Right about now, back-to-work malaise (not to mention a long-delayed winter) is setting in, meaning it’s high time to start planning a tropical escape. If your idea of unwinding is a hard-paddling, exhilarating ride through the swells—and surf star Stephanie Gilmore’s video tutorial has you thirsting for the water—then this list is for you. We’ve polled the boardroom, so to speak—five avid surfers, including pros Quincy Davis and Kelia Moniz, swimwear designers Cynthia Rowley and Amanda Chinchelli, and model Andreea Diaconu—for their favorite winter surf destinations and the inside reasons why (spot-on mezcal margaritas, a tucked-away jungle resort). Enviable salt-streaked beach hair is just icing on the cake.
Photo: Courtesy of Andreea Diaconu / @andreeadiddy
Andreea Diaconu
To gauge the Bucharest-born model’s mind-set these days, just ask her where she currently lives: “Between Soho, Rockaway, and a 777.” After all, when she’s not juggling castings and shoots in Manhattan or circling the globe on a plane during fashion month, she just might be paddling out at the popular Queens beach, which is the closest thing New Yorkers can get to a surfers’ hangout.
Where to surf now: Troncones, Mexico
“Troncones and Santa Teresa [Beach in Costa Rica] are probably my favorite; there are consistent waves at both, but Troncones has more options, as well as slightly better landscapes—and it’s not as crowded . . . yet. La Boca is a nice, mellow reef with a channel paddle, while Saladita is a harder paddle out but breaks beautifully both ways. When you’re feeling adventurous, there are bigger breaks if you rent a boat. The best food was at La Tortuga, where you get to release turtles into the ocean every Monday. La Mexicana has a funny staff and mezcal margaritas—and friendly chickens, turkeys, and pups running around!”
Learn to surf with world champion Stephanie Gilmore:
