Arica, Chile

General Discussion
1

So I’m lucky enough to be spending a few months down there pretty soon, and I’m wondering what the surf scene is like…obviously the waves are great, but is there decent access to boards, suits, etc, or should I be bringing the bulk of my surf gear down?

2

Limited, definitely take your own. Take your large gonads too!

cheers

3

I surfed it,

Heavy wave with not a reliable channel in the inside section. Full on with quite a few surfers and bodyboarders but might be quieter this time of year. Most of the waves i got were ones that sneaked through and not caught due to mob confusion. 3 waves, 3 completed barrels and i still thought it wasnt worth it but if you can get it uncrowded i expect you will enjoy it. Chile has some good waves but they are all quite spread out, its has some good pointbreaks but unless you get a good swell they can be quite fat a lot of the time. Just my take on things

4

I might add that there are 4 other waves near el gringo. One looks very dodgy and never saw anyone surf it, another is la isla which is an easier wave but breaks veryclose to bouldery rocks- easy to ding your board! Then you have el brazo which didn’t work while i was there and el buoy which is a big wave spot just off the coast.

5

I had the pleasure of living in Arica for seven months. I worked at Arica Surfhouse, if you don’t know where to stay, stay there. There is a surfshop with boards now, and Kurt at the surfhouse can help you. But you might need a couple, so if your airline is mellow take your own. El Gringo breaks boards unmercifully. Youll need booties if you’re gonna surf there. I will take this oppurtunity to plug my website http://www.surfeatsleep.org , which aims to be a forum for questions like these. The Chile section is healthy. PM me for any other details, I lived in Chile for 2 years. Pumps!

 

 

6

Hello there…

If you´re flying to Chile you will first stop in Santiago. You can find there everything you need, or almost. 

3 decent surfshops, all in the same area (Las Condes/Vitacura) 

  • Los Morros Surfshop

  • Surfers Paradise

  • Surfhouse

Outside Santiago it´s all pretty limited. 

If you need custom boards I may help you. 

olaf@califasurf.com 

Facebook: Califa Surfboards