Who doesn't enjoy the colorful and relaxed vibe in small surfer villages? The picture above is from walking along the dirt road in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica checking out small artsy cafés and shops.. In search for more places like this around the world - where there is sun, surf, shops with local artists' crafts, unique restaurants and cafés and just all over a colorful town.. There seems to be quite a few surfer villages with a relaxed and chilled after-surf atmosphere.
Byron Bay in Australia and Santa Cruz in California, U.S. are places that are recommended on several lists over surfer villages with cool after-surf vibes. However, Santa Cruz needs to be visited in the summer because it seems like a ghost village the rest of the year - take it from someone who was there in March/April.
A big dream for many is to go to Hawaii - both for the surf and to experience the beauty of the island itself. Haleiwa in Hawaii is a city which supposedly is great during winter when the waves are at its highest and the town is full of people soaking up the chill vibe from cafés and art galleries. There is also Hanalei Town which is a surfer village on the North Shore of Kauai island in Hawaii, also supposed to be good in winter between October-March.
Other surfer villages around the world that could be worth to check out are Valparaiso in Chile, which is said to be a bohemian and artistic surf village right outside the capitol Santiago with a lot of street art. Mexico and Baja California is also a place known for being a great surf destination. Todos Santos is known for being a quirky and hammock-filled place in Baja California in Mexico - who doesn't love a good hammock?
There are probably many more surfer villages around the world. On different lists over surfer villages you will find Montañita in Ecuador, a backpacker surfer village, and do you want tapas with your chillout after-surf vibe then San Sebastian in Spain is the place to go to. Other countries where there probably are small surfer villages too are Morocco, Portugal, Indonesia (Bali) and Sri Lanka - which are all known for being great surf destinations - just need to find that perfect combination of bohemian and relaxed town vibe together with the surf. Still searching and dreaming about that next vacation... :)
- thefreebohemian