World's Most 'Localised' Surf Destinations...

Hey guys! In my years of surf travel, I've found some places to be friendlier than others when it comes to surfing and localism. While it's not fair to categorise an entire country as "localised" or hostile, in my experience, these destinations are some of the most localised. (Please don't let this video put you off visiting some of these places; at most spots, you'll be fine). Let me know of any experiences you've had!!

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[DanHarmon]

Let me know your craziest localism stories!! I'm super overwhelmed with the response to this video; thank you so much for all your comments and stories; I've loved reading them! Please understand if I can't get back to all of you).

[Silversonicultra-mzpw]

I’ve been surfing for over 30 years all over the world. My experience is that roughly half of surfers are really cool and the other half are complete assholes.

[coltynwyoung]

I’ve been living in Japan and the locals are SO nice. Inside of the water and out. It makes it an enjoyable experience when everyone humbles their ego…

[roguebossa]

As a longtime Hawaii surfer, I learned to ALWAYS watch the waves carefully for awhile before paddling out to observe rips, set intervals and such. It's the same with the crowd; observe, take the temperature and don't rush in. Feel the mood of the lineup and earn your turn.

[mistercarlberg]

I have a technique I recommend. 1) grin at everyone like youre mental. 2) paddle up to every local and tell them how great they are. 3) thank everyone whenever you catch a wave. And tell them how grateful you are for their kindness. 4) start conversations with people even when they flatout ignore you and pretend youre not there, and tell them how much youre enjoying the people and the vibe....

After a while od this they start to either THINK youre insane and let you just keep going so you dont kill, putrify and eat them. Or they get seduced by your kindness and realize that being kind back actually feels good. Next thing you know the local charger is yelling at you, "Go! Go! Go!" (So you do)

Trust me. It works.

[gnomechonky]

One of the most welcoming vibes I ever got was at a fickle, semi-secret spot on the North Shore of Maui in the 90s. Clean bowling lefts, 4-6' Hawaiian, maybe 10-12 people out, even as a haole with minimal suntan and no friends there people were smiling, telling me "go, brah!" when a set came in. It was great.

[surfernomad]

I used to live in Morocco in the 90's and the localism was horrendous, the irony was though it was the French surfers who were the worst, not the Moroccans. I had a good friend who was born in Casablanca and we travelled and surfed together a lot, one day we went to Saffi ( essffi) which is now a surf camp and well known back in the early 90's it was French only and virtually unknown, we surfed it empty. My fried a local had his tires slashed for taking me their. I actually speak French and Arabic ( more Arabic than many of the local French guys) and I still got grief from the French even after 5 years. The lunacy of localism enforced by non native surfers never ceased to amaze me.

[austinlamond]

Morocco is awesome if you are with a surf guide or group - the locals respect you as you surf with guys they’ve known their whole lives. They don’t like guys travelling in vans and cars who don’t pay for accomodation because they aren’t giving much to the community. That’s what I found speaking to some locals, but I got some all time waves down there, love that place

[HarveyBentley]

Great video man. Would love to see the most friendly places in your opinion.

[DPFUTURE]

when i first went to sw france i paddled out at a kind of unknown hidden spot, tiny waves, some teenager pointed for me to go back to hossegor, i said i'd just driven 2000 miles and laughed. but i did get out and it did freak me out a bit.
Then a few days later i was across the border in the spanish basque and was really wary cos of being told to get out in france. Then twice what happened once at very friendly sized roca puta, was the locals could see i was holding back and waved me over to the spot so i could catch some waves. Couldn't believe it, it warmed my heart

[surftrumpsadesigns]

Reunion has had its fair share of problems from the real locals 🦈

[wellscampbell]

The southern Mexico scene is interesting--they kept a lid on things for many years but then Rip Curl came with the Search contest (2011?) and suddenly it was on the map. The locals banded together and created a system where you needed a local guide to surf some of the breaks there. You could get a "waiver" and go without a guide by, for example, donating an old laptop to a local school, or fulfill an equivalent community need. The guides would coordinate and arrange it so that none of the breaks were overrun and the visiting surfers were spread out well. They would also regulate the lineups in what appeared to be a fair and reasonable manner. You had to be behaving quite poorly to be asked to leave, but it would happen. I've done a bunch of traveling and would normally be opposed to having a guide, however many of the breaks are remote and would be very hard to find without prior knowledge, and it was very well run--the vibe in the lineup was always chill, the usual tension between individual surfers was largely absent, because everyone knew where they stood and the guides all knew each other. Not sure if it's still working, but I was impressed. I got tons of waves that trip too.

[frothymilksmiles]

I live in Santa Cruz CA where every local at every break just waxes your board for you and lets you paddle right out to the bowl every time with no hassle! Ha ha...

[JamesWray]

I was in Morocco for 2 weeks last month and had no problems. We had a car and were off the beaten track, but we gave the local groms lifts from the beach to village every day, gave them some gear, locals were telling us the best tides for each spot etc. Sometimes they asked for some wax, occasional surf instructor a bit greedy in the water but other than that was cool. Also found when it was bigger but say a bit choppy, then pretty empty. Ideal for us from Scotland where seldom super clean anyway. But I think you need to be prepared to get away from organised groups or surfcamps if you wanna avoid the crowds there. The only aggression was driving in Agadir at rush hour, that's way scarier than anything in the water 😅

[jackmcfarlane]

If you need an example of localism in Australia there's literally a break in south Sydney named "Ours"

[davida]

You have a nice chill demeaner Dan, I live in Portugal and haven't experienced too much localism but I've mainly been surfing around Lisbon / Erriceira .

[donzioldbuddy]

Luanda Bay, CA was very localized when I would surf there in the early 80’s…Locals would rain down rocks from the 100’ bluff on surfers walking to the break and then vandalize their cars…classy group

[docrock]

I've surfed every spot he mentions here and never had a problem. Actually every time I paddle out anywhere, everyone goes straight to the beach and either starts filming me or they borrow some paper and start taking notes. It's awesome to be me.

[MH_]

I started surfing in the 80’ and began the surf travel thing in the 90’ to most of the spots you talk about in your videos. The world was a completely different place and surfing for the most part was still considered a fringe sport in most places. Never had any problems with localism even in Hawaii. The way we were raised in surfing and watched over by the older local crew at home was that of respect your elders and to play by the unwritten rules. It’s not that hard. Fast forward to today and I won’t go surfing if there’s too many people. And I’m still as fit as a fiddle. Most of the name breaks are overrun and a lot of people paddle out with a sense of entitlement. A lot of the new surfers haven’t grown up with surfing and will never get it. They aren’t happy to wait in line. Some waves you will have to wait 3 hours for a wave and that’s just the way it is, even if you are local. People expect to paddle out and take what they please. Need to change the mindset to appreciation that you get to go surfing rather than expecting. Appreciate the video.

[mattyb]

Friendliest surf destination for me was Dakar Senegal 🇸🇳 The locals have a pure stoke for surfing and genuinely interested in learning from traveling surfers. It’s called the “smiling coast” and similar to Peniche its on a peninsula so somewhere is always offshore! Super clear water as well