hey guys me and a couple of friends want to go on a surf vacation for 1-2 weeks this summer. we live in northern VA and were thinking of either going down to southern VA, NC, or SC… we are looking for a place to teach our one friend to surf but at the same time be able to surf better/bigger waves (for the more experienced guys in the group). does anyone have any beach suggestions/places to stay suggestions? if anyone has a rental that they’re trying to rent let me know… thanks, cam
I recommend against the whole idea.
But it you must, stay between Rodanthe and Frisco, and work on offerings to Huie.
You’ve got camping at VA Beach which isn’t too bad but they have lots of tourists and lots surfing restrictions on the beaches.
I don’t know much about NC but Fort Fisher is a nice area, cheap hotels outside of Wilmington near all the strip malls.
Folly Beach in SC is your best bet for relatively uncrowded waves which can get decent in the summer. I don’t think there’s any places to camp but there’s a hotel right on the beach and lots of rental houses.
Depending on how responsible you are, I have a place just north of Folly on the Isle of Palms. We don’t rent it but we may be able to. The waves aren’t amazing, but it’s where I learned to surf. And talk about uncrowded! I was usually the only surfer in a mile.
Why not go north instead? DE, MD, and NJ get a little bigger than VA and SC. Not going to say anything about NC because I’ve yet to go to OBX.
alright then what do you reccomend i do??
rachel are where were you thinking of up north? i just thought that all were beach breaks b/c of Ocean City and bethany… where would you suggest?
Of the three states you mention, the outer banks has hands-down the best surf. Plenty of rental houses,
campgrounds, natural beaches. And up in ‘‘town’’(Nags Head/KDH/Kitty Hawk) there’s good restaurants and
nightlife. One of my friends up there calls it ‘‘a drinking village with a fishing problem’’.
Mike
Geez guys … Mikes right. Hatteras is the best … BUY FAR. Stay in Avon at one of the beach rentals or one of the hotels. There are a number of hotels in Buxton as well. Teach your friend to surf on the southside, south of the cape. Around Frisco pier. Surf more powerful waves in Buxton at the lighthouse.
Mike and greg, how about ocracoke? is it any good over there or is hatteras a lot better?
Max wave height and swell exposure is from Oregon Inlet to the Cape, unless there’s an extreme south swell
and then Frisco lights up. If you’re scheduling a trip, go where you have a chance of getting the best surf.
If you’re going to wait for a swell and then go down, you could explore some of the more esoteric locales.
Mike
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I recommend against the whole idea.But it you must, stay between Rodanthe and Frisco, and work on offerings to Huie.
ditto. southern NC blows, SC forget it. I spent the last week and a half in NJ and surfed more and better bigger waves in that week than I had for the second half of October(this excludes Noel because I was away) entire month of Novemeber and the first half of december in Wilmington NC. The only waves I would call good I have ridden in NC were in the Outer Banks
Buxton on the outer banks is really the center of it all, and there are lots of possible rentals(midgett reality handles my house–teacher’s lair) the drive over to frisco is short and you can rhome north to s - turns easily----the northern outerbanks are crowded and $$ and theres surf rules too…hatteras island is wide open and all you need is 4x4 to find lots of private little breaks …HOWEVER–Please don’t go down there with attitude—the local don’t need it and it screws it for the rest of us scott busby builds great boards and does board rentals too…
Quote:
Buxton on the outer banks is really the center of it all, and there are lots of possible rentals(midgett reality handles my house--teacher's lair) the drive over to frisco is short and you can rhome north to s - turns easily----the northern outerbanks are crowded and $$ and theres surf rules too....hatteras island is wide open and all you need is 4x4 to find lots of private little breaks ....HOWEVER--Please don't go down there with attitude---the local don't need it and it screws it for the rest of us scott busby builds great boards and does board rentals too......
My expectation in summer, is to go there, spend two weeks, get 3 surf days with chest high waves, and 5 days knee to waist high. That would be a good two weeks. And I bet Mainland Mex is cost effective that time of year, too…
Buxton/Frisco. We’ve rented houses in Buxton a few years ago & its great. You can drive on the beaches in 4x4 (don’t forget to let some air out of your tires) - I think we used to use ramp 43 (http://www.outerbanksguidebook.com/rampmap.htm).
Good fishing if there are no waves.
Why do the surfers from Virginia Beach drive south to the outer banks so much…?
Although summer can be a good time to learn on the right coast, you will be disappointed if you are looking for good surf. The best time to learn is the spring. The best time to surf is the fall. Summer has notoriously long flat spells and you could spend a week without even a ripple in sight. Best bet is October for good surf. OBX is open to more swell than the rest of east coast so that’s probably your best bet. Just be willing to drive to find a decent spot. I also recommend Avon. You can head north for north swells and head south to turn the corner for south swells. It’s still trunkable there well into October.
i would go in october or in the spring but my HS starts sept. 8th or so i think so its not an option…
OBX, hands down. Stay in Buxton; camp at the campgrounds or get a rental like everyone else says. Like Greg Loehr says, you can bring your beginner to Frisco on the south side for smaller waves (swell dependant). Greg should know; I used to see him from '75 to around '80 ripping up the groin.
June is usually still pretty good. End of August can be as well if the hurricanes line up right. You never know though, I’ve surfed double overhead for 10 days straight in July. If you want someplace you can drive to, there isn’t anywhere better on the coast. Not a long drive from where you are either. Best of all, you can find your own spot with no one else in sight. Beautiful place too.
Yeah OBX is probably your best bet
Blakestah is right BUT since you are on the EC and in school so money is tight – y’all probably aren’t going to Mex - gotta make due
Camping is available but there are some nice little hotels for not much more $$ than camping and the AC is worth it!
Try Salvo Inn (GOOGLE it for the phone #) or the Avon Motel 2 basic little “dumps” in prime area for surf.
August is a good month like Greg L has mentioned
I spend a fair amount of time down there, PM if you head down I can give you some more info
Jim N
I SCORED buxton in October. it wasn’t epic but it was certainly worth the time, best I have surfed NC
yay, more traffic from northern virginia.
ah, what’s one more in a sea of thousands.
look at maps for swell direction and coastal exposure to said direction.
calculate wind direction, tide
spot group of beat-up toyota pickups w/ local tags
keep driving south, leave them be
surf quietly, respectfully
pack out trash
give a wave
enjoy one of the last bastions of the simple surf life in a corporately homogenized surfscape that is the good ole US of A
and lastly, good luck picking a week 6 months in advance and scoring all-time hatteras
DP
not a born-n-bred true obxloc
just one more nameless face in a long line of imports to this speck of sand