25 Jan 2025 13 Weeks All Levels Split Payment Options Trips from £7695

Overview

The crème de la crème of Ticket to Ride's offering. The Ultimate 13 week Road Trip and Surf Adventure through South Africa and Mozambique.

Riders on the 13 Week Road Trip and Surf Instructor Course get to experience everything the 10 Week Surf Instructor Course offers, with an added three week 4x4 surfari through Mozambique.

After adventuring over a thousand miles through South Africa's Garden Route from Cape Town (via Jeffreys Bay of course) to Durban, where you'll gain your Level 1 Surf Instructor Certification and Surf Lifesaving Award, the final leg of the Road Trip is the celebratory icing on the cake.

We load up the 4x4's and cross the border into Mozambique, navigating off the beaten track, along the palm tree lined terrain, surfing tropical turqoise sand-bottom point breaks, all fueled by delicious local food.

The roads are rough but leaving is the toughest part. However you're now all set to start the journey into your new ocean lifestyle career. What's more the course also includes support to secure your first coaching job, so you'll be hitting the road running!

What to Expect

This experience is suitable for all levels of surfer. You can expect coaching from South Africa's most highly regarded surf coaches in small groups. 

Learning on the right equipment, under close observation from your trip leaders who will be coaching you both in and out of the water, your surfing skills are set to go sky high on this adventure.

Ticket to Ride’s focus is to get your surfing to the next level, and the next, and so on and so forth. One of the most difficult things with surfing is keeping your progression going as it is easy to ‘plateau’. Your coach will use photo and video analysis to improve your technique, as well as help you to reflect on your surfing and set clear goals. Beyond the daily surf lesson you will also receive a talk on surfboards and swell prediction.  

Master the basics

  • Paddling / wave catching
  • Negotiating the lineup to get to the back
  • The “Pop Up”
  • Speed control and trimming
  • Basic turning
  • Surf etiquette

Rapid Progression

  • Linking turns and generating speed
  • Developing style and flow
  • Introduction to different types of breaks
  • Introduction to more advanced surfing
  • Video and photo analysis

Ocean Awareness

  • Swell prediction course
  • Beach and ocean safety
  • Surf fitness

What's Included

  • Welcome braai
  • Accommodation
  • Surfboard (see FAQs for more info)
  • Transport
  • Coaching from top surf coaches
  • Surf theory and analaysis sessions
  • Small student to instructor ratios
  • Getting coached on world-class consistent waves
  • ISA level 1 surf instructor qualification
  • Surfing South Africa lifesaving qualification
  • Leaving dinner
  • Return airport transfers
  • Full UK support pre-departure

Also included

  • Table Mountain
  • Boulders Beach Penguin Colony visit
  • Wine Tasting
  • World’s highest bungee jump
  • A tour of a surfboard factory
  • Safari game drive
  • Ocean safari in Mozambique 

 

What's Included


  • Airport Transfers

  • Breakfast

  • Surf Camp Accommodation

  • Trip Leaders For Duration

  • Video Surf Analysis

  • All Surf Lessons

  • Surf Guiding To The Best Beaches

  • All Surf Transport

  • Surf Hire

  • Welcome Meal

  • Involvement In Community Projects

  • Photos Of Your Surfing

  • Additional Excursions And Activities

  • Shared Accommodation

  • Surf Instructor Course

  • Free WiFi

Trip Timeline

Here you'll find a day by day breakdown of your course.

  • Cape Town

    Spend two weeks settling in and mastering the basics of surfing, or improving your technique, with an set schedule of surf lessons and theory classes on one of South Africa’s most use-friendly waves.

  • Plettenberg Bay & Cape St Francis

    Enjoy the Garden Route and its empty beaches at their very best.

  • Jeffreys Bay

    Surf world-class waves! Jeffreys Bay is all about beach living.

  • Cintsa Bay

    Experience the wild coast and lose yourself in Cintsa bay.

  • Coffee Bay

    Discover the joys of rural Africa.

  • Durban

    Enjoy the buzz of South Africa’s ‘Surf City’ and get qualified!

  • Ballito

    Reflect back on your amazing experiences in South Africa and get ready to adventure on to Mozambique!

  • Head to Mozambique!

    After a long first day of driving, enjoy an evening stop-over to relax before setting off again the following day!

  • Tofo

    Relax in a hammock or go fishing in between long surfs in tropical water. Everything now works on 'African time'.

  • Pomene

    Probably the most beautiful place you'll ever go, with perfect sunsets and long running rights.

Qualifications

International Surfing Association (ISA) Level 1 Surf Instructor / Coaching qualification

This will be run in Durban and is a two day course run by Surfing South Africa. It has several different components, including beach safety, teaching methods, health and safety, teaching surf lessons and of course, the practical surfing test.

The Lifesaving Course

Designed specifically for surf coaches and run in Durban, it covers everything from first aid, spinal board rescue and board rescue. There is also a timed swim where you're required to swim 400m in a pool in under 9 minutes. The whole Ticket to Ride Road Trip prepares and trains you for surf instructor success, so get ready to pass and live the dream. Life's Good. 

Course Video

What past riders say


FAQs

Got a question about this course? Here's the best place to start. If you don't find your answer here, you can request a callback or get in touch using our contact page.

No, you can be a total beginner on arrival in Cape Town. Of course you will have to pass the course, but our success rate is extremely high.

Please book your outbound flight to Cape Town International Airport on the start date of the course and your return flight from Durban Airport on the end date of the course (also known as King Shaka International Airport).

If you have a surfboard you like to ride we reccommend you bring it with you! 

However, from January 2025 onwards a surfboard will be included on the trip if needed - typically a minimal style.

We do also encourage purchasing a board. Surfboards are much cheaper in South Africa, so worth buying out there with the team. If you don't want the board at the end of the trip, you can probably sell it for around the same price you bought it as it's worth more at home - however, most people get quite attached :)

Lifestyle Surf Shop near us in Cape Town has a great selection, please budget £200-£300 if you wish to buy a board. Also, by this point your coaches have seen you surf and can help with the choosing process, to ensure you're on the best board for you.

Wetsuits are included in Cape Town but you will need your own beyond this so we reccommend bringing your own (3:2mil will be best). Wetsuits are often cheaper outside of SA (so the opposite to boards). Having your own is far nicer than using a rental as well.

Minimum a few days and maximum two weeks, long enough to start to feel at home, but short enough that you'll wish for a few more days at each stop! 

We have great contacts at surf camps in various parts of the world and are very happy to put you in touch with our contacts! Past Riders have left a good reputation as amped and capable coaches so graduates from this course are favoured.

Generally speaking, people tend to struggle with the timed swim in the lifeguard course and the practical surfing element of the surf coaching course. The lifeguard course requires a timed 9 minute swim in a 400m pool and this is more than achievable, as your coaches are there to guide you throughout the trip to ensure you pass.

Similarly, we believe that everyone has the ability to pass the practical surfing element of the instructor course as long as they keep focused and practice throughout the trip. Our current pass rate is approximately 90 per cent and if you don't pass first time around, you can always retake it down the line.

The South Africa Rand (ZAR), which is a relatively stable but weak currency means that drinks and eating out will be cheap for most people.

As with anywhere in the world, and worse than some, South Africa has its fair share of crime. That's why you have your Trip Leaders with you, as they know the ins and outs of all the areas we visit to ensure your safety. 

This of course varies from trip to trip, with the maximum being 20. Saying that we generally have around 10 - 15 people including two Trip Leaders, which means you can really get to know each other and don't crowd out the surf spots at the same time!

This also varies from trip to trip, as we have a few people who are on their gap years, as well as various people in their twenties, thirties and beyond who are looking to improve their surfing and travel around South Africa.

For most countries South African immigration will issue you with a holiday visa on arrival. This visa is free of charge and valid for 90 days. If you will be staying longer than 90 days you will need to apply for your visa extension early on in your trip. The 90 day holiday visas are only issued on the grounds that you have proof of return/onward travel out of South Africa. Please do double check with your embassy before departing for South Africa and check out the latest Foreign Travel Advice by going to www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Before you leave for South Africa please go and see your local GP, to get the appropriate vaccinations. It is important to do this in good time and we would suggest sorting this at least four weeks before you leave. For more information, please check out the following websites Fit for Travel – www.fitfortravel.nhs.co.uk and The World Health Organisation – www.who.int. If travelling to Mozambique you will need malaria medication.

Situated just north of South Africa, Mozambique feels like a totally different world to South Africa. It is much more 'African' if you will, more remote, yet still comfortable enough. It's a surf trip where 4*4's are a necessity! It is also tropical, with coconut trees everywhere and lukewarm water - a mini paradise.

Most foreign citizens require a 30 day visa for entry to Mozambique. These are now purchased at the border crossing and your Trip Leader will be there to guide you through the process.

For the latest travel advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office including security and local laws, plus passport and visa information, check http://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Unfortunately not, you don't get a new 90-day visa from travelling into neighbouring countries as too many people were doing this just for the extention. However, you will get a short 1 - 7 day visa unitil your flight leaves.

Yes you can, just contact us for a quote to upgrade to a twin, double, or double en-suite. 

Straight from the surf