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Before Your Trip

What should you do to get ready for your trip? This section covers a lot of basic questions about what you need to do to get ready for your trip before you leave.

1. How do I get to my destination?

Most of the surf trips World Wave Expeditions offer are on a set schedule and will require you to arrive and depart at specific times. Factor in different time zones and it can definitely be a challenge to find the best schedule to fit your needs and budget.

World Wave Expeditions has partnered with Jeff Samuelson and his team at Oceanview Travel to handle most of our guest’s flight arrangements and most of their travel insurance. World Wave Expeditions and Oceanview Travel share the same office in San Clemente, California. If you don’t have the time to deal with setting up your flight arrangements World Wave Expeditions will be happy to coordinate your flight arrangements for you.

Of course you are welcome to set up your own flights but before you purchase anything please confirm that your itinerary will work with the trip you are going on with us.

2. What do I do about my flight arrangements?

Our travel partner, Oceanview Travel, manages almost all of our guest’s flight arrangements. Their contact details are below:

Oceanview Travel 

629 Camino de los Mares Suite 101
San Clemente, Ca 92673
Local: 949.493.5231
Contact Name: Jeff Samuelson
oceanviewtravel629@yahoo.com 

3. How many days will we spend on a trip?

Our trips range average anywhere from 2 to 29 days for a hotel or rental property and 3 to 18 days for one of our surf trips. Each individual trip will specify the amount of days for their expedition on a set schedule or alternatively the minimum amount of days if they offer a flexible schedule.

4. What do you suggest I pack for my trip?

The best advice when packing for a surf trip is to pack as lightly as possible but still bring everything you need to make the trip comfortable! Please visit our “Essentials” page; it provides an extremely helpful check-list for warm water and cold water climates.

5. What kind and how many boards should I take?

The right surfboards can make or break your trip! We suggest you monitor the surf forecast for your destination and plan what boards you are going to take according to the waves expected during your stay. The types and kinds of boards you ride are obviously a personal preference but we find that the most effective and experienced surf travelers bring 2 – 4 surfboards wherever they go, carry along multiple sets of fins, always have brand new leashes on them, the right wax, and little details like extra fin keys, fin screws, a resin repair kit; and carry everything in a modern, lightweight board-bag equipped with a set of surfboard tie-downs. A lot of other items can be purchased at your destination but surfboards you like and want to use on your trip are irreplaceable, take care of them!

Of course another factor in the decision making process is to utilize airline carriers that are surfboard friendly whenever possible. If surfboards are free on one carrier do you best to maximize the number of boards you decide to take based on the weight limit. If surfboards are charged extra on another carrier and budget is an issue take the time to choose a little more wisely and don’t try to stuff that extra board into your bag if you don’t absolutely need it.

Most airlines will allow you to bring a boardbag up to 50lbs, or about 23 kilograms.

6. What types of services and amenities are available on these trips?

Each individual destination will specify the entire list of features you can expect during your stay. If you have any specific questions about what to expect please feel free to contact us with anything you need.

7. What type of health precautions should I take?


- A. Most travelers usually update their tetanus and hepatitis shots before traveling to any remote region of the world. This is less important in 1st world environments with better access to quality health care.
– B. If you take a prescription medication make sure you bring the necessary paperwork that goes with it in case of an emergency.
– C. If you are on a surf charter boat and are prone to seasickness please bring something to counteract its effects such as dramamine or bonine.
– D. For more information about a specific destination please consult your doctor.

8. Do I need travel insurance?

In most cases, yes. Travel Insurance is an important hedge against the unexpected and mandatory at some destinations for your personal safety. A decent travel insurance package will provide coverage for the following: trip cancellation and interruption, baggage delay, baggage coverage, travel delay, emergency medical and dental, emergency, medical transport and evacuation, and travel accident insurance.

9. What documents do I need to take?

You will need a valid passport with at least six months of validity left and one other form of identification to travel to most destinations around the world. In some cases, depending on where you are from you might need a VISA in advance of the trip as well. Your passport should also have at least one page that is completely open, if not more to be safe.

In case you misplace any vital documents it’s a good idea to carry a back-up photocopy of your passport, id, and airline ticket with you at all times. It doesn’t hurt to leave another copy at home as well.

10. How long can I stay in a particular destination?

Each country will have a specific time limit you can spend on a tourist basis. Most of our expeditions are short by nature but if you plan on extending your time in that destination after your trip please plan ahead and consult the appropriate authorities on what the rules and limitations might be.

11. How much money do I need to take?

At a lot of destinations once you get to the resort or on a boat all you have to focus on is getting as many good waves as possible. The trip is paid for and any extra purchases can be made via debit or credit card.

For our areas with rental properties an ATM is the most effective way to secure a decent exchange rate and not carry too much cash on you.

Most of our guests bring extra money for the following reasons:
– A. Traveling Money
– B. Souvenir money
– C. Money for tipping the staff (resort and boats)

- D. Dining and Drinks
– E. Money for Extras

12. Is there a photographer or videographer available for my trip?

World Wave Expeditions has partnerships all over the world with surf guides, surf coaches, photographer, videographers, and trip hosts to help make your expedition the best experience it can possibly be. Most surf resort and boats offer a photo and video service as an add-on experience but for the rental properties if you look at the Destination pages you might find a list of local contacts available to help secure what you might need during your visit.

13. What is the voltage like at these destinations?

Rule number one, be very careful before you plug anything in to an outlet in a foreign country! A lot of international voltages are 220V and will fry equipment and items better suited for 110V. The destination pages should specify what voltage and adaptors you might need at a particular location. Please feel free to contact us if you need further clarification.

14. Do you have fishing, snorkeling, and/or diving gear at these destination?

No matter what the destination we always recommend people bring their own equipment if they plan on snorkeling or fishing. While the chances are the highest end options will have everything you need, at our more remote destinations you have to assume they do not have everything readily available.

We only recommend people choose to scuba dive with a qualified PADI instructor in areas where medical support is nearby.

15. Can I be contacted while I'm at these destinations?

Most of our guests prefer to bring their own computers or smart phones to stay in touch with the real world in between surf sessions. The vast majority of our destinations feature a decent internet connection strong enough for internet based phone calls. Most of the time you can also get a 3G phone signal, even in areas that seem quite remote. How you decide to stay connected is up to you but please remember to alert your carrier before you leave and set up an international plan for your phone.

16. Can you give me an idea of how many other people I'll be surfing with?

This question really depends on where you you go and what types of waves you want to surf. At most locations it is possible to get away from the main spots and surf in solitude – everything really depends on the conditions. A good way to escape the bulk of the crowds is to consider a trip in the “off season” for some of our destinations.

Our favorite mantra is “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”. World Wave Expeditions always does our best to give people the best experiences of their lives on all of our expeditions and to find waves that allow you to catch them instead of watching other people catch them.

17. Can I celebrate a special occasion at the destination?

Hopefully with enough advanced notice we can help coordinate your special event with the appropriate people and accommodate your requests.

18. What happens if my flight is delayed or my boards don't make it?

Fortunately, we rarely encounter problems with our guest’s boards. In the rare instance that your boards do not make it and you are on a specific expedition we will still send the trip out on schedule and make arrangements to get your boards to you.

For rental properties you will need to coordinate the retrieval of your boards directly with the airlines but we will do what we can to help facilitate that process.

19. Who do I contact in case of emergency?

This answer depends heavily on where you are at but in general the best number to call in case of any type of emergency is +1-714-478-2487 or to e-mail us directly at:

expeditions@worldwaveexpeditions.com.

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