Surfing

Surf the west coast of Victoria at many beaches throughout the Great Ocean Road region from the famed breaks of Bells Beach, a much-loved icon of Australia's surf scene where the Rip Curl Pro is held every Easter, to the big right-handers of Blacknose, famous for a big south-westerly with a heavy sea, beyond Discovery Bay.

Learn how to surf

Get on-the-sand advice and tutoring from a local expert. There are a number of excellent learn-to-surf schools along the coast and most students find themselves standing on a board by the end of a two-hour session. Speak to experienced locals who will share a secret or two about the best spots for surfing novices but to get you started, ride waves ideal for beginners at Torquay, Anglesea, Fairhaven and Lorne or travel further along the coast to Cape Bridgewater.

Surfing for the elite

Base yourself in the surfing capital of Torquay and experience some of the best surf in Victoria for advanced riders along the Great Ocean Road. From Bird Rock, at the west end of Jan Juc, to Bells Beach is a rocky shoreline with a series of reef breaks below the cliffs more suitable for advanced riders. World-renowned Bells Beach has two main breaks, the Bowl and Rincon, both right-handers and at their best during autumn and winter. Excellent right-hand breaks can also be found at nearby Winki Pop and Centreside, with Southside providing one of the few lefts in the area.

Find a popular spot further along the coast between Airey's Inlet and Lorne at Cathedral Rock or the right-handers running into the rocky shores of Lorne Point and, on its western side, at Vera Lynn and off St George's River. Along the coast, between Lorne and Apollo Bay, there are good surf spots at Cumberland River, Wye River, Baldy Rock, Skenes Creek, Sawmills and Kennett River.

Tackle the wild western surf areas past Cape Otway. Many surfers consider Johanna Beach, 35 kilometres west of Apollo Bay, to be one of the top surfing beaches in Victoria, with big beach breaks on the steeply sloping ocean floor and a variety of reefs and beach breaks also around Castle Cove. These conditions are repeated at Princetown, Gibson Steps, Port Campbell and Peterborough. There are big right-hand reef breaks at the Lighthouse and Green Island, the point break of The Passage and the reefs of Gabbos and Gooloos.

Travel further west to Warrnambool for the beach breaks of Logan's Beach, The Flume and Levy's Beach or the gentle surf of East Beach at Port Fairy. Experience an outstanding variety of points, capes and bays around Portland. Here the rides are so long that you have to walk back to a take-off point rather than paddle out again. Hot spots include Shelley Beach east of Cape Bridgewater, the Water tower near Portland, Yellow Rock and Crumpets which are sure to produce fine waves, as well as Whites Beach to the east of Discovery Bay.