When it was first referred to as ‘surfing the Internet’, many surfers were irritated and wanted their word back. These days, however, going online means going onto surf sites for so many of us. Thus the term ‘surfing the Internet’ has changed slightly and is now almost entirely acceptable. We no longer argue such trivialities as we’re all part of the online world.
Still, our surfing world is governed by websites. With the death of surfing magazines, we get all our information from surfing websites, and there are some sterling sites out there. These are the top surfing websites available right now, each for several unique reasons.
Surfline
Best for: cameras, weather and swell information, good reading.
Surfline was the granddaddy of them all, the end of a giant experiment triggered by the first dot.com boom. A massive website that had everything on it, first named swell.com, was the first foray for venture capitalists into the world of surf. It was derived from the assumption that there would be a speedy pick-up of online retail sales in the surf sector.
This didn’t happen as quickly as was hoped, and when the swell.com engine turned off, a smaller version called Surfline remained.
Because Surfline has been around for so long, they have massive and excellent archives filled with contest reports, travel stories, and several spot reports and technical issues.
In addition, most of the content on Surfline was written by the best surf journalists in the world. The content, particularly the travel information, is constantly updated to remain relevant in our ever-changing world.
Surfline also has the best surf cams in the USA and worldwide. They are constantly expanding this territory with more cams and more travel information.
There is something for everyone on Surfline. Still, if you are a dedicated surfer who wants solid swell and weather information about your favourite spots, it would be good to subscribe to premium.
Stabmag
stabmag.comBest for: being the best surf website of 2022
Stabmag is possibly the best surfing website at the moment, with their absolute dedication to covering everything in the surfing world with complete authenticity. They have a team of the best writers and journalists worldwide. However, it is challenging to get into the system because the standards are so high if you’re an outsider.
They also produce award-winning videos and have several platforms they own and utilize to significant effect, like Stab In The Dark.
They cover the professional contest surfing scene exceptionally and leave no stone unturned in finding a good story. They also have excellent interviews and often unearth new talent in pro surfing, especially from the junior ranks.
With videos being the biggest drawcards on websites, Stab has dedicated a considerable chunk of its time and effort to produce its own videos. However, they are definitely not the first surf site to churn out the same media videos everyone is sharing.
Stab also has a very effective social media arm, and its Instagram is extremely popular amongst surfers around the world.
Stab pay particular attention to giving girl surfers their due coverage. They have some amazing interviews with girls of all ages from all over the world and showcase them in some of their own videos.
WSL (World Surf Leage)
Best for: Live streaming of all tour events.
The world surf league has an absolutely phenomenal surf site and app if you’re a very firm fan and supporter of professional surfing. However, as we all know, not everyone is into pro/competitive surfing. If you’re a free surfer who doesn’t care about who the world champion is, this site will be slightly dull.
For those of us who can’t get enough of the competitive trials and tribulations of the best surfers in the world, the site is a daily fix that covers all elements of competitive surfing.
It covers the Championship Tour, the Challenger Series, the Qualifying Series, the Longboard Tour, the Junior Tour, Speciality events, the two big wave events at Nazaré and Jaws, and the Red Bull Big Wave Awards. Something for everyone.
The World Surf League website has massive social platforms as support, and they delve into the character narratives behind competitive surfing.
Most importantly, the site hosts the live feed of all the men’s and women’s championship tour events, live video transmissions for the Challenger Series events, most QS competitions, and the big wave events. In fact, they have live feeds for everything pretty much, and you would be hard-pressed to find an event that is not streaming live.
The inertia
Best for: having a non-jaundiced approach to surfing and honest reporting on the sport and culture.
The inertia was founded by former Surfer employee Zach Weisberg. Based on the Huffington Post news model, Zach wanted to give surfers a voice, and Theinertia came about.
The inertia has a very varied approach and is open to anyone and everyone who wishes to write something and have their say. But, of course, there is an editorial vetting process. One of the editors must check all submitted posts before they are published. Still, the articles are great, and the contributors include some of the world’s greatest surfers and surf writers.
The likes of Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, Shaun Tomson, and Rob Machado write or have written for The inertia. In addition, many great writers regularly contribute.
The website is also great at covering important news in the surfing world and poking an inquisitive stick when things don’t all seem to add up in the surfing world. In addition, many of their contributors are based in the USA. As a result, the website is grounded in American content and culture.
Still, it does not detract from the quality of the website and the fact that it is on the cutting edge of surf culture at all times.
Magicseaweed
The best for: long-range forecasts, coverage of Nazaré. They also have one of the best mobile apps doing the same job as the site.
What was originally a UK-based forecasting site, Magicseaweed is now a massive site of cameras, forecasts, beach reports and travel information and tips.
They partnered with Surfline fairly recently and share a wealth of cameras and beach information, and their readership is global.
Their premier offer includes an 18-day surf forecast and diminishing reliability statistics the further you go out. Still, if you’re on the site and watching closely, the forecasts start displaying trends that are easy to follow and make decisions based thereon.
It also has a very accurate hour-by-hour report. In addition, it offers primary swell and secondary swell forecasts, depending on your needs. Some people find the secondary swell forecasts unnecessary noise. Still, this added extra is a real bonus for those who want to have every angle covered when planning.
They are the go-to site for reporting on Nazaré and have feet on the ground there whenever a big swell approaches that Portuguese underwater canyon.
They, too, have several top writers and scientific minds writing for the site, including Matt Rode and Tony Butt, and consistently deliver the best information regarding storm forecasts and the nuances of such storms.
MSW also entertains the average surfer but tends to shy away from contest reporting unless there is a human interest story.
Surfertoday
Best for: other boardsports coverage apart from surfing.
Surfertoday is a popular and consistent surf website that churns out excellent articles and news features daily. They spend a lot of time with ‘how to’ guides and extensively cover skateboarding, kiteboarding, windsurfing, skimboarding and the environment. However, the feel and vibe of the site is a hardcore surf site.
The site also covers sharks and shark happenings and is generally an aggregator of excellent quality content. In addition, however, they produce their own articles. They also tend to be of the ‘how to’ surf narrative, sometimes delving into surf nostalgia and history.
Their coverage of bodyboarding is refreshing, as no one else is really doing it with any significant effect. They also take the time to get the real stories behind big wave sessions at Nazaré and at other European spots in Ireland like Mullaghmore and further.
Their coverage of skimboarding is also second to none, and they follow the sport with sharp intent to ferret the best content of the much-ignored sport.
They also delve into environmental reporting, which helps balance out the site from just boards and boardsports. They have a wonderful collection of videos, but these are just the shared standard videos. They don’t produce their own videos.
Wavelength
Best for: discovering the British surf spirit.
Wavelength is one of the best UK surf magazines. It is definitely one of the longest-running surf magazines in the world. Their focus has always been on British surfers because they are talented surfers but get very little coverage on international platforms.
Wavelengthmag also covers everything from competitions to travel to surfboard design and more and posts some entertaining updates on the site. They have some excellent photographers contributing. In addition, they extend their territorial reach to Ireland and Scotland, where massive surf culture hubs exist.
Wavelength mag also publishes books and annuals. In addition, they have a thriving online store that sells these books and other cool items intrinsic to the brand.
For a country with such cold weather and often abysmal surf, wavelengthmag makes the surf look good. Their take on the human elements in surfing is spot on.
For capturing the real spirit of British surfing, wavelengthmag is the website to be on. There is also certain British humour and personality in their tone.
The surf industry in the UK is massive, maybe more prominent than a lot of surfers would imagine, and wavelengthmag covers it with aplomb.
It’s a go-to for surfers in the UK and surfers from around the world planning on stopping over in England on the way to warmer climes.
Carvemag
Best for: the British pro surf scene.
Carvemag is another British site based on their own magazine that has strongly survived the death of print and waning popularity due to the influx of the web. Carve has kept its ideology honest and covers surfing in the UK excellently.
They are also very close with the best British pro surfers. They sometimes travel with them when a big event happens somewhere in Europe.
The website features some of the best in British surf photography, and their contest is interesting and undiluted.
Carvemag is another British site based on their own magazine that has strongly survived the death of print and waning popularity due to the influx of the web. Carve has kept its ideology honest and covers surfing in the UK excellently.
They are also very close with the best British pro surfers. They sometimes travel with them when a big event happens somewhere in Europe.
The website features some of the best in British surf photography, and their contest is interesting and undiluted.
Carve also produces excellent surf books, which are available on the website. Their surf retail section on the site is very popular. Their books are some of the more prevalent available in the surfing genre.
Their tendency to cover professional surfing so extensively doesn’t detract from the average surfers. They also delve into the equipment side and test outboards and wetsuits regularly. They are also well versed at trial, and this information is available on the site.
Carvemag gives the impression that it is produced by a crew of hardcore surfers, which it is. The editorial tea and the photographic team are all in it to get barreled.
Swellnet
This independent Australian site has been around for a while, and it has a massive following in Australia. They have good cameras and timeous local information on surf conditions. They also delve deeply into the Australian surfing psyche.
More cerebral than most, Swellnet like a long read post and are not scared of running pieces that seem too long to capture the focus of the younger crew. This doesn’t worry them, as their audience is the older surfer anyway.
Their story questions everything, and they openly query the state of surfing, the state of professional surfing organisations, the behaviour of surfing characters. They also try to capture much of the past with their nostalgia-based columns.
The website is owned and run by a friendly crew of surfers. They are always happy to chat or mail anyone interested in penning something about the sport’s history and of famous characters within the sport of surfing.
They also cover professional surfing well, do great board reviews and like to have a bit of a chat now and again about the state of surfing. In particular, wave pool surfing and where it is heading and the situ regarding sharks and shark attacks in Australia.
Beach Grit
Best for: gossip, rumours, dissing the WSL, breaking news and humour.
While Beachgrit might seem subversive, sarcastic click-bait nonsense at times, determined to show the WSL as rubbish and lies, and equally determined to belittle their friends at Stabmag as often as they can (they are all these things), they do have some amazingly concise and intelligent traits.
Firstly they always seem to break with the hard news. When there is something about to go down within the ranks of the WSL, they are on it first. When someone within the surfing realm/ pro or industry is about to go to court, they know about it. When any financial deals or big sales are going down, they know about it first. They also keep tabs on exciting surfers selling their houses, and they keep a check on any surfers who are falling foul of the law. They also aren’t afraid to publish when the contest might be too close to the bone for some and are not squeamish of a hardcore shark attack story.
The people behind Beachgrit are the two award-winning writers in Derek Reilly and Chas Smith, and both have long and illustrious pedigrees.
While their site is a bit TMZ, it definitely attracts the most comments, and sometimes the flame wars there can be pretty incredible. But, of course, everyone reads the comments, and some people dare to post on there.
Journalists who write for Beachgrit often suffer the wrath of the comments section, but journalists should be used to heat like that.
Their humour can be legendary at times, but their insistence on publishing clickbaity gear can be drudge when news is slow.
Still, they classify themselves as anti-depressant, and that they are.
Best Surfing Websites
These are, in our opinion, some of the best surfing websites, but there are many more. For example, there are sites in New Zealand, and some South African sites deserve mention, but these are the top surfing websites for now. Some are funny, some are weird, but all serve a purpose in our wider surfing universe.
Surfing websites fulfil many functions, and if your needs are specific, this list will help you choose which site you want to open on your laptop on startup.