| 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 |
Orange County starts at Seal Beach and goes as far as San Clemente. This stretch of coast has plenty of beach break surf and a couple of other gems. Like L.A. and San Diego counties, Orange County has plenty of surf shops and great shapers, motels, hotels, restaurants, cafes, so that finding what you need will not be a problem. PCH is still the road to be on while searching for waves. Water temps range from 55 to 78 so trunks and spring suits in the summer time, fullsuits in the fall and spring, and fullsuits and booties in the winter.
Seal Beach usually breaks close to shore on the south side of the pier which is where body boards will congregate. The north side is better for surfing and breaks further out. Seal Beach is only somewhere to go when everywhere else is too scary to surf. South of Seal Beach is Sunset Beach and usually there’s not much worth paddling out for here, but south of Sunset Beach is Surf City USA- Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach is basically beach breaks with different character. Bolsa Chica is more of a long board spot or a place to go when the rest of Huntington is too big. The dog friendly beach of Huntington Cliffs is a fun beach break that breaks a little mellower than spots closer to the pier. The North Side and South Side of the pier get fun and can be more hollow than the rest of Huntington except of course the State Park near Magnolia.
South of Huntington Beach is the Santa Ana Rivermouth and the Newport River Jetties. As one might expect of a rivermouth break in Southern California, it’s polluted, but it gets really good. This stretch of beach can produce some fast barrels. Keep going south and eventually you get to the Wedge, a prime body surfing spot, but also a place where some surfers will use to help them prepare for a trip to Pipeline. South of here is Corona Del Mar with Big and Little Corona. Huge south swells can break decently here.
Further to the south is El Moro which occasionally will try to imitate Pipe. Then there are the breaks in Laguna. Laguna does not get much surf, but sometimes the reefs south of Main Beach can get really good. Brooks Street is probably the best of these. The next city is Dana Point which has Salt Creek and Strands. Creek has a few different waves: Gravels, which is a barrel, the Point which is a mellowish left, Heroines, which is more like Monarch Beach than Dana Point but is where some of the Creek locals will go when it’s huge there, and Rights Off Point. Then there is Strands which should only be surfed on high tide because of all the rocks. A very polluted and popular beginner’s wave is Doheny, which is located south of the Dana Point Harbor. There isn’t usually much to surf in Capo Beach, but Poachie in San Clemente has an outer reef which sometimes breaks. Poachie is very polluted. Next is a series of beach breaks starting with North Beach, 204, the outer reef at Mariposa, the Pier, a pseudo reef called T-Street, a closeout beach break called The Hole, Lost Winds, Riviera, State Park, and finally Cottons Point. Trestles is in San Diego County, but the only town near it besides the Marine Base, Camp Pendleton, is San Clemente.