we knew that Sicily has some nice waves, despite it being the Mediterranean Sea, as opposed to the famous Atlantic Ocean. Still, we didn´t really count on being able to surf on our last road trip around the island. However, as we always keep on eye on the Magic SeaWeed app, we saw that a swell was coming in! And thus… we rented a board (no wetsuit needed) and off we went to get it on with some surf in Cefalú
The surfing spot of Cefalú is right in front of the small town, meaning that you can see the historic centre and the small hill with the castle right from the line-up. Talk about magical moments! Furthermore, it´s end of September and still totally fine without a wetsuit since the water was a wonderful 28 degrees celcius!
What is it about Cefalú?
Cefalu is known to be a beautiful coastal village at the north coast of Sicily (Italy). It is located about an hour of highway away from the city of Palermo. Though you won´t find surfeable waves here every day of the year, you can get lucky! If not, the SUP (standup paddle) scene is big and there are various places where you can rent a SUP board. Of course, the village itself definitely deserves a visit as well!
The surf
The day we went out, the waves were rather hollow and steep. This, in combination with the fact that the only short boards available from the local surf school (Piranha SupSurf) had quite some volume. I usually surf with a 5´10 and 28 liters, yet this was a 6´0 with 37 liters. Quite the difference!). It was very nice once on the wave: two paddles and I´m in the wave. But duck diving was a mission impossible with this much volume, making it harder to go out there.
This spot is a beach break and is formed by the different sandbanks. It has both rights and lefts, but as said before, the waves were very steep, giving not a lot of margin to make mistakes. In front of the surf school there is a bit of a riptide, facilitating the paddle out. From there on you can sit either to the left or to the right of this peak.
Conclusion
It´s not a very known nor crowded spot, as we shared the waves with just eight other people of all levels. Two beginner surfers tried to go out as well. However, with 1m waves, it was not entirely made for soft boards that day.
Long story short, I would not go to Sicily for just a surf trip, but if you are around, have time and there is a swell, you might as well make the best of it and experience what it´s like to surf the Sicilian waves! If not, travel with your van, take some boards, drive around the country and make sure to hit some beach when there is a swell! Enjoy the surf in Cefalú
p.s. want to do some more Mediterranean and unexpected surfing, check out my blog on surfing in the southern Spanish National Park of Cabo de Gata.
