spain-lanzarote
#6. Lanzarote, Spain: Known as the European Hawaii, the Canary Islands get most of their swell in the same winter time period and have long been popular with UK surfers for a winter getaway to warmer waters and powerful waves. A forbidding volcanic landscape gives way to blue ocean in Lanzarote, with sharp lava reefs and powerful north Atlantic swell. With an abundance of accommodation and good variety of spots, Lanzarote deserves its popularity with European surfers with the only negative factor being the aggressive locals who deal with ill-mannered visitors by dealing out quick punishment. Image: Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Surf is everywhere. It rolls past our coastlines, whipped up by storms off shore, held up by offshore winds, and can go from playful to terrifying the blink of an eye. Sometimes it’s blue, sometimes green, sometimes gray. Whatever it looks like, it’s always beautiful. Islands have some of the best waves, and this gallery shows twenty of the world’s best surfing islands. From India to Indonesia, there’s a wave for everyone.