This course is designed for adults aged 18 and over who value small groups, individual feedback and clear communication.

This course is for complete beginners and for anyone who wants to refresh their basic skills or give surfing a second chance.

Yes, of course. That is exactly what surf lessons are for.

It depends. You do not need previous surf experience. But of course, you should feel comfortable in the water and around waves. As for fitness, it is quite simple: surfing is a sport whose intensity changes with the conditions. The fitter you are, the better. But you definitely do not need to be an athlete, although it helps if you generally enjoy being active and doing sports. If you are unsure, just let me know and I can advise you on which format and which season might suit you best.

Yes, absolutely. Many people start surfing later in life or come back after a long break. Anyone can learn to surf — some faster, others slower, regardless of age. In practice, how well the start goes depends more on habits, general fitness and mobility than on age itself. As you get older, an active lifestyle often becomes a clear advantage. If you are unsure whether this format or which season suits you best, just send me a quick message.

The main reason is that the people in the group should be similar enough in terms of size, weight and resilience. But group dynamics, communication and the practical organisation around accommodation, mobility and the overall setup also play a role.

Fear makes it hard to learn, focus on what matters and enjoy the process. Respect for the ocean, on the other hand, is good and important: it helps you avoid situations in which panic can turn a challenge into real danger. On the one hand, surfing can help overcome fear; on the other, the attempt can also backfire. The best thing is to get in touch with me, and we can talk personally about the right solution for you.

Famara is a textbook beach with a well-defined longshore bar. Depending on the stage of the tide, the beach profile creates waves that break closer to or farther from shore, and either more gently or more powerfully. The lesson times are chosen to make the most of the time windows that work best for beginners to intermediates throughout the tidal cycle. Since high and low tide shift by roughly 40 minutes from one day to the next, and maximum and minimum water levels also change over the course of a lunar phase, this optimal window moves as well. Depending on whether the tide is rising or falling, I round to the nearest half hour.

I select the days in the tide calendar when currents and tidal level changes remain within a moderate range (“nip tide”), and when the time window for the long, mellow waves we are looking for falls neither before 9 a.m. nor too late in the evening.

Yes. The two surfskate sessions are included as a bonus in the 5-day course.

Skateboarding has its roots in surfing, and modern surfskates are designed to reproduce as directly as possible how a surfboard responds to weight shifts, pressure, timing and speed. Exercises can be repeated much more often than in the water, and manoeuvres can be broken down into small, simple parts and practised that way. This makes it much easier to focus on movement patterns and balance without already having to think about wave choice, paddling, timing and many of the other things that come into play when surfing in the water. With surfskate, you maintain and improve your skills between individual sessions and between surf trips – and you shorten the time you need to get back into it after longer periods without waves.

Yes, you can also book 1, 2, 3 or 4 days. But that means losing part of the overall concept, because each day builds on the one before it – including the surfskate bonus. If your preferred arrival is earlier, you can start with private lessons or a one-day group session; once the official start day begins, some topics will simply be a useful recap for you. Leaving earlier is not a problem. Joining later is sometimes possible, depending on your previous experience and starting point. For complete beginners, however, this is usually not ideal, because by then the group is already further along and your attention tends to drift too far ahead instead of staying on what you are learning right now. In some cases, a short crash session can be organised beforehand so you can catch up a little.

The GoPro is always part of the sessions – on land and in the water. Footage recorded during the course and can be made available afterwards. If you would like a more detailed review, a separate video analysis can also be booked as an add-on.

For adults aged 18 and over, the most suitable time on Lanzarote to take a beginner course is usually between mid-April and mid-November. During this period, long-lasting winter storms and winter swells are less likely, and these can bring wind strengths and wave heights that make beginner sessions difficult or impossible. The camp dates and tide-dependent lesson times are also chosen so that predictable factors such as tidal movement and the currents linked to it do not fall into their most extreme phases. Added to that, old rules of thumb are less reliable today than they used to be. In recent years, it has repeatedly been possible to observe typical weather patterns arriving later, appearing earlier, or turning out very differently from what used to be normal over longer periods.

The accident insurance covers accidents that clearly occur in connection with the booked activity – for example if you are hit by a board, twist an ankle, dislocate something or injure yourself at the spot. It does not cover medical incidents or complaints that were not clearly caused by the activity itself or that are related to pre-existing health issues, even if they were previously undetected. You can find further information in the terms and conditions.

Here you can find a selection of accommodation offered by partner hosts.

Depending on where you stay, a rental car is often the most practical solution. Smaller local rental companies often offer better conditions and fewer surprises than comparison portals or large international chains. Local providers available directly at the airport include Pluscar, Payless, Autoreisen and Proa. This keeps you flexible with the meeting point, lesson times and your overall island plans. It is also a plus for surfskating, since the best beginner spots are on the other side of the island. Famara does have a small skatepark, but it fills up quickly.

At the moment, I do not offer a transfer service for organisational reasons.

For surf lessons, water-resistant sunscreens with strong hold make the most sense. Zinc sticks or thicker creams usually stay much longer on the nose, cheeks and other highly exposed areas than thin lotions. The latter are more likely to run into the eyes because of spray, drops coming down from the forehead and constant contact with water, which can be especially unpleasant if you are not used to salt water in your eyes. What matters is whether a product holds well, protects well and is well tolerated by the skin. I tend to recommend robust surf sunscreens with good hold.

Yes. Being able to swim confidently is a basic requirement. Even in beginner-friendly conditions, the ocean remains a dynamic environment. If you still feel unsure in the water, a group course is often not the best place to start. In that case, private lessons or open-water swimming can be the more sensible first step.