Many surfing enthusiasts will tell you that there is no best time of the year to surf; all year is fine enough, and you just have to find the right spot! In South America specifically, though, wave conditions are better and the weather is nicer at certain points throughout the year. Therefore, you will want to make sure to visit at the best time to get the most out of your vacation.

On the Atlantic side of South America, including countries like Brazil, the best time of year to surf is from April to October. During that span of time, the surf is more consistent. The waves also tend to be larger and higher quality. Because of this, summer is probably the best and easiest time to head down to South America for a surfing vacation. The weather hovers around 80 degrees and you are more likely to find tourist amenities and more English speakers. If you are looking for a stellar destination, Florianopolis, Brazil, has an intriguing culture, beautiful landscape, and excellent surfing and world-class lodging.

As far as the Pacific side of the continent, you are going to want to visit from March to May, which is the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of fall. During the other seasons, you will find that the swells are either enormous and daunting or small and inconsistent. If you absolutely must go another time of the year, springtime, from September to November, can be a good time, but you may find that your luck is tested more than your surfing ability. Otherwise, if you visit somewhere between March and May, you will discover ideal weather, warm water temperatures, no interference from local school-goers, and, most of all, consistent swells with big waves. The weather tends to hover around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on where you go. Rainfall is infrequent in March but much more frequent in May, so plan to visit earlier in the southern hemisphere fall.

No matter when you visit South America, you will experience rich culture, gorgeous landscapes, and friendly people. As far as surfing goes, though, you will want to do your research in order to discover when is best for you. Do not worry about stressing over the details too much; it is a vacation, after all.

One of the important things you should consider before planning a surfing vacation is, of course, whether or not your destination has the kind of waves that you desire. If you are a beginner you may not want to be riding fifteen foot waves off the coast of Australia, for example. That is why surf maps and surf reports exist; they allow you to plan ahead for your surfing adventure by gauging the best spots and describing for you what to expect.

Surf reports exist on the Internet as standalone images, usually with color coding to denote the sizes of the waves, much like a weather forecast uses color to show different weather conditions. They include forecasts for near shore wave activity that go several days into the future so that you know exactly what to expect. One such website is wetsand.com, which offers free detailed surf reports based on the region that you select. Offering a detailed map, surf forecasts, tide charts, wind forecasts, and weather conditions for the area, you can often glean all that you need to know just from this service. You can also sign up to get surf reports by email so that you can keep an eye on a certain location for an extended period of time.

Sometimes, though, that is not enough detail for the traveler who wants to know everything about their destination. If that is the case, surfmaps.com provides detailed surf maps for many regions all over the world. These surf maps contain descriptions of the conditions that you will face as well full-color maps of the surf spots in the area. They are about $4.00 per region and can be immediately downloaded upon purchase. Besides the useful surf map, the detailed writing about the spot tends to be very helpful, containing those “insider secrets” that the natives of the area usually keep to themselves.

There are plenty of other databases online from which you can get tons of information about tides, weather, and choice surf spots. The best way to find these is to use a major search engine. Planning your trip beforehand, as well as knowing what to expect when you get there, is very important and it enhances the whole experience.