More travelers are going to great lengths for waves
By IRENE MANAHAN Special to the Daily Press
SANTA MONICA Nestled within the Santa Monica Bay, surfers can be hard-pressed to catch a good wave just off this city’s shore. So instead of waiting and waiting for the fickle surfing gods to roll them out locally, more and more surfers are hop-ping a flight to exotic locations around the world to satiate their wet and wild wanderlust.
The only problem for most is finding the time to book such a trip.
While many surfers have already marked their favorite spots, their island-hopping ways of late have been accompanied by a crop of local travel agents looking to put would-be Duke Kahanamokus in their favorite hotspots.
“Being brought up by the coast, we naturally have more surfers, and therefore, more clients,” said Susan Tanzman, president of Martin’s Travel & Tours on Sepulveda Boulevard.
The business of arranging surf vacations is booming in Southern California, a region stacked with busy professionals who are weekend warriors looking to relieve their long-board longings. Travel agencies, both general and specialized, have begun to catch on.
Oftentimes, the clients already know what they want from their trip, but just need help getting accommodated, according to Tanzman.
“We have a lot of clients who know everything about the surf, but who just aren’t familiar with the travel stuff and that’s where we come in,” said Tanzman.
Together, travel agencies and hard-core surfheads have been teaming up to scope out the coasts with the best waves worldwide, at the best prices.
An agency that specializes solely in surfer travel understands the difficulty of arranging such a trip without having the time to do it.
“Surfing is a passion of mine, and I have traveled all around the world. I knew there was a market there,” said Sean Murphy, president of WaterWays Surf Adventures on Broadway. “There is need for a special operator providing surf travel.”
Before starting WaterWays, Murphy did a lot of freelance travel and scouted out the destinations that their agency now offers.
“Our general clientele doesn’t usually have that kind of time to go through the hardships (of finding that perfect vacation spot),” Murphy said. “The industry has changed. It was easy to just show up somewhere and find a place to stay, but now, you get somewhere and there’s no availability.”
HAVE BOARD, WILL TRAVEL Since the surf isn’t prevalent here, Santa Monica surfer Krystal Peak, 21, said that her friends usually take the chance of traveling overseas without an agent.
The Hawaii native often returns home and finds out where to surf by checking out news reports and finding out the weather on different shores.
“It’s really easy,” Peak said. And after saving enough to make the trip, Peak and friends typically spend what’s left strictly on the surf.
“Usually, my friends gather up a whole bunch of people and just go,” said Peak. “They grab their boards and fly to a coast off Bali or Fiji and stay at little beach hostels. They bum it and do it as inexpensively as they can.”
Peak figures travel agencies might be a better business for beginners who haven’t learned their way around the shores yet.
“Those who are seasoned have connections and know who to contact and how to get around,” said Peak.
Still, many full-time working surfers don’t mind investing in an agent if it guarantees them a room at their paradise vacation spot.
Travel agency clients “spend less time than they do money, and are willing to pay for the services,” according to Murphy.
It’s easy for WaterWays to sell their agency, Murphy said, because agents have the knowledge needed to help surfers.
“Clients will ask the agent for a lot of specific information about the surf, season, structure, currents and boards,” said Murphy.
However, Tanzman says most clients are already familiar with that kind of information. Martin’s Travel just handles the rest.
“We figure everything out — what they’ve done before, the types of accommodations they prefer, what they can afford, but most of all, it’s where the biggest and best surfs are over the year.” said Tanzman. “That’s what’s most important about their vacation.”
To keep prices down, Tanzman often recommends that clients who travel in big groups rent out a condo or a house.
Murphy helps surfers save by typically putting together all-inclusive land-and-air packages to exotic surf destinations around the world.
Some of the most popular destinations include El Salvador, Peru, Fiji and Indonesia, according to Murphy, who has personally surfed the terrain of all of WaterWays’ recommended sites.
Tanzman also recommends the north shore of Hawaii and coasts in Mexico and Australia.
“What’s interesting is that the surfs change at different times of the year for every location,” said Tanzman. “That’s when agents work especially hard to get the right surf for the time of the trip.”
This summer, Fiji and the coasts of South America are most favored by surfers, according to Tanzman and Murphy. And even though Hawaii’s well-known waves are mostly low this season, many surfers still take to the islands.
“Being in the middle of the ocean, Hawaii has good surfs year-round,” said Peak. “The winter has great surfs at the north shore and south shore is booming during the summer. Everyone knows in summer you do have better weather.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 23, 2007. Read the original PDF.