Surf Lessons at A Rapadoira Beach in Foz and Coto in Barreiros

If you want to learn to surf for a few days in Ribadeo, a school with a website and published prices is Gamus Surf, from Maremasma, which gives lessons on two beaches to the west: Coto, in Barreiros, and A Rapadoira, in Foz. A two-hour lesson costs €35 with board and wetsuit, and is for over-7s who can swim.

What the lesson is like

There are two levels. The beginner lesson is almost all practice: on the sand you learn the parts of the board, paddling and how to stand up, and the rest of the time you are in the water with the instructor until you catch your first wave. The improvement level, for those who already stand up, works on types of waves, currents and manoeuvres, and adds video analysis. Each day the school chooses the beach with the waves best suited to each level.

Four people are needed to form a group; if you don't reach that, you are put together with other students. It includes public liability and accident insurance.

Prices and booking

One two-hour lesson, €35; two, €65; three, €90; five, €130; ten, €230. Passes can't be combined across successive purchases. There are summer courses by days or weeks and a year-round school. Book on the Maremasma website or on 613 092 462; before the activity they ask you to sign an authorisation form.

If it's not a wave day

The same company runs guided kayak routes on the Ría de Foz, a special protection area for birds: two hours, 3.5 km and €35, with no previous experience needed and with marine biologists. On the Ría de Ribadeo we haven't found an active kayak school with its own website. Closer to the town, Turismo de Ribadeo points to Os Castros as its best surfing beach, on the stretch of coast between Rinlo and As Catedrais.

To sleep near the western beaches, Mi Norte, in A Devesa, lies between Ribadeo and As Catedrais.