| Country | Currency | Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Pesos | Organized crime, Banditos, Driving at Night |
| U. S. | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Costa Rica | Colones | Theft, use caution at night, driving hazards. |
| Barbados | Barbadian Dollars |
Safe, but getting more dangerous. |
| Dominican Republic |
Dominican Pesos |
Caution at night. Driving hazards. |
| Puerto Rico | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Place | Wetsuit | Wave Size |
|---|---|---|
| Baja | Full, Booties, Trunks | waist high to giant |
| California | Spring, Full, Booties |
waist high to giant |
| Florida | Trunks, Spring, Full |
waist high to overhead |
| Costa Rica | Trunks | waist high to double overhead |
| Barbados | Trunks, Top | waist high to double overhead |
| Dominican Republic |
Trunks, Top | waist high to triple overhead |
| Puerto Rico | Trunks | waist high to giant |
L.A. County is a great location for surfers who like to be near or in an urban environment. There is good surf and plenty of art, culture, and night life a person could want. The L.A. County coastline starts at county line and goes through Long Beach. The water ranges between 55 and 74 degrees, occasionally getting warmer or colder so everything from trunks to a fullsuit and booties is good to have depending upon the season. There are plenty of surf shops, places to eat, and stay so it’s possible to hop on a plane and arrive in L.A. with no equipment and get everything you need within a couple of hours depending on traffic, which is usually bad. You can use every board except for probably a big wave gun.
The L.A. County coastline can be broken into a few different areas: Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice, the South Bay, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, and Long Beach. The best waves are probably located on the Palos Verdes peninsula, but that area’s locals have a very bad reputation. Also Point Dume has some good spots if you know someone to let you into the neighborhood. Of course Surfrider Beach in Malibu is the most famous and therefore the most crowded surf spot in Los Angeles County, but Malibu has some other good waves to ride.
Surf spots in North L.A. County include Staircase, Leo Carrillo, the breaks of Point Dume, Latigo, Malibu, and Topanga. Going south are mainly beach breaks with a few tweaks including jetties, piers, an underwater sewer pipe, a deep-water canyon, reefs, and some trolley cars. Drive along PCH or sometimes closer to the coast and you'll find some surf. The South Bay has ShitPipe, El Porto, the Redondo Breakwater, and more. South of Redondo Beach is the Palos Verdes peninsula which has points, reefs, and angry locals. Then there is San Pedro and nothing much from Long Beach south until the O.C.