The Best Beginner Surfboards for Learning to Surf

If you’re new to surfing, shopping for a new surfboard can feel overwhelming. As a beginner surfer, you don’t need the latest design from a top shaper to make the most of your surf sessions. Rather, beginner surfers should find a board that matches their skill level and allows them to progress as a surfer. To shop for the perfect beginner surfboard, you need to identify where you are on your surfing journey and discern what your needs are as a learner. Do you need a board that’s high in volume and will give you a stable surface to pop up? Do you need a board to work on establishing trim and riding green waves? Is a hard board or a soft board right for your skill level? To find out the answers to these questions and more, continue reading below for The Best Beginner Surfboards for Learning to Surf.

The Best Beginner Surfboard for First Timers

If you’re truly new to surfing, you’ll need a board with ample length and volume that allows for easy paddling and stability while riding. As a new surfer, your safety, and the safety of those around you, should be your top priority. We strongly recommend new surfers use foam boards instead of traditional, hard longboards. Shop for a foam board that’s at least 9 feet long to ensure it has enough volume to catch small beginner waves. The high volume will also help support you while you learn to pop up and allow the board to paddle effortlessly. Foam boards are ideal for beginner surfboards thanks to their soft exterior that reduces the risk of injury.

Surfboards for Progression & Riding Green Waves

Once you’ve mastered popping up, it’s to move on to riding open-faced, green waves. Riding along the wave's face, rather than straight towards the shore, is a surreal feeling that’s perhaps the closest sensation to flying out there. Establishing trim, where your board’s rail is engaged in the wave’s face is possible on a soft board, but you’ll have an easier time doing so on a proper longboard. If you’ve mastered the fundamentals of popping up and paddling out, shop for a traditional longboard with a wide nose and a two-plus-one fin setup option.  

Surfboards for Learning to Turn & Beginning to Downsize

If your goal in surfing is to eventually ride a shortboard, you’ll have to first master the fundamentals of surfing on a longboard. Once you’ve put in your hours on a longboard, work towards your shortboard goal by riding progressively smaller boards. After a longboard, take up a mid-length. Mid-lengths offer a similar amount of stability, ease of paddle, and glide that longboarders love with increased maneuverability. Mid-lengths range in size from 7 feet to 8.5 feet, and are the ultimate beginner surfboard for new surfers looking to learn turning and carving while working towards a shortboard.

Finding Your First Shortboard

Not all shortboards are created equal. Many shortboards that pros ride, especially ones ridden in competition, are not practical everyday surfboards. Professional surfers ride incredibly refined boards with sharp, downturned rails, tons of rocker, and lean outlines that knife through the water. For the average Joe riding everyday surf, these boards won’t cut it. If you’re shopping for your first shortboard, shop for a board with sufficient volume, well above 35 liters. The ideal beginner surfboard shortboard has a wide outline, like a fish, with enough volume to catch small waves.

If you can’t find the perfect beginner surfboard before your trip to Panama, we have a wide selection of rentals at Waluaa that are perfect for new surfers. You can try out different-sized boards as you progress while surfing the gentle beach break in Santa Catalina. For more information on traveling in Panama, our surf and yoga retreat offers, or to stay up to date on all things surf travel, head to our website.

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