Surf trip with boards

Summer is coming and we are all thinking about that surfing trip in search of the best waves. Taking a surf trip without our boards is not the same, we always end up missing them.

With this post we want to help you organize your surf trip without giving up your equipment.

To make it easy for you to organize your surf trip we will give you some tips on how to pack your boards,  the costs that the airlines charge us for flying with surf equipment and what to do when we pick up the boards at destination.

PACK OUR SURFBOARDS FOR THE TRIP

The first thing we have to do with our surfing equipment is to clean it. Take off the used wax that surely won’t come in handy, this is done so that you don’t have any problems when you take your board out of the bag at destination as it can suffer temperature changes and melt the old paraffin inside your bag.

The next thing to do is to remove the fins from the board, never check your board with the fins on. They will not arrive at their destination in one piece.

Once the board is clean and the fins have been removed, all that is left is to wrap the board in bubble wrap to protect it. If you can’t find this plastic, get several cardboard boxes and wrap your board with it. The most important thing is that you cover the edges of the board well, as these are usually the parts that suffer the most from knocks.

The companies assure us that they treat the material as very fragile luggage but it can always fall out.

Once the board is correctly packed, put it in the bag and don’t forget to put a sticker with your details on it in case it gets lost. If you don’t have a sticker at home, remember to take a luggage label when you arrive at the airport, fill it in and hang it from the handle of your bag.

AIRLINE PRICES FOR TRAVELLING WITH SURFBOARDS

A few years ago the airlines started charging us for surfboards as sports equipment, charging us extra money for flying with them. Some charge us excessive prices and others for a modest fee we can transport them to our surfing paradise.

We must take into account that sometimes the rental of surfing equipment at the destination can be more expensive than flying with our own quiver. It can also happen that the equipment we can find at the destination is not of sufficient quality to surf the waves we are looking for.

Here we leave you with the airlines that we normally use in Spain:

• Ryanair; if you book from the web you will be charged 50 euros per way, if you wait to do it at the airport you will be charged 60 euros.
• Vueling; this company will charge you 90€ round trip
• Iberia; has lowered the price and charges a single fee of 45 euros on short and medium distance trips. For long trips it is FREE.
• Binter; this company does not charge for the transport of surfboards as long as it does not exceed 5 kg.
• Air Europa: at the moment it is the most expensive company, it will charge us 150 euros per journey.

Normally long haul flights operated by foreign companies do not charge for the transport of the surfboard

PICK UP THE SURFBOARDS AT DESTINATION

When picking up your surfboard from the special luggage conveyor, do not leave the luggage room without first checking the condition of your surfboard. If you leave this room and outside the airport you will notice that the board has suffered some damage, the airline will not take charge of it.

So before leaving the airport, open the bag and check your board. If there is any damage, go to the “Claims” counter to fill in the necessary documentation to inform the airline about the damage to your surfboard during your trip so that they can be paid.

If they have arrived safely, all you have to do is enjoy your surfing trip.

We hope that we have helped you to decide and organize your surfing trip.