When you picture a surf trip to Fuerteventura, you probably imagine spending every possible day in the ocean. Then you actually start surfing and realise that paddling, getting thrown around by waves and repeatedly trying to get to your feet is a little more tiring than it looks from the beach. After a few sessions, your shoulders might be asking for a break and suddenly a day away from the water doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
Luckily, Fuerteventura is a pretty good place to have a rest day. There is much more to the island than surf spots, and some of the best days here are the ones without much of a plan. Whether your body needs some recovery, the conditions aren’t right for you or you simply want to see more of the island, there are plenty of ways to spend a day away from surfing.
Start Slowly in Lajares
If you’re staying in northern Fuerteventura, Lajares is an easy place to spend a slow morning. It’s not a big town, and that’s part of what makes it nice. You don’t need an itinerary or a list of attractions to work through. You can grab a coffee, walk around the small shops, find somewhere for breakfast and watch the usual mix of surfers, locals and travellers passing through.
After a few days of waking up for surf sessions, having nowhere particularly important to be can feel surprisingly good. Sit somewhere for longer than necessary, get another coffee and enjoy the fact that you’re on an island where doing very little is a completely acceptable plan.
There is actually quite a lot packed into this little village once you start looking around, from cafés and local shops to markets and live music. Our local guide to Lajares goes into more detail if you want to spend a little longer exploring the area.
See Fuerteventura From the Top of a Volcano
Once you’ve spent a little time on Fuerteventura, you start noticing just how volcanic the landscape really is. The north of the island is surrounded by craters, old lava fields and wide open spaces, and hiking is one of the best ways to see a completely different side of the place.
A volcano hike doesn’t need to become a huge expedition. Pick a manageable route, head out in the morning and take your time. From higher up, you begin to understand how unusual Fuerteventura’s landscape is, with small towns sitting between volcanic hills and the Atlantic stretching out around the island.
Just remember that the wind can be deceptive. Fuerteventura often feels cooler than it actually is, so bring enough water, wear sunscreen and don’t underestimate the sun just because there’s a breeze.
Spend an Afternoon in El Cotillo
El Cotillo is one of those places where it’s very easy to arrive without a plan and somehow stay until sunset. You can walk around the town, stop somewhere for lunch, explore the coastline or find a quiet spot near the water and do very little for a few hours.
Even on a rest day, you’ll probably catch yourself watching the waves. Once you’ve started surfing, this becomes slightly unavoidable. Every drive along the coast suddenly involves looking at the ocean and wondering whether somewhere might be working. With so many different breaks around the island, the best surf spot in Fuerteventura can change depending on the swell, wind, tide and your experience level.
The nice thing about El Cotillo is that you don’t really need to do anything specific. It’s a good place for those spontaneous surf camp afternoons where someone asks if anybody wants to go to Cotillo, a few people say yes and twenty minutes later half the house is coming along.
Explore Corralejo and the Dunes
If you want somewhere a little busier, Corralejo is an easy option. Compared with Lajares, there’s more going on, with plenty of restaurants, cafés, shops and people moving around. You can walk along the waterfront, stop for food or simply spend an afternoon wandering without having to organise much.
Close to Corralejo, the landscape changes completely as you reach the famous sand dunes. After spending several days surrounded by dark volcanic terrain, suddenly finding yourself in a huge stretch of pale sand feels almost like you’ve left Fuerteventura altogether.
The dunes and Corralejo work well together as a simple half-day trip. You can explore the dunes first and then head into town for food or drinks afterwards. If you’re planning to explore more of the island during your stay, understanding the differences between northern and southern Fuerteventura can also help you decide which places are worth adding to your trip.
And as always, bring water and sunscreen. Shade is not exactly Fuerteventura’s speciality.
Give Yourself Permission to Do Almost Nothing
Not every rest day needs to turn into another full day of activities. In fact, sometimes that defeats the point.
Surf camp can be surprisingly intense, even when you’re having a great time. You’re learning something new, meeting people constantly, spending hours outside, exploring the island and probably sleeping a little less than you normally would. If you’ve travelled alone, you might also have gone from spending a lot of time by yourself to suddenly being surrounded by people from breakfast until the evening.
That social side is actually one of the reasons going to a surf camp alone often feels much easier once you arrive than it does when you’re sitting at home thinking about booking the trip. There is usually something happening, someone making food or a few people looking for others to join whatever plan they’ve just invented.
Still, sometimes the best plan is simply to find a café, order something, read a book and stay there for a while. Or stay at the villa, lie by the pool, stretch, take a nap and talk to whoever else has decided their shoulders are no longer cooperating.
There’s no rule saying you need to maximise every hour of your holiday. Some of the nicest moments happen when nobody is trying particularly hard to make something happen.
Head to the West Coast for Sunset
If there’s one simple plan that’s almost always worth suggesting to the group, it’s sunset. Grab a few people, head towards the west coast and find somewhere to watch the sun disappear into the Atlantic.
It doesn’t need much organisation, which is probably why these evenings often become some of the most memorable ones. You start with a few people saying they’ll come, somebody brings snacks, someone else puts music on in the car and suddenly a very simple evening feels like a proper little adventure.
Bring something warm, though. Once the sun disappears, the wind can make the temperature drop surprisingly quickly. It’s one of those small things that’s useful to know when deciding what to pack for a surf camp in Fuerteventura, especially if you’re expecting warm weather all day and night.
Why Taking a Rest Day Can Actually Help Your Surfing
When you’ve travelled all the way to Fuerteventura specifically to learn to surf, taking a day off can feel a little wrong. You might think you should be in the water as much as possible, especially when you’re excited about improving.
But surfing is physically demanding, particularly when you’re a beginner. You’re paddling, pushing yourself up, falling, getting back on the board, walking through water and doing the same thing again and again. Your body is learning completely new movements, and after several days it can catch up with you.
Rest gives your muscles time to recover and can help you return to the water with more energy and concentration. A tired session isn’t automatically a useful session, and sometimes one day away from surfing makes you much more excited to get back in the water the next morning.
Learning also doesn’t happen in one perfect session. Your progress tends to build over several days, which is why understanding how many surf lessons you need to learn to surf can help set much more realistic expectations before your trip.
A Surf Trip Is About More Than the Surf
One of the things people don’t always realise before coming to a surf camp is how much of the experience happens outside the water. Of course, you’ll remember the waves. You’ll probably remember the first time you stood up, your best wipeout and at least one wave that gets slightly bigger every time you tell the story.
But you’ll also remember everything around those moments. The drives back from the beach, slow mornings in Lajares, spontaneous afternoons in El Cotillo, sunsets with people you only met a few days earlier and conversations at the villa when everyone is tired from surfing.
That’s part of what makes a week here feel different from a normal holiday. Surfing gives the days a rhythm, but it doesn’t have to fill every hour. A typical day at Kyuka Surf Camp includes plenty of life outside the water too, and often those unplanned moments end up being just as memorable as the surf sessions themselves.
At Kyuka, we obviously love getting into the water, but we also love everything that happens around it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give your shoulders a break, explore a little more of Fuerteventura and come back ready for the next session.
The waves will still be there tomorrow.
