A typical day at Swell:
Every morning our clients get up at 6.00 ( if they want), have a quick snack and fresh coffee to go, head to Encuentro for surf lessons by Luciano, who by now is one of the best and most experienced surf instructors at Encuentro beach.
Surf lessons take about 2 hours, and the experienced surfers grab a surfboard from our 35+ range of boards. At around 10.00 everybody is back at the Surf camp for more fresh coffee and a super healthy and big breakfast at the camp.
For breakfast our clients have the choice of:

Or all of the above!
Some people will just keep on eating…and that’s fine..we don’t want anyone to go hungry.

After the breakfast people chill for a while, play some table tennis or pool and then head back for a second surf session or surf lesson.

The last few days there has been absolutely no wind ( sorry kite surfers) but the people that want to learn Stand up paddle surfing (SUP) have been very happy. Conditions for learning this exciting new sport have never been better: super glassy and small and gentle waves in Cabarete bay’s reef ( deep enough , so no danger).

Swell Co-founder Clare has really been making big progress in the SUP department: catching long rides and having a blast.

We at Swell have the best SUP boards for beginners and experts surfers in Cabarete:
3 x large 11′+boards, for learning the SUP basics.
1 x 9′6” Mctavish allround waveboard
1 x 8′5” Starboard pocket rockets for shortboard style SUP surfing for the people with experience.

and..
More boards on the way.

Anyway….back to a typical day at Swell……..
For the people that want to do other activities, Cabarete has plenty to offer:
- Canyoning
- Wake boarding
- Spinning
- Yoga
- Horse riding
- Mountain biking
- Enduro dirt bike tours

Dinners at Swell are usually a group event: Go to a local restaurant ( at least 10 good restaurants within 5 minute walk) and a few times per week we cook food for the clients at Swell in the camp itself.
In the evening for those that still have any energy left over it’s party time in Cabarete, until……well as late (or early) as you want.

Party on the beach in Cabarete is legendary: chill vibe, flip flops, merengue, salsa, regeaton, locals, tourists, expats & everybody having a good time together.

It’s the middle of April now and the big wave season has ended, so does that mean that the surf season has ended?
No!
For beginners and intermediate surfers the fun begins now. With waves between waist and head high on average for the next 4 months, this is the time for you to improve your surfing skills here in Cabarete.

We are the newest and best surf school in Cabarete, why? Because we are the only surf school in Cabarete that teaches with the safest and easiest boards to learn surfing on: Bic soft surfboards.
They surf well, and are made of a hard inside core, but a soft outside, therefor, if you fall on the board, no injury will come of it. The other reason why the Swell surf school has such great results with introducing people to the sport of surfing is because Luciano Gonzalez is a top surf instructor: Speaks very good English, is very patient, a good surfer himself , and knows all the theories behind teaching people how to surf in a safe and fun way.

The next week looks perfect for learning to surf: perfect chest high waves, clean sets, hardly any wind and a lovely temperature.

Are you interested in learning to surf? Check this page on Swell Surf camp’s Cabarete surf school and then get in touch with us.
Not a client of Swell but still want to learn to surf? If we have space we do at times teach clients that are not staying with us. But send us an email first.

See you in the water this summer!

The wind didn’t full cooperate, which is normal this time of the year, so the windsurf event wasn’t full finished, but that didn’t matter, the results that mattered where in and Swell’s own Luciano Gonzalez took the title righfully back.

I think there was no question about who was the best overall surfer and kitesurfer in the comp. Luciano’s surfing has been killer, ripping Encuentro’s waves every morning, taking spinning classes with Clare’s for his Fitness and stamina has paid off. Clear winner without a doubt.

Here’s some kitesurf pictures from him

More ripping the waves:

Congrats to Luciano
aspiring to be a Master of the ocean? Luciano gives surf and kite surf lessons here in Cabarete for Swell surf camp clients

Strong wind and solid 2,5 overhead waves created the perfect setting for a photoshoot of Luciano Gonzalez riding strapless on a surfboard at Encuentro, the local surf spot here in Cabarete.
How big was it?

How was Luciano Gonzalez handling those waves…………. very well………why? Because he is one of the best wave kite surfers in the world.

How did he handle riding strapless in those big waves…….excellent…….most of the time……

At the moment 2 very talented film guys are making a movie about Luciano and Swell, and this epic day of kitesurfing at Encuentro, cabarete will be in it…stay tuned.

Want to improve your wave riding skills with a kite? Luciano works for Swell Surf camp full time, and especially in the summer months he will be available for our kite surf guests to give clinics and advanced kite lessons.

You like some white water?

2009 was a great year here in Cabarete, 2010 is going to be even better. 2009 was mostly about building the best surf camp in cabarete ( or the Caribbean ), and 2010 is all about the clients having a good time at Swell surf Camp in Cabarete, learning to surf at Swell’s surf school at Encuentro, learning to kitesurf / windsurf or any other active extreme sport that Cabarete has to offer.

We had a great batch of clients stay with us at Swell, in fact we were fully booked, which we are very happy about, since the more people stay at our new surf hotel, the better the vibe and socialising is.
How good is the vibe ?

See the pics from last night.

What we were doing? Drinking and then Jane taught us how to line and square dance. It was laughter all over the place.

It’s great to see that all the guests get along so well; A hostel vibe with the comforts of a hotel

The surf?
The surf has been all time, firing, consistent,. head high place and many all day glassy days.
We took the clients to a spot out of town, and scored. No one else out, head high and glassy, can you imagine a better xmass?

Dinner has been a great social event in Cabarete’s most private ( and exclusive ) restaurant

I think the above pictures prove that if you are an active person looking for a great surf holiday in the Caribbean, then Swell surf camp is the best choice…. guaranteed.

hasta pronto.

This morning the left at Encuentro was working, since there’s a a bit of North in the swell.
Clare went to take some shots, with great results.

Here’s some of the better ones.

Should be a good few days of surfing here in Cabarete or all along the north coast of the Dominican Republic.
And later this week….more pics of the Swell Surf Camp hotel

Where is Puerto Plata? – NY Surf Film Festival 2009 from NY Surf Film Fest on Vimeo.

I like thse video’s promoting the kite or surf holidays here in cabarete, so if you finmd any more of thse vids, let me know.

On the surf side of things: there’s a new swell on it’s way so good surf starting this weekend.
The broken naish SUP is being fixed, so hopefully that will also be back in business soon.

It’s a 3,5 hours flight from NY and you are in a different world. Warm water, quality uncrowded surf spots, mellow vibe. etc.

This video sums it up pretty well.

Swell is from NE direction and 13 seconds, so should produce some very good surfable waves here in Cabarete. We are thinking about going over to surf preciosa on wednesday, small crew, maybe Danniel a professional photographer from Canada, who will probably the designated surf photographer for Swell Cabarete surfing camp.

Quick update on the construction of our surf hotel in Cabarete
-Floor in the main area is being finished today with polishing
-Building will be painted this week
-Garden is looking nice green and tropical
-Bathroom fittings are all in by the end of the week as well.
-Kitchen should be done mid next week.

Here’s some pictures of Preciosa, as you can see, when it’s good , it’s real good.

if he continues like this he might actually be the fist swell cabarete surf camp’s sponsored rider. In fact he already is, he’s got 20 t-shirts, about 50 stickers and uses all of Swell’s new surfboards

And here’s some more scenic shots that Clare took.

20090920_4628 by swellsurfcamp

20090920_4607 by swellsurfcamp

Should be more head high waves this week, and by the end of next week there’s a good North swell arriving that should give us some good overhead clean waves here in Cabarete.
Hasta Pronto

ps: If you are looking for Swell Cabarete surf camp’s main website, it can be found here :