16-20 Oct 2026
Opening Swell
5 days / 4 nights · max 14 people.
The dates for this camp, 16-20 Oct 2026, have passed. The next camp is Diwali Surf Camp, 6-10 Nov 2026. See all camp dates.
Book Diwali Surf CampPricing
Three ways to sleep.
What Opening Swell was priced at: one price per room, per person, for the whole 5 days / 4 nights.
Private Room (solo)
Per person
₹25,000
Shared Private Room
Per person
₹20,000
Dorm Bed
Per person
₹18,000
Prices exclude GST, which is added at the applicable rate.
Mid-October at Edava
The first camp of the season, rain and all.
Opening Swell sits where the monsoon year ends and the surf season starts. Kerala Tourism puts the Varkala surf season at October to April, and the India Meteorological Department notes that after mid-October the southwest monsoon retreats and the northeast monsoon sets in over the south of the peninsula. These dates fall just after that point.
In the water, that means mixed odds. Surf-Forecast's long-term record has October clean 23% of the time, blown out 54% and too small 23%, with onshore wind more common than offshore. All four surf sessions start at 7am. A small day is not a lost one for a beginner either: Surf-Forecast notes that days too small for most surfers can still be fine for beginners at times.
Expect rain. The India Meteorological Department's long-term averages for Thiruvananthapuram, just down the coast, give October almost as much rain as June, spread over fewer days. Highs sit around 31°C, nights around 23°C, and late-afternoon humidity is close to 80%. The sea averages 28.1°C. In return the land is at its greenest, and the crowds have not arrived yet.
Day 3's pool session, on Sunday 18 October, is the one piece of the programme these dates go without: the pool's opening was set for the first week of November 2026.
What you get. What you don't.
Included
- Four two-hour surf sessions, one every morning from Day 2 (7 to 9am)
- Breakfast every day
- Dinner every night, from the welcome dinner to the closing barbecue
- Ice bath (3x)
- Yoga (3x)
- Video analysis with one-to-one feedback (2x)
- Classroom surf theory
- Paddling practice in the pool (once it opens in November)
- Opening circle to meet the group
- Surf transport to the beach
Not included
- Lunch
- Flights & transfer to Varkala
- Airport pick up / drop off
- Scooters to explore
- A fifth night after the camp (added at the room rate)
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance
- Drinks and snacks outside camp meals
- Laundry
We're happy to help organise any of the above, just ask.
The week
Four mornings in the water.
Day 1
Arrival & welcome
Check in from 5:30pm, an opening circle to meet the group at 6:30, and the welcome dinner at 7:30.
Day 2
Introduction
Two-hour surf at 7am. Ice bath at 11am. Classroom theory at 3:30pm, then yoga at 5pm to stretch for the days ahead. Dinner together.
Day 3
Good habits
Surf at 7am. Ice bath at 11am. Paddling practice in the pool at 5pm (from November). Dinner.
Day 4
Consistency
Surf at 7am. Ice bath at 11am. Video analysis and one-to-one feedback at 3:30pm, then yoga at 5pm. Dinner.
Day 5
Last waves
A last surf at 7am. Video feedback at 3pm, a final yoga session at 5pm, and the closing barbecue.
Booking
These dates have passed.
Opening Swell was set for 16-20 Oct 2026, so it no longer takes bookings. The next camp is Diwali Surf Camp, 6-10 Nov 2026, on the same programme. The camp page has all camp dates.
Book Diwali Surf Camp16 to 20 October
The Opening Swell surf camp in Varkala, Friday to Tuesday
Opening Swell is the first of the six camp dates. It starts on Friday 16 October 2026 and ends on Tuesday the 20th, so a Monday to Friday job only loses three days to it.
The first evening is arrival. You check in from 5:30, meet the group in an opening circle, and the welcome dinner takes care of the awkward part.
After that the mornings keep one order: two hours of surf from 7am, then breakfast at the house. It is the rest of the day that changes.
The afternoons
Same mornings, different afternoons
Three late mornings bring an ice bath and three evenings bring yoga. One afternoon is classroom theory, which pays off the next morning.
Two afternoons go through video of your own surfing with an instructor, and the week ends on the closing barbecue.
The pool practice on the camp programme starts once the new pool opens in November, so this October camp does without it.
