South Africa 10 Week Surf Instructor Course | Cape Town to Durban

To pass the Surf Instructor course, you need the essential surf skills and fitness levels to gain the qualification. You must complete a timed swim of 200m completed in less than 5 minutes to prove your water fitness is strong enough.

For your surfing, you must be able to paddle out back and duck dive when needed, pop-up consistently on green waves and perform basic manoeuvres, turning both left and right.

We will work on all of this through the course.

For most countries South African immigration will issue you with a holiday visa on arrival. This visa is free of charge and valid for 90 days. If you will be staying longer than 90 days you will need to apply for your visa extension early on in your trip. The 90 day holiday visas are only issued on the grounds that you have proof of return/onward travel out of South Africa. Please do double check with your embassy before departing for South Africa and check out the latest Foreign Travel Advice by going to gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Of course! The vast majority of people on any of our trips come alone, as it is a great way to meet people and make lasting friendships.

Yes, we have several great contacts for surf coaching in various parts of the world, and past Riders have left a good reputation as amped and capable coaches.

Generally speaking, people tend to struggle with the timed swim in the lifeguard course and the practical surfing element of the surf coaching course. The lifeguard course requires a timed 9 minute swim in a 400m pool and this is more than achievable, as your coaches are there to guide you throughout the trip to ensure you pass.

Similarly, we believe that everyone has the ability to pass the practical surfing element of the instructor course as long as they keep focused and practice throughout the trip. Our current pass rate is approximately 90 per cent and if you don’t pass first time around, you can always retake it down the line.

The surfboard hire is included for the first couple of weeks (i.e. Cape Town). Towards the end of these two week the group goes to Lifestyle Surf Shop and purchase boards (please budget £200-£300 for this). By this point your coaches have seen you surf and can help with the choosing process, to ensure you’re on the best board for you.

Surfboards are much cheaper in South Africa, so worth buying out there with the team. If you don’t want the board at the end of the trip, you can probably sell it for around the same price you bought it as it’s worth more at home. However, most people get quite attached 🙂

You will get more opportunities to learn about surfboard shaping and order custom surfboards along the trip.

Wetsuits are included in Cape Town as well, but we recommend bringing your own (3/2 mil will be best). Wetsuits are cheaper at home (so the opposite to boards). If you need one then we suggest looking on surfdome.com. Having your own is far nicer than using a rental as well.

You can be a total beginner on arrival in Cape Town. Of course you will have to pass the course, but our success rate is extremely high.

To pass the Surf Instructor course, you need the essential surf skills and fitness levels to gain the qualification. You must complete a timed swim of 200m completed in less than 5 minutes to prove your water fitness is strong enough.

For your surfing, you must be able to paddle out back and duck dive when needed, pop-up consistently on green waves and perform basic manoeuvres, turning both left and right.

We will work on all of this through the course.

This also varies from trip to trip, as we have quite a few people who are on their gap years, as well as various people in their twenties and up to their early 30’s, who are looking to improve their surfing and travel around South Africa.

Before you leave for South Africa please go and see your local GP, to get the appropriate vaccinations. It is important to do this in good time and we would suggest sorting this at least four weeks before you leave. For more information, please check out the following websites Fit for Travel – fitfortravel.nhs.co.uk and The World Health Organisation – who.int. If travelling to Mozambique you will need malaria medication.

Yes you can! Whether it be a twin, double, or double en-suite just contact us for a quote.