4 Best Countries to Surf in South America
South America is blessed with a great coastline exposed to both the Pacific Ocean on the west side and Atlantic Ocean on the east side. No matter the time of the year, there is certainly a place with perfect waves somewhere in South America. Here a the 4 best countries to visit on a surf trip to South America…
Chile
Chile is a great country to visit on a surf trip to South America with surf towns like Pichilemu which can rival with some of the world’s greatest surfing destinations. With a long, rugged coastline, Chile has several uncrowded point breaks that will please any type of surfers.
Surfing in Chile can also get pretty wild, specially during winter season, as enormous south swells come from the Pacific. Tow-in surfing is sometimes the only way to conquer some of those giant waves…
Another gem that could be considered as part of Chile is the mysterious Easter Island, located several hundred miles off the coast. Easter Island has some awesome waves with barely anyone out.
Peru
Peru not only is a great country to surf in South America, it also is home of the world’s longest wave! In fact, Chicama (pictured above) is a point break that can run for several miles when conditions line up perfectly. The best time to surf Peru is from April to October as south swells make their way up the Peruvian coast.
Read our complete surfing guide to Chicama, Peru
Ecuador
Ecuador is a wonderful surfing destination with great weather, consistent waves and cheap cost of traveling. Montanita is probably the country’s best surf town and many surf camps and surf schools can be found in the area. For the most adventurous surfers, Galapagos Islands also have great waves and remain a very special place to surf in South America.
Brazil
Brazil has the longest coastline in South America, making it a prime surfing destination on the continent. The country is exposed to south and north swells coming from the Atlantic Ocean with two distinct surfing seasons.
From May to October, swells come from the south, making the whole southern end of the country turn into a wave machine. From November to April, north swells roll into the northern coast, including the Fernando de Noronha archipelago.
With so many surf spots and year round swells, it’s easy to see how surfing legends such as Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and Adriano de Sousa all come from Brazil.