FUERTEVENTURA

Crystal clear
waters

A Surfer’s
Playground with
150+ Beaches

Fuerteventura is our most popular winter surf destination, with warm sun from October to July, white-sand beaches and lagoons, and Atlantic waves that suit a first-timer as well as a student who already surfs. The group stays in the old fishing village of El Cotillo, in a 4* hotel two minutes from the beach, on an island that is a UNESCO biosphere reserve from the volcanoes down to the shore.

WHY CHOOSE FUERTEVENTURA

Warm sun from
October to July

Learn to surf on
white-sand beaches

4* hotel two minutes
from the beach

Stargazing, padel
and beach games

Private catamaran
day to Lobos Island

WINTER SUN

In the middle of the British winter, Fuerteventura is warm, bright and surfable. The island sits off the coast of Africa, so a February or Easter trip means sunshine, sea you can stay in for three hours and long light evenings. El Cotillo is a small fishing village with a harbour, a handful of restaurants and lagoons you can walk to from the hotel.

A 4* HOTEL BY THE BEACH

The group stays at Coral Cotillo Beach, a 4* hotel in the middle of El Cotillo, two minutes on foot from the lagoons and five from the harbour. Students have twin rooms with their own bathrooms, air conditioning and balconies, and between sessions there is a heated outdoor pool, padel courts and a five-a-side pitch to use up what energy is left.

WAVES ALL WINTER

The north of the island picks up Atlantic swell all winter, and because the coast faces every direction there is always a beach working. Instructors choose the spot each morning for the conditions and the group, so beginners get small, clean waves on sand and more experienced students get something to progress on.

SURFING IN FUERTEVENTURA

Waves for all levels

First-timers learn on the sandy beach breaks around El Cotillo and Corralejo, in groups of six to eight students per instructor. Students who already surf can be taken to the reef breaks along the north coast when the conditions are right for them. Everyone surfs every day, and the progress over a week in warm water is quick.

Surf around the island

Every morning the group meets the surf school, loads the boards into the vans and heads for whichever beach is working best that day. Each session lasts three hours, with the instructors in the water throughout, and transfers to the beach are included.

Equipment

Every lesson includes a surfboard, wetsuit, leash and rash vest. Students learn on soft-top boards, which are safer in a group of beginners and easier to stand up on, and hardboards are available for students who are ready for them.

ACCOMMODATION:
EL COTILLO

Coral Cotillo Beach is a 4* hotel in the heart of El Cotillo. Breakfast and dinner are buffets in the hotel restaurant, with Canarian and Spanish dishes alongside the things teenagers will reliably eat, and lunch is at local restaurants in the village, so students get a taste of authentic cuisine.

The hotel is two minutes from the lagoons and five from the harbour, shops and restaurants. Rooms are twins with private bathrooms, air conditioning and balconies, and there is a heated outdoor pool, a fitness centre, padel courts and a five-a-side pitch, with Wi-Fi, towels and daily housekeeping included and reception staffed 24/7.

ACCOMMODATION:
CORRALEJO

For groups who would rather be in Corralejo, the island’s surf town, there is a choice of a half-board hotel or a private surf camp. Corralejo has the dunes, the harbour the catamaran leaves from and the north-coast beaches the surf school uses.

The town centre and the beaches are a few minutes away, and the evenings have more choice of restaurants than anywhere else on the island.

We all had a fantastic time, and I could not rate Schools Go Surfing highly enough. We will be booking with them for our next school surfing trip!

Merchant Taylors’ School

They demonstrated perfectly how school trips should be run. Their promotional materials at the planning stage really helped to get students excited and provide parents with peace of mind

Hurtwood House

WHAT TO EXPECT

Surf every day

Each day starts with the vans, the boards and a beach chosen for that morning’s conditions. Students learn to paddle, pop up and ride their first waves in the first couple of sessions, then spend the rest of the week getting better at it. Learning to surf teaches patience, reading the sea and getting back on after a fall, and those lessons go home with them.

A DAY ON THE WATER

After a few days of surfing the group sails from Corralejo on a private catamaran to Lobos Island, a nature reserve with one lighthouse and no cars. Anchored off the island, students swim, snorkel, kayak and paddleboard, then eat a paella lunch on board. The four-hour trip ends with an ice cream and free time in Corralejo. A volcano walk at Lajares is the other afternoon out.

BEYOND THE SURF

Around the surfing there are beach games, five-a-side and padel tournaments at the hotel, volleyball and water polo, and a beach clean-up with the Clean Ocean Project. Evenings are dinner in the village, live music, film and quiz nights, a jewellery workshop and, on one clear night, 90 minutes of stargazing on the beach with Stars by Night, blankets provided. Fuerteventura is a Starlight Reserve, and students learn to find the constellations with an astronomer.

FOOD & DRINK

Breakfast and dinner are buffets at the hotel, with Canarian and Spanish dishes alongside the familiar. Lunch is at a different local restaurant each day, which the Trip Leader books, so the group eats together in the village and tries a bit of the island. Dietary requirements are catered for once you have sent them to us.

YOGA

The trip includes at least two 45-minute yoga sessions, in a private studio a few minutes from the hotel, with instructors used to working with school groups. They are built for surfers rather than yogis: mobility, balance and stretching out tired shoulders, and a quiet half hour for the group after an active day.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Our prices cover the flights, transfers and everything from the moment you land: the hotel, meals, surfing, yoga, the catamaran day and activities. Free staff places at one to eight, a dedicated Trip Leader, full financial protection and travel insurance are included as standard.

Find out more

health and safety

We write a risk assessment for every destination and a health and safety audit for everywhere we stay. Before you travel you receive a travel pack with both, so your own paperwork, and the questions from parents, are covered.