Surf Hawaii - Quick Facts
LOCATION: Pacific Ocean
POPULATION: 1.4 million
NATIONALITY: American
LANGUAGE: English
CURRENCY: US Dollar

Hawaii is a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is the newest of the 50 US states and has over one million permanent residents. Due to the quality of surf, this number swells over the winter months, especially on the North Shore.
Hawaii has a nice warm, tropical climate and lovely warm water, making it a popular destination for tourists, surfers and other water users.

There are eight main islands: Ni'ihau, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, La-na'i, Kaho'olawe, Maui, and the island of Hawai'i. Hawai'i is the largest and most populated of the Hawaiian islands, and is known as the big island.

Hawaii is also considered to be the home of surfing by many, and the sport was practiced by the ancient Hawaiians. The Ancient Hawaiian people did not consider surfing a mere recreational activity, hobby, extreme sport, or career as it is viewed today. Rather, the Hawaiian people integrated surfing into their culture and made surfing more of an art than anything else.
They referred to this art as he'e nalu which translates into English as "wave sliding". The art began before entering the mysterious ocean as the Hawaiians prayed to the gods for protection and strength to undertake the powerful mystifying ocean. It was the Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku was brought surfing to Australia in 1915, his display of surfing on Manly Beach inspired hundreds.
Find out more about the history of surfing.

Hawaii Surf Spot Map

Surf spots are being added to the map all the time. Add some of your favorites if you have a moment.

You have not made it as a world class surfer if you have not made it on the North Shore. Look in any international surfing magazine and it will not take you too long to find a picture of a Hawaiian wave. It is a place truly blessed with powerful swells and top quality waves for surfing.



Each of the Hawaiian islands gets its share of the huge swells generated from October to March, but undoubtedly the North Shore of Oahu is the place that receives the most attention. Surfers converge on this area during the winter to test themselves on some of the worlds best waves. The location of its breaks makes surfing a fantastic spectator sport. Pipeline seems to breaks right off the beach, it's almost like you are in the line up.

Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Waimea, Jaws. Big big waves. World class surf.

Hawaii receives numerous swells from October to March, generated from deep lows tracking across the North Pacific. The swells can be anywhere in the region of 10-30ft - now that's big surf. That said, the North Shore is often flat, but when it is going off there are large crowds, huge crowd pressure and localism. Respect has to be earned. A surf trip to Hawaii will be better spent away from the North Shore as there are no shortage of spots and less crowding elsewhere. The other side of the islands see frequent 3-8ft waves so you will not be missing out too badly.

It is a fantastic place for a surf vacation or regular holiday, and although not the place for anyone new to surfing it is still a great place to visit just for the spectacle of surfing.

Surfing Hawaii - The Good
Powerful Reefbreaks
Some of the best waves on the planet
Pipeline

Surf Hawaii - The Bad
Crowded
Expensive
Very high standard of surfing

Hawaii Surfing Conditions

If you have information on surfing in Hawaii we would like to know. Post your tips on these pages, or over on the surf travel tips forum.

If you go to Hawaii you have to go surfing. It´s the funniest thing and if you are a beginner you can surf too.

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