Surfing and bodyboarding in the Canary Islands: where to learn and where to watch the pros
In October the waves take centre stage in the Canary Islands. Three professional bodyboard events follow one another: two rounds of the European Tour of Bodyboard (ETB), first from 7 to 10 October on Tenerife, at El Socorro beach in Los Realejos, then from 11 to 14 October on Gran Canaria, at La Cícer, a stretch of the city beach in Las Palmas. Then, from 17 to 31 October, the bodyboard world tour, the IBC World Tour, wraps up its season on the El Frontón wave in Gáldar. La Cícer is no random choice of venue: according to the Spanish Surfing Federation, Spain's first ever bodyboard competition was held here in 1986.
If you'd rather have a go yourself than just watch, you're in the right place. According to the official tourism website of the Canary Islands, the water stays at around 20°C all year, and almost every surf spot has a school and somewhere to hire gear. The waves break with such power because there is no continental shelf around the islands, and the volcanic seabed makes the wave break in the same place every time.
This article is not a ranking. Wherever we mention a level, a type of seabed or a season, it comes from the official Canary Islands tourism website, the islands' tourist boards or the federation. Where we are more cautious than the sources, we say so.
In October you can watch the pros too
El Socorro, Tenerife: 7 to 10 October
In October, El Socorro beach in Los Realejos hosts a series of competitions called the Socorro Classic, running from 6 to 18 October. The series includes the European bodyboard round, which the official website lists for 7 to 10 October. On 11 and 12 October the same beach also hosts a round of the Spanish junior surfing championship and the open event of the Canary Islands championship. According to Turismo de Tenerife, you can surf here all year round, on both rights and lefts. See our El Socorro beach page.
La Cícer, Gran Canaria: 11 to 14 October
This year the ETB Gran Canaria Pro is being held for the fifth time. Riders compete in four categories (Men, Women, Junior and Dropknee), and the event infrastructure is set up on the Las Canteras promenade, Avenida de Las Canteras. According to the federation's press release, locals and visitors alike can come down and watch on all four competition days. No detailed daily schedule has been published: at a wave contest, the programme depends on the state of the sea.
El Frontón, Gáldar: 17 to 31 October
On Gran Canaria's north coast, Gáldar hosts the Gran Canaria Frontón King, this year's closing event of the bodyboard world tour (IBC World Tour), from 17 to 31 October according to the official website. El Frontón is one of the toughest waves in the islands: on big days it demands experience and nerve. It is not a place to learn, but a stage for the best riders in the world. The waves decide the daily programme; you'll find the latest updates on the event website: frontonking.com.
What's worth knowing about La Cícer
La Cícer is one of Europe's bodyboarding hubs in its own right. According to LPAmar, the City of Las Palmas website about its sea, it has three parts: Los Muellitos has a rocky bottom with fast, hollow waves, El Bufo, in the middle, has a sandy bottom and is also good for competitions, and El Piti Point has a sand and rock bottom: a popular stretch where the waves are longer than at El Bufo but break with less power. La Cícer is also where the city's designated learning zone is. See our Las Canteras beach page.
For beginners: good places to start
The rule of thumb comes from Turismo de Tenerife: waves breaking over a sandy, or sandy and rocky, bottom suit beginners and intermediates, while waves breaking over volcanic reef are for advanced surfers. If you have never stood on a board, don't start at a reef break, and don't go alone.
Gran Canaria
La Cícer, Las Palmas. According to the official Canary Islands tourism website, it is one of the easiest and friendliest surf spots in the archipelago for beginners. According to the city, La Cícer is the only part of Las Canteras bay that is not sheltered by the La Barra rock reef, which is why the learning zone is here. Free surfing and surf schools share the space: six schools give lessons along the stretch between Calle Covadonga and Calle California.
Tenerife
El Porís, Arico. A sandy-bottomed beach where the waves are ideal for beginners and children, and plenty of schools come here.
Playa del Faro (El Porís de Abona), Martiánez (Puerto de la Cruz) and El Socorro in Güímar. According to Turismo de Tenerife, these are mainly for beginners and intermediates. Note: this is the El Socorro in Güímar, not the El Socorro in Los Realejos where the competitions take place. See our Martiánez beach page.
Where we are more cautious than the tourism websites. The official websites recommend Almáciga and Igueste de San Andrés, both in Anaga, for all levels, and Bajamar for beginners too. Even so, we only suggest them to beginners with a school and on a calm sea. Big swells are common at Almáciga (our own beach article says so too), the wave at Igueste breaks in front of a beach of rounded boulders (callaos), and most of the shoreline at Bajamar is lava shelf and natural sea pools. While you're still working your way up, the waves at these spots aren't predictable enough. See our Almáciga beach page.
Lanzarote
Famara. Thanks to its waves and sandy bottom, the Canary Islands tourism website considers it ideal for beginners; it is a favourite with the schools, and for children the middle of the beach is best. At the same time, Lanzarote's tourist board rates the swell as strong and also lists danger signage. The two don't contradict each other: with a school, in the learning zone, Famara is a place for beginners, but it is not a beach for casual swimming. See our Famara beach page.
Fuerteventura
El Burro, near Corralejo. Perfect for beginners, but surfing the break itself takes some experience, and on big days you can end up on the reef.
El Cotillo. Plenty of surf, kitesurf, SUP, windsurf and wing foil schools operate here. See our El Cotillo beach page.
For experienced surfers: wait until you're confident
The spots below are for experienced surfers or pros. For most of them, the sources also note that the best season runs roughly from October to March or May, in other words it is just getting started.
Gran Canaria
La Barra, Las Palmas. On the rock reef in front of Las Canteras, three peaks break at high tide: fast, short, hollow waves for veteran surfers.
El Confital. Its right is for experts and breaks over a volcanic bottom; it works best from September to May at high tide, and on big days the current can push you towards the cliff. See our El Confital beach page.
El Lloret. Right and left peaks over a boulder bottom; according to the city, it can be very dangerous in a big swell.
El Pico de La Laja. A bodyboard spot on volcanic reef, mainly for experts. See our La Laja beach page.
El Frontón, Gáldar. The world tour wave (see above), which demands experience; the biggest waves arrive from October to May.
El Puertillo (Arucas) and Arguineguín. According to Gran Canaria Turismo, the former is one of the key spots in the north and the latter one of the key spots in the south. See our El Puertillo page.
Tenerife
The Las Palmeras left, Playa de las Américas. Tenerife's most famous surf spot; volcanic bottom, best from October to March, an intermediate wave that gets tougher in a strong westerly swell. See our Playa de las Américas page.
Punta Blanca, Guía de Isora. A bodyboard spot on volcanic reef, intermediate to expert level, from October to May.
La Machacona, near La Tejita. Bodyboarding over volcanic rock at an advanced level; unusually, this one is best from June to September. See our La Tejita beach page.
Lanzarote and La Graciosa
El Quemao, La Santa. For experts, from October to March.
The La Santa left. Breaks over volcanic reef, getting in is tricky, not for beginners.
The San Juan left, Caleta de Famara. Volcanic reef, from September to May.
Baja del Ganado, La Graciosa. Near Las Conchas beach, mainly for experts; in a strong swell there are lots of currents. See our Las Conchas beach page.
Fuerteventura
Bristol (Shooting Gallery). Ten minutes from Corralejo, over a volcanic bottom; the best waves come in winter.
El Hierro, near Majanicho. Fuerteventura's most famous wave. Don't let the name fool you: this is a surf spot on Fuerteventura, not the island.
The Lobos right. The longest wave in the Canary Islands breaks off the south-west coast of the island of Lobos, between 300 and 500 metres long. It offers something for every level and is best from October to March, but getting there is a mission in itself: a boat from Corralejo, then a walk of about an hour from the harbour on Lobos, and you can only get into the water from a boat or by walking over the volcanic reef, always in reef shoes. You need a permit to visit the island, which you apply for through the Cabildo's web app, Lobos Pass. See our Lobos beach page.
La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro
On La Palma, according to the island's tourism website, surfers head in winter to Echentive beach in Fuencaliente, on the southern tip, and in summer to Nogales beach in the north-east. See our Echentive beach page and our Nogales beach page.
For La Gomera and El Hierro, the official tourism website doesn't name any surf spots, so we don't either. That doesn't mean there are no waves there, only that as a visitor these aren't the two islands to go to for surfing.
Two places not to confuse with surfing
El Médano (Tenerife) and Pozo Izquierdo (Gran Canaria) are famous water sports spots, but for kitesurfing and windsurfing respectively, not wave surfing. Pozo Izquierdo is a stop on the windsurfing world tour (PWA) and demands a high level.
How to choose a school
The Canary Islands Surfing Federation (Federación Canaria de Surfing, FCS) has been running since 1994 and accredits official schools; the accreditation has to be renewed every year. It publishes the 2026 list island by island and distinguishes two levels: official schools and so-called "tecnificación" schools, which also prepare surfers for competitive development.
A few schools from the 2026 list that we also have a page for:
Gran Canaria: Mojo Surfcamp (tecnificación), Surf Canaries, South Coast Surf School, Canary Wave Surf School.
Tenerife: Kontraola Surf School and Surf Life Tenerife (both tecnificación), Shaka Surf Tenerife, Tenerife Surf Point, Franz Surf School, Ika Ika Surf Camp.
Fuerteventura: The Wild Surf, Surfintrip, Planet Surf Camp.
For Lanzarote, the federation's website does have an official schools section, but the link to the list currently goes nowhere, so we can't name any school on Lanzarote as official. That says nothing about the schools there, only that this kind of check can't be done for Lanzarote at the moment. You'll find the full, up-to-date lists on the federation's website: fcsurf.es.
Words you'll hear on the beach
derecha / izquierda: a right-hand and a left-hand wave, seen from the surfer riding the wave towards the shore.
pico: the peak, where the wave first breaks.
baja: an underwater rock shelf or reef that the wave breaks over.
callaos: boulders on the shore, rounded smooth by the sea.
marea alta / marea baja: high tide and low tide.
tubo: the tube, when the wave curls over the surfer.
Safety: briefly, because we have a separate article on it
The flags. On Canary Islands beaches, red, yellow and green flags show the level of danger. As a surfer you should know a fourth one too: the black-and-white chequered flag marks the beach's sports sector, where water sports are allowed.
Coastal warnings. When the Canary Islands Government issues a pre-alert for coastal hazards, it specifically asks you to postpone water and sports activities. The details: Coastal warnings in the Canary Islands.
Rip currents. How to spot one and what to do if one catches you: Rip currents in the Canary Islands.
Check the tides. Many spots only work at high tide or only at low tide, and at a reef break there is little water left over the rock at low tide. You'll find a tide table in any marine weather app.
Not alone, and not for too long. Turismo de Tenerife advises surfing with a partner and keeping each session to no more than two hours.
In an emergency: 112.
If you'd rather watch the water from the shore, we've rounded up the beaches island by island: Best beaches in Gran Canaria, Best beaches in Tenerife, Best beaches in Lanzarote and Best beaches in Fuerteventura. For the underwater side: Diving and snorkelling in the Canary Islands.
Sources: Hola Islas Canarias (the official tourism website of the Canary Islands), individual surf and bodyboard spot pages; LPAmar, City of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Gran Canaria Turismo (grancanaria.com); Turismo de Tenerife (webtenerife); Turismo Lanzarote; Visit La Palma; Cabildo de Fuerteventura (Lobos Pass); Federación Española de Surfing (fesurf.es), ETB Gran Canaria Pro 2026 press release; Federación Canaria de Surfing (fcsurf.es), the 2026 official school lists and the Socorro Classic 2026 press release; socorroclassic.com; Gobierno de Canarias, the decree on beach safety signage (BOC 2022/148) and the coastal pre-alert notices.
Cover image (cropped): El Confital, Gran Canaria. Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
