Best Beginner Surf Spots in Florida

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These 25 Florida breaks are at their best on small, forgiving surf — the most approachable size to learn on — ranked by how highly LazySurfer surfers have rated them. Conditions change daily, so open any spot for its live report before you paddle out.

• Bethune Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Sunglow Pier — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, mid incoming tide
• Sunglow Pier Northside — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, mid incoming tide
• New Smyrna Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• A St — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Crescent Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Pensacola Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the south, mid outgoing tide
• Juno Pier — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Cocoa Beach Pier — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Cocoa Beach Pier Southside — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Cocoa Beach Pier Northside — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Ponce Inlet — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Main Street North — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Wilbur by the Sea — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Hightower Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Jensen Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the northeast, high incoming tide
• Spyglass Dr Panama City — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the southwest, mid outgoing tide
• Ft Pierce Inlet — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Jacksonville Beach Pier — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Jacksonville Pier Southside — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Flagler Beach Pier — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high outgoing tide
• Atlantic Beach — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide
• Lake Worth Pier Southside — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the northeast, high incoming tide
• 40th St — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the northeast, high incoming tide
• Pelican Beach Park — best on a 0–2 ft swell from the east, high incoming tide

Frequently asked

What's the best beginner-friendly surf spot in Florida?

By LazySurfer's session ratings, Bethune Beach is the top-rated beginner-friendly surf spot in Florida. Sunglow Pier and Sunglow Pier Northside rank close behind. Each spot's page shows its ideal conditions and a live NOAA buoy and tide report.

How does LazySurfer rank surf spots in Florida?

LazySurfer ranks each break by the surf-quality ratings real users logged there, and trains a custom deep-learning model — a PyTorch neural network with per-user embeddings, retrained weekly on those logged sessions — to predict the 1-to-5 star rating you personally would give, rather than a single average for everyone.

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