Learning to surf: beach, waves & basics – tips for beginners

Learn to surf – experience blue water, white whitecaps and picturesque sandy beaches on a surfboard?
A wonderful idea for your next vacation on the North Sea, in Portugal or France with a rooftop tent.
Here you’ll find tips on how to get to your surfing destination faster and enjoy water sports.
You can learn more about the basics on the board, the right equipment and top destinations.

Surfing & camping: how do they go together?

Surfing puts you right on the water and offers an intense experience of nature.
If you like trying new things and are looking for exciting experiences, surfing can be a thrilling addition to your camping adventure.
The ocean and surfing can be calming and stress-relieving, just like camping.
With a rooftop tent, you are mobile and can easily explore different surf spots.
You can spontaneously drive to new stretches of coastline and try out the waves in different places.
Surfing is a fun way to stay fit and enjoy the water at the same time.
Surfing is a fantastic full-body sport.
Paddling exercises your arms, shoulders and back muscles, while standing on the board works your leg muscles.
Despite being a tough sport, surfing is often characterized by a close-knit community of surfers.
Visiting surf spots gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people, exchange ideas with them and make new friends.

For these reasons, you should combine surfing with camping:

  • Surfing is an exciting addition to a camping adventure
  • Surfing & the ocean have a calming & stress-relieving effect
  • Rooftop tent makes you mobile: possibility to drive to different surf spots
  • Surfing is a full-body sport that combines fitness and fun
  • Opportunity: meet like-minded people & make friends

Tips for getting started: equipment, technique & course

To get over the waves safely as a beginner, it makes sense to take a surf course.
More experienced local surfers will also be able to give you some initial tips.
This will help you learn faster.
Despite all the support, it can take several weeks or even months before you are confident on the board.
The key here is not to give up and to keep trying.
You should then make rapid progress and discover this exciting sport for yourself.
A flat, wide sandy beach with long, broken waves with foam is ideal for your first attempts at surfing.
These are also known as white water waves.
They are important for surfing and are especially recommended for beginners.
Beginners should surf at low tide, as the shallow water produces gentler waves.
For more safety, you should also avoid areas with lots of rocks and reefs, as this can lead to nasty injuries.
It’s also always a good idea to find out about the wildlife in advance so that you can avoid jellyfish and sea snakes, for example.

  • Attend a surf course
  • Ask experienced surfers for tips
  • Learning to surf usually takes several weeks or months
  • Recommended: shallow, wide sandy beach with long white-water waves
  • Low tide is better for beginners (gentler waves)
  • Avoid rocky areas & reefs
  • Watch out for animals (jellyfish, sea snakes)

The first wave: preparation, paddling & getting up

Before you get on the board, it is a good idea to warm up by stretching and going for a run.
This way, your muscles and joints are already in motion and you can avoid some injuries.
Beforehand, you should also be aware that rest is often crucial.
It is always helpful to remain confident on the surfboard and not to let fear throw you off course.
You should practise the techniques and, above all, standing up on the surfboard in advance.
This can be done on the beach on solid ground or in shallow water outside the waves.
In particular, you should practise paddling, the correct position on the board and standing up, also known as the take-off.

  • Before: Warm-up & stretching
  • Stay confident, fear can quickly lead to falling
  • Paddling, practicing the correct position on the board & take-off

Here we go: Paddle the waves

To paddle, you should lie flat on the board, keep your feet closed and your body tense.
With your fingers closed, you can then make powerful strokes parallel to the board.
Your hands should be immersed deep in the water, as this displaces the most water and allows you to make the best progress.
It’s best to paddle into a wave just before it breaks.
This means just before the foam forms and the piled-up water rushes down.

  • Paddle: Tense body, keep fingers together & crawl parallel to the outer edge of the board
  • Paddle the wave just before it breaks (just before foam forms & water rushes down)

First waves, shoulder view & standing up

If you feel confident enough to tackle your first wave, then you should have practiced the take-off.
To do this, bring the tip of your board to the beach at a 45° angle.
The wave should therefore lie diagonally behind you.
You can check this by looking over your shoulder.
If you are positioned correctly, start paddling.
When the wave starts to break underneath you, you can slowly stand up.
Push yourself up from the board with your hands in front of your chest, put your back foot up and pull the other foot through to the front.

  • Standing up/take-off: push your upper body upwards, first place one leg on the back of the board & pull the other leg through to the front
  • Note the breaking of the waves
  • Paddle the wave just before it breaks

Fairness: Beginner waves & other surfers

In the beginning, you should avoid high waves and limit yourself to smaller ones.
Also pay attention to other water sports enthusiasts.
For example, you should never be directly behind another surfer, as you could collide.
Also, only very few surfers should head for a wave at the same time.
On the wave, you should keep the board just behind the breaking point.
You should then use it continuously from start to finish to avoid crashing.
Here’s everything you need to know about the first wave at a glance:

  • Don’t push ahead of others
  • Not too big waves
  • Overcome the edge of the wave and stay just behind it
  • Riding the wave consistently, from start to finish

Traps: How to avoid injuries!

Falls are inevitable, especially during the first few attempts.
When falling, make sure you jump off the board flat and sideways.
Once you are in the water, it is best to protect your head with your arms to avoid unpleasant injuries.
It is also particularly important that you have the connecting rope to the board, also known as the leash, properly attached to your back foot to prevent the board from drifting around uncontrollably.

  • Falling: jump off flat, sideways behind the board & protect your head with your arms
  • Leash: Always keep the connecting line to the surfboard on the back foot

After the wave: currents & running out on the beach

After the wave, you should pay attention to the return flow of the water.
Once a wave has washed up on the beach, the water also returns.
You can often recognize these return currents by the fact that no waves break there and the water is very choppy.
Please note, however, that not every current is immediately recognizable with the naked eye and it is best to ask about them at the local surf school or other surfers.

  • Note the return flow of water from the beach (no waves breaking there & turbulent water)

After surfing, it’s worth running out and stretching again.
This often makes you fitter the next day.

  • After surfing: Run out & stretch

Equipment: surfboard, wetsuit & sunscreen

For beginners, a larger and padded board is recommended at first.
This has more surface area on the water, so it floats more stably and the padding can prevent injuries during the first few falls.
A wetsuit is also a good idea.
It keeps you warm in colder weather and can also protect you from sunburn after hours on the water in warmer weather.
You’ll also need surf shoes, gloves and possibly a hood to protect you from minor injuries and the sun, as well as the cold.
Despite all the neoprene protection, you should always remember sun cream so that you don’t have to deal with painful sunburn at the campsite in the evening.
Summarized here once again:

  • Initially larger & padded board
  • Wetsuit
  • Surf shoes, gloves & hood if necessary
  • Sun cream

Learning with video: Tips & dangers

This video will give you tips on your first steps on the board.
It’s also about paddling and standing up, but you can watch it directly here.
Possible dangers, such as stones in the water, are also explained again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQI7cmRQ0w

Top 5 travel destinations: Portugal, France & Co.

A certain swell is necessary for surfing.
Surfing is particularly fun at these five locations.

More activities & experiences for your vacation

Here you can find more activities on wheels and other activities for your vacation.

Water sports on vacation: canoeing, surfing, water skiing & co.

Whether on a canoe, motorboat, surfboard or water ski, water sports are a popular pastime on vacation.
A trip on or into the water is particularly popular when camping.
Whether it’s fishing, canoeing, swimming, sailing, surfing, diving, scuba diving, water skiing or wakeboarding, you’ll find lots of tips for beginners here.

Vacation activities: Water sports, winter sports & co.

Are you planning a vacation but still looking for activities for you, your family, your partner or just for yourself outside the campsite?
Here you’ll find lots of great ideas for experiences that will enrich your vacation.
With lots of tips for beginners!
So you can start from the very beginning and get your bearings.

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Offroad
Raised and extra stable for road and off-road… What do you do if you are traveling in regions with poor roads or drive an off-road vehicle or SUV whose dome height does not fit conventional trailers? The solution: the off-road tent trailer from CAMPWERK – specially developed for extreme conditions. This unique model impresses with a raised and particularly robust AL-KO chassis that can withstand even the most demanding off-road routes. The entire body is made of lightweight but sturdy aluminum, reinforced with durable stainless steel components. So you are perfectly equipped for any terrain.
Black / Silver
Available now: The CAMPWERK Offroader in the exclusive Black/Silver Edition CAMPWERK is expanding its range and now also offers the popular off-road tent trailer in the coveted Black/Silver Edition. The high-quality aluminium body is completely anodized in matt black, while the mudguards are powder-coated in elegant “Gun Silver Metal”. An absolute eye-catcher on any road and in any terrain!
The off-road trailer from CAMPWERK impresses with its lightweight construction: Thanks to the aluminum body, the base only weighs around 300 kg when empty. With a permissible total weight of 1.5 tons, it offers an impressive payload capacity of up to 1.2 tons – ideal for small excursions, transport and even larger expeditions.

Visually, the trailer blends in perfectly with the appearance of an off-road vehicle or SUV with its coarse-tread MT tires and robust, full-length aluminium mudguards. The mudguards are also designed in such a way that they are ideal for the safe transportation of petrol and water canisters or gas bottles.

To ensure flexibility, the off-roader’s tyres can be individually adapted to the towing vehicle on request, so that only one set of spare wheels is required. The standard ball head coupling can also be optionally replaced with a DIN or NATO eye.
T-drawbar or V-fork ?
Thousands of trailer drivers know the problem of tight spaces only too well: if you drive into a narrow lane and have to turn, it is important to back your car as far as possible against the trailer in order to get around the bend without any problems. With a T-drawbar, you can utilize the maximum steering angle. This is precisely why we at CAMPWERK rely on this tried-and-tested technology – for optimum flexibility and maneuverability, no matter how tight things get.
T-drawbar
V-fork
T-drawbar
V-fork
Chassis
  • Extra strong square T-drawbar 100x100mm for maximum stability and best maneuverability
  • Axle up to 1,500 kg with maintenance-free hexagonal rubber spring axle
  • Optionally with watertight wheel hub
  • 2 crossbars
  • The chassis is exclusively from the renowned manufacturer AL-KO, market leader in the car trailer and caravan sector
  • Safety indicator on the clutch
  • Independent suspension
Aluminum body
  • Our aluminium trailers are equipped with anodized aluminium profiles
  • double-walled anodized aluminium side panels 30mm, 440mm high
  • Large emergency lighting with integrated rear fog light
  • Equipped with balanced tires as standard
  • Base plate stable screen-printed base, non-slip
  • Complete M8 stainless steel screw connection (V2A stainless steel)
  • Electrical system: Supply cable (wiring harness) standard with 13-pin plug
  • Tailgate latches very elaborate, made entirely of stainless steel
Wheels
  • Black powder-coated steel rim
  • 235/85 R16 tires optionally adaptable to towing vehicle
  • Mud Terrain tire tread
  • Special wheel connection for your towing vehicle on request
Terrain values
  • 350 mm ground clearance
  • 570 mm wading depth
  • 27° slope angle
Equipped for every situation thanks to the versatile accessories...

Raised dropside

20L canister

Towbar adapter for bike carrier with coupling connection

2-4 bike racks

Anti-drag clutch

Onroad

The perfect solution for your camping adventure:
Road trailer with tent
Imagine a first-class equipped road trailer that is ideal for camping trips in Germany and the surrounding countries.
This trailer comes with a sturdy holding device for a matching tent that can be set up in no time at all.
The result is your mobile home – ready for unforgettable tours!

Your decisive advantage: you are ideally equipped for your vacation in a particularly cost-effective way. And when you’re not on the road, you can use the trailer as a conventional utility trailer. We offer you the road trailer in two versions, depending on your needs: An unbraked version with a permissible total weight of 750 kg and the braked version recommended by us with a permissible total weight of 1,300 kg.
10-year guarantee
Our trailer base was not created in the laboratory – it was made for the real world. The robust construction is optimized for tough conditions. Oversized axles and virtually indestructible aluminum frames ensure exceptional durability. We are the only supplier in Germany to give you a 10-year guarantee on this unique quality!
T-drawbar or V-fork ?
Thousands of trailer drivers know the problem of tight spaces only too well: if you drive into a narrow lane and have to turn, it is important to back your car as far as possible against the trailer in order to get around the bend without any problems. With a T-drawbar, you can utilize the maximum steering angle. This is precisely why we at CAMPWERK rely on this tried-and-tested technology – for optimum flexibility and maneuverability, no matter how tight things get.
T-drawbar
V-fork
T-drawbar
V-fork
Chassis
  • 2 crossbars
  • Maintenance-free rubber spring axles
  • Independent suspension
  • The chassis is exclusively from the renowned manufacturer AL-KO, market leader in the car trailer and caravan sector
  • Safety indicator on the clutch
Aluminum structure
  • Our aluminium trailers are equipped with anodized aluminium profiles
  • double-walled anodized aluminium side panels 30mm, 440mm high
  • Large emergency lighting with integrated rear fog light
  • Equipped with balanced tires as standard
  • Base plate stable screen-printed base, non-slip
  • Complete M8 stainless steel screw connection (V2A stainless steel)
  • Electrical system: Supply cable (wiring harness) standard with 13-pin plug
  • Tailgate latches very elaborate, made entirely of stainless steel
Equipped for every situation thanks to the versatile accessories...

Raised dropside

20L canister

Towbar adapter for bike carrier with coupling connection

2-4 bike racks

Anti-drag clutch

Material and processing.
The tent fabric of our trailer tents is made from a high-quality, 450 g blended fabric, also known as canvas. This unique combination of cotton and polyester combines the advantages of a natural fiber with those of a modern high-tech material. The result is a robust, breathable fabric that impresses with its pleasant feel and high dimensional stability.

The tent fabric, which is also used by the military, is impregnated and particularly tear-resistant thanks to the ripstop process. In this special weaving technique, thicker threads are woven into the fabric at intervals of around 10-15 millimetres, giving the fabric its characteristic tiled structure and exceptional tear resistance. It goes without saying that our fabrics are opaque and therefore offer optimum protection and privacy.
The basis of our trailer tents is a robust stainless steel frame with a thickness of 3×3 cm. A 1.8 cm thick, water-resistant wooden floor panel is securely fastened to this sturdy frame with stainless steel screws. The frame of the trailer tents is also made of galvanized steel tubing and special stainless steel components that ensure maximum stability. The modern surface finish not only offers a high level of corrosion protection, but also gives the material a pleasant feel and ensures a durable, weatherproof construction.
We rely exclusively on yarn from the German market leader Amann. Thanks to the combination of a cotton core and a high-tenacity polyester core, this yarn is characterized by a particularly high tensile strength and excellent water resistance.

On contact with water, the cotton coating swells and closes the seam holes created during sewing. For additional protection, all seams in the roof area are fitted with a transparent sealing strip to ensure maximum waterproofness.
Less is sometimes more.
We are often asked: What about the water column? For tent fabrics, the impermeability of the fabric is specified in the form of the water column. For cotton tents, this value is usually around 300 to 400 mm. However, our tent fabric offers an exceptionally high water column for cotton fabric of around 750 mm. This means that theoretically more than 75 cm of water can stand on the material before the first drops penetrate.

A major advantage of cotton as a natural raw material is its ability to swell when it gets damp, which provides additional waterproofing. In contrast, synthetic fabrics, which cannot swell, must have a much higher water column (between 3,000 and 10,000 mm, depending on the material) in order to achieve comparable waterproofness.
Good night.
The comfort sleep set consists of a high-quality visco foam mattress that adapts perfectly to the individual body shape, ensuring a restful night’s sleep. The set is complemented by the innovative Froli bed spring system, which guarantees an exceptional sleeping experience. Perfect sleeping comfort in a well thought-out overall package.
Premium mattress.
An excellent mattress is the basis for healthy and restful sleep. Just as every person is unique, their mattress should also be individually tailored to them.
Our premium mattress adapts perfectly to the contours of the body and promotes orthopaedically correct positioning of the spine. Thanks to targeted pressure relief, back muscles and intervertebral discs can relax optimally. The innovative construction and high-quality materials create an ideal sleeping environment.
There are no compromises at CAMPWERK: We rely on flexible visco foam with memory function. The unique combination of supportive foam core and relieving visco foam topper ensures maximum sleeping comfort.
  • Visco-elastic mattress.
  • High-quality Tencel® cover (38 % Tencel®, 62 % polyester).
  • Four practical turning loops.
  • Four-sided zipper.
  • Removable, divisible and washable.
  • Four practical turning loops.
Suspension.
Good ventilation is crucial for your well-being and sleep hygiene. To ensure maximum sleeping comfort, we combine our mattress with an innovative Froli slat base. The flexible spring elements form a comfortable slat base with individually adjustable firmness zones. This combination ensures orthopaedically correct positioning of the body and provides targeted, pressure-relieving support. This effectively prevents tension and one-sided strain. The open, air-permeable cells also enable optimum ventilation and create a healthy sleeping environment.
Are you allergic or do you have special health requirements? No problem! We cooperate with a renowned German mattress manufacturer to offer customized solutions. Simply contact us and together we will find the ideal mattress for your needs.