Surf Sanctuary

The ocean can change your life, find out how at the Surf Sanctuary.

From our base in the Headland Hotel, perched above Newquay, Cornwall, we can watch the waves come off the Atlantic and dream up new ways to put these gifts to good use. Surfing is sometimes seen as a poser’s sport, but not for us. Catching a wave and riding it towards the beach is almost a spiritual experience (especially when that beach is Fistral Beach), and we want to share it with the world.

There’s plenty more than surfing that you can do with waves and water. We’re always looking for new ways to spend time in and around the ocean in interesting, engaging and inclusive ways. Whether we’re exploring the shoreline by paddleboarding or coasteering, peering beneath the surface of a rockpool with young children or seeing the sea floor with the help of a snorkel, we find new ways to understand the natural world and our place within it.

The range of activities that we offer is wide and varied by design. You might be completely new to the world of watersports, a family on holiday in Cornwall, an experienced surfer with a desire to catch the biggest waves, an outdoor leisure professional pursuing a qualification or someone in need of a holiday with a difference, we’re here to help you.

Have a look at what we do and let us know what you want to join in on!

Do you want to come Surfing?

If you want to come surfing, you’ve got to come to Newquay. If you’re in Newquay, you’ve got to come to Fistral Beach. If you’re on Fistral Beach, look up - you’ll see the Surf Sanctuary! Our HQ is above the beach, within the iconic Headland Hotel, and you’ll probably see our surf classes taking place on the sand and in the surf as well.

There are lots of surf schools in Newquay, but they’re not all the same. We stand out from the crowd for our love of everything surf-related, our intimate understanding of the local area, our gratitude to nature for giving us the chance to surf, and our wave-riding experience - they might not like to admit it, but some of our instructors have been coaching now for the best part of two decades.

We do it all, from getting kids to take the plunge into the surfer’s lifestyle to coaching expert surfers to ride better and smarter. In between the two, there are group and private classes for beginners and improvers, mindfulness sessions with a surfing twist, and equipment hire. Besides that, we love coasteering, snorkelling, paddleboarding and more. Anything that lets us interact with the water in other words!

Get in touch for more information today!

Interested in Coasteering?

It’s impossible to spend as much time surfing the waves in Newquay as we at Surf Sanctuary do without getting curious about the areas surfers can’t go. Beyond the beautiful expanses of golden sands, like our home turf of Fistral beach, the Cornish coast throws up rocks, cliffs and caves which set the imagination running wild. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that we’ve started running our very own coasteering excursions.

As luck might have it, one of the best coasteering sports in the whole of Cornwall is right under our noses - literally. We’re based at the Headland Hotel, which sits at the base of the Gazzle Peninsula. This is a rugged, jagged spur of land that sticks out into the sea and boasts caves, coves and cliffs along its flanks. If you’ve got an appetite for adventure, you’ve got to have a go at climbing, scrambling, diving and swimming out to the end.

Coasteering here doesn’t require any previous experience, but if you’ve got kids who aren’t quite ready for the intense activity, we also run rock pooling trips. With a focus on finding crabs, fish and other wildlife in the pools at low tide, it’s a family friendly option that everyone will enjoy. Besides these experiences, we’re always busy with surf classes and courses, stand.up paddleboarding and sub-aquatic activities.

Have a look at our offers and get excited for the adventure!

For anyone who’s having trouble standing up on a surfboard, there’s Paddleboarding.

With Surf Sanctuary, you’ll be on your feet in no time and moving across the water like never before. But stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) shouldn’t be seen as a different version of surfing - this sport has grown and developed to become a discipline of incredible utility and popularity on its own terms.

The merits of SUP are so obvious when you try it out in the beautiful area that we call home. We have our base at the Headland Hotel on the North Cornish coast, overlooking Newquay Bay in one direction and surfers’ paradise Fistral Beach in the other. Separating them is the dramatic Gazzle peninsula. All of these are fascinating places to explore by paddleboard, but if you’re not ready to head out onto the open sea, the sheltered Gannel Estuary is just a stone’s throw away.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with a SUP. We do tours and hire, as well as open-water courses, overnight excursions, SUP instructor training and even SUP surf! And, as if that wasn’t enough, we run plenty of surfing activities, coasteering excursions and diving experiences too.

There’s something for everyone - what will your choice be?

Immerse yourself in the ocean by Diving.

At Surf Sanctuary, we’re as interested in the world beneath the waves as the waves themselves. Breaking the water’s surface and getting a peek of the ocean’s life and landscape is an experience that’s hard to compare to anything else and can give a profound sense of connection with, and respect for, the environment that covers 70% of our planet’s surface.

Forget qualifications and bulky scuba equipment, we’re more old school. We are huge snorkelling fans and we use simple breathing gear in combination with freediving techniques to reveal hidden marvels. Anyone who assumes that subaqua exploration in the UK has nothing on diving in warmer climes should visit us in Newquay, Cornwall, and allow us to change their minds with visibility of up to 10 metres, fish and aquatic mammal populations and natural underwater playgrounds.

We also use our knowledge of the local area to offer bespoke spearfishing programmes to enthusiasts of this sport. We can show you the best places at the right times to help you catch something for dinner. If that doesn’t appeal to you, we know that surfing, paddleboarding or coasteering will, so check out our full range of experiences!

With something for everyone, we’ll be waiting to see you soon.