EL SALVADOR

Want to step up your surfing game whilst kicking back in a tropical paradise? Then you’ve come to the right place. Known as “the land of jewels” (Tierra de Joyas), El Salvador is one of Central America’s more off-the-radar surf locations. Expect uncrowded waves, stunning scenery and friendly locals.

On this bucket list trip, we take care of everything so you can focus on progressing your surfing and having an epic time.

You’ll spend the week with like-minded women, learning the skills to raise your surf game and make the most of the world-class waves on offer. In your downtime, swim in the pool, relax with a massage or simply unwind in a hammock.

You’ll be in safe hands with our in-the-know crew, who will guide you throughout the trip. From coastal adventures and cultural discoveries to the best post-surf feeds in town, they’ve got you covered.

With high-quality surf coaching and great company, you’ll feel surfed-out, blissed-out and energised all at the same time.

WHO IS THIS TRIP FOR?
This trip is suited for those who are comfortably surfing out back beyond the breaking waves and can consistently catch green waves. You’ll be learning all the tricks and techniques: bottom and top turns, trimming and pumping, carves and cutbacks, angled and steeper take-offs, generating speed from your bottom turn and working on your confidence for catching bigger waves. There’s a lot to cover on this one, so come prepared to seriously level up your surfing!

AIRPORT ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE MEETING AND TRANSFERS

• You’ll be greeted in the airport arrivals area by a member of our transport team and whisked away to our base for the week (an hour from El Salvador International Airport).
• After a surf-stoked week, we’ll drop you back at the airport in good time for a stress-free check-in.

Please note if you are not able to join our airport transfer between 3pm and 5pm there will be an additional cost of $50 each way for your airport transfer.

ACCOMMODATION

• Seven nights of accommodation – see more in our Accommodation tab.

FOOD

• Daily healthy breakfasts included – check out more in our Food tab.

COACHING

• Five days of our high-performance coaching programme by our professional team using our special in-water coaching system – see our video in our video tab for more information.
• Land and in-water photo and video package to take home with you (all uploaded to an online gallery for you)
• Daily analysis sessions of the footage to see you improve fast
• A Women + Waves surfing log book to track your progress and accelerate your improvements.
• Small group ensures you get personalised one-to-one coaching.
• We’ll help you find the waves that suit your objectives discussed in the pre-trip video call.
• Remember you can surf as much or as little as you want throughout the trip, this is a no-pressure camp with a focus on fun!

Please note we use both male and female surf coaches.

SURF SKILLS WORKSHOPS

These will often be delivered during the analysis sessions and will cover everything from building confidence to tips on bodysurfing, breathing techniques and how to surf bigger waves

• One included surf-skate training sessions to refine style and technique
• A confidence-building workshop, including tips on bodysurfing and breathing techniques and how to surf bigger waves
• Ocean Safety
• Pop-up progression
• Surf etiquette
• Surf forecasting and travel.
• Equipment (the right board for you and building a quiver)
• The secrets to duck diving and turtle rolling
• Cross-stepping for those riding bigger boards,
• Cutbacks and snaps for shortboards
• How to gain and maintain speed.
• Women + Waves yoga-inspired surf stretch sessions

If you have joined a trip with us before all coaching will be fresh and tailored to your progression needs.

PHOTO & VIDEO ANALYSIS

• You’ll be filmed surfing throughout the trip – watching yourself in action during our video analysis sessions is hands down the fastest way to progress. Particularly with land and water footage.

• You’ll take home an awesome photo and video package of your surf sessions

FREE TIME & EVENING ACTIVITIES

• An optional evening visit to the world-famous surf town El Tunco, watch the sunset and enjoy dinner
• An optional hike to the beautiful Cascadas de Tamanique waterfall (Not included  – roughly $15USD per person)
• Enjoy a local salsa lesson
• Local tips from our Women + Waves team on where to eat out
• Drinks on us for our final sunset at the beach together
• We’ll take you to the best nearby hotspots for evening drinks and snacks to help support the local community

FREE TIME & EVENING ACTIVITIES

• An optional visit to the world-famous surf town El Tunco
• Local tips from our Women + Waves team on where to eat out
• Cooler of drinks on us for our final sunset at the beach together
• We’ll take you to the best nearby hotspots to help support the local community

SATURDAY – DAY 1 – ARRIVAL DAY!

Touch down in El Salvador! You’re about to spend a week surfing world-class waves with like-minded women – and accommodation just a two-minute walk away from the beach to recharge in.

At international arrivals, we’ll pick you up and transfer you to our beach base. Please check our pick up times (See ‘What to Expect’).  After being shown to your room, there’s time to freshen up, and go for a quick dip in the sea before our welcome meeting and a tour of the local area!

We’ll have dinner in the hotel – it’s a chilled evening, a chance to meet the other women on the trip and share the stoke for the week ahead.

We recommend that everyone arrives before 5 pm so you are there for our welcome meeting on the first day. Some guests arrive the evening before so that they are a little more refreshed on Day 1. Contact us if you would like to do this.

SUNDAY – DAY 2

Today your surf programme begins nice and early! We’ll discuss your goals from catching waves, learning to catch bigger waves, generating more speed with bottom turns or perhaps you’re keen to perfect your turns. Whatever your aim, we’ve got you covered.

First up, we’ll do some land-based training, including a warm-up, visualisation and a conditions check. Then we’ll hit the water for a morning coaching session and have a team breakfast back at our hotel. Next up – a video analysis session with your coach. Grab yourself an iced latte and watch yourself in action – it’s a great way to improve your skills.

Enjoy some chill time – maybe with a dip in the pool or sunbathing on the beach and fuel up at lunch with the group, before our paddling workshops begins. Upskill on making paddle outs easier, increasing paddle speed, hunting waves, turtle rolls, low pressure zones, punch through and turning to catch waves with speed.

We’ll meet for sunset drinks – the margaritas are the beach bar’s signature cocktail, and taste extra good with that sea view. We’ll keep it chilled tonight and eat at the hotel restaurant.

MONDAY – DAY 3

Day two of our surf programme begins. A  morning coaching session in the water followed by a video analysis session and a chilled breakfast.

After your video analysis, you can chill in a hammock for a few hours before it’s time for your Surf-skate workshop to refine style and technique. We will be focusing on learning and improving our turns, style and balance by targeting the biomechanics of the movements.

Then the rest of the afternoon is yours to relax by the pool or chill on the beach. We’ll meet in the bar for drinks, before heading into El Zonte village to try El Salvador’s national dish – the pupusa. Think thick flatbreads stuffed with cheese, squash and beans, all served with a side of spicy slaw.

TUESDAY – DAY 4

Day three of the surf programme. You’ll have feedback on your surfing, theory and another coaching session on the water, before video analysis.

After your surfing session, you’ll have your 4th surfing workshop focusing on surf forecasting and surf travel. So you can walk away from this trip with an understanding of when and where it is best to surf all over the world!

The afternoon is yours to chill or join the optional waterfall hike to Cascadas de Tamanique.

Tonight we’ll have dinner with our neighbours down the road at a beautiful sustainable hotel called Palo Verde, which serves delicious nosh complete with epic views of El Zonte’s waves.

WEDNESDAY – DAY 5

Day four of the surf programme! Continuing to put everything you’ve learnt so far into practice.

We’ll kick the day off with a dawn walk across the beach, discussing what you’ve learned so far and how to build on this. Over breakfast, we’ll continue looking at your achievements and setting a pathway for the following days.

Today we’ll have our confidence building workshop to continue to build about the techniques that you have learned to control your emotions in relation to surfing. Whether it’s busy line ups, big waves or late drops, we’ll help you gain the confidence to continue to level up, even after the trip is over.

Tonight we’ll head into the village to one of the best restaurants in El Zonte. It’s a local favourite, with open-air tables, pretty outside lights and a great range of tasty dishes including vegetarian and vegan options.

THURSDAY – DAY 6

Day five of the surf programme! Today we’ll work on more specific techniques and go over some more technical aspects of surfing. All tailored to each guest as an individual.

We’ll video the session, which we’ll watch and analyse after breakfast at a local restaurant.

Time to head back to the mini bowl for more surf skate training. Your second session will help you iron out the kinks in your performance and really find your flow.

Then we’re off to El Tunco for sunset dinner and drinks. This chilled-out surf town – named after a pig – has plenty of bars and restaurants, street food sizzling on corners and cute shops to explore. Plus it’s a world-class surf spot with a black sand beach, home to a powerful left-hand wave that locals call “La Bocana”.

FRIDAY – DAY 7

Today we head out for our monitored free surfing session. This ‘expression session’ is your chance to display your new skills, under the watchful eye of our coaching team. It’s your chance to display your learnings. We will be in the water with you, but in an observatory capacity. Our videographer will be on the beach filming the whole session.

Then it’s time to head back to the hotel for breakfast and video analysis. Let’s see how you did, then plot a path to continue to progress, using your workbook to plot your progress and set aims for beyond the trip.

Then it’s that sad time, to pack your kit, relax and chill. This evening, we’ll start with a post-surf stretch after a big week of surfing and then have a group beach walk at sunset, visiting our fave spot for drinks supplied by Women + Waves to say farewell and reflect on what an epic week it’s been! We’ll celebrate in style with an evening meal at our favourite spot in El Zonte, overlooking the point break.

SATURDAY – DAY 8

All too soon, it’s time to say farewell to El Salvador and fly home. We’ll make sure we get you to the airport in good time for your flight.

Tucked away in a small village where wave riding is part of the fabric, our epic surf-friendly hotel is just 45 minutes from the airport. Relaxed and sophisticated with a shabby chic vibe, expect good service with a laid-back atmosphere. Our home for the trip is only 20 metres from the ocean.
Any pre-trip anxiety about El Salvador will soon wash off the moment you enjoy a welcome drink then check out the variety of epic waves a short walk from the camp.
Stroll beneath tall palms, smell the tropical scent of hibiscus flowers and check out the beautifully chilled views along the river that we are situated next to. There are four amazing surf spots within walking distance. At high tide, the waves lap calmly up the river, and watching the kids play and the local villagers go about their business is a very cruisey way to spend the afternoon.
A two-minute evening walk from our accommodation and you’ll be taking in the orange hue of the setting sun whilst ordering your favourite tropical cocktail. As the sun sets, walk past the bar and slip into the pool to enjoy a star-lit night sky before waxing lyrical about the day’s waves … yeah, make no mistake, it’s a hard time in El Salvador!

ROOMS
The small, quaint rooms have a laid-back surf pad feel. All are ensuite with air conditioning. We choose the accommodation as it is ideally positioned, equidistant from the righthand point and the beach break! While the rooms are cosy for two adults, we figure, from our previous trips that you literally sleep in the room but spend the rest of your time in the pool, on the riverside terrace or of course, at the beach. Previous guests rave about our home from home in El Salvador. This family run hotel welcomes us with open arms ever year. The work force are all local villages. Greeting you with a smile and happy to do anything they can to make your trip a fantastic experience.

Private room & twin rooms available.
Please note we have limited private rooms available!

FACILITIES
Comfy seating is strung between palms, swaying gently in the sea breeze. Chill out with cool drink overlooking the river and enjoying views of the beach, relax in the shade with a book or take a dip in the cooling pool.
Use the wifi to stay in touch with friends, then kick back with a glass of local rum while watching some surfing on the big screen in the bar.
At sunset, sip a cocktail or slide into the pool beneath a star-lit night sky. This is one surfers-friendly resort you won’t want to leave!

This trip is for intermediate surfers who are comfortable catching unbroken waves consistently and confidently.

Get ready for some serious surfing progression. The performance-focused programme is designed to take your surfing to the next level.

For the first five days of the trip, you’ll enjoy our intense surf programme! Rob and Nette,  work alongside our amazing El Salvador team who will be with you every paddle of the way (literally!)

You’ll be surfing in small groups to ensure close water coaching from the moment you paddle out from the beach. Every part of your ride you’ll have one of our coaches helping you with your wave selection, finding the best take-off spot to surfing along the face of the wave. We’ll also be offering you 1:1 in-water feedback in the channel so you can immediately put this into action.

You’ll also have our team filming you on the beach, ready for your post-surf video analysis. So we have all angles covered! Add to this water photography during 5 of your sessions!

Check out our videos in our coaching tab to see how we do this.

Please note we work with both male and female surf coaches for this trip.

You’ll be in good hands with our head coach Rob (Director of Women + Waves) and our local surf and skate coach Nette. Rob has been surf coaching surfing for over 30 years from all-female groups to being the head coach to the British and English Surf teams. Rob’s been running international trips for over 20 years and with his organisational experience, travel knowledge and expert coaching career, between Rob + Nette you’ll be in the best hands for an unforgettable surf holiday!

Local ripper Nette lives and breathes surfing and has now made El Zonte her permanent home! Nette will  be with you every step of the way from in-water feedback, to video analysis and delivering surf workshops. Her biometric approach to surfing will help your surf skills skyrocket! Nette is also an amazing surf skate coach and will be helping you transfer your new surf skate skills from the concrete to the waves.

If you’ve become a bit stuck with your progress, El Salvador is an ideal destination to work on your technique. The variety of waves on offer and the lack of crowds means you can build your confidence without feeling self-conscious or worrying about getting in other people’s way.

Our expert, friendly coaches are on hand to guide you every step of the way. They’ll be in the water with you to give you handy coaching tips.

We strongly recommend you bring your own board on this trip, even if you ride a soft board.  If you do need to hire a board this will be at an additional cost and paid upon arrival.

PHOTO & VIDEO ANALYSIS

Seeing yourself surf is the best way to improve and gives you a move-by-move breakdown. Plus, you get to take the footage and photos home with you including some amazing in-water Go-Pro footage too – it’s both a great memento and a valuable coaching tool.

WHAT A TYPICAL DAY LOOKS LIKE

We’ll make the most of the morning offshore winds by starting the day with surf coaching sessions, followed by video analysis and surf theory. After the surf, you’ll have an afternoon workshop and a chance to chill out before we meet up for dinner either at the hotel or at one of the local restaurants nearby.

For more details on what each day involves, check out our Itinerary tab.