Swell Surf Camp Cabarete

Such a great experience!||Loved my stay here as a solo trip to learn to surf. Was easy to connect with others since you’re surfing together and having breakfast together. Dinner is served at the camp 3x/week too. The camp food was super tasty. ||We had a morning surf session, came back for breakfast, went back out for a mid-morning second session each day. Instructors Luciano and Daniel were fantastic, lots of individual attention and helpful feedback. ||When you’re not surfing the camp can organize other excursions for you, you can take a short walk to the kite surfing beach and hit restaurants and bars on the beach, or just relax by the pool at the resort. ||Overall a 5 out of 5 experience!!! Will try to come back next year for kite surfing.

All members of the Swell team combine to make for an engaging, fulfilling experience. Great place for new surfers. A little less consistent for experienced surfers than the waves in Costa Rica. The town is vibrant and easily walkable. Great supermarket on the corner. The highlight for us, was the group of people we ended sharing our stay with. The communal dining was new for us. Food is outstanding both in-house and nearby. Highly recommended.

Small, hostel-like place. Rooms were clean and comfortable. Air conditioner and fan worked well. Surfing from the hotel via private transport to the beach twice each morning. First surfing at 6:45 am. After first surf, full, cooked breakfast and coffee after the surfing. Surfing instructors were the best I've had. Great beach for beginner surfing with nothing too scary like big rocks. Only drawback is that the community surrounding Swell is quite loud. There was music with deep bass nearby until 4 am. Lot's of nearby restaurant choices. Bring ear plugs and all will be well.

Swell surf camp is an absolute gem. I'm so glad that saw an Ad pop up for this place as the Dominican Republic had never been on my radar for a surf trip. I'm an 'out of shape' workaholic but had wanted to learn to surf for many years (until now, I'd not been able to find time). I'm also a little bit older than I'd like to be, but that did not stop me having an absolute blast at the camp with the other guests. I guess that the fact everyone is there to do the same thing (or things) means that ages are levelled up and I never felt younger on vacation.|Haudy runs a tight ship and makes sure that everyone has everything they need. She's in charge of the awesome food (it's mouthwatering, every meal) and is arranging guests' trips outside of surf time. My surf lessons were awesome with Luciano and the team (and they had their work cut out with me, let me tell you!). They managed to make the surf lessons really fun as well as rewarding. Goodness, I slept well at night!|I even tried a couple of hours of wingfoiling, which was so fun, but I left it too late (I'd already been at Swell for 5 days when I took a couple of hours because another guest was learning and doing great). I'm going back again asap to learn wing foiling in the afternoon and carry on with the surfing where I left off.|I don't write many reviews, but this place was worth the time. Thnx.

My husband and I spent 7 or 8 days at Swell. I went into the week thinking that I hated surfing and was mostly going because my husband was super excited about it. I loaded up on books and figured I’d work remotely. Well, I got there and within a couple days, I was actually surfing and I couldn’t imagine not going every day. The staff and surf instructors were so stoked about surfing, I couldn’t help but be stoked too. The instructors were excellent and patient and nice. The food they cook for you is all really delicious. The referrals they had for restaurants and other activities were great. All the people working at Swell were very very nice. Everyone we encountered in connection with Swell was super nice and lovely. The location isn’t on the beach but I thought that was a positive because it was probably quieter. Highly recommend doing the yoga as well. Only hiccup we had was that we didn’t realize the wing foiling was with a third party company and so we didn’t realize we had to arrange our own schedule with them. It was all worked out very easily and ended up being for the best to have it that way. So no biggie. Just something to be aware of.

I had a great time! The lessons from the surf team were great, my surfing improved tremendously. The facilities at Swell are top notch: comfortable rooms, spacious communal areas and most of all the friendliness of the entire swell staff. I am already planning my next trip back to Swell,

I recently returned home after spending an unforgettable week at Swell Camp in Cabarete, and I’m thrilled to share my experience! From the moment I arrived, the Swell Camp team made me feel incredibly welcome and at home. Haudy was an exceptional host, setting a warm and friendly tone for the entire stay. Luciano’s deep knowledge of surfing and his ability to uplift and encourage were truly remarkable. Special shoutouts to surfing coaches Izzy and Eddie – they are simply amazing! Their passion for surfing, combined with their impressive work ethic, made every session both inspiring and enjoyable. They’re like water gurus, perfectly suited for their roles. I thoroughly enjoyed the yoga classes with Izzy, as well as the theory sessions and video analysis. These elements were incredibly informative and essential for my learning and improvement. The entire Swell Camp experience was made even more memorable thanks to the dedication of my surf instructors. I’ve been raving about Swell Camp to everyone I know and can’t wait to return. If you’re looking for a fantastic surf camp with a phenomenal team, look no further! Thank you, Team Swell, for an outstanding experience!

Swell gets great reviews, and some guests during my stay (independent surfers, not there for the camp) seemed satisfied. ||My experience was deeply disappointing. Swell was my 5th surf camp. It did not deliver any of the programming promised and definitely did not match the vibe of the website. ||I booked because the owner personally assured me that the camp offers activities each day, such as video analysis, stretching, balance training, and pool paddle practice. None of these activities materialized. ||In fact, I arrived to an empty hotel with no orientation and no instructors. Continuing through the week, there was surfing in the morning but otherwise no programming, no structure and no staff.||The instructors (nearly the entire “staff”) were all men, almost all of them young and inexperienced as instructors and seemingly more interested in clowning around together than instructing. The atmosphere might be fine for some but felt non-inclusive to me as a woman. ||When I told the owner I was dissatisfied by the lack of programming and professional instruction, she shockingly suggested I was at fault and should leave. She offered only a refund for the days unused. Three weeks later, I've received nothing, and my messages are ignored. ||If you’re looking for a surf camp, I suggest you keep looking.