Quick Tips for Traveling Surfers

Sunscreen? Check! Wax? Check! Surfboard? Check! Packing for your epic surf trip is only half the battle! The other half? Dealing with the airlines and luggage! I asked our expert travelers for helpful hints on traveling with your boards!

1. When packing, you want your boards extra padded so use clothing, wetsuits, and towels around your board in your board bag to ensure no breakage.
2. Pack your wax, sunscreen, solarez, and other accessories in your travel bag. You can’t carry it on based on regulations. Make sure to put it separate baggies just in case there’s a leak!
3. Check with your airline on bag limits, boards per bag and bag fees- if you’re planning on using a certain travel bag, it may prohibit that.
4. Buddy up with your board bags. They don’t usually charge you for how heavy your bag is- just a flat fee- so you will save money in the end.
5. Prepay for your luggage before you get to the airport- you may pay less money.
6. One of South Coast’s owners, Steve, stresses this last tip: Always buy a bag with wheels! Nothing is worse than navigating through an airport carrying board bags.

Stop into any of our South Coast locations for your surf traveling needs!

Does anyone have good travel tips I missed?

Packing your surfboard travel bag is an art. I’m not really sure how airlines manage to ding boards the way they do, but I’m pretty sure the ground crew gets pay raises for jamming blunt objects into surfer’s boardbags. Getting on the plane with the unknown of whether or not you’ll open your travel bag to freshly dinged boards is an unavoidable thought process for every traveling surfer.

Add in the ridiculous baggage fees airlines are imposing these days, along with the tanking American dollar that declines in value as it’s sitting in your wallet, and you’re arriving to your favorite surf destination with a sour taste in your mouth… And you’re not even out of the airport yet!

Not a good way to start a surf trip. The last thing you wanna do is spend time fixing dings in your board when you know you could have packed your boardbag better.

Reference the opening scene of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for a visual of the way your boards will probably get treated once you check them in. (general idea)

Have no fear, South Coast has your back. Now view how we can all pack our surfboards for maximum protection against Ace and his co-workers: