Surfing Drone Videos

Two-time DVA winner Timelab.pro created this magnificent drone video (itself nominated for Drone Video of the Week) from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East.  The video includes footage of the Winter Surf Challenge - yes, surfing in Siberia!  It also includes footage of some of the area's spectacular natural scenery, including the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano, the Parantuka river, and the Vilyuchinsky Pass.  The video earned a nomination in the Extreme Sports category at the 6th Annual NYCDFF.

Check out this breathtaking drone reel of surfing spots around the world by AirVuz contributor Aled Roberts, who returns to AirVuz after a three year hiatus.  The video was filmed in Portugal, Indonesia and the Philippines, three of the world's top surfing countries.  The opening action shot is one of the best surfing sequences we've ever seen, as an obiously highly skilled surfer is seemingly enveloped by a giant wave, only to emerge from the massive tube of water still on top of his board.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner ArturCarvalho brings us this fantastic drone video of the surfing scene in Nazaré, Portugal.  Located about 70 mi. (around 120 km) north of Lisbon in the Centro Region, Nazaré is the home of the Silver Coast, one of the top surfing spots in Europe.  Situated on the open Atlantic Ocean, Nazaré is known for some of the largest waves ever surfed: in early 2018, a Portuguese surfer caught a wave here thought to be as high as 35 meters (over 115 ft.), although that was unverified.  

Be prepared to be amazed by this stunning aerial view of a giant swell off the North Shore in Oahu, Hawaii.  Top AirVūz contributor and drone pilot filmed this aerial video in mid-January when the biggest swell in years hit the state's north-facing shores.  Wave heights reached a whopping forty-five feet, with some sixty-foot sets coming through on Oahu’s North Shore. Typically from November to February, North Shore waves average heights of sixteen feet.  This video earned a Drone Video of the Week nomination in February 2021. 

Multiple Drone Video of the Week Winner ArturCarvalho bings us this magnificent drone video of the surfing scene on the Portuguese Riviera.  The video was filmed at Cabo Raso, a small peninsula just west of the famous beach town of Cascais.  It's a short distance due west of Lisbon, just outside the mouth of the Tagus River.  It's known for having some of the biggest waves on Portugal's entire western coastline, an area which is home to some of the top surfing spots in Europe.  The video was filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro 3.  

Pro surfers Cam Richards, Curren Caples, Betet Merta, and Noah Schweiser take on some epic waves on one of the top surfing beaches in Bali, Indonesia in this awesome aerial footage!  High above the deep blue barrels, top contributor and pilot Jasonkmcklean chased the surfers with his drone as they rode rolling currents.  No doubt, these guys have some surf skills that show they are one with the waves. See for yourself in this amazing piece, which was chosen as a Drone Video of the Week nominee from November 2018.

The South Pacific island of Tahiti is consistently ranked among the world's top surfing spots.  And 11-time World Surfing League champion Kelly Slater is very definitely ranked amongst the very best surfers of all time.  When this legendary surfer headed for Tahiti for the WSL's Billabong Pro Tahiti event in 2016, contributor and pilot Tahiti Fly Shoot was there to capture the action via drone, creating this epic video of the session.   Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, a French Overseas Collectivity.

Check out these epic first person view (FPV) drone views of the surfing scene in the Dominican Republic, compliments of AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot bosstalkpro.  The video was filmed at the El Encuentro surfing lodge in Cabarete, roughly in the middle of the DR's northern (Atlantic Ocean) coastline.   The video shots how FPV drones are cutting new ground in giving us the ability to experience fast-moving action sports.  This video was picked for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in July of 2023.  

Indonesia's Bali island is known for having some of the world's most epic surfing beaches.  When a super swell hit the Padang Padang Beach (on the southern part of the island) in June of 2017, "epic" went to, well whatever comes after "epic".  As you will see in this incredible drone video by contributor Indo Eye, who was able to film these unusually favorable surfing conditions from a bird's eye view.  Needless to say, this is not for the beginner surfers out there; these are extremely dangerous waves.

Award-winning contributor and drone pilot Postandfly gives us this beautiful aerial video of a beach spot in his native state of Oaxaca on Mexico's Pacific coastline.  Zicatela Beach is considered one of the best surfing beaches in the Western Hemisphere.  It's just a short distance from Puerto Escondido, a beach town which is widely considered to be more authentically Oaxacan than Huatulco, the state's other big beach spot which was developed on a large scale basis in a manner similar to Cancun.

The Maldives, a group of islands spread out over the Indian Ocean, are known as a top tropical beach destination.  What is perhaps less known is that a number of the outer islands also offer some world class surfing, on a par with Australia, Bali, or South Africa.  Top contributor Drone Heroes, who has a large Instagram following and makes travel videos incorporating drone footage from exotic locations around the world, used a drone to capture the epic Maldives surfing scene from an aerial perspective. 

The area around the city of the Gold Coast in eastern Australia is known for being amongst the world's top surfing spots as well as a great place for whale watching.  Tweed Head is a small beach town in New South Wales, just south of Gold Coast (which is part of the Queensland state).  In this video, contributor and pilot Corellovel managed to capture the surfing scene at Tweeds Head with some epic shots of some humpback whales.  You'll see the surfers and the sea mammals sharing the stunning torquoise waters.

While the island of Barbados is considered a Caribbean island, it's technically not in the Caribbean Sea.  Rather, it sits due east of St. Vincent, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.  With much stronger waves, Barbados offers the best surfing in the region.  In this video by Niall Thomas, you'll get a bird's eye view of the Barbados surfing scene in the Soup Bowl area on its northern shore.  It's part of an area called Bathsheba Beach, which was recently named one of the world's top 25 beaches by CN Traveler.

Contributor Lego created this beautiful drone video of one of the world's most iconic surfing spots.  It's called Uluwatu, and it's located at the very southwestern tip of the island of Bali in southern Indonesia.  The site was used as the filming location for a movie called Morning of the Earth, a 1971 low budget Australian film which has since gone on to become a classic in the surfing movie genre.  With its five separate breaks, Uluwatu is now considered one of the world's top surfing beaches.  

Contributor Francisco Rodriguez created this amazing drone video of the surfing scene at Praia Grande Beach, one of Portugal's most famous beaches.  It's located in the Sintra province of the Greater Lisbon region, just a bit west-northwest of the capital city.  It's part of the area sometimes known as the Portuguese Riviera, a stretch of Atlantic coastline that includes other famed beaches such as Cabo de Roca and Cascais, which are more popular with swimmers (as opposed to surfers) and lie to its south.  

Cloudbreak is a left-breaking reef pass off the shores of Namotu, one of the islands of Fiji in the South Pacific.  It is regularly ranked amongst the 10-12 best surfing spots in the world, and has hosted many competitions where the best surfers on earth show up to take it on.   In this  drone video by contributor and drone pilot Jasonmclean, you'll get a bird's eye view of some very skilled surfers hitting the waves here.   It's a reminder of how much drones have revolutionized how we see action sports like surfing.

Brazil's long coastline features some of the best surfing beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, comparable to the best beaches of Portugal but warmer.  Brazil's top surfing spots  can be found throughout the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as well as further north in Bahia and the other states of Northeastern Brazil.  In this video, Gustavoaguiar filmed a couple of surfer girls on one of the beaches near the city of Rio, around the time that the city was hosting the Olympic Summer Games in 2016.

The USA state of New Jersey has a long Atlantic Ocean coastline, which stretches from just south of New York Harbor to Delaware Bay, the estuary of the Delaware River.  Known colloquially as the Jersey Shore, this is a legendary getaway spot for denizens of New York and Philadelphia, the two giant cities which sit to its north and south, respectively.  Among the other attractions of the Jersey Shore is its very active surfing scene; get a glimpse of it from above in this drone video by zekedrone.   

Unlike its neighbors in Central America, El Salvador only has one coastline, on the Pacific Ocean.  That's the right side though for surfing, and like so many other countries with a Pacific coast, El Salvador is developing its own surf culture.  One of the top spots is Punta Roca, which lies towards the northern end of the country's coastline.  In this video, you'll get a bird's eye view of this fast-developing surfing destination, courtesy of contributor and drone pilot Fotovideorestudiosv.

Top AirVuz contributor and pilot Ryzone brings us this phenomenal drone video from Hawaii's Mokulua Islands.  The two islets are located about a kilometer (.75 mi.) offshore of Kailua, on the northeastern coast of Oahu.  With surf breaks on either side, the islands are popular spots for surfing, as you'll see in the video.  Seen from the mainland, the larger island (Moku Nui) is on the left, while the smaller (Moku Iki) is on the right.  Both islands are part of the Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary.  

In this drone video, top AirVuz contributor and pilot Fitlam Studios shows us that surfing isn't limited to places like Hawaii and Bali.  He filmed this in a spot which isn't even on an ocean: Duluth, Minnesota, on Lake Superior.  And in the dead of winter!  One of the coldest cities in the USA, Duluth is also known for the length to which its residents will go to prove that the long bitterly cold winters can't keep them inside.  But surfing???  Wet suit or no, that is some mighty cold water you see here.  

Among the many attractions of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius is its surfing scene.  The archipelago, which lies east of the much larger island of Madagascar, consists of four main islands.  While surfing is generally thought of as an Atlantic or Pacific Ocean activity, the Indian Ocean offers some amazing surfing conditions as well, and Mauritius has some of the best.  Witness this amazing drone video by contributor Skeye Mauritius, who was able to film some surfers at a "secret" spot.

If you want to see how drones have revolutionized our ability to see surfing up close, check out this video by myflyingeyes.  It was filmed on the beaches of Ventura, a beach community in Southern California.  Lying about midway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, it's considered one of the prime surfing spots on the USA's West Coast.  The video uses some very skillful slow motion editing and provides a window onto this lifestyle sport which is so closely identified with the California lifestyle.   

Europe's best surfing is found in areas of the Portuguese and French coasts facing the Atlantic Ocean.  While a wetsuit is generally required, the surfing action is top-notch.  Contributor Atlantic Drones traveled to Hossegor in southwestern France and Nazare on the Portuguese coast to film some of these surfing spots.  Using a combination of gimbal stabilized camera drones and FPV drones he created this epic video showing the best of the European surfing scene. 

A notoriously difficult activity to film from the ground, surfing is an ideal type of activity to film with a drone.  While it requires some skillful piloting, a flying camera enables us to fully appreciate the skill involved in the ancient sport of riding the waves, which originated in the Hawaiian Islands.  In this reel by AirVuz contributor myflyingeyes, you'll see what we're talking about.  The video footage was captured in a variety of spots in California and the South Pacific island of Fiji.

Despite the relatively cold water temperatures, the western coast of France along the Bay of Biscay (a wide inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean) has one of the most active surfing scenes in Europe.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot Nathanscemama, you'll get an aerial view of the surfing off the Île de Ré, a medium-sized island just west of the port town of La Rochelle in the Charente-Maritime department, roughly in the middle of the Bay of Biscay coastline that runs from the Breton Peninsula down to the Spanish border.    

While the Mediterranean Sea isn't typically associated with surfing, there is an active surfing scene on the western side of the French island of Corsica during certain times of the year.  In this drone video by former Drone Video of the Week Finalist Hashtaggu, you'll get an aerial view of the Ruppione Surf Festival, which was held in September of 2023.  Located about two-thirds of the way down Corsica's western coastline, Le Ruppione sees optimal surf breaks during the Fall and Winter seasons.  

The area north of Puerto Vallarta has become one of Mexico's up-and-coming surfing destinations.  Sometimes called the Nayarit Riviera, this stretch of the Pacific Ocean is attracting growing interest from the world surfing community, which traditionally has gravitated to the Baja California beach towns.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor Hellokien, you'll get an aerial glimpse of some longboard surfers riding the waves in this sub-tropical paradise on Mexico's western coastline in the state of Nayarit.  

The beach community of Santa Cruz, California has long been near the epicenter of the USA's surfing culture.  Located at the northern end of Monterey Bay, about a 90 minute drive south of San Francisco, Santa Cruz offers some of the most consistently favorable surfing conditions in the continental US for those willing to don wetsuits.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor travispacheco, you'll get an aerial view of the surfing scene at Paradise Point, considered the single best spot to surf along the Santa Cruz beachfront.  

New Caledonia is a French territory in the South Pacific. Dozens of islands make us the region that is known for a massive barrier reef that surround the main island, its scuba diving, beautiful beaches, and marine-life-rick lagoon. Between May and September, surfing is one of the major attractions in the area due to the massive swells that are generated off the southern ocean lows. Drone pilot martins_nc is giving us an aerial view of the brave surfers who risk it all trying to catch the perfect wave. 

Surfing in New York City?  Yes, you heard that right.  Obviously surfing isn't going to work in the protected waters around Manhattan, but it's a rather different story at Far Rockaway Beach in Queens.  Here at the base of the Rockaway Peninsula which extends westward from Long Island, it's open Atlantic Ocean and surf's up - as you'll see in this drone video by contributor and pilot Invincible Storm Films.  It's definitely wetsuit territory even in the summer but very definitely surfing in New York City! 

In recent years, the Indonesian island of Bali has seen extensive development on its southwestern shore, just north of the Bukkit Peninsula which is home to Bali's most well-known beach resorts.  One of the emerging beach destinations in the town of Canggu, which is particularly popular with surfers.  It's located just 10 km (around 6 mi.) north of Kuta, near the "neck" of the peninsula.  You can check out beautiful Canggu and its surfing scene from above in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor and pilot silvano1988.  

The second season of Drone Trippin takes place in Oahu, the site of the Drone Worlds held there in October, 2016.   In this episode, Colby Curtola, aka SFPV, is able to sneak away to Oahu’s North Shore after finishing his racing events for the day. At the beach, he runs into pro surfers Eli Olson and Kailani Jabour, and they decide to try teaming up and mixing their skills to get some killer shots via an FPV quad in one of the world's top surfing locations.