A premium, small-group surf coaching retreat hosted by Dan Harmon, designed for intermediate surfers who want to make real progress in their surfing. With a handful of guests, the week combines personalised coaching, in-water feedback and video analysis with Dan’s local knowledge of the Cornish coastline.

You’ll stay in a luxury sea-view property in the St Ives Bay area, with full catering, locally sourced home-cooked food. There will be yoga and wellness sessions and a carefully curated programme designed to make the whole week feel relaxed, personal and special. Once you arrive, everything is taken care of for you, so you can switch off, focus on surfing and enjoy the week.

Intermediate and above surfers who are comfortable paddling out in everyday conditions.

The coaching will be tailored around your own performance, to improve your individual technique, therefore most levels are welcome. If you are looking for focussed coaching and real progressions, this retreat is for you.

You’ll be a great fit if you are starting to surf different types of waves, can trim both directions or are improving maneuvers such as cutbacks, floaters, and re-entries. 

Unfortunately, the retreat is not suitable for complete beginner surfers. This isn’t because we don’t like you (we love anyone getting into surfing)! This is more so we can deliver focused coaching and bring guests to waves suited to the entire group’s ability. We may run some beginner retreats in future, so please keep an eye out for that in future.

This retreat is also not for those searching for a ‘party surf camp’ style trip. This is an intimate retreat aimed at improving your surfing outside of the standard surf destinations and designed around fitness and wellbeing rather than drinking.

Yes! We offer a discounted rate for couple surfers.

Definitely welcome! We don’t want a non-surfing partner to be the reason you can’t come on the trip. They are more than welcome and can join in with all activities (yoga, sauna etc.) as well as coming to the beach while the rest of the group surfs. There is also no shortage of things to do in the local area if they want to go and explore.

Cornwall is at the whim of Atlantic swells therefore the waves can be anywhere from double overhead to knee high. March is generally a consistent time of year for conditions and the unique coastline means we have plenty of sheltered spots for bigger stormier conditions, as well as more exposed locations for days when the swell is smaller.

We won’t lie, Cornwall does does get wild sometimes, so this may not be the dreamy, clean scenes you see in the Maldives or Indo, but that is what makes this retreat unique.

The retreat is based in Cornwall so you can develop your surfing in the kind of waves you’re likely to encounter at home. Rather than relying on perfect reef breaks, the focus is on improving your technique, wave selection and adaptability in real-world conditions — so the progress you make here translates when you return to your local breaks.

Surfboard: Bring your everyday surfboard, just whatever you ride on a regular basis so you can learn to improve on the board you always use. Generally a standard short board or mid-length, then something smaller and fatter for smaller waves if needed.

Wetsuit: The water is cold (around 10 degrees Celsius / 49 degrees Fahrenheit) at this time of year, so a 5mm wetsuit, boots and hood are recommended. Gloves aren’t essential (I don’t wear them), but you can bring them if you feel the cold. A 4/3 and boots with a hooded vest can also work well for shorter sessions. If you have more than one suit we would recommend bringing them so you can avoid the torture of putting on a freezing cold wet wetsuit!

Clothing: The air temperature and wind are variable at this time of year so come prepared with a raincoat and some layers.

Extras: There will be some down time incorporated into the week so feel free to bring a book, walking boots, exercise clothing etc. whatever to fill your own time.

Car: There will be 2 available parking spots at the accommodation but we are able to organise additional off-premise parking if required (you won’t need your car during the week as transport is organised for the group). St Ives is about 5-6 hour drive from London Heathrow. 

Bus: The nearest bus station is Hayle and surfboards are accepted as luggage. We can collect you from Hayle or Newquay bus stations. 

Train: The nearest train station is St Ives or St Erth and we can collect you from either. Please note surfboards are not allowed on UK trains.

Plane: If you are landing in London, the fastest way to reach Cornwall is to fly to Newquay. There are fairly cheap flights with EasyJet and Ryanair from Gatwick and Stansted (bus transfer from Heathrow). We can collect you from Newquay airport.

Whatever transport you use, the price of the retreat includes pick-up and drop-off from anywhere in Cornwall. We are more than happy to help you organise the best transport and can answer any questions you have.

Dan has 13 + years of coaching beginners through to lower level advanced, in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He is obsessed with surfing and always striving to improve his own ability so hopes that some of his passion and love for the sport will rub off on you during the week!

Dan moved to Cornwall when he was 16 and it is now his home. Over the years he has learnt the intricacies of every break in the area and the exact forecast and conditions needed for them to work. During the retreat he can put the group in the right place at the right time to score the best waves. Expect fun beach break waves similar to what you surf on a daily basis, with the odd bigger/better day thrown in. While there are plenty of surfers here, generally we don’t get the crowds of top surf destinations, and with so many open stretches of beach break, we can expect to be surfing relatively uncrowded waves. 

Surfing aside, Cornwall is a stunning place, with blue waters, golden beaches and rugged cliffside. 

Currently finalising the pricing, however there will be a discounted rate for waitlist participants (with early access), double-occupancy rooms and couple surfers.

Pay 50% to confirm your spot when booking and the remaining 50% 6 weeks before the trip. 

Yes, you get all of your clips in 4k, in a file transfer at the end of the trip. There will be a filmer/photographer on hand to capture at least one session per day.

While we certainly cannot control the ocean, we have chosen these specific dates in the hope that there will be swell. Spring is a reliable time of year for waves here in Cornwall and it isn’t as cold as in the depths of winter. If it is small, we have access to one of the most exposed stretches of beach in the area and have some other swell magnet options we can drive to. 

To be honest, having “too much swell” is more likely for what we will encounter at this time of year, but thankfully we have a rugged coastline to play with which offers dozens of sheltered options. 

If worse comes to worst and it is dead flat, we have a back-up plan which all transport and costs will be included within the price of the retreat. Whatever happens, we’re getting waves.

Yes! The retreat will be based in the St Ives Bay and the house is between St Ives and Carbis Bay, each only a 20 minute walk away. For anyone who needs a rest from surfing, or any non-surfing partners wanting to explore, there are many things to do in the area.

St Ives is a quaint Cornish seaside town with a cobblestone streets and cosy fishermen cottages. The town is most famous for its’ artist displays, including The Tate St Ives, Barbara Hepworth galleries and Bernard Leech Pottery. The town also has a beautiful harbour front and lots of local shops to peruse. 

Penzance is a stonesthrow away on the South coast, home to St Michael’s Mount – a tidal island with a medieval castle. 

The Southwest Coastpath circumnavigates the entire coastline so there are no end of walks to do in the area to explore hidden coves and beaches. A particularly adventurous stretch is from St Ives to Zennor (ending at the Tinner pub for some food!).

These are just a few examples so don’t worry if you need a break from Dan’s surf obsession, rest assured there are plenty of places to explore!

Example of a typical day:

• Wake up early (ish)
• Breakfast at the house (e.g. eggs on sourdough)
• Filmed morning surf session
• Come back for coffee, croissants and a warm shower
• Lunch at the house (e.g. lemon chicken and avocado bagels)
• Second surf session with in-water coaching
• Come back to the house for yoga stretch and decompress
• Dinner in town at a beach front restaurant