Watch Video: The Girl in the Cafe TV
The surf beach about 200m from Rapture Surf Camp Apartment
I’ve wanted to learn to surf for the longest time, and with the last six months of cold London weather, busy schedules and in need for some growth, inspiration and creative space, I jumped the gun before the official summer holidays, grabbed my BFF and booked flights to Portugal, which is renowned in Europe for it’s good surf!
So if you're thinking of where to go and what to do on your next summer trip... read on!
As you know, I'm a keen traveller and I'm always up for figuring out how I can have great coffee where-ever I go, so I took the opportunity to take some new coffee gear to test and coffee beans to drink while embarking on my first surf experience with Rapture Surf Camps. I’ve noted my favourite recommendations for light-weight and convenient brew methods that you can take with you when travelling, but I’ll report on that in my next upcoming blog....
But first…
Where? Rapture Surf Camp:
After doing some research, I came across Rapture Surf Camp, which has four surf camps around the world; Portugal, Bali, Nicaragua and their newest camp Costa Rica, which look incredible! All looked ideallic for what we were after, which was safe, private, convenient accommodation on site to work from and chill, whist being surrounded by beach to learn how to surf. But not wanting to travel too long from London, Portugal was the winner.
Arriving in Lisbon, we were picked up by Ewen, one of their Scottish drivers. It costs around 30euro for airport transfer each way, which I’d definitely recommend because within 40 minutes we were at the camp without any messing about trying to find the right mode of transport! Catching a cab to the camp could cost around 40-60euro in a local taxi.
When we arrived, we were shown around the “camp” which isn’t really what I’d traditionally envisage when I hear the word ‘camp’. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive that it would be too basic and primitive, but it’s far from that. Rapture Surf Camp houses a clean white multi-levelled traditional Portugese building with beautiful ‘hang out’ areas all over the site, overlooking vast green farmland on one side and over looking the surf beach on the other!
My friend Tara (from Paper Theory - who you should by the way, check out for all things fashion, ethical and sustainable here) and I had our own private apartment which actually had beds for seven people! So it’s perfect if you’re with a larger group of friends! It came in handy for us too, as after a tiring surf lesson, a couple of drinks and some good food, it turns out my snoring gets "horrendous"… so I woke in the middle of the night to see Tara had left our twin room to go sleep up stairs! Unfortunately it’s not ALL glamour with me… ;) It's worth noting there are cheaper hostel accommodation options on site too, but for me and my snoring it’s better off I'm contained!
Testing some new travel coffee options in my kitchen at Rapture apartment (watch for next blog)
Our apartment was clean, simple and complete with a kitchen (which for me is essential). It had two balconies so you can check out what’s happening down in the camp and also check what the surfs up to! The apartment didn’t have a kettle, but I bought my own Melitta gooseneck kettle to try, and that came in super handy every day. (See main video)
Dinners and breakfasts are served daily so you can just go down and join other guests, which is a great opportunity to meet new people and chat about how everyone is doing with their surfing. There were so many interesting people from all over the world, with varying surf abilities ranging from never surfed before to advanced. It felt really supportive and provided a super fun atmosphere.
As you all probably know, having good food, coffee and drink is one of my top priorities in life at all times, and can seriously impact my experience. The food at Rapture Surf Camp is cooked by Chef Mikey, who made such an incredible and varied spread everyday, I was so impressed. The food is definitely not cafeteria ‘camp food’. Breakfasts ranged from continental, to fried eggs (they have their own 32 free range chickens which is my ultimate dream), pancakes, apple cake, banana bread, yoghurt and fresh fruit (often grown on their own land too!). I generally made my own coffee (because you can’t take the barista outta me) but there is batch-brewed filter coffee supplied every morning and you can make your own espresso from a little home machine, which will totally get you through the day if you’re not as ‘fussy’ as me...
Meals can be catered for vegan and vegetarians (Tara is vegetarian) and dinners ranged from Risotto, vege curry with naan bread and on one of the days I saw Pumpkin soup on the menu which I thought was strange to have on a hot day, but Mikey must have had inside knowledge (or an accurate weather app) because by dinner time, we were tired and cold because the weather had turned really chilly. The pumpkin soup was EVERYTHING we needed - one on the best I’ve had. It was so silky smooth with a touch of spice. I even asked him for the recipe! On Saturday nights they have a BBQ which offers the whole camp a relaxed night where the beer fridge, foosball table and ping pong table is heavily utilised. On Sundays they taxi all guests into the town of Ericeira (about 10 minutes away) to try the local restaurants for dinner. Ericeira is a cute fishermans village, so all the seafood in the area is fresh, cheap and amazing. I was ridiculously excited by it. There's even a cute little specialty coffee shop called Casa De Tres! (*now Dear Rose Cafe)
I loved the freedom of the camp because if you're not surfing, you can choose to hang out on their big outdoor cushions, grab a bike (super cool chopper-eque with big tyres) or skateboard to explore the area, paddle board in the river, go to Ericeira or even just have a snooze in your room. They offer massage and yoga classes on the rooftop, which was incredible to do in the setting sun, looking up into the deepest blue sky you’ve ever seen.
The staff were friendly and helpful, and very keen surfers. The best thing is they all seemed like a great team working together, like a family. I come from a hospitality background so I’m always looking at team culture and service so it was great to see and be around. They’re also very diligent on guest safety, which gives you piece of mind. We all had to get permission if we wanted to take a board and surf on our own, where they’d check the tides and waves, because the surf can get a bit dodgy and as an excitable novice surfer, you need professionals to guide you appropriately.
The Surfing:
Honestly, I was freaking out before I left, that I wasn't going to get up on a surf board and that I was going to FAIL miserably and feel defeated.... but guess what? I was able to get up on my surfboard in my very first lesson! Yes. This gave me a huge sense of encouragement.
I had never surfed before, so from me to you, if I can do it, you definitely can! It's a hugely challenging sport and there are so many levels, so respect to the surfers who make is look so easy! But be warned, its HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! (Check out their website here).
Rapture Surf Camp have amazing surf instructors who are incredibly professional, and fun! They have a partnership with Ericeira’s 3 Surfers Surf School, so there are always plenty of instructors for the number of people surfing. The group ranged from 10-15 people per day, but it felt like one-on-one lessons, as it was about 5 people to one instructor and they would continuously give us individual feed back and coaching on each new wave. The best thing is I always felt safe and guided. There were a couple of days where the weather made the waves a bit choppy and tough to navigate, but they always implemented a good system to give us the best opportunity to practice our new surf skills.
Massive shout out to Drew from Rapture (who also happens to be from NZ) and Joao, the local head surf instructor who were so awesome to learn from, sometimes standing neck deep in the cold Atlantic ocean for hours, guiding us flailing seals on to each wave. Joao was strict on us (in a fun way) which I loved, because I was determined to improve each day. There are also optional surf theory lessons that you can rock up to with teachers who know the sea intimately. This gave us some good insight into surf terminology, etiquette and how to read waves better and get out of rips. All important and interesting stuff!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Rapture Surf Camps and am super fired up to do more surfing asap! Being back in the city again, it feels so great to have booked a holiday that was active and full of fun - yet still beautiful and chilled out. Surfing wasn't as hard as I expected. It's definitely challenging though, and to be really good at it will take a lot of concentrated practice. But similarly, the feeling I get when I'm rolling on a skateboard or gliding by on my bike, theres that unique sense of freedom and happiness you just can't deny even on the tiniest wave.
You don't even realise that you're exercising too, because it's so fun and you really have to be in the moment - now that's how I'd like to spend more of my days. I’m curious to try one of their other camps too, maybe next time!
If you’re a beginner or slightly more advanced or even remotely thinking about a chilled, but fun surf trip I would definitely recommend booking for summer now! You’ll have a great time, and the weather and waves will be even better come June – August!
For more details on prices and packages and to book here
Extra tip:
We caught a bus to Lisbon for a day (try to get the short-trip bus, because even though the journey is very scenic on the long-trip bus, roads are very windy!). It's definitely worth spening some time in Lisbon, as it's a gorgeous city, with so much good food and coffee, not to mention the buildings are gorgeous! So I'd suggest having 2-3 days there first, then go to Rapture Surf Camps to ride the waves!!
