A vacation spent riding the waves in a tropical paradise is most people’s idea of absolute heaven. It’s the perfect way to simultaneously relax on a gorgeous beach and shred some high adrenaline surf!
Trinidad and Tobago is a country made up of two islands that both have plenty of coastline and idyllic beaches to make any surfing vacation memorable.
Because it’s such a small country, there isn’t too much space for huge hotels to be built up everywhere and for both islands to become tacky tourist traps. That’s why we think it’s one of the best places in the world to surf.
These are our picks for the 5 best surfing lessons and schools in Trinidad:
This company is definitely the most well-known and respected in the country. It’s a mobile surf school run by professional, experienced teachers, Stefan and Molly. Because of their mobility, this school moves all over the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. You can contact them online to arrange some lessons in the area you want to stay for your vacation or even travel around with them to explore the island!
So many of their customer reviews highlight how much fun it is to learn with these instructors, regardless of ability. It can be daunting for beginner surfers to get out into the water for the first time, especially when surrounded by experienced pros.
Similarly, the more experienced surfers can often find it annoying to be held back by novices in the water. SA Surf School manages to avoid all of this apprehension and frustration by tailoring its lessons to the needs of everyone in the group.
It’s not as much of a surf camp experience as you’d get in some other parts of the world where a company would provide your accommodation, food and surfing equipment.
However, going with SA Surf School does allow you the freedom to spend your time away from the water however you want. There’s no pressure for you to take lessons every day and you’ll have the chance to explore the gorgeous island environment.
When you book a vacation at Surf Balandra, you’re definitely in for a more all-inclusive style of surfing experience. One thing that immediately sets this place apart from SA Surf School is its fixed location and accommodation for guests.
They can accommodate up to 10 people, ensuring everyone in the group will be comfortable and well catered for. However, probably the best thing about this accommodation is its access to two nearby private beaches. That means you can enjoy soaking up the sunshine and relaxing on the beach without having to share the space with other tourists!
In terms of the actual surfing experience, Surf Balandra also has every ability level covered. They offer two surf packages: beginner and advanced. Whilst this does work well for groups who all have a similar ability level, it might be trickier for parties with different levels of experience among them.
In the beginner package, you’ll receive accommodation, breakfast, dinner and surfing equipment for 7 nights. They’ll even transport you from the hotel to the surf house! Of course, it also includes 6 days of 2-3 hour surf lessons with a professional surfer and teacher.
The advanced package is identical in the aspects of a vacation they provide, such as the food, travel and accommodation. However, the surf lessons you’ll get with this package are a little bit more advanced and allow some of the more experienced surfers to spread their wings and surf freely.
In general, we’d highly recommend Surf Balandra for groups whose members all have a similar level of surfing ability. In groups with different experience levels, it might be difficult to keep everyone together and enjoy the vacation with your friends and family.
This is one of the best action sports experiences you could get in Trinidad and Tobago- maybe even the whole of the Caribbean!
As well as great surfing experiences and opportunities to learn, you can pick up a whole host of new water sports you may never have even heard of before. Some of their activities include kitesurfing, windsurfing, sailing, stand-up paddling, kayaking, and night time bioluminescence. If that isn’t enough to keep you entertained, there might be something wrong with you!
As if the natural scenery all around Trinidad and Tobago wasn’t gorgeous enough, these bioluminescence tours allow you to see some magnificent, ‘glow in the dark’ marine life. It’s the perfect activity for a relaxing evening and sending plenty of pictures back home to make your friends jealous!
In terms of the surfing itself, Radical Sports Tobago has just about everything covered. However, whilst you can rent surfboards from plenty of nearby stores, this company focuses more on other watersports and doesn’t provide any lessons for regular surfing.
Of course, if any of the other types of surfing and watersports are your thing, they will provide all the equipment and safety gear you need for the duration of your stay and will tailor lessons to your own levels of experience and ability.
One thing that a lot of customer reviews picked up on is the laid back and friendly vibes of the instructors and teachers who work at Radical Sports Tobago. They exemplify the island lifestyle and do everything they can to make sure everyone enjoys themself.
This is a great company to go for with any type of group. Both kids and adults will be able to thoroughly enjoy their time here and have enough activities to keep them entertained for weeks!
Perhaps if an action packed, high adrenaline vacation isn’t the sort of thing you’re really interested in, you might want to book with a company like Stand Up Paddle Tobago.
As the name suggests, their focus is more centered around paddle boarding, but does still offer regular surfing lessons, too. Paddle boarding is a much more relaxed version of surfing that allows you to take in the scenery around you a little better and gives you the chance to explore the island.
This aspect is enhanced by their bioluminescence tours, which are very similar to the ones offered by Radical Sports Tobago. As well as this, Stand Up Paddle Tobago will take you on paddle board tours of beautiful lagoons and coasts in the surrounding area.
For surfing, this company provides all the equipment you’ll need, experienced teachers, and uncrowded beaches to surf without having to worry about crashing into others. That’s pretty much everything you could ever need for a surfing lesson.
However, there’s no mention on their website about different packages for different levels of surfers. They do have incredibly experienced teachers who would be able to teach a wide variety of experience levels but it might not be the best idea if you have a mixed group of beginners and pros.
In general, this company shares a lot of similarities with Radical Sports Tobago, so the decision to choose one over the other will largely depend on your needs. The two will also charge different prices based on what activities you want to try out and how many people are in your group. Therefore, it’s definitely worth getting in contact with both of them and asking for a price quote.
The last company on our list represents one of the best options in Tobago for a complete vacation package. As well as their in-depth surf lessons, you can also organize tours around the local area, accommodation and professional photography with Surf Tobago.
The accommodation provides an exquisite choice between some humble guesthouses and paradise villas, with options to suit everyone’s budget. You won’t want to spend all your time in the accommodation, though. There are plenty of activities in the surrounding area to try out and Surf Tobago can organize taxis to take you and your group to a new place every day.
For surf lessons, this place also has everything you could need and more. Lessons are given by a host of experienced instructors who can cater for a variety of different ability levels, meaning you can enjoy a vacation here, even with a group of mixed levels of experience.
All the necessary equipment and safety gear can be rented right from Surf Tobago so there’s no need to travel with your own stuff or look around for independent vendors.
Essentially, this company provides one of the best all-round surfing vacations possible in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s a great choice for those travelling with families or large groups who might all want to do different things every day. With enough options for activities and plenty of experienced staff on hand, Surf Tobago has you covered for just about every situation!
Best For Surfing: SA Surf School
The thing that sets SA Surf School apart from the rest of the competition is how authentic and experienced the instructors are. Stefan and Molly have been doing this for so many years that they basically know every square inch of Trinidad and Tobago’s coastline from memory. They’ll definitely be able to take care of any ability level when it comes to surfing lessons.
Best For Accommodation: Surf Balandra
Whilst there aren’t a whole lot of options over where you stay on vacation with Surf Balandra, their one surf house is a unique vacation experience you won’t want to miss out on. The chance to have your whole group under one roof and share the experience together is something you can’t get at most other places. Not to mention, the two private beaches make staying here even more magical
Best Overall: Surf Tobago
Like we said before, Surf Tobago is the best in the country at providing a great all-round surfing vacation. It’s almost like you don’t have to think about anything for yourself- their super knowledgeable staff can help organize and accommodate any request. However, as well as providing a fantastic overall stay, the surfing opportunities with Surf Tobago are of the highest tier!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Surf Schools Worth It?
Surf schools are more or less valuable depending on how committed you are to learning to master the waves. If you want to go from being a complete beginner to being able to ride solo in less than a week, surf schools are a great way to fast track the process.
However, if you just want to be able to surf comfortably and enjoy yourself without taking things too seriously, you might be better off with a few individual lessons instead.
How Many Surfing Classes Do You Need?
Again, the answer to this question largely depends on what you want to get out of surfing. To go from being a complete beginner to standing up on your own for a few seconds on the water, a couple of hours should be plenty of time to learn the basics.
However, to be able to ride the waves like a pro and be able to enjoy surfing freely, you’ll probably need at least 10 hours of lessons and a whole lot of practice.
Final Thoughts
This has been our definitive guide to the 5 best surf lessons and surf schools you can find in Trinidad and Tobago. All the companies we’ve listed have their own unique twists on providing a fun surfing vacation experience but they’ll all make sure you have fun with them.
Like we said at the start, this country is a surfer’s paradise and isn’t built up by too many big hotels or tourist traps so you’ll get a really authentic island experience here.
You won’t find too many other surf lessons or schools in Trinidad and Tobago either. However, that doesn’t mean you should overlook it. Experienced, professional surfers visit these islands all the time because of the abundance of coastline that provides great conditions for surfing.
Whichever surf lessons or school you choose to book with from our list, we can pretty much guarantee it’ll be a trip to remember!
