Surfing Phuket, ”Surfing in the land of smiles,” Thailand

This place is definitely a land full of smiles especially when you find some beautiful waves that fall into a majestic backdrop.I hope you find the information below useful.

Thailand has two oceans, China Sea and The Andaman Sea.

Gulf of Thailand ( South China Sea ) Season November to April

Very little is known about surfing in the China Sea,but don’t underestimate this sea. It can have some fun waves at times. Storms and strong winds blow up swells in this sea and the best way to keep track on it is local weather and the Internet, www.gwanna.com have a great wave watch for the Andaman and China sea.

The Gulf of Thailand islands also have some waves at times with the most popular being Koh Samui.This island has beachbreaks and also a coral reef that is only surfable at high tide.

If you wish to surf in this sea it highly recommended that you take your own surfboard as rentals are hard to find except on Kho Samui.

Andaman Sea ,Season May to October

The west coast of Thailand has the most consistent surf and breaks right through the wet season. As the monsoon starts to blow wind swells are created that make fun little waves on the open beaches,but the best stuff to be had is generated in the Indian Ocean. Active storms in the southern Indian ocean push strong swells in a northerly direction traveling until they reach an exposed coastline. Thailand’s west coast is partly blocked by Indonesia so swells have to wrap around North Sumatra. The swells that reach Thailand will generally be about half the size by the time they reach the beach and reefs. This place has many reefs and beach breaks. Mostly the waves are onshore, but at times can be clean and offshore. The whole west coast has waves in the monsoon so for the adventurous an adventure can definitely be had.

More on Surfing in Thailand is coming soon.

Marty Ware

Jamie Smith Cutback 3rd place PhuketSurfing Competition 2005-2006 photo Marty Ware