REPORT: San Sebastian Surf Camp Actually In Real House

Surf » Stokepedia

Reports have come out of San Sebastian, in Spain’s Basque Country, claiming that Stoke Travel’s Surf Camp there isn’t in tents, but in a real-life house with really real beds.

The revelations will come as a shock to anybody who has visited a surf camp in Europe and has come to expect stays in tents with air mattresses or, heaven forbid, yoga mats to sleep on.

Camp manager Sparkles broke the news. “Yeah, well actually this is the second year that the San Sebastian Surf Camp has been in a house, so it’s not really news,” he told our reporter who was in utter disbelief that they could sleep in a real bed after a day of learning how to surf, or improving on skills they already have. “We found a beautiful old converted farmhouse in the village of Aia, which is up in the hills behind San Sebastian and near the Zarautz surf beach, which is the best in the area for all surfers, from beginners to advanced.

“The house is huge! We’ve got rooms where people can sleep in dorm-style beds, a couple of bathrooms, yeah real ones, not campsite bathrooms, a huge area where we eat and party, a kitchen that’s always busy with our chefs preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner – obviously included, and there’s a bar that has unlimited, flowing beer, sangria and local apple cider.

“Outside there’s a fire pit, skateboard ramp and the whole property looks out over the rolling Basque hills down to the Atlantic Ocean and where we surf every day. The sunsets are particularly spectacular. And behind us there is a mountain that’s actually a part of the Pagoeta Nature Park, so from our house you can follow trails up into the mountain and explore the amazing wilderness around here. It’s not uncommon for us to go up there and hike and meditate and come across wild horses, or sheep herders going about their business.”

Sparkles says that while they love being next to San Sebastian, the house’s location in Aia is ideal. “San Sebastian is great! Best food in the world and it’s awesome for a party when we need one, but this isn’t a party-party surf camp. We like being able to go and enjoy the city and its nightlife when we feel like it, but to be able to retreat to this spot is amazing. The village is super picturesque, with some traditional Basque bars surrounding a little plaza with an ancient church on it.

“We often walk into the village – it’s literally a couple of minutes – to do our daily guided yoga, also included, on a viewing platform they’ve set up overlooking the impossibly green hills and the Bay of Biscay below. People really make the most of their time here, surfing in the morning, doing yoga afterwards and chilling out, having a siesta, and then sometimes surfing again, or having a couple of drinks with new friends from all over the world and then when the day’s done falling asleep on a real bed in a real house. It really is a surfer’s paradise here.”

At the time of publication surfers all over the world were scrambling to book with the San Sebastian Surf Camp, drawn by the absolute bloody niceness of the place.

Book with the San Sebastian Surf Camp for this summer’s season of shredding and sunbathing. It’s just too wonderful to not.