Cold-Water Surf Camp on Norway's Wild West Coast

Hoddevik is a small bay on the west coast of the Stadtlandet peninsula, roughly a seven-hour drive northwest of Bergen. The beach is a wide crescent of white sand, with a river running into it at one end and steep green mountains wrapping around the rest. The surf here is consistent without being heavy, which is why it works for beginners, and when the right swell arrives there is enough shape for intermediate surfers to work on turns. Water temperatures push you into a 5/4 wetsuit and hood for much of the year, and the camp supplies thick suits, boots and gloves as part of the package.

Guests stay in one of two villas. Villa Innsikt is the base for the surf school — it has five double rooms, the dormitories, a shared kitchen, a TV and cinema lounge, and a slackline, trampoline and stand-up paddleboards in the yard. Villa Utsikten is the other house, with the same free kitchen access plus a traditional Nordic sauna and a large terrace with a barbecue. Both are a fifteen-minute walk from the beach, so boards and wetsuits come with you or get left at the school.

Lessons run as Level 1 and Level 2. Level 1 covers the basics on the sand then in the white water — how to paddle, how to stand, how to read where the waves are breaking. It works just as well as a refresher for someone who has surfed a few hours and wants to get back on a board. Level 2 is for surfers who can already pop up and want to catch unbroken waves and start turning; it is not offered from 19 June to 28 August, when the swell at Hoddevik is usually too small. Both are capped at six students per instructor. Board hire is available separately for anyone who wants to paddle out alone, with close to 60 boards ranging from 7'6" to 8'6", and a selection of boots and gloves to pick from.

The camp has been running as a small surf community rather than a resort — the villas, the kitchen and the beach fire are all shared. Meals are self-catered, with a fully equipped kitchen in each house and local produce available in the area, though most guests either cook together or eat at the small cafe by the beach in summer. Evenings are usually a sauna, food, and whoever is still awake heading out to look at the stars.

Minimum age for regular courses is 10, and children need to be able to swim. Courses for children aged 5 to 9 run during the summer months. Off the water, guests hike the trails above the bay, skate the switchback road down to the beach, and swim or paddle in the river mouth on flat days.

What's included

- 3 nights' accommodation (dormitory or double room) - 3 surf lessons x 3 hours (Level 1 or Level 2, no lesson on arrival day) - 3 days' free use of surf equipment, subject to surf conditions - Wetsuits, boots and gloves - Surf theory session - Free access to fully equipped kitchen in both villas - Sauna at Villa Utsikten - Use of slackline, trampoline and SUP boards - Barbecue and dining areas

What's not included

- Flights - Airport or road transfers - Meals (self-catered) - Travel insurance - Surfboard hire outside the included days - Tailor-made private surf lessons - Personal expenses