It was an amazing place and very posh and cheap considering how nice it was. It isn't going to be a backpacker's cup of tea for the price, but was very reasonable. I would give it 5 out of 5 for the service, rooms and 4 out of 5 for the food.

I stayed at a small surf lodge called Trewinda last year - it was REALLY nice and cost about £15 a night I think, including a good breakfast.

I stay there all the time and its fine. You can hire small cabins (from 2 man, which are basically like a wooden tent with a heater and a double bed, to 10 man palaces with tv's and fridges and stuff!) which are pretty basic but all you need really. There are showers and all the stuff you would expect from a campsite which are clean and tidy and a bar (pricey but the bar staff are pretty cool and make you feel very welcome.). Not the cheepest of places but has everything you need (oh, you can get food from the bar as well) but it is a 5 min drive from town and more importently the water. If you end up going, say Hi to Charlie the barman & Mark who'll cook your breakfast. Top lads both!

This surfcamp is located on a vey local fisher village in the middle of the best part of the Nicaragua pacific coast. You have two boat trip a day and be sure that Vincent alias Momo will do all he can to find the best wave. The accomodations are basic but clean, and Vincent is the most integrated foreigner that I met during 8 month of trip. The last word : MANZANILLO !!!! World class left !

The trip i did was August 2006 with Tropicsurf(sucks) and the boat was the Blue Lagoon, NOT the Blue Horizon.... faulty generators, faulty a/c, and stuck waiting for spares. to top it off there was not even a sign of an apology from high and mighty CEO Ross Phillips after ALL 10 customers wrote to complain about the trip. i would not recommend Tropicsurf(sucks) to anyone. i hope you have better luck than we did. //Zipperhead (from Globalsurfers forum)

For surfers the best place to stay in Biarritz are is Fontaine Laborde, the legendary campsite just up the road from the beach at Anglet (Chambre d'Amour). It aint 5 star but it's where you'll meet the best crowd. //From Toby at Globalsurfer's forum

the best hotel there is the hotel Arcoiris. Not that expensive, right in front of the best spot on zicatela and its totally aweosme (just got back from there last week!) The rooms aren't airconditioned, but they have fans and all have balconies (with beach views!) that catch the wind, so i never was uncomfortable.

Taufua Beach Fales is the place for cheap accommodation for kids and family fun. With a surf spot out the front that is not great, but can be fun and surf access by boat ot the east coast. http://www.samoabeachfales.com/index.htm

Great place, great surf, great food. Dan and Sharon are good people who have done the hard yards in Fiji. This is the best set-up for couples wanting clean, comfortable and good value accommodation with access to one of the Sth Pacific's most consistent waves. See http://www.batiluva.com/

Na Paina has been like a second home to me. Vacationing at the house for 15 years now, I have enjoyed many days on the sandy beach oh Anahola. Na Paina is a nice comfortable getaway house perfect for familes and or friends.

Great Wave Great Hotel Great Trip!!!!

I stayed at hatafu beach resort .there wasent much surf.there wasent much to do.the people are rude.and it is expensive.better off going to bali.cheaper,heaps better surf,and lots more to do. //Mick

Good, clean accomodations a few steps from the Beach Break.

Check out Los Cardones. It is an eco lodge that is relatively close to Managua. The food is awesome and there are a bunch of waves in the area ranging from beginner to advanced.

Just came back from baleal. Stayed there for 10 days at Baleal surfcamp and it was good waves and really nice environment. I really recommend it.Didn't take any lessons though, but the guys who took them said that the teachers were great. The closest surfspots is 100 m from the house. If you take lessons they will drive you around to different surfspots as well. BrunosBar which is a bar by the beach (it has the same owner as the surfcamp) is a great place to party. When I was in Baleal it was a party every night from 2am-8am. But I was only there a couple of night because I didn't wan't to miss the early morning surf.

when in ponta negra, stay at the "albergue da costa"!!! a cool place, good people who run it, near the beach and not expensive! //Miko

well the managers are gay but very friendly in a good way not coming onto you in the middle of the peak season where pices are stupid they are very reasonable 30quid for two nights we had a water fight in the bar then played drunken golf before we went out the managers even joined in with the water fight its b&b but very well kept deffinately goin back there again in the winter!the hotel is about 600meters from the beach the staff are brilliant and it has alot of hen and stag parties all year round even on a sunday some clubs stay open untill 4am and the hotel is in the centre of the town pretty much and theres a small car park out the back.the managers even came to the beach and took photos for us whilst we were surfing thats how good they are all i can say now is have fun and keep it real

Elands Bay is a small town on the West Coast of South Africa that still maintains the laid-back lifestyle for which the West Coast is known. With a world class left hand break & an endless beach

I booked an entire package including transferes from and to the airport, hotel w/breakfast, and a surf tourguide with an SUV to take me and my 3 friends to all the different spots. there were other activities as well. (motor biking, canopi, etc.)

I'm back home, and i'm already missing Portugal.It was great to be there. Thanks for everything... i will keep surfing to come next summer, maybe in September!!! Thanks to Uli and Jesper. . . Marine (France), bisoux . . .

I stayed here with my family about two years ago, (Cliff and Deb Wright). We all loved it. It was the BEST vacation we had ever had. The waves were amazing..too big for me to surf, but my dad loved it. This is most definately where I would like to take my graduation trip to. But that's two years away. Thank you so much for letting us stay at Casa Verde, it was one of my best experiences.

the guys at jbay surftrips rock! etienne venter is the best surfcoach i ever had! the waves were unreal and accomodation was right on supertubes!!!! what a surftrip!!!!

Owner is not friendly

mwah

BST and Mauricio were superb in looking after everything for our trip in Brazil. I wouldn't go with anyone else but Brazil Surf Travel.

I had a great time at this place. Its easy to meet people as you all sit down for dinner and breakfast together and you get the freedom to do what you want. Its not the fanciest place but its great if you're on a budget.

Great location, great team - super dedicated - amazing surf!

HookedCabarete is managed and owned by the Dutch couple Ybo and Chantal. They are very friendly and always there to give you the best advice where to surf and to eat. They took us to a really nice restaurant in the mountains which was a special experience. We met a lot of fellow surfers and the atmosphere is super relaxed at Hooked. It's the closest accommodation to the spot Encuentro. It's perfect to walk to the beach in the morning for an early surf before breakfast. We rented a scooter with the apartment so we could get into town in 5 minutes. Next time we will stay for sure again at Ybo and Chantal's paradise HookedCabarete.

Unbelievable service and accomodations at a give away rate. You are no longer alone and or a stranger once you have arrived here. Like they state in thier promo... you become family. The breakfasts are fantastic.. so much so, that they must now also attempt to cater to people from other Hotels. Each room individual and all oustanding! Truly 5 stars!

Basic and cheap. Close to town and clubs. No wet room, not really kitted out for a surfer, alot of teenagers. Clean though.

www.crystalbeach.com.ph

This is a very nice surf spot!  This spot is the nearest surfing area from Manila.  Just 2 hours drive from Manila Balintawak toll gate.

We stayed at the Oaha Maile Skycourt in Honolulu

I had a fantastic time with Lilya Surf Camp at Villa Solaria. The villa is phenomenal, the surf is perfect, and the guide, owner, staff were all fun and amazing people. Everything was run with smooth professionalism yet was supremely laid-back at the same time. I am absolutely going back next year; I fell in love with the place.

I never stayed here, but I visited and crossed through the place to surf the Santa Catalina break. Looks really nice with a great view of the Santa Catalina break.

me and my mates went to tonga on a 10 day surf trip and stayed a month. We found steve and sesika and the rest of the crew unreal and are looking to go back. The waves in tonga are amazing and u just have to be there in the right season

thanks for all!!was realy good,i come next year again!!! Paul(germany)

First i just want to say thank you so much to all the gipsy on the move team for the great weekend i had. Everything was great, the accomodation, the food, the surf lessons ( specially the teacher).I really enjoy a lot of everything. In this summer i just know that i will come back with some of my girl-friends. xxxoxxx

thanks for the nice surfing,my wife loved the sigth seeing trip ! we love portugal,great surf and fine culture. peter olsen denmark

when I started my lessons,I didnt know anything ulisses told me everything,also how to behave in and out of the water thanks,you guyes changed my life. mike 16 years

we all got waves, 3-6ft, and everwhere was pumping, fun for all the family, didn't get a chance to try the flat-day activities.. PS Ulisses is the coolest guide you will find, no problem.. Pete Smith

Definitely the best trip I have ever been on!

Venus Surf Camp is THE BEST and you won't find better surfing or vacation hosts than Ingrid and Dean. I'm an adventurous solo traveler, but even for me, going to remote Pavones alone without knowing anyone or much about surfing was a bit of a stretch. Ingrid and Dean made everything so easy and comfortable, even before I got on the plane. They humored me over email and phone with all my questions, as I wanted to make sure I was getting into a situation I would be happy and satisfied with. And once I arrived, I felt welcomed, totally taken care of, and entertained (and challenged) to the degree that I wanted to be. Pavones is tiny, with very few people around, but I left feeling like I had spent time with many friends. There is plenty of time for relaxing (FABULOUS massage from Katie!), solitude, quiet reading, walks on the beach, but also plenty of exploring to do in the rainforest, in the *cantina*, and of course on the waves. We saw TONS of squirrel monkeys, right along the road, plus agouti, scarlet macaws, toucans, poison dart frogs, howler monkeys, actual 'pavones' (birds), you name it. I could write a dozen pages or more about the trip and, 5 months later, still talk about it all the time with my friends. I sent my 200 photos around to dozens of people and got the most jealous comments back! The photos that Ingrid and Dean take while you're there, especially while surfing, are invaluable!! How else would you get those shots?? My friends we're so impressed at all the times I stood up on the board, for such a beginner. I've been to Costa Rica to surf since then, in the Dominical area, just to try something different. After 1 day, I knew it was not going to be the same experience AT ALL! And it wasn't. It was ok and I met a couple nice people at the hotel, but suffice it to say that on my first day on the waves I broke 2 fingers, and the surf instructor wasn't even concerned. She looked at my bloodied, swollen hand and brushed it off as 'a minor flesh wound'. Well, not exactly!! Talk about not being taken care of! The instructors at Venus would never have put me anywhere near a situation where that might have happened. And if I had done anything stupid to injure my own self, they would have taken care of me and done everything to help make my stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible. In Dominical, I never saw or heard from that instructor again for the remainer of my 4 days there. Back to happy times... the accomodations, the food, the yoga, the excursions, the whole environment that Dean and Ingrid have set up are all fantastic. I find it amazing that they had the vision to 'structure' a camp out of such a laid back, unstructured village at the end of the road. Bravo, guys! It's a unique experience that you will feel priveleged to be a part of. I'm now planning to move to Costa Rica but I know there will be no place like Pavones, so I will definitely be visiting, and continuing to explore surfing and friendships with Ingrid and Dean and friends. PURA VIDA!!!

If you want to get away from the tourists and surf some real waves this is the place. Pavones is home to one of the longest lefts in the world and is a gem of Costa Rica. It is one of the few places that have not been americanized in Costa Rica. The food and people are amazing. Everyone is very welcoming and as a single female traveling in another country everyone puts you at ease every step along the way. Surf lessons each day are based on the tides so some lessons can be early but thats when the waves are the best to learn on. Dean and Ingrid fill the day with so many fun activities that at the end of the week the last thing you want to do is leave! My personal highlights are tubing down the river and hiking in the rain forest and of course the surfing. If you don't want to take part in an activity that is fine its all up to you. And most important of all is the FOOD! Breakfast is filled with fresh fruit and eggs. Perfect after a morning in the ocean. Lunch is served at the same cafe which features a great quiche and also fresh veggie burgers. Dinner, Dean and Ingrid take you around to local spots in the little town. One of which plays movies and surf movies as you eat. I never had a bad meal the whole week. The cabina's which we were housed in were extremely clean with LOTS of hot water. It was great to leave the TV, Cell Phones, and city noise behind. If you want it all the cabina's have A/C. My favorite was falling asleep to the soft break of the waves (its less than 5 minutes to the beach) and also the monkeys up in the rain forest. This is truly an action packed week. If you like to be outdoors and want to head off the beaten path a little this is for you! Venus Surf Adventures is truly an adventure. It is truly a once in a lifetime week. I have recommended this Surf Camp for many of my friends and have been twice myself!

I just loved...

very good place to surf and to stay

adorei a experiencia e quero repetir muito brevemente. recomendo vivamente. 5 estrelas!!!

I had an amazing time in tagazhout and surfberbere made it all very much easier. Really chilled atmosphere around the camp and good surf all down the coast.

A fantastic holiday, second to none in all aspects and by far the best surf holiday I have ever been on. The location is amazing with a beautiful beach less than a minutes walk from the front door and great local surf spots a short car journey away. The staff, from surf instructors to chef are fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about my visit.

hey there!!! i just want to say that i really enjoy all the moments that i spend with you... everything was perfect... Great accommodation and perfect spots to surf.... Thank's guys!!! maybe i will return in September... See you soon.... regards, Steve....

Hey there amazing place , surfed some of the sickest waves ever and stayed in the best spot. Great hospitality , lovely people , great food i feel i experienced bali the balinese way. Couldnt have asked for more. Thanks to Josh and his team at rapture , thumbs up for me dude.

The owners ar nice, the breakfast great, the hotel is incredible cozy. You need a car to get to the beach, but that's the only drawback. Strongly recommended.

A really chilly place with incredible breakfast! /Markus