Learning to Surf in Mexico

Do you remember the gush of emotions, the first time you rode an unbroken wave? The excitement, the fear, and the adrenaline rush that left you yearning for more?

Your first waves were probably a feeling like no other you had experienced... But this blog comes with a warning! Your intermediate Wild Mex surf camp will challenge you and test you in ways you probably never have been tested in the water! Meaning even more adrenaline, excitement, and a bundle of improvement coming your way!!

If you’ve become adept at paddling, popping up, and riding cleanly across the open face of a wave, you are fit for the intermediate Surf Lessons in La Lancha where the waves are consistent all year round for perfecting your surfing technique and ability.

Read on to see what we’ve got in store for you…

As an intermediate surfer, you’ve ‘tasted’ the salty and surreal feeling of taking a ride through mother nature at her finest. So, no wonder you’re hooked and want to advance to the next level with the WildMex Surf Lessons in La Lancha , Sayulita, and Punta Mita!

At the Wild Mex surf camp, every day is filled with something new. You will be polishing your existing skills and satiating your thirst for improvement as the itinerary builds your abilities day by day.

You’ll also have the option of 10 other surf breaks in the area to surf at, because 365 days of the year 24/7, there is always a wave to surf at one of our local breaks!

Here are the topics you’ll be onboarding to fine-tune your intermediate skills:

Topic 1 - Surfing conditions

The first topic within your intermediate surf camp in Punta Mita and Sayulita with Wild Mex will help you get to grips with reading surf conditions.

Your journey from an intermediate surfer to an advanced one means that you’ll learn how to read when the waves are surf-ready! This also includes:

•         Understanding optimum surf conditions 
•         Learning how to read swell charts
•         Knowledge about the different types of surf breaks
•         Learning how the wind conditions affect waves

With this, you’ll know the best time to surf Punta Mita, Sayulita, and all other breaks in our area and beyond after onboarding this crucial intermediate step!

Topic 2 - When to use which board

Learning to surf in Mexico is probably one of the best gifts you can give yourself as an adventurer and a surfing enthusiast.

With a wide range of surfboards available for rent at Wild Mex (over 300 in fact), you can perfect your techniques with shortboards, longboards, fish boards, or funboards!

Your personal surf guide will also help you master your board choice based on the surf conditions and the surf break you’re going for.

Topic 3 - Binary wave selection

If you’ve taken beginner surf lessons in La Lancha, Sayulita or anywhere else in the world, you may already know what binary wave selection is. If you’re a self-taught maestro, maybe not! - Binary wave selection is all about reading and selecting the waves as they come to you.

In surfing, wave selection is an art, and it usually draws the line between beginners and intermediate surfers.

Your intermediate Surf Camp in Punta Mita and Sayulita will help you learn binary wave selection, which in turn, will have several impacts on your surf session… The first and most obvious one is that you’ll learn how to ride superior and longer waves - simply by choosing the right ones. Learning binary wave selection will also require you less physical effort to paddle and catch the wave of your choice! Win-win, right? 

Topic 4 - Positioning on the wave 

If you’ve had exposure to a lot of surf in the past, positioning may sound like an easy topic. Buuut in actual fact, all intermediate-advanced surfers know that positioning can always be improved, after all, nothing happens far out on that flat shoulder!

When learning to surf in Mexico with us, we’ll teach you how to position yourself to stay close to the pocket, how to position yourself to get ready for a trick, and how to position yourself to try ripping steeper shoulders! 

We told you didn’t we, it’s all about position baby! 

Topic 5 - Generating speed

As you progress and get more comfortable with different parts of the wave, this is where you’ll begin to draw the line from being called an intermediate surfer to an adept one! A beginner or intermediate surfer goes with the flow of the ocean which is why the waves guide them across. Whilst more adept ones learn how to stay close to the pocket, the steepest and most powerful part of the wave to get the best out of every wave on offer! 

As a pre-master surfer, you will learn how to control the reins of your surfboard’s speed. You’ll be shown how to throw your arms forward, decompressing and compressing up and down the face of the wave, all whilst moving to specific parts of the wave with the proper technique by shifting your weight over the surfboard at specific moments on the wave to create your own acceleration. 

Learn this and just wait to watch surfing become more and more exciting!

Topic 6 - Bottom turn & Top turn

This is the skill that even expert surfers still need improvement on. Even during the best time to surf Punta Mita, the bottom turn and top turn takes years of experience to maneuver, but with us, you’ll learn the basics! 

You’ll learn how to use your head as your steering wheel. (Where you look is where you’ll go!) Both the top and bottom turn is initiated with your head, then your shoulders, arms, and hips to follow. 

If it sounds complicated now, don’t sweat it! You’ll get the fundamentals of this concept in the sixth topic of your intermediate surf camp in Punta Mita and Sayulita with Wild Mex, and with practice, you’ll be good to go! 

Topic 7 - Cutback

Be prepared to also onboard the basics of the cutback! 

Haven’t heard of it before? Well, the cutback is when a surfer changes direction with a turn using their rails to go back towards the breaking part of the wave.

This is a vital maneuver as it’ll position you back to the “power source” - the steepest and most enjoyable part of the wave! 

Topic 8 - Identifying your weak spots

Sometimes muscles will get fatigued and you'll feel it, especially in your weak areas! BUT, many times the surf will be more demanding on your mind…

Your instructor at your Surf Camp in Punta Mita and Sayulita will help you identify and work on your weak spots, physical and mental! 

Helping you transform your weaknesses from what is holding you back to the things that motivate you to perfect your surfing skills!

Summing Up the itinerary of your Intermediate Surf Lessons in La Lancha

When you’re learning to surf in Mexico with us, there are only two things you need: the passion to perfect your surf skills and the dedication to master the waves we have in store for you! 

Only after you’ve mastered these maneuvers can you work on progressing from the intermediate to the advanced level. 

But until then, get ready to experience all those feel-good chemicals - endorphins/the stoke you’ll experience during and after your surf sessions with us! 

P.S The release of endorphins is also linked to a state of euphoria! Something our surf coaches know all a little too well. We are pumped to share these secrets with YOU! 😉 

Till then, best of luck preparing for the camp - we can’t wait to welcome you!

Peace & love,

Wild Mex