The Surf Experience

A surf school and camp in Lagos since 1992. It offers stays of three days to a week with accommodation in town, lessons, daily transfers to the beaches, board and wetsuit.

Who they are

The Surf Experience has taught surfing in the Algarve since 1992, with the slogan of "getting people wet" ever since. The company behind it is Surfalgarve Lda. The website does not give the founders' names. Its base is in Lagos, on the south coast of the Algarve, and from here it takes its students every day to the beaches that work best depending on the wind and sea. The website shows the logos of the Federação Portuguesa de Surf, the Algarve surf schools association (AESCV) and Turismo de Portugal. However, it does not publish a registration number or give details of the instructors' qualifications.

What it offers

The main format is the surf stay: accommodation, lessons and transport in a single price. There are several lines:

• Surf School and Surf Camp, for anyone starting out or wanting to improve.
• Surf Guiding, for surfers with some level who want someone to take them to the waves of the day.
• Premium Surf Coaching for longboard and shortboard.
• Special weeks: surf safaris, longboard weeks, training with the professional Beau and New Year surf.
• Yoga weeks, with a free one every month.

Lessons are two a day, of two hours each, and on Thursdays there is video analysis. The groups are sometimes split to find better conditions for each level. The website does not publish how many students go with each instructor. The usual beaches are Batata, about 5 minutes away, and Meia Praia, about 10, although the school moves around the whole area depending on the day.

What is included and where you sleep

Every quote includes accommodation, the board and wetsuit, all lessons, all transport to the beaches, breakfast and a vegetarian lunch on the beach. You sleep in the centre of Lagos, at the school's Surf House, in private rooms with a bathroom, in the Rosaria loft or in a traditional guesthouse. They also offer alternative hotels. The transfer from Faro airport is not included: with the school it takes 45 to 60 minutes, and by train about two hours. The school encourages solo travellers to come, because stays are done in groups.

Bookings, payment and cancellation

You ask for a quote on the website, and your place is not confirmed until you pay a deposit, the amount of which is not published. The rest is paid on arrival and in cash, because they do not accept cards. The cancellation terms are these:

• With three weeks or less notice the deposit is lost.
• With seven days or less the full amount is payable.
• The retained deposit can be used for another booking within a year.

If the waves or weather do not allow safe entry to the water, the session is shortened or cancelled without a refund. The company says it has accident and public liability insurance during its supervised sessions, and recommends good travel insurance. The website sets no minimum age. The website is in six languages, Spanish included, but does not say which languages the instructors speak.