Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, located about 75 KM from the city of Port Elizabeth, is considered to be among the top 5 surfing beaches on the planet and has earned the nickname “The Surf Mecca of the World” but is affectionately referred to by most as “J-Bay”. Although J-Bay sports a number of worthy beaches with expansive stretches of white sand, the best waves are found at a location known as Super Tubes, frequently called the home of the perfect wave. Super Tubes presents speed trains of 300 meters or more with heights in the 1 to 4 meter range on good days. The waves of Super Tubes are often referred to as the best right hand point break on the globe. In addition to Super Tubes, surfers will find worthy waves nearby at spots with names like Boneyards, Magna Tubes, Kitchen Windows, Albatross and Point. Super Tubes is the site of the Billabong Pro held in July of each year, marking the halfway point in the annual ASP World Tour which seeks to identify the top male surfer in the world. The Billabong Pro attracts an international crowd of participants and spectators. The town of Jeffreys Bay offers an endless list of diversions for those seeking respite: The Jeffreys Bay Surf Museum, Aston Bay for wildlife viewing, fishing excursions, kite surfing, diving, hiking, mountain biking and golf. A great selection of accommodations (including camping parks), restaurants, clubs and shops are nearby. Surf schools and camps have a significant presence along the Bay. Access to J-Bay is best achieved by car, bus or shuttle from the domestic airport at Port Elizabeth after arriving in South Africa at the Cape Town International Airport. Your dreams might just include a trip to the most famous surf spot in Africa, South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay. Add this to your list and begin planning the details that will allow you to check this one off. It will be worth it.

Bells Beach is located in the Australian State of Victoria in the aptly named Surf Coast Shire abutting Australia’s famous Great Ocean Road. Lying 100 km from the world class city of Melbourne, Bells Beach is easily accessible from every part of the world. The Rip Curl Pro Surf and Music Festival (aka Rip Curl Easter Pro), the longest continuously staged surfing competition on the planet, is held during Easter each year at Bells. The competition has been won by some of the sport’s most famous practitioners with the underlying theme that those who win at Bells are automatically legends. Adjacent to the iconic surf town of Torquay, Victoria, Bells Beach is engrained into the consciousness of Australian surfers and those international board riders fortunate enough to test the prolific reef break with waves that range from 1 to 5 meters. The names of the most famous breaks ring familiar in the minds of surf aficionados: Centreside, Rincon, Outside Bells and Bells’ Bowl. Nearby Winkipop Reef sports a long, fast hollow right that runs for 300 to 400 meters. Although Bells is popular with the locals they welcome outsiders that respect the ocean and honor surfing’s traditions. Bells Beach was named as the world’s first surfing recreation reserve in 1971, is listed as a Victorian Heritage site and protected as a marine park partly in recognition of its importance in the social and economic fabric of the community. These designations insure that Bells will always remain wild and undeveloped. Should your dreams include surfing Down Under on the same water where the world’s greatest have put their skills on display for decades then a trip to Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia belongs on your list.

The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago, has a prolific tourism industry attracting visitors from throughout Europe and the world drawn to the islands’ warm weather and natural beauty. Fuerteventura Island and the town of Corralejo have earned a reputation as a magnet for surfers with year round ideal weather and warm seas that accompany the dependable surf. A north swell is consistent making the northernmost tip of the island, where the town is situated, an ideal place to experience the waves of Fuerteventura. On the chance that the local breaks aren’t to visitor’s liking a number of local surf companies are equipped to take customers on “Surfari” to find other spots along the island’s expansive coastline where the waves may be bigger. Fuerteventura Island boasts a good selection of beach, reef and point breaks. The surfing lifestyle is incorporated into the culture of the island with significant numbers of shops, schools and restaurants catering to the tastes of board riders. Kite surfing is growing in popularity on Fuerteventura Island with a number of operators offering schools and lessons as well as equipment for rental or purchase. Windsurfing also has an established base on this island in the Atlantic Ocean just 90km off the northwest coast of Africa. The airport on Gran Canaria Island services the island chain. An extensive system of ferries moves visitors between the island ports. Should your dreams include a trip to Spain’s Canary Islands to spend your days surfing and your evenings partying with Europeans that are into surfing’s culture then a trip to Fuerteventura Island belongs on your list.

Situated approximately 150 km off the west coast of Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia is one of the world’s top surfing destinations. Prime time for surfing legendary Mentawai is during the dry season of late March to November but great waves are present throughout the year. Unlimited opportunities to ride perfect waves abound due to the islands’ strategic location in the southern Indian Ocean with nearly 50 named breaks distributed around the archipelago. With so many waves scattered around the island chain visiting surfers find chartered boats, complete with experienced surf guides, the preferred way to access the best surf while touring about the waters. Surfers can exhaust their fully loaded quivers, from short boards to big guns, with the varied offerings from the islands’ surfing cornucopia. Resorts are scattered around the islands for those visitors desiring land based adventures. The islands are made up primarily of unspoiled small villages and dense tropical forests. Access to the Mentawai Islands is through Padang and its international airport on the west coast of Sumatra. Typically, international travelers connect through Jakarta with its greater number of flight offerings. Your dream of surfing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra can be fulfilled by adding a trip to the Mentawai Islands Regency to your list today. Imagine spending your days ripping tasty waves and your nights cruising in the waters of the Indian Ocean under starlit skies.

G-Land is an internationally renowned surf break situated on the Grajagan Bay, Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, about half a day by road from the popular tourist destinations of Bali. G-Land is most commonly reached via boat charter from Bali. A very long, world-class, barreling left hand reef/point break breaks along the east side of Grajagan Bay. It has long been considered one of the world's best left hand waves. The correct name of the point upon which the main wave breaks is "Plengkung." The wave becomes shallower and more critical the further down the point one rides the wave. It is one of the most consistently rideable waves in the world in season, with offshore winds and often plentiful swell between the months of, roughly, mid April to mid October. The G-Land surf break has been divided up into several sections. The first, at the top of the point, is called "Kongs," which breaks up to several hundred metres in length, and can hold quite large sizes (from about 2 to 12 feet+, Hawaiian scale). It is not usually a barrel, nor genuinely world-class, but more a series of takeoff zones with some long wall sections, although it can also barrel on occasions. This section picks up a lot of swell, and is rarely less than 3 feet, and can be a saviour when the rest of the point is too small. This wave can sometimes link up with the next section called "Moneytrees." Moneytrees works from about 2 to 10 feet (Hawaiian scale, or about 4 to 20 feet wave faces), usually breaking over several hundred metres, and is a long, testing, barreling, world-class wave. The barrels become more critical the lower the tide and the larger the swell. Moneytrees may also occasionally link up with the next section called "Speedies," with an outside takeoff section between the two called "Launching Pads." "Launching Pads" can catch the surfer offguard, as it can break a significant way out to sea in larger swells. "Speedies" is the heaviest wave at G-Land, but can be a perfect, very round barrel for several hundred metres, rideable from about 2 to 8 feet+ (Hawaiian scale). It usually needs larger swells, and low tide can be very dangerous. Most severe injuries at G-Land have occurred at "Speedies." It is not common to ride a wave more than about 300–400 metres at G-Land, even though the section of the point where rideable waves break is considerably longer (over 1 km long), because the waves usually don't link up with each other. The dry season (May to October) is far and away the best time to go. That is when the offshore southeast trade winds blow and the swell, pouring out of the Southern Ocean, is at its biggest and most consistent. There are a few other, smaller waves further down and within the bay, which include "Chickens," "20/20," "Tiger Tracks" and a few unnamed others. These waves generally only work on larger swells, but are surprisingly good alternatives when the main point is big. All of these waves can barrel in the right conditions, which generally require higher tides. There are also some right hand waves on the other side of the peninsula at G-Land, but which are fickle, requiring large swells, and no wind or off-season winds. Another right hand wave is situated about a one hour or more drive, and boat, west of G-Land, which has been featured in Indonesian surf magazines, and dubbed as "Reverse G." It is apparently a quality, long, right hand wave (the 'reverse' of G-Land) but which is very difficult to get to, requiring some boat access, and furthermore only works in off-season winds (about October to April).

Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka, considered by many to be among the top 10 surfing spots in the world, offers a prolific point break. Between May and November, which is the high season for this revered location, surfers can count on long, hollow right breaks providing some of the best barrel surfing on the planet. The three primary point breaks, “The Point”, “Pottuvil Point” and “Crocodile Rock” are all located within an hour’s ride of the bay’s resorts by “tuk tuk”, a three wheeled motorized rickshaw common in this part of the world. “A-Bay”, as the area is affectionately known to the surfing fraternity, is a paradise with unspoiled golden sand and consistent six foot waves. The Sri Lankan Pro Surf is held at Arugam Bay, presented by the Australian branch of the Association of Surf Professionals (ASP) and attracts professional surfers from the world over to this important event on their calendar typically held in late August and early September. Arugam Bay is located next to the fishing village of Pottuvil on the drier east coast of Sri Lanka. Access to Pottuvil is primarily by bus or train from Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka and the site of the International Airport approximately 320 km from Pottuvil. Seaplanes from Ampara Airport, which is accessible by air from Colombo, can provide more expedient connections. Ample accommodations are readily available in Pottuvil and on Arugam Bay. Your dreams of a surfing adventure to Sri Lankaand iconic A-Bay are as close to being answered as adding this to your list. There’s lots of planning to do to make the trip come to be. Start the process now.

Long considered one of the premier surfing locations in Europe, Soorts-Hossegor is located on the Atlantic Ocean along the Southwest coast of Francein its Aquitane Region. Soorts-Hossegor presents a number of world famous sandy beach breaks including the well known La Nord and Estagnots along with the fast tubes at La Graviere. Soorts-Hossegor is home of an annual ASP Quicksilver Pro surfing competition held each at the end of September and is referred to as the home of Europe’s most consistent waves. The town exudes a surfing culture with numerous surf gear outlets, bars, clubs and restaurants dotting the landscape. Soorts-Hossegor is considered the hub of the European Surf industry. Surf schools and camps abound. Accommodations run from camping parks and backpacker dormitories to 4 star hotels. The 5700 meter salt water lake, Lac d’Hossegor provides myriad opportunities for alternative recreation pursuits . Including a trip to surf at Soorts-Hossegor might just fulfill that dream of yours to spend time in the South of France on golden sand beaches ripping perfectly formed tubes. Add this to your list and execute the plan to make the fantasy a reality.

The reef breaks at Thurso Bay, Scotland offer the traveling surfer a unique experience. While wave riding is typically thought of as a warm weather sport the superb waves of Thurso Bay, on Scotland’s north coast at the mouth of the Thurso River, are best tackled in full wetsuit. 8 meter swells that roll in from the Pentland Firth are not uncommon in March and April (late winter to early spring) when the water temperature can range from 4C –7C. Summertime finds somewhat smaller surf but warmer water (up to 16C ). The three primary named breaks at Thurso are Thurso East, thought of as the area’s premier break with long right tubes over a kelp covered reef – Thurso East is the home of an ASP qualifying competition; Pipeline, providing challenging left and right breaks; Thurso Beach presenting a good left break over a sandbar. The greater area, referred to as “Caithness”, is regularly visited by surfers from all over Europe, Australia, South Africa and America. The ruins of Thurso castle cast its shadow over the beach creating a surreal vision from the water. Thurso is best reached from Inverness, Scotland by car or bus via the A9 highway or by train. Surf shops and schools are nearby as well as a good selection of hotels and inns. Perhaps you have ever dreamed of surfing world class waves in the shadow of a medieval castle? If so, then a trip to Thurso, Scotland belongs on your list. Don’t forget to pack the full steamer wet suit and consider taking along your golf clubs; after all Scotland is the home of golf as well as some tasty waves.

Northern Peru, specifically in close proximity to the town of Mancora, boasts the region’s best surf conditions with warm water, dependable year round waves and some of the best beaches in South America. The waves near Mancora appeal to a wide cross-section of surfers with primarily left hand reef and point breaks. Using Mancora as a hub there are a numerous first class possibilities within reasonable distances such as the surf spots at Mancora Point, Organos, Lobitos, Zorritos and Cabo Blanco which, depending on the season and conditions, will offer worthy waves at some or all of these spots regardless of the date on the calendar. A local female surfer, Sofia Mulanovich, won the World Surfing Championship in Hawaiiin 2004. She perfected her skills in the surf at Mancora. Kite surfing is in its infancy but ever growing in popularity around Mancora. The windy season from April to December combined with perfect waves makes this an ideal location for practitioners of that sport. The town of Mancorais quaint and unspoiled offering a laid back atmosphere for visitors to enjoy when not chasing the perfect waves. Multiple beach resorts, a broad selection of restaurants and ample shopping in a small town atmosphere combined with the ideal conditions and beautiful vistas makes Mancora a more than worthwhile place to visit. Primary access to Northern Peru is through the Peruvian capital city of Lima and its international airport. Your list may include a visit to Peruto experience the ruins at Machu Picchuor the ancient local culture. Consider packing your surf gear and visiting the beaches ofNorthern Peruand Mancora to make that trip truly a dream come true.