Sligo Surf Experience blog

Aloha and welcome to our blog about surfing in Strandhill and all the fun things to do in Sligo.

Sligo Surf Experience Blog Image: Voted Surf School of the Year 2022
9Mar

Voted Surf School of the Year 2022

By Seamus 09/03/2022

We were over the moon to get the call from the good folks running the Travel and Hospitality awards to let us know that Sligo Surf Experience had been voted as Irish surf school of the year for 2022. The awards were based on an interview with the judges and an analysis of our website and reviews online. We couldn't have achieved this without you, our valued customers and supporters. Thank you for coming to our surf school in Strandhill to visit us and thank you for taking the time to leave a review and share how excellent your surf lesson with us in Strandhill was with the world.

We work very hard throughout the year to make sure we can deliver the best surf lessons in Strandhill to our customers. And receiving awards like these is a good way to know that what we are doing is working. Although, the smiles on our customers' faces each time they leave the water with us says it all.

So we couldn't have achieved this without you, our valued customers and supporters. Thank you for coming to Strandhill to visit us and thank you for taking the time to leave a review and share how excellent your surf experience with us was with the world.

We work very hard throughout the year to make sure we can deliver the best surf experiences in Sligo to our customers. And receiving awards like these is a good way to know that what we are doing is working. Although, the smiles on our customers faces each time they leave the water with us says it all.

Strandhill surf lessons

We had some epic spring surf sessions and our customers are loving our new location at the main car park. We have more space for our surfers to gather, less traffic and there are tons of parking spaces. But now summer is here, Sligo Surf Experience is back open for daily surf lessons in Strandhill. The seafront at Strandhill Beach is buzzing, and you can watch some of the best surfers in Sligo shredding the waves at Strandhill beach. And don't forget to visit the Strandhill People's Market. up at Sligo Airport on Sundays.

Check out our surf lesson times and book online over on our surf lessons page

. If you don't see a time that suits please send us an email with your inquiry.

Summer camps open for bookings

We are also open for bookings for this summer's Ocean Warrior surf camps which will run each week in July and August from Monday to Friday. Surf camps are available at a 20% discount. Places are limited so early booking is recommended. Book now online



See times below.

Week 1: July 4 - 8 (1.30 pm - 4 pm)
Week 2: July 11 - 15 (9 am - 11.30 am)
Week 3: July 18 - 22 (2pm - 4.30pm)
Week 4: July 25 - 29 (9 am - 11.30 am)


Week 5: August 1 - 5 (1.30 pm - 4pm)
Week 6: August 8 - 12 (9 am - 11.30pm)
Week 7: August 15 - 19 (1.30 pm - 4pm)
Week 8: August 22 - 26 (9am - 11.30am)



A five-day Sligo Surf Experience surf camp is probably the best way to boost your surf skills and advanced booking is recommended. Our most popular surf camp is our award-winning Ocean Warrior surf camp which is ideal for nine to fifteen-year-olds. We also run teen and adult surf camps. Please email us to check availability.

Thanks for keeping us going during covid

2020 and 2021 were both short but super fun seasons. With so much negativity in the media surrounding the global panic concerning the shocking rise of coronavirus in 2020 and numbers of people sick and dying from sars-covid 2, I hope reopening our surf school in Strandhill brought back some much needed positivity. We were lucky that surfing and surf school were not as badly impacted compared to many sports and adventure businesses. People were able to maintain a connection with nature and bring in exciting positive energy to get them through the unprecedented times of covid-related restrictions. Surfing is a great medicine for many ailments, especially tedious lockdowns when week after week the need to visit a forest or ocean grew strong.

We hope that going for a surf lesson in Strandhill or getting to the beach or near the ocean helped you through the lockdown. If it did, we would love to hear your surfing lockdown stories. Myself and our hard working team would like to thank all our Sligo Surf Experience customers and clients who came to visit us during the 2020/2021 seasons. Thanks for keeping us going through the lockdowns and the covid-era and let's hope better days are ahead now we are through the worst of it.

Sligo Surf Experience offers a wonderful ecotherapy in the land of heart's desire. We also hope that the Strandhill surf schools and outdoor adventure as a whole can contribute to the reopening of the Irish economy and help many people improve both their mental and physical health.

Keep and eye on our social media (Facebbook, Instagram) for updates on lesson, events and promotions this spring and summer.

Stay salty.

Mahalo. Seamus Mc Goldrick - Sligo Surf Experience owner

Sligo Surf Experience blog

This is Seamus Mc Goldrick. I am the owner of Sligo Surf Experience in Strandhill and a team rider with Science bodyboards. As well as being a professional bodyboarder and a busy surf school manager, I love to write. I am also passionate about sharing the history of Sligo surfing and Strandhill village and the Coolera peninsula. I want to use my blog to share lots of surfing hints, tips and techniques with you. I'll give you an insiders guide to the Sligo surfing scene and let you know about all the fun things to do in Sligo. There is more to County Sligo than just surfing. Sligo is situated along the surf coast of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way.

Sligo is known as Ireland's Adventure Capital so there are lots of things to do in Sligo. There are plenty of unique Sligo walks, you can go on an adventure on Lough Gill with Sligo Kayak Tours and or experience hiking and biking adventures over the Ox Mountains.

Strandhill is also an excellent foodie destination. You can also Chill in Strandhill as there is lots of wellness offerings too like yoga, massage and spa treatments. You can also dive into the history and heritage of Strandhill by visiting Dolly's Cottage, exploring the Killaspugbron Loop or visiting the resting place of a warrior queen by taking the Queen Maeve trail to the top of Knocknarea: the iconic limestone hill that dominates the Coolera Peninsula.

But you haven't done it all unless you come for a surf lesson in Strandhill with Sligo Surf Experience.