The summer's best surf festivals

Best for female surfers Roxy Pro, Biarritz, Aquitaine, France, 11-17 July Atmosphere Clothing brand Roxy has made its women's "Jam" part of the World Surfing Championship tour – renamed the Pro for this year – so expect to see the world's best bikini-clad longboarders enjoying Biarritz's sophisticated beach-bar culture Spectating Watch the event from the sand, or check out the art festival featuring photography, paintings and sculpture along the theme of "California". Then grab a free surf lesson, and see live performances on Port Vieux beach by the Sounds, Pendentif, and Lilly Wood & The Prick Cost Free Fuel up The Barr Les 100 Marches (Square Jean-Baptiste Lassalle, +33 5 5924 7561, les100marches.fr ) serves coffee and beers above Côtes des Basque beach Best surf-friendly place to stay The Surf Hostel (+33 5 5922 5570, surfhostelbiarritz.com ) offers B&B with shared double or quadruple rooms for €33pp a night, including use of a surf board or body board – minimum stay of three nights and there is limited availability during the festival. You could also try the Marbella Biarritz (+33 5 5924 0406, hotel-marbella.fr ) on Port Vieux, which has doubles for €121, with a minimum stay of two nights • roxylive.com Best for action Relentless Boardmasters, Fistral beach and Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall, 10-14 August Atmosphere The UK's biggest surf, skate and music festival features a world class pro surfing event and 10 stages of live music, with more than 100 bands. This is no place for the faint of heart. Or liver Spectating Newquay's Fistral beach turns into a self-contained mega surf city, where you can watch surfing, skateboarding and BMXing, and take part in activities – all for free each day Cost Music festival tickets are £71 for the weekend (£93 with camping) Fuel up The Headland Hotel at Fistral ( headlandhotel.co.uk ) offers views of the beach and good brunch and salads Best surf-friendly place to stay The Greenhouse (49 Trenance Rd, 07877 331369, thegreenhousenewquay.co.uk ) is a friendly surf lodge only a short walk from Fistral beach, with shared rooms only £20pp – it still has availability for the nights of 10 August and 14 August. Otherwise try the Watergate Bay Touring Park (01637 860387, watergatebaytouringpark.co.uk ), which has tent pitches available over the festival dates – it costs £10pp with a minimum stay of five nights • relentlessboardmasters.com Best for beginners Fat Face Rock Up and Sea, Boscombe Beach, Bournemouth, 13 August Atmosphere One of five Fat Face Rock Up and Sea surfing events being held across the south-west this summer, combining free surf lessons during the day with an exclusive after-party. Very suitable for beginners Spectating Take part in some beach volleyball and other classic beach games, and then enjoy live music Cost Free – but must register online Fuel up If the free cocktails and fresh grilled food aren't enough, head to Urban Reef (01202 443960, urbanreef.com ) for food and views of the waves Best surf-friendly place to stay The boutique Urban Beach hotel (01202 301509, urbanbeach.co.uk ) is five minutes' walk from the beach – a double room costs £141.50 B&B, with a minimum stay of two nights • fatface.com/liveinit Best for sangria San Miguel Pro, Zarautz, Basque country, Spain, 30 August- 4 September Atmosphere This classic Spanish Basque surf town hosts what many call the best party on the entire world professional surfing tour. There are nightly live music sessions Spectating Join the locals on the 2.8km sandy beach to watch world-class surfers Cost Free Fuel up Choose from one of the many quality tapas bars near the beach Best surf-friendly place to stay Zarautz Surf Camp (+34 943 014450, zarautzsurfcamp.com ) offers cheap, clean accommodation, lessons, equipment and instructors from €155 per week • aspworldtour.com Best for back to basics Greenaway Pro, St Ives, Cornwall, 2-4 September Atmosphere A welcome antidote to the large number of increasingly corporate surf festivals, the Greenaway Pro was launched three years ago as a memorial to local surfer and lifeguard Tom Greenaway Spectating Expect competitions featuring the country's best surfers, music from the likes of so-hot-right-now Ben Howard and the Mystery Jets, and two big beachfront covered areas chock full of locally sourced food and drink Cost £12 for the Saturday night party, £5 for Friday night's acoustic event, and day events are free Fuel up The Hub bar (4 Wharf Road, hub-stives.co.uk ) serves great food Best surf-friendly place to stay Little Leaf B&B (01736 795427, littleleafguesthouse.co.uk ) has doubles from £70 – pay £95 for a slightly better room with a sea view • greenawaypro.co.uk Best for slapstick surfing heritage World Bellyboard Championships, Chapel Porth, Cornwall, 4 September Atmosphere This is a celebration of all things connected with the art of riding traditional wooden boards. With the only entry requirements being a bellyboard and swimsuit, and prizes ranging from best varnish to best cake, this plywood bonanza is open to anyone who is able to lie on their stomach Spectating The event takes place at Chapel Porth beach – watch from the sand, or grab a brew and hedgehog ice-cream from the cafe (vanilla ice-cream topped with chopped nuts) Cost Free – but must register online Fuel up The Tap House ( the-taphouse.com ) at St Agnes hosts wild parties and gigs by artists such as Newton Faulkner and Donovan Frankenreiter Best surf-friendly place to stay The Driftwood Spars (01872 552428, driftwoodspars.co.uk ) at Trevaunance Cove – double rooms start at £86 B&B • bellyboarding.co.uk Best for music and surf Groundswell Festival, Hossegor, Aquitaine, France, 17 September Atmosphere Set among the forests of Angresse, a few miles from the famous waves of Hossegor, this "surf/sound experience" is headlined by Kelis, Jason Mraz, Newton Faulkner and Felix Da Housecat. Expect to find 15,000 punters revelling in the salty Atlantic air of Europe's surf capital Spectating Take your pick from the main stage, dance arena, grassroots stage or Action Sports Expo. Off site, wiggle your toes in the sand and watch Europe's best surfers dual it out in a surf expression session Cost €48 in advance, €55 on the door Fuel up Head to Les Surfing on Estagnots beach, a classic beach bar with great food Best surf-friendly place to stay Paul's Place (+33 5 5945 6670, shiftingsandssurfcamp.com ) – set up by surfers, for surfers – offers the perfect introduction to the area's great waves. €295 for the week • groundswell-festival.com Best for watching Kelly Slater Quiksilver Pro France, Hossegor, Aquitaine, France, 4-15 October Atmosphere Kelly Slater and 32 of the world's elite surfers converge to compete for more than $1m Spectating With the sun shining and the Atlantic sparkling, join crowds of thousands for a great day at the beach. Instead of making sandcastles, watch the world's best surfers performing only metres from the shore Cost Free Fuel up Head to Hossegor's Le Napoli (755 avenue de la Grande Dune, +33 5 5843 7731) restaurant for moules-frites and surf celebrity spotting Best surf-friendly place to stay The Natural Surf Lodge in nearby Seignosse (+33 6 7416 0228, naturalsurflodge.com ) promises to help you learn and enjoy the surf safely. €215 for the weekend • quiksilver.co.uk Best for longboarding Watergate ETL Surf Comp and FlowRider For Life, Watergate Bay, Cornwall, 8-9 October Atmosphere The later date makes for potentially better waves for this stop on the European Longboard Tour. Expect great old-school surfing and grab a free lesson on the FlowRider ( retallackresort.co.uk/flow-rider.php ), Cornwall's only fake standing wave Spectating Watch the event from the Extreme Academy (01637 860543, watergatebay.co.uk/extremesports-surf.htm ) or Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant ( fifteencornwall.co.uk ) Cost Free Fuel up The Watergate Bay Beach Hut (01637 860877) does great marshmallow-topped coffees (£3.50) and spectacular scones (£4.95 with clotted cream and jam) Best surf-friendly place to stay The Hotel at Watergate (01637 860543, watergatebay.co.uk ) has double rooms for the night of 8 October from £155 • skindogsurfboards.co.uk