Sand, Parking and Rips to Watch

Arriving: pay-and-display parking sits above the beach on the Headland side; in summer it fills by mid-morning. Walking from town takes around fifteen minutes.

Flags: RNLI lifeguards patrol from spring to autumn. Surfboards stay inside the black-and-white chequered zone; the red-and-yellow area is for swimmers and bodyboarders.

Water: Fistral faces west-northwest and catches most Atlantic swell. A rip often forms toward the Towan Head end, especially on a dropping tide. North Fistral can hold slightly more size.

Tide: generally best from low to mid on the push, but the banks decide each month.

Arriving: Surfer's Corner has parking, surf schools and board hire within a few steps of the water, and the train line runs along the coast.

Flags: Muizenberg is home to the Shark Spotters programme. A green flag means spotting conditions are good; black means spotting is poor; red means a recent sighting; a white flag with a black shark and a siren means a shark is present — leave the water.

Water: False Bay delivers long, mellow rollers over a gently sloping sand bottom, which is why so many South Africans stood up here first.

Tide: works on most tides; mid is often smoothest.

Arriving: buses from Bondi Junction are easier than the metered parking along Campbell Parade.

Flags: swim between the red-and-yellow flags; surfboards use designated areas, usually toward the south end near the rocks. Lifeguards patrol year-round.

Water: the south end hosts the best-known rip in Australia, nicknamed the Backpackers' Express because it so often catches visitors who set down their towels close to the bus stop. It also gives local surfers a quick paddle out.

Tide: mid tide tends to help the banks; southerly winds clean up the south corner.

Hossegor sits on the long straight Landes coast, where a deep offshore trench focuses Atlantic swell onto shifting sandbars. La Gravière is the heavy end: hollow, fast, and often closing out on the shore break. It has hosted professional contests and draws strong local crowds in autumn, which is generally considered its prime season. Intermediates are better off at Les Estagnots or Seignosse. Parking runs along the dune roads; follow the beach-access paths to protect the dunes.

"Surf City USA" is a beach-break town built around its pier, where the US Open of Surfing is held most summers. Waves form on sandbars either side of the pilings. Lifeguard towers run along the whole beach and black-ball flags restrict surfing in some zones during busy hours. Give the pilings a wide berth — currents drift along the shore and pull riders toward them.

A right-hand reef break in Europe's first World Surfing Reserve, with a long ride over flat rock slabs. There is a steep access road and a car park above the bay. At low tide the ledges get shallow; booties help. It is a contest venue and a weekend magnet for Lisbon surfers, so arrive early or surf midweek.