Family surfing holiday, Cornwall
| country: | England |
| location: | South West England, Cornwall |
| trip type: | This trip runs year round Fri-Fri (6 days surfing). Single parent & child trips run Fri-Sun (1 day surfing) & Mon-Fri (3 days surfing) |
| departures: | 2008: 18 Jul, 21 Jul, 25 Jul, 28 Jul, 1 Aug, 4 Aug, 8 Aug, 11 Aug, 15 Aug, 18 Aug, 22 Aug, 25 Aug, 29 Aug, 1 Sep, 5 Sep, 8 Sep, 12 Sep, 15 Sep, 19 Sep, 22 Sep, 26 Sep, 29 Sep, 3 Oct, 6 Oct, 10 Oct, 13 Oct, 17 Oct, 20 Oct, 24 Oct, 27 Oct |
| price: | From £1950 (8 days) excluding flights for a family of 4. Includes B&B accommodation, arrival/departure transfers, surfing guiding/instruction from BSA instructors (max 1:10), equipment, towels & BSA certification. See single parent & child trips below |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Cornwall has been the home of British surfing since the 1960s. With its world class Atlantic coastline and waves of all sizes year round, combined with striking sunsets and long, sandy beaches with nothing but the sound of the blue sea breaking on the shore, Cornwall has fantastic beaches and surf for learning and progressing.
We welcome families where all or just some come to surf.
On our family surfing holidays we offer high quality, safe accommodation which is packed with character and style. Uniquely, we have registered childminders on the team who work days and evenings with children from 3 months old and all of our instructors and childminders are screened by the Criminal Records Bureau.
The pricing structure depends upon the number of family members surfing and the amount of childcare required. The minimum age for children to surf is 7 years [but it really depends on their size and capabilities] and they must be confidently able to swim 25 metres or more. There is no upper age limit for the silver surfers!
Optional extras: Complementary Surf Workshop (covering boards, board care, tides, rips (currents), weather, surf report analysis plus more), in-house massage and beauty treatments (additional cost), in-house yoga for surfers (additional cost), DVD of your holiday (£100)
Single parent families: Our unique Parent & Child Surf Trip programme includes surfing tuition, water safety and beach games including a few beach based problem solving activities. The emphasis is on fun and support rather than achievement and winning.
From £455 - £695 (3-5 days) ex flights for 1 adult & 1 child. Includes bed & breakfast accommodation, surfing & instruction (as above) and 2 (or 4) 2-course dinners at child friendly restaurants.
A typical day
Begin with a leisurely, self-service breakfast where you can feast on croissants, toast and organic muesli with lashings of juice and Fairtrade tea and coffee.
At approximately 10am you will be picked up and taken to the beach by your dedicated surf instructor who will have already checked which beach has the best conditions. Onboard he or she will have your boards and suits (although guests are more than welcome to bring their own equipment should they wish). At the beach we will provide safe storage for your property, and then you'll then receive 2 hours coaching before a quick break and 1 further hour of coaching. We will then get changed and take lunch at a nearby cafe. Travelling and from the beaches takes you through the varied landscapes of Cornwall from the rugged, rural beauty of Zennor to the dramatic cliff drops around Sennen and Lands End.
Accommodation
Our accommodation is nestled 5 minutes above the picture postcard fishing harbour of Mousehole, which has retained its quaint nature whilst providing an excellent clean, safe harbour area where children just love to explore and spend hours playing in the crystal clear water. Mousehole is in easy reach of West Cornwall's premier surfing beaches -15 minutes transfer time to Sennen, 20 minutes to Gwithian/Godrevy, 20 minutes to Praa Sands, 45 minutes to Newquay (Fistral and Watergate Bay).
The accommodation, which has stunning sea views, is a contemporary barn conversion and both spacious and stylishly furnished. The property has been tailored specifically to the requirements of surfers including a board storage area, a rinsing area and a dry room for suits. There is also a work bench and ding (repair) kits available. The cuisine is local and organic where feasible - breakfast is served at the house, surf-side lunches are usually at the beach and you can walk to most of the restaurants and sample some of the best which the South West has to offer. The restaurants which we partner with are child friendly but also adult friendly thus ensuring everybody has great menu choice and surroundings. Alternatively, if you wish to self cater please mention this when you contact us and we will be more than happy to accommodate your requirements.
We can also provide cots and stair gates in the family houses but for safety and insurance reasons child seats must be fixed by a family member into our vehicles if you wish us to transfer children and parents together.
Other activities: There are a host of activities in the area suitable for children including go-karting, crazy golf, body boarding, sea fishing, and eco dolphin-watching boat trips. We can also organise wine tasting and excursions to sites of interest such as The Eden Project, St Michael's Mount, Geevor Tin Mine, St Ives (including a visit to Tate St Ives), and Lands End. Penzance and St. Ives offer many metropolitan type bars, surf style bars, traditional down to earth pubs and nightclubs. Or how about lunch at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in Newquay?
We welcome families where all or just some come to surf.
On our family surfing holidays we offer high quality, safe accommodation which is packed with character and style. Uniquely, we have registered childminders on the team who work days and evenings with children from 3 months old and all of our instructors and childminders are screened by the Criminal Records Bureau.
The pricing structure depends upon the number of family members surfing and the amount of childcare required. The minimum age for children to surf is 7 years [but it really depends on their size and capabilities] and they must be confidently able to swim 25 metres or more. There is no upper age limit for the silver surfers!
Optional extras: Complementary Surf Workshop (covering boards, board care, tides, rips (currents), weather, surf report analysis plus more), in-house massage and beauty treatments (additional cost), in-house yoga for surfers (additional cost), DVD of your holiday (£100)
Single parent families: Our unique Parent & Child Surf Trip programme includes surfing tuition, water safety and beach games including a few beach based problem solving activities. The emphasis is on fun and support rather than achievement and winning.
From £455 - £695 (3-5 days) ex flights for 1 adult & 1 child. Includes bed & breakfast accommodation, surfing & instruction (as above) and 2 (or 4) 2-course dinners at child friendly restaurants.
A typical day
Begin with a leisurely, self-service breakfast where you can feast on croissants, toast and organic muesli with lashings of juice and Fairtrade tea and coffee.
At approximately 10am you will be picked up and taken to the beach by your dedicated surf instructor who will have already checked which beach has the best conditions. Onboard he or she will have your boards and suits (although guests are more than welcome to bring their own equipment should they wish). At the beach we will provide safe storage for your property, and then you'll then receive 2 hours coaching before a quick break and 1 further hour of coaching. We will then get changed and take lunch at a nearby cafe. Travelling and from the beaches takes you through the varied landscapes of Cornwall from the rugged, rural beauty of Zennor to the dramatic cliff drops around Sennen and Lands End. Accommodation
Our accommodation is nestled 5 minutes above the picture postcard fishing harbour of Mousehole, which has retained its quaint nature whilst providing an excellent clean, safe harbour area where children just love to explore and spend hours playing in the crystal clear water. Mousehole is in easy reach of West Cornwall's premier surfing beaches -15 minutes transfer time to Sennen, 20 minutes to Gwithian/Godrevy, 20 minutes to Praa Sands, 45 minutes to Newquay (Fistral and Watergate Bay).
The accommodation, which has stunning sea views, is a contemporary barn conversion and both spacious and stylishly furnished. The property has been tailored specifically to the requirements of surfers including a board storage area, a rinsing area and a dry room for suits. There is also a work bench and ding (repair) kits available. The cuisine is local and organic where feasible - breakfast is served at the house, surf-side lunches are usually at the beach and you can walk to most of the restaurants and sample some of the best which the South West has to offer. The restaurants which we partner with are child friendly but also adult friendly thus ensuring everybody has great menu choice and surroundings. Alternatively, if you wish to self cater please mention this when you contact us and we will be more than happy to accommodate your requirements.
We can also provide cots and stair gates in the family houses but for safety and insurance reasons child seats must be fixed by a family member into our vehicles if you wish us to transfer children and parents together.
Other activities: There are a host of activities in the area suitable for children including go-karting, crazy golf, body boarding, sea fishing, and eco dolphin-watching boat trips. We can also organise wine tasting and excursions to sites of interest such as The Eden Project, St Michael's Mount, Geevor Tin Mine, St Ives (including a visit to Tate St Ives), and Lands End. Penzance and St. Ives offer many metropolitan type bars, surf style bars, traditional down to earth pubs and nightclubs. Or how about lunch at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in Newquay?
how this holiday makes a difference
 Our mission is to provide unique, accessible and sustainable surfing without compromising on luxury or the environment. Further to this we employed Cornwall Sustainable Tourism’s benchmarking system by trying to make all we do match their tenets of sustainability: Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability. In April 2006 we became (we think the first) Carbon Neutral Surf School, Surf Vacations Company and Surf Shop in the world. We achieved this by carbon offsetting with a company called C02 Balance. In our office we use recycled paper and envelopes all from sustainable sources, as well as eco friendly cleaning products and Fair trade tea and coffee. Our desk tidys, inbox shelving and folders are all made from recycled material, our self adhesive labels are solvent free, we even have a stapleless stapler and most of our bags are recycled or recyclable. Our electricity is provided by Ecotricity, we encourage an ambient temperature of 17 degrees or below, low energy bulbs are used where possible and we encourage the turning off of all lights and electrical items when not in use. We have installed combination boilers which reduce the need to heat and store water. In the accommodation for guests we promote recycling and provide eco friendly cleaning products, recycled goods, Fair trade and locally sourced and organic food where feasible. We maximise on numbers in terms of our own transport and strongly encourage travel to and from Cornwall by train; more than 50 % of our clients reach us this way. Our staff is all locally recruited and are chosen for their professional attitude and accessible manner. We also care about our local environment, those who work and live here and in our policies we advise groups that we do not tolerate any loud or offensive behaviour. We try and shop as much as possible locally, and recommend locally produced food, local shops, pubs and restaurants e.g. The Trevelyan Farmshop & The Coach and Horses Pub (in Rosdugeon). We realised that working as an island was not going to help achieve true sustainability so we partnered and reached out: |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |