Mundaka Barra Surf

Mundaka Barra Surf is a surf school in Mundaka, the village on the Urdaibai estuary next to the Barra, which the school presents as one of the best waves in the Basque Country. It has its premises on Plaza Santa Kataliña, in the heart of the old town, and works with beginners of all ages and with surfers who already catch waves and want to improve.

Who runs it

It is run by Gaizka San Justo, a Mundaka surfer who started surfing at 7. According to the website, he has been an instructor for more than ten years and technical director of his own school for five, which he opened to fulfil a lifelong dream. He is a level 1 and 2 surf coach of the Basque Surf Federation (EHSF) and a water lifeguard. The team is completed by four instructors, who have surfed since childhood, with level 1 coach qualifications from the Basque federation or the ISA, and several of them are also lifeguards.

What it teaches and where

It gives beginner lessons for children from age 6 and for adults with no age limit, lessons for groups of six or more people (companies, schools, families or friends) and performance coaching for intermediate and advanced surfers, with video follow-up and correction.

The beach depends on the level. Beginners go to Laida, on the other side of the estuary; the advanced level, to the Txorro area, in Mundaka; and the high level, to the Barra itself. The lesson starts at the school, where you collect the equipment and change in the changing rooms. From there you walk with the instructor to Laidatxu beach for theory and warm-up, cross the estuary and each group goes to the area that suits it. At the end you return to the school to change.

Times, groups and equipment

As the tide rules in the estuary, times change: there are two lessons a day, which one week are in the morning and the next in the afternoon. It is worth asking by WhatsApp for the schedule for your week before fixing your trip. Lessons last two hours and are given in groups of about five students with one instructor. For the first lesson they ask you to arrive half an hour early to change.

The school provides the board and wetsuit, which are washed and dried for each student, and insurance is included. You only need to bring a towel, flip-flops and a swimsuit. There are multi-day passes and eight-lesson passes. The website does not publish the exact season or the cancellation or bad weather policy, so ask when booking.

Booking, languages and getting there

Beginner lessons are booked online; group lessons and performance coaching, by email ([email protected]) or by phone and WhatsApp on 688 772 622, always in advance. The website is in Spanish and English, but does not say in which languages the lessons are given.

The school recommends arriving by public transport: Euskotren and Bizkaibus run every half hour on weekdays and every hour at weekends and on public holidays. In summer parking in Mundaka is difficult, because the blue zone is for residents and the white zone has few spaces. Before or after the lesson you can stroll around Mundaka or spend the day at Laida beach.