Beachfront Surf Camp for Kids and Teens in San Diego

A typical day starts with an optional early morning activity at 6:15am, then breakfast at 7:45am. Land activities run from 9am to noon — this is when campers use the giant climbing tower, do traditional camp games, and work through the programme's land-based activities. Lunch and siesta take up the middle of the day, from noon to 2pm. Ocean activities run from 2pm to 5pm, which is the main surf and body board block. Dinner is at 5:30pm, the evening programme starts at 7pm, and campers get ready for bed and embers at 8:30pm.

Surfing is the core of the week. Campers get approximately three hours in the water each day across surfing and body boarding, with a sunscreen and water break in the middle of each block. There is an optional early morning Surf Club on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and additional sunset surf sessions each week for the Waterman and Teens programmes. The camp follows a challenge-by-choice approach: staff encourage campers to set small goals and push themselves, but nobody is forced into the water. Campers who want a break can build sandcastles instead.

The site itself is unusual for a summer camp. It has a quarter-mile of open beachfront, a nautical theme throughout, and facilities including Pirate's Cove Amphitheater, McKinney Dining Hall, campfire rings, and beachy cabins. The camp is a nut-aware facility — it does not buy or use nuts of any kind, and cereals made in factories that process nuts are labelled. Campers are grouped into three Villages and assigned cabin groups by grade, with all-camp events like campfires and the Wednesday night dance bringing different age groups together.

Staff are hired through the YMCA of San Diego County, which runs background checks on all employees, interviews candidates, and checks a minimum of three references. International counsellors go through an additional screening process with an agency in their home country. Ocean lifeguards are trained and certified through the United States Lifesaving Association, the same certification used by San Diego City and County lifeguard services. The camp meets or exceeds all American Camp Association staffing and supervision ratios, and campers are never left unsupervised.

Campers cannot bring cell phones or electronics. Parents can send emails through an optional online service, and each family gets an access code to an online photo gallery where the camp photographer uploads pictures each evening. Mail and emails are delivered to campers after lunch each day. There is no phone or email access for campers to contact home, and the camp encourages parents to send a self-addressed stamped envelope so campers can write letters.

What's included

- Overnight accommodation in beachy cabins - Three meals daily (breakfast, lunch, dinner) - Daily surfing and body boarding sessions (approximately 3 hours in the water per day) - Land activities including the giant climbing tower and traditional camp games - Evening programmes and all-camp events - USLA certified ocean lifeguards and counsellors in the water at all times - Trained health care personnel on camp at all times - Use of spring wetsuits during overnight camp (free of charge) - Optional early morning Surf Club on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday - Additional sunset surf sessions for Waterman and Teens - Access to online photo gallery - Email delivery to campers after lunch each day

What's not included

- Travel to and from camp - Airport or Amtrak pickup and drop-off ($50 one-way or round-trip) - Personal expenses - Camp Store purchases (pre-funded account, up to $75 per week) - Wetsuit purchase (rental/loan available free of charge) - Travel insurance - Any items not listed as included