Surfin' Basque Country

While surfing was discovered as an exclusively recreational sport by Polynesians in the 12th century, the hobby has since been adopted here and the Basque Country has become world famous for its surf. There are over 200km of that make the Basque Country an idyllic and popular surf paradise worth visiting.

April 18, 2023 by EMT

Biarritz is credited as the birthplace where surfing in Europe began. In September 1956, American filmmaker Dick Zanuk and Peter Viertel came to town to shoot the movie “The Sun Also Rises,” and brought with them a surfboard from California to try out the Basque waves. Neither was an experienced surfer, and when Viertel took the unwaxed board out to sea, it quickly broke against the rocks. Viertel’s board was repaired by local handyman, George Hennebutte, and the two became friends.

Soon after, copies of the board were made. Each replica weighed 25 kilos of balsa wood, and inspired a growing surf community in Biarritz and the establishment of the first surf club, Waikiki Surf Club, in 1959. The club was formed by a group of six well-known surfers and friends, including Viertel and Hennebutte. Hennebutte not only repaired Viertel’s board but also helped Viertel improve his surf technique immensely!

By the 1960s, the sport had taken deep root; Biarritz held regular surf competitions and surf culture quickly became an important factor in the identity of the French coast.

While surfing became a way of life on the Aquitane Coast, nearby Spain had long been embracing bellyboarding. Donostierra Marcelo Linaszoro was a well-known carpenter and manufacturer of txamperos, wooden bellyboards, that were being ridden from the 1950s and into the 1970s, until being replaced by surfboards. The beloved bellyboard began to disappear from Spain’s Northern beaches as surfboards increased in popularity. Origins of how the surfboard gained prominence on Spain’s Basque coast are shared by a few regional pioneers and shaped by the political landscape at the time.

Inspired by a surfboard he saw on the cover of LIFE magazine, Donostierra Iñaki Arteche built his first board with his brother and together they were the first surfers to ride the waves at La Concha in 1964.

In 1967 the Euromar Club was founded in Zarautz, forming the first surf club in the Spanish Basque Country. While this established a community of surfers, the group was relatively small in number.

By the 1970s, Patxi Oliden created Itxas Tresna out of his taller, or workshop, in Orio, which gave way to the first brand of commercial boards that made the sport accessible.

Around the same time, Spain’s Northern beaches began to see a rise of surf “tribes.” These were small groups of young surfers formed in protest to the oppressive dictatorship ruling Spain at the time. These counterculture groups were motivated by freedom and tolerance; life by the sea and surf was the peaceful alternative they craved in contrast to the regimented politics of the time.

Pukas, for example, leads the surf culture with their high-performance boards and bikinis, but the business actually began with a handful of friends who settled in a commune in Cantabria during the ‘70s. It was during this inspirational period that the founders created the spirit of the brand and built its origins by offering accommodation to traveling surfers in exchange for knowledge on how to improve the surfboards. Pukas is a family-owned business and a darling of the Basque surf scene, but it is ultimately a lifestyle where freedom, friends and beach life are one.

Over time, these surfing communities grew to shape Spain’s Basque Coast into the surf destination it is today.

Surfing Euskal Herria

The Basque Country is safe for travelers, promotes peace in addition to personal wellbeing and a connectedness to nature. It is ideal for a surfing holiday that combines waves, culture and history. Whether you’re looking to initiate your first time on a board or have reached surf-turity and hope to finetune your technique, we’ve put together a shortlist of the best surf spots for you to discover with links to recommended surf school + rentals.

Beginners

🇪🇸

🇫🇷

Bidart Centre

Advanced