A surf trip away doesn’t mean you have to leave your gym, cardio, cross-fit, yoga, cycling, or swim sessions at home. Adding your regular exercise routines to the extra surf sessions on vacation makes it possible to come back fitter and stronger than when you left. These locations offer the perfect combo of sun, beach, waves, and workout facilities to get the best of both worlds.
Samoa
“Do you want to enjoy surfing epic uncrowded waves of Samoa,” asks Kahea Hart, “and get help to surf stronger, smoother, and smarter – both now and as you age?”
Well, yes, yes and yes.
Hart is a Hawaiian former pro surfer who has become an elite coach and personal trainer. WaterWays Travel is stoked to partner with Hart for a Surf Movement Experience week at Salani Surf Camp in April 2025. While surfing Samoa’s powerful, uncrowded waves, including the Right and Left out the front of the resort, Hart will teach techniques to improve on the fundamentals of good surfing and fix bad habits through movement and awareness. On land, by focusing on strengthening core muscles through Foundation Training, and the importance of proper breathing with XPT, the aim is to feel better every day, and take the improved physical performance, lung capacity, and overall longevity when you go home.
Are you up for the challenge? Join Kahea Hart in Samoa this April 2025, where you’ll score world-class waves and gain game-changing insights into your surfing. With only a few spots left to this exclusive experience, the time to book is today.
Bali
Ever wondered why Bali has more beautiful people per square inch than anywhere else? Well, that’s partly because so many of the tourists, locals and expats train so goddamn hard.
Canggu is Bali’s beachbreak and fitness capital and the centre of a cross-fit craze that started more than a decade ago and hasn’t let up. The gyms open hours before daybreak, and you can get a dawn surf in after your first pilates session. The other hotspot is Ubud, which has attracted the world’s best holistic health, trainers, therapists, and nutrition experts who operate in everything from luxury hotels and boutique studios to cheap and cheerful jungle gyms. In Bali, you can surf your brains out, eat incredible, healthy food and return well on the path to better health and wellbeing. Or be fit as a fiddle for a surf trip to G-Land, T-Land or The Mentawais.
The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are known as the Hawaii of Europe, and with good reason. The volcanic archipelago lies 200 miles west of Morocco, and in winter, receives equal amounts of North Atlantic swell and African sun.
Known for its slabby reefs, big wave bombies and fun beaches, the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, and Lanzarote all produce world-class waves. But it’s not just surfers who flee the harsh European winter to get their fix. The islands are also famed for the mix of elite sporting facilities and infrastructure. Within a few miles of Lanzarote’s best waves is the Club La Santa, a sports mecca whose swimming, cycling, climbing, and football facilities host international athletes and camps. On Tenerife, the 4000 metre-high Mt. Tiede is a magnet for Europe’s best road cyclists. And below sea level, the Apnea Freediving Centre also offers some of the world’s best freediving conditions and courses.
Costa Rica
With its epic waves, stunning natural landscapes and warm climate, Costa Rica has seemingly been AI-generated for those who want to surf and keep fit.
At most of the better surf camps, you can choose from hiking, yoga, paddleboarding, mountain biking, detox regimes, fitness reboots and relaxation techniques to augment all the work you do in the ocean whilst getting barrelled. One of our personal favourites is the Olas Verdes Hotel in Nosara. It’s a 200-yard walk to the fun waves at Playa Guiones, but the lessons in the open-air yoga shala under the shade of a magnificent pochote tree are almost a bigger draw.
Learn to surf at Nosara Surf School.
Brazil
Without leaning into stereotypes too much, Rio, Sao Paolo, and Florianopolis are generally regarded as populated by some of the world’s most gorgeous and fit people.
It’s no coincidence that cheap gyms are widely available in these three wave-rich locations, with many located on the beach. The popular outdoor workout stations spread around Rio are legendary, and a great place to meet locals. In the northeast, Bahia is known for its reefbreaks and massage, yoga, fitness, and relaxation retreats. Add the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies and the chance to learn Capoeira, with its mix of martial art, dance, and acrobatics, if you can stay off the caipirinhas, Brazil can be a portal to a fitter, healthier you.