With the Big Wave World Tour season officially opening this month and the buzz surrounding the first event, the Quiksilver Ceremonial Punta De Lobos in Chile we thought it would be appropriate for us to feature all our surf destinations that hold big surf! Most of our surf travel destinations get big to the average surfer, but there are a few spots that can hold surf well over double over head.
West Ireland hands down produces the biggest surf out of any of our destinations, with new big wave slabs being discovered every year. However, it has some of the most unpredictable conditions with cold water and crazy weather making it a true chargers destination. The North Atlantic produces a constant rumble of swell from September to April, but the winter months of November through February generally produces the biggest surf (30+ ft range).
The Chicama region of Peru is most consistent during the south swell period April through October, but can pick up big NW swells Dec/Feb which are less frequent and can hold up to 15 ft surf with waves rideable for 3/4 of a mile.
The entire Pacific coast of Nicaragua is notched like a jigsaw puzzle, full of nooks and crannies, rock structures, beaches and coves creating nearly every type of wave imaginable. There are peaky beach breaks, slabby rockpiles, river-mouths, epic points and big offshore reefs! Nicaragua picks up their largest and most consistent southern swells in the April through September months. Wave heights during this time average shoulder to overhead, but are often double overhead or larger at some of the outer reef breaks.
On the south coast of Tahiti sits Teahupoo, the most famous and biggest beast of Society Islands. Teahupoo became most recognized when tow-in pioneer and waterman Laird Hamilton pulled into a wave in 2000 that by all accounts was the heaviest wave ever ridden at that time. Even today Teahupoo still stands by many as one of the “heaviest waves in the world”.