Europe Surf Trips That Won't Break The Bank (Much)

Look, not all of us are going to fork out for a Mentawais boat trip. Whether it's family, or life, or mortgages or just pure costs – plus the flight time – it's not to everyone's taste. Though if you ever get the opportunity, you should go. 

Some people's budgets do not reach that far and it becomes more about packing a van or car and getting over to Europe and stretching £200 across x amount of days. The good news is, the Old continent is stacked with budget surf zone that don't demand a second mortgage, and a few of them barely require you to check a bag. Here's where to point yourself

Morocco: Still the Original Budget Surf Trip

OK, not Europe, but it's basically Bali for Europeans. Taghazout has been the go-to for cash-strapped European surfers since the seventies and it hasn't lost that appeal yet.

Yes, there are slicker surf camps than there used to be, and yes, Anchor Point gets busy when it's on. But the fundamentals haven't changed; cheap flights into Agadir, a tagine that costs less than a pint in Spoons, and a stretch of coastline from Imsouane down that fires reliably through the winter (and, funnily enough, can get south swells in the summer too...) when the UK is looking a bit bleak.

Plus, given the area, you might as well book into something that has a little bit more to it. For example, Dfrost is a perfect place to base yourself and get all the bells and whistles of a surf camp, in a relaxed by-the-sea atmosphere.

France: Camping Culture Did This On Purpose

The French have essentially built budget surf travel into their national infrastructure, which is the kind of thing you'd expect from a country that houses the world's best beachbreaks. A pitch at one of the campsites can be a fraction of a hotel room and you're often a two-minute barefoot walk from any given surf zone.

Skip peak times and go in September, it's the swell season, still warm and camping is a delight. Get in the water before the afternoon wind swings a touch and you could be surfing a delightful little peak, all to yourselves. If you know where to look. You can also kick it around to the Basque Country too, if the swell allows for it, to sample some of those pointbreaks draining, right off he side of the road. Stock up at a Lidl or Leclerc, cook on a gas stove and you can genuinely do a week here for less than a weekend of city-break drinking at home.

Lost Shore: World-Class Surf Without Leaving the UK

It's not budget per se; but think of it this way; there is nowhere else in Europe you can stay and get consistent waves of this quality. That's thanks to Lost Shore being Europe's largest wave pool, and bigger pool means bigger waves. 

Lost Shore Surf Resort has quietly become one of the smartest plays going, provided you think about budget the right way; not pounds spent, but waves guaranteed per pound spent. The kicker is, you can fly direct from Newquay in Cornwall, to Edinburgh, hop a 10 minute taxi to Lost Shore and be in the water shortly after. Think of it this way, you're not going to find more consistent waves this side of the world unless you're willing to take a billion flights and drain your bank account. 

There's accommodation on site too – worthy of spending a few days up there, get more waves than anywhere else in the world with repeatable, on-demand settings, a decent local scene building around it and the novelty of driving to surf a perfect wave without checking a forecast.

Portugal: The Quiet Space Between

Portugal remains the sensible middle ground between Morocco's affordability and France's infrastructure. Peniche and Ericeira are both walkable, hostel-heavy and stacked with pounding beachies (hi, Supertubos!). But point yourself south and you're in the Algarve, a different climate to the country's World Surfing Reserves. With two coasts to choose from, there's likely to be a wave somewhere, even if the North Atlantic starts chucking haymakers at the coastline. Genuinely one of the best value-for-money surf zones in Europe.

Basque Country: A Bonanza of Untapped Potential

Zarautz, Mundaka, San Sebastian, where you can pair waves, pints and pintxos all in one. You can hop around to Mundaka too, if you feel like battling the crowd but for the most part, it's the spaces in between you'll find solo corners. Camping is plentiful but you really go to the Basque over anywhere else to experience the culture, the people and the place. Though just over the border, it's a completely different feel than nearby France. 

Travel Hack: Flexibility Is Key

Easy to say, hard to execute but a lot of a budget surf trip is simply going with the flow.Off-peak flights, shoulder-season swells, camping over hotels and a willingness to just kinda rough it a bit will keep the price point way down. For our money, Morocco and Portugal will always be the best bang for your buck. France is great for anyone willing to camp and travel outside August. And Lost Shore proves, somewhat brilliantly, that sometimes the cheapest, most reliable surf trip is just up the road.