| 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 |
Southern California has a plethora of surf spots and tons of talented surfers. It is the center of the surf world on the mainland U.S., even the city known as Surf City is located in Southern California. There are five different counties with beachfront real estate in Southern California: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties all line the coast and have a lot of surf spots.
Overall, the water in Southern California is not too cold and a surfer can get away with a spring suit during the summer months, a full suit in the spring and fall, and sometimes a full suit and booties in the winter. A good 3/2 will suffice, but creatures of comfort and older surfers may want a 4/3.
The hazards in Southern California a surfer may face are primarily other surfers and their surfboards, accidents while en route to the beach, and other common land base-urban issues. In some cities parking may be difficult, in which case… meter maids can be a hazard. Most locals aren’t that bad, but there are some spots where a visitor might not want to paddle out. There have been some shark sightings and even a shark attack, but there isn’t much of a shark threat. Hypothermia is a possibility if a surfer paddles out without the right wetsuit.
Boards that could be ridden include longboards, short boards, fish, a step-up for when there is some decent swell. The rare chance that a massive swell could hit may warrant a bigger board for Blacks, the Tijuana Sloughs, La Jolla Cove, the Redondo Breakwater, or El Morro. Either way there are tons of surf shops with affordable used boards often in decent condition, and the online classifieds have plenty of boards for sale too.
There are plenty of places to stay, from hotels to motels, campgrounds to hostels, finding a place to stay shouldn’t be difficult. Just drive down Pacific Coast Highway and sooner or later you’ll find a reasonably priced place to stay or a very expensive place to stay.
Restaurants are abundant, many of which have cheap eats. PCH is the road to travel on to find hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc. Then if you want to surf you can usually head west on a side street and end up at a spot, near a spot, or on a windy side road that passes many spots. Just be careful in some parts of L.A. and Long Beach at night, and some parts of Oxnard too.