Best surf experience I had. Ivo is a great instructor. Lots of helpful advise. Patient. Small groups. VERY different and in every way better than the big surf schools that you find everywhere.
Christoph Muschaweck
Club Vagabond surf school is open all year round, throughout the seasons. We offer surf lessons for every level from beginner to advanced, kids and adults, a holiday experience or intensive training and guiding. We also provide board and gear rental, and accomodation in our associated surf camp. Our surf school is accredited by the Portuguese Surf Federation. All the surf coaches are highly experienced with knowledge of local beaches and conditions.
Each surf lesson lasts aproximately 2 hours in Malhão or Furnas Beach.
All options are suitable for either beginner, intermediate or advance level.
It includes:
Curious about surfing? Need some new tips?
Do you want to see some progress in a short time?
Are you interested in a surf course?
Are you committed to learning and improving, staying a bit longer, and would prefer an economical and flexible lesson package?
Instead of being in a small group, you prefer a bespoke lesson tailored especially for you, for a one-to-one learning experience with your surf teacher.
Are you with your partner or friend, and want an exclusive session just for the two of you?
Best option for those who are living in the local area and wish to have regular surf lessons along the year.
The surf lessons are always customized, private or in very small groups according to a person’s level, experience and requirements. We use high quality surf equipment and have one coach for a maximum of four people. One lesson lasts about two hours, and includes the use of a board, wetsuit, insurance and transportation if necessary. The lessons take place at the beaches of Malhão or Furnas. We speak English, Portuguese, German and Spanish.
There are different stages of difficulty in surf. It doesn´t matter what level you are, there is always a new challenge. Therefore it is important to fairly evaluate your level in order to set the right goals and manage your expectations. We have developed a set of levels, goals and steps, providing a method for teachers and students to work together on their surf sessions. The most important thing is to learn safely and have fun.
Goal:
Take-off in white water (foam) and keep balance.
Steps:
Introduction to surf gear and safety rules;
Introduction to the waves and limit of the surf area;
Take-off demonstration (standing up on the board) in the sand;
Take-off and managing balance in the white water.
Goal:
Consolidate take-off in white water with paddling.
Steps:
Review safety rules;
Perfecting the take-off (more precision and speed);
Perfecting technique to manage balance;
Introduction of the paddling technique (timing and co-ordination).
Goal:
take-off in a ´green wave´ (before it breaks).
Steps:
Introduction to the outside/ green wave;
Additional safety rules (currents, ripcurrents, wipe out);
Sittting on board and turning;
Wave reading, paddling and timing;
Take-off technique in vertical drop;
Goal:
take-off in a green wave and turn
Steps:
Review safety rules;
Perfecting take-off in vertical drop (more precision and speed)
Line-up positioning;
Turning introduction (bottom-turn and riding along the wave);
interpretation of ocean conditions.
Goal: strengthening the drop and bottom-turn, and introducing the duck dive.
Steps:
Introduction to surf ettiquete (rules, priority and safety)
Duck dive technique;
Perfecting bottom-turn and cutback
Improving ocean analysis and learning how to read and interpret the tide and wind;
Approaching waves in beach break and point break.
Best surf experience I had. Ivo is a great instructor. Lots of helpful advise. Patient. Small groups. VERY different and in every way better than the big surf schools that you find everywhere.
Best surf school with the best teacher you could wish for! Very small familiar group, really focusing on what you do to improve, no big classes - high quality of learning instead and superfriendly natural team! Highly highly recommended! 🙂 Thank you Ivo for this wonderful week! We had such a great time learning how to surf with you! Hope to see you very soon again 🙂
Ivo is a great teacher, it was a really good experience! he let you know where you can work on and he is really patient and nice in explaining everything about surfing. Thanks!
We have just had 5 days of family surfing with Ivo and the crew. Fantastic from start to finish. Lots of laughter and in some cases water swallowed. Lots of progress was made due to the quality of teaching (and of course some skill 🙂 for some members of the family) The equipment provided was good quality and up to the task in hand. Thank you for making our surf trip special and we wish you every success in the future.
We spent 8 days here and we definitely learned a lot. We went from surfing in white water to feeling confident enough to try surfing green waves. If you're looking for an honest, experienced and super friendly surf teacher who only works in small groups and has the time to focus on every student, then this is the place to go. Highly recommended!
Vagabond is probably the best school out there if you want to learn how to surf. And I do not only mean catching waves, but the whole experience, from surfing technique to reading and understanding the sea. With groups of three people to one teacher, there is always someone there to give you feedback and improve your skills in no time.
Thanks to Ivo´s analysis and encouragement I have at last gone past surfing the white waves and I´m now improving catching the unbroken waves, which is totally exhilarating.
Whether you´re looking for a surf school to start from the scratch or improve your surfing, Vagabond is definitely the place to go.
From my first surfing lesson with Ivo a year ago until now - I am absolutely in love with surfing. The entire Vagabond Team are professionals and they look after you, help you and teach you - all with a smile:) As one of only a few licensed schools in the area I highly recommend them to all my friends..
A superb surf learning experience with Vagabond, highly recommended. The groups are small so you receive the help and guidance you need, feel safe in the waves and have the courage to develop. Ivo is highly competent and very in tune with my needs and those of my companions. He was always so generous with his time, energy and knowledge, as well as speaking many languages.
The co-working space is also a special, unique place with a comfortable and inspiring ambience - filled with books, plants, and the light of the sun filtering through the dunes.
Vagabond is that kind of unusual and uplifting find you hope to discover, but rarely have the good fortune to.
