Surfing in Asturias can be enjoyed throughout the whole year as the Cantabrian Sea is quite active producing good waves on a regular basis. The best days for surfing in Asturias are those in Spring and Autumn when the temperatures are still ok and there are not too many people at the beaches.
Due to its location on the Northern Coast of Spain and therefore hundreds of kilometers of coastline, Asturias is blessed with some fantastic beaches and plenty of waves to surf.
It was in the 80’s when Asturias saw the arrival of this sport to its shores. Beaches like Rodiles in the council of Villaviciosa and Tapia in the council of Tapia de Casariego, rapidly became very popular among foreign surfers who came to our region looking for surfing in Asturias at the perfect wave.
Asturias has several good beaches on which to practice surf but amongst all of them there is one that holds the title of the “Second Best Left in Europe”: LA BARRA in Rodiles beach. This is a river mouth break with a sandy bottom and perfect for left handers. On a good day this wave is surfable for at least 150 m offering some incredible barrels with waves up to 4 m high. In the right part of the beach you can also find a nice and enjoyable right.
There are several other good surfing spots in Asturias such as Tapia, Salinas, Xagó, El Mongol, Playa España, etc.
During the winter months, the water temperature for surfing in Asturias is somewhere between 12ºC and 14ºC and therefore there is a need for a winter suit (3 or 4 mm) but in the summer, the water temperature can rise up to 22ºC and you can surf for 2 or 3 hours without any need of insulation.
On most of these beaches you will find public toilets, showers and restaurants. All of the beaches are accessible by car and most of them are near a city or village.
You can find some localism in some of the spots such as “La Barra”, but like in most of the places on earth, respect and you will be respected.
Good surfing sessions can be combined with some great and perfect sunny days and fueled by the tasty local food.
Asturias is one of the only places on earth where you can be skiing at 2 pm at one of the ski resorts the region has to offer and 45 minutes later, you can be riding great waves on the sea!
If you don’t believe it then come and check it for yourself….
There are two important events of note in the surfing calendar of Asturias. The first one is the International Surf Competition in Tapia de Casariego held over Easter and the second one is the VANS Longboard Festival in Salinas from the 26th to the 29th of July 2012.
If you want more information contact Where is Asturias at info@whereisasturias.com
Images supplied by Piru de la Puente, Arnaud Späni, Roberto Tolin Sommer, Daniel Martin and Jon Ruiz and Where is Asturias.
