Am I Too Old to Learn to Surf?
Quick Answer
No, You are not too old to learn to surf in your 40″s 50’s or even 70’s — you can absolutely learn to surf at any age.
The key is:
- choosing the right board
- learning in the right conditions
- improving your fitness gradually
- and managing expectations
For most older beginners, progression is more about confidence and consistency than age.
However, this is one of the most common questions people ask.
And it usually comes with something underneath it:
👉 “What if I’m too late?”
👉 “What if I look stupid?”
👉 “What if I can’t do it?”
The truth?
👉 You’re not too old.
But you do need to do a few things differently.
🏄 My Reality Learning to Surf at 28
I started surfing at 28 on the Gold Coast.
Which sounds young… until you’re out there.
I learnt at places like Snapper — which, honestly, I hated at the time.
It’s world-class… but also:
- super competitive
- fast
- and hard to get waves
Most sessions?
👉 I’d catch one wave… maybe.
Sometimes none.
I’d come in frustrated, throwing my board on the sand like:
👉 “I’m never surfing again.”
And I meant it.
Why Surfing Is So Hard to Learn Later in Life
Surfing has one of the slowest learning curves of any sport.
Way slower than something like kite surfing where you can progress quickly.
With surfing:
- you wait
- you miss waves
- you get it wrong… a lot
And that messes with your head.
🧠 The Real Struggle Isn’t Physical — It’s Mental
For me, it wasn’t just the waves.
It was the thoughts:
- “I’m not good enough”
- “I don’t deserve this wave”
- “Everyone else is better than me”
And being in a lineup where you don’t feel like you fit in?
👉 That amplifies everything.
Especially when you don’t look like the typical 20-year-old surfer girl.
👉 If this sounds familiar, this is worth reading:
How to Stop Negative Thoughts While Surfing
🏄♂️ The Biggest Mistake I Made (And Most People Do)
I was put on a tiny, high-performance board from the start.
Because I was told:
👉 “This is what you need to get good.”
It made learning:
- harder
- slower
- more frustrating
It took me YEARS to realise:
👉 Board choice is the fastest way to improve your surfing. Let me give you the run down on Best Surfboards that suit people like us who are starting surfing later in life.
How to Learn Surfing Faster as an Older Beginner
If you want to learn surfing later in life, focus on this:
🥇 1. Board Selection (Most Important)
A bigger board with more volume will:
- help you catch more waves
- make standing up easier
- build confidence faster
👉 This alone can change everything
🏄 Recommended Beginner Boards
If you’re learning later in life, these are the boards I’d personally recommend starting with:
- soft tops
- mid-lengths
- high-volume funboards
👉 Read:
Best Surfboards for Older Women
🥈 2. Fitness (Especially for Women)
As a surf coach, I see this all the time.
The biggest struggles:
- upper body strength (for paddling + pop-up)
- balance
- flexibility
If your body isn’t ready:
👉 surfing feels 10x harder than it should
👉 Start here:
How to Improve Your Surf Pop-Up
🥉 3. Time in the Water
There’s no shortcut for this.
You need:
- repetition
- exposure to waves
- time reading conditions
Even things like:
- body surfing
- using a handplane
- learning tides and swell
👉 all build your understanding faster
🧠 4. Mindset (This Is the Hidden One)
This is where most people quit.
Not because they can’t do it…
👉 but because they don’t believe they can.
Things like:
- scarcity mindset (“there aren’t enough waves”)
- comparison
- feeling like you don’t belong
👉 will stop your progress before your body does
Helpful articles :
How to Build Confidence in Bigger Waves
🌬️ Confidence Changes Everything
One of the biggest shifts in surfing is confidence in the water.
Especially when it comes to:
- wipeouts
- hold-downs
- bigger surf
Because when you feel more comfortable underwater:
👉 you commit more to waves
👉 you stop hesitating
👉 and surfing becomes far more enjoyable
I learnt this the hard way.
Years ago in Indonesia, I got caught inside by a set that was far bigger than anything we were comfortably surfing.
A proper clean-up set.
Five waves in a row.
By the second wave, boards were already snapping.
By the third, I was in survival mode.
I remember coming up gasping, barely getting a breath before the next wave landed on my head. Everything started narrowing in — tunnel vision, panic, pure exhaustion. By the last wave I was being dragged toward the cliffs, completely spent.
I looked over at my mate and the fear in his eyes matched mine.
He threw me his board and I grabbed it like a drowning animal.
I genuinely thought:
👉 this might be it.
And honestly, for years after that, I carried fear in the ocean.
Not healthy respect — fear.
The kind that sits in your chest before you paddle out.
The kind that makes you hesitate when a bigger set approaches.
Then I discovered surf apnea and breathwork.
And it changed everything.
Not because it magically made me fearless…
But because it taught me how to stay calmer inside discomfort.
How to slow panic down.
How to trust myself underwater.
That experience impacted me so deeply it eventually led me to start this blog, run women’s surf workshops, and teach breathwork for surfers — because I realised confidence in the ocean isn’t just physical.
It’s nervous system training.
👉 If you struggle with fear of hold-downs, wipeouts, or bigger surf, start here:
How to Build Breath Hold Confidence for Surfing
🏄♂️ Longboard or Shortboard? (And What You Actually Want From Surfing)
One of the biggest decisions early on is:
👉 What kind of surfing do you actually want to do?
Because that determines:
- the board you ride
- how fast you progress
- and how much you actually enjoy the process
🟢 Longboarding (Great — If That’s What You Want)
If your goal is:
- cruising
- catching lots of waves
- smooth, relaxed surfing
👉 then a longboard makes perfect sense.
They’re:
- stable
- easy to paddle
- great for building confidence
But here’s where I see a lot of people go wrong…
🔴 If You Want to Shortboard — Don’t Stay on a Longboard Too Long
The common advice is:
👉 “Start on the biggest board possible”
And yes, that helps you catch waves…
But if your goal is to shortboard?
👉 It can actually slow your progression.
Because you’re not learning:
- how to paddle into waves properly
- how to position yourself
- how to duck dive
- how a smaller board feels in real conditions
💡 What I Recommend Instead
If your goal is to shortboard:
👉 Start on something slightly bigger than what you want to end up on — not massively bigger.
Think:
- mid-lengths
- funboards
- or just a few steps up in volume
This allows you to:
- still catch waves
- but actually learn the skills you’ll need later
I see this all the time as a coach.
People spend years on big boards…
👉 then struggle massively when they try to step down.
If you’re unsure where that sweet spot is, I also put together a guide on the best surfboards for older women — including the exact types of boards that make progression feel smoother and more confidence-building instead of frustrating.
🧠 My Experience
I was put on a small, high-performance board early on.
It made everything:
- harder
- slower
- more frustrating
But on the flip side, I also see people go too far the other way and stay on oversized boards for too long.
👉 Both extremes slow you down.
⚖️ The Real Goal
It’s not about:
- the easiest board
- or the hardest board
👉 It’s about choosing a board that challenges you just enough while still letting you progress.
🌏 Best Places to Learn Surfing as an Adult Beginner
Your environment matters just as much as your board.
If you want to improve faster:
👉 choose places with:
- consistent waves
- less crowds
- forgiving conditions
Places like Lombok are ideal for this.
You get:
- warm water
- consistent surf
- more time actually riding waves
👉 I break this down more here:
How to Score the Best Waves in Lombok
🏄♀️ Surf Camps & Retreats (Fast Track Option)
If you want to speed things up:
👉 surf camps or retreats can help massively
Because you get:
- structured progression
- coaching
- more time in the water
Just make sure:
👉 they align with your level and your goals
🌊 Where You Learn Matters
Not all surf spots are equal.
Places like:
- Snapper
- crowded point breaks
👉 can slow your progress massively
Instead:
- smaller waves
- quieter beaches
- forgiving conditions
👉 will help you improve much faster
👉 This guide will help you choose:
Beginner Surf Spots in Australia
🔄 Starting Again After Time Off (Where I’m At Now)
Right now, I’m actually preparing for my own comeback.
I haven’t surfed properly since having my son — he’s 5.5 now.
My whole goal has been:
👉 getting him into surfing so I can get back into it too
That’s the dream.
At the moment:
- I’ve been on Magnetic Island (no surf)
- doing paddle boarding and kayaking
- rehabbing a back injury
- rebuilding strength
Because the reality is:
👉 nothing gets you surf fit like surfing
And I’m giving myself about 4 months to build back up before heading to Indonesia and getting back into it properly.
🌊 Final Thought
The biggest mistake isn’t choosing the “wrong” board…
👉 it’s not being clear on what kind of surfer you actually want to become.
Once you understand that:
👉 everything else gets a lot easier.
❓ FAQ
Can you learn to surf at 40, 50 or 60?
Yes — but you need:
- the right board
- the right conditions
- realistic expectations
Why is surfing so hard to learn?
Because it’s not just physical:
👉 it’s timing, positioning, and reading the ocean
What’s the fastest way to improve?
👉 Board selection
👉 consistency
👉 working on your pop-up
Is surfing harder for women?
It can be — especially due to:
- upper body strength
- confidence in the lineup
But with the right approach:
👉 you can progress just as well