Honest Guide)

Buying the wrong surfboard is one of the most common and expensive mistakes new surfers make. Here's how to actually get it right.

How Much Should a Good Surfboard Cost? (Honest Guide)

Surfboard prices range from $150 to well over $1,000, and the gap is real. Here's what separates a board worth buying from one that wastes your money.

Best Surf Spots in the World for Intermediate

You can paddle out, catch unbroken waves and turn down the line, but you're not ready for double-overhead reef. Here's where to go.

How to Start Surfing as a Beginner (Honest Guide)

Starting surfing feels overwhelming until someone breaks it down honestly. Here's what you actually need to know before you paddle out for the first time.

Where Is the Best Surf in the USA? A Honest Map

The honest answer is that "best" depends on your skill, the month, and how far you'll drive, but a few American coastlines consistently outclass the rest.

Is $1000 Enough for 1 Week in Bali?

Short answer: yes, $1000 covers a comfortable week in Bali for one person, and you can stretch it further or burn through it fast depending on a handful of choices. Here's exactly where the money goes.

What I Wish I Knew Before Going to Bali

I've talked to dozens of first-timers who came back from Bali with the same regrets. Here's what they all wished someone had told them first.

What Is the Leading Cause of Death for Surfers?

Shark attacks get all the headlines, but the numbers tell a very different story about what actually kills surfers.

How to Surf for Beginners: Step-by-Step With Pictures

Learning to surf looks chaotic from the beach, but it breaks down into a handful of repeatable steps. Do them in order, and you'll be standing up in your first session.

Best Places to Visit in Bali for First Timers (2026)

Bali is not one place. It's a dozen different experiences packed into a single island, and if you don't know which part suits you, you'll spend half your trip realizing you should have stayed somewhere else.

The 12 Second Rule in Surfing, Explained

Swell period is the single most overlooked number in a surf forecast, and the "12 second rule" is the shorthand surfers use to read it. Here's what it actually means and how to put it to work in Bali.

The Best Month to Surf in Bali (Honestly)

There's no single "best" month to surf in Bali, there's a best month for *you*, depending on what you ride, where you stand on the learning curve, and how much you hate crowds. Here's the honest breakdown.

What to pack for a Bali surf trip (and what to leave home)

Bali sells almost everything a surfer could need, often cheaper than at home, which means the real packing skill isn't bringing more, it's knowing exactly what to bring and what to buy when you land.

Is Bali a Good Place for Surfing? An Honest Take

Short answer: yes, Bali is one of the best surf destinations on the planet, but "good" depends entirely on who you are and when you go. Here's the honest breakdown.

The complete Bali surf trip guide: breaks, seasons, and how to plan it yourself

Bali earns its reputation honestly: warm water year-round, a wave for every ability within an hour's drive, and an infrastructure of camps, guides and board hire built entirely around surfing. The catch is that "Bali" isn't one surf destination, it's two coasts that trade places with the seasons. Get that right and the rest of the trip plans itself.

Is Bali good for beginner surfers?

Short answer: yes, Bali is one of the best places on earth to learn. Long answer: only if you start at the right beaches. Pick wrong and you'll be paddling into heavy reef breaks that humble even good surfers.

What size surfboard should a beginner ride?

The single biggest beginner mistake is starting on a board that's too small because it "looks cooler." The truth: bigger and softer means more waves, faster progress, and a lot more fun.

Does surfing actually lower stress? The science, plainly

Surfers have always claimed the ocean resets them. The interesting part is that the physiology broadly backs it up, between the exercise, the cold-ish water, the breath-holds and the sheer focus a wave demands, surfing hits several of the body's known stress-reduction levers at once.

Best surf spots in Bali by season & ability

Bali's best break on any given day depends on two things: the season (which decides the coast) and your level (which decides the wave). Match both and you'll never waste a session driving to a spot that isn't working.

What a Bali surf tour really costs in 2026, a line-by-line budget

"Surf tour packages" love to quote one big number. Break it into its parts and you can usually rebuild the same trip yourself for a fraction of the price, or decide the convenience is worth it with your eyes open. Here's the honest math for a week of surfing in Bali.

How to choose a Bali surf camp (and skip the overpriced ones)

A good surf camp is the fastest way to improve in a week: someone reads the forecast, drives you to the right break at the right tide, films your waves and tells you what to fix. A bad one is an ordinary guesthouse with "surf" in the name and a 40% markup. Here's how to tell them apart before you pay.