About this blog —
and why I'm the kook

My name is Dan. I grew up in Cornwall, which means I've been getting worked by cold grey waves since before I knew what I was doing. Then I moved to South East Asia for work — and suddenly the waves got warmer, more powerful, and considerably less forgiving.

Somewhere along that journey my kid got considerably better at surfing than me. This blog is what came out of that.

Between us we've surfed all over Indonesia — Bali, the Mentawai Islands, Lombok, Sumbawa and beyond — as well as Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the Maldives, Australia, and the breaks I grew up on back in Cornwall. Growing up on the Atlantic and living in Asia has given me an unusual range: I know cold water and warm, beginner-friendly, intermediate and more advanced, the kind of trips you plan for years and the ones you book on a Thursday night.

But this blog isn't just a destination guide. It's a map of a journey that every surf parent goes through — and nobody talks about honestly.

The stages of a parent-child surf life

1 - The beginning: you're teaching them to stand up on a foamie in shore break, picking the whitewash, holding the tail. You choose everywhere. You're in charge.

2 - The push: they're on green waves now. You're in the water beside them, reading the sets, pushing them into the ones that look right, then watching them go. You collect them at the end, help them paddle back out, and do it all again. It's the stage that disappears fastest. Most parents don't realise it's over until it already is.

3 - The transition: they've caught up. You're surfing the same breaks, going on the same waves. This is the golden era — the trips where you're genuinely equal out there.

4 - The crossover: they're better than you and you both know it. They're patient about it, mostly. You're looking for destinations that work for both of you without either having to compromise.

5 - The handover: they start choosing the destinations. You're just glad to be on the trip. This is where you're headed — and honestly, it sounds pretty good.

Wherever you are in that journey, there's something here for you. The destination guides, the gear advice, the honest reviews — they're all written with this arc in mind, not just for the parent who surfs and happens to have a kid, but for the parent whose entire surf life has been shaped by having one.

Because here's the thing nobody tells you: they'll forget the hotel. They won't forget the wave. And if you pick the right destination, the right week, the right conditions — you'll both be out there together, on the same set, and for a moment it won't matter who's better.

That's the trip I'm always trying to find. This blog is how I document the search.

I'm currently based in Brunei, which puts me closer to the best surf in Asia than most of the people writing about it. Every school holiday is a research trip.

If you're a surf parent trying to plan something your kid will actually thank you for, you're in the right place.

— Dan