For years, part of the culture of surf travel was hardship: If you stayed in a cold-water shack on the beach, then you were authentic and dedicated. The discomfort was part of the bragging rights, and electricity was for sissies.
Now a few operators are playing in the high-end surf space—Nihiwatu in Indonesia has been getting lots of buzz—but the pioneer, and still a leader, was TropicSurf. Australian master surf instructor Ross Phillips started the company some 25 years ago with the intention of making the thrills of surfing safe, comfortable and available to almost anyone who could afford it, and making surf trips palatable to partners and family members who don’t want to play on the waves.
He did that by installing the program at resorts that already had a high luxury quotient and activities meant to appeal to non-surfers—and just happened to be near some excellent lesser-known or hard-to-reach breaks. No cold-water showers involved. TropicSurf runs out of some of the world’s top “wife approved” resorts—many Four Seasons properties, Mukul in Nicaragua, Fregate Island in the Seychelles—where guests are free to relax at the spa after their sessions. More accomplished guests ultimately sign up for a longer trips aboard one of several yachts that can be chartered around the world.
Along with helping experienced surfers improve their skills and giving them access to spectacular, uncrowded breaks, they’re also out to demystify the sport. Some 85% of the clientele are brand-new beginners, out for a half-day lesson or a more involved multi-day program. I wasn’t quite one of them when I surfed with TropicSurf at the Four Seasons Punta Mita in January (as a guest of both), but I was close enough to start from scratch.
While surf schools up the coast in the boho beach town of Sayulita put complete newbies in classes of eight students with one instructor, I had the program director at the Four Seasons all to myself. He was encouraging, clear in his corrections and helpful in the water. They had reef booties, sun hats and rash guards available to borrow, and then towed my board out from shore to save me the effort of paddling.
At one point, a second instructor joined us (having just finished a “lesson” with a four-year-old, in which he caught waves with the kid on the front of his board, then hoisted him up into position and held him upright—the kid had the time of his life), helped me right my board closer to shore and gave me a push as I paddled back to the break. While this felt excessive at first, once I decided to go with it, it was pretty sweet.
The guides aren’t there just to make the experience cushy. They’re some of the best in the business, in terms of both safety and coaching clients to the next level. Hiring is very selective, and training is intense—far above the industry standard. TropicSurf trainers travel among the properties where they operate to train surf guides and instructors, and the staff travel to other TropicSurf locations during their off seasons to learn from other guides (and surf some primo breaks).
It’s comforting to know you’re in good hands. And it's more than comfortable to shower off after a lesson, then head to the Four Seasons’ cool new beach bar for a sunset margarita and then to one of the three Richard Sandoval restaurants at the resort for a delectable seafood dinner.
