Surf and swim with children on Fuerteventura

Splashing and playing on the beach at low tide
Surfer dad with son

Is there a beach in Fuerteventura where you can swim and surf at the same time with children? A very important question for families, which we are trying to answer here.

Hello surfing parents,
Admittedly, today's topic is not interesting for all fans of our sport. As a surfing father, I can say that it is a very important question which beaches you can surf and swim with at the same time. In addition, many of the (still) childless surfers will surely ask themselves this question later in life when they travel to Fuerteventura.

In this article I will focus specifically on surfing parents with young children. So children who are under 7 years old. At this age, children often cannot swim. Even if they can swim, they are still very light and small and are easily thrown or carried away by the surf.
 

Shorebreack beaches are not good bathing beaches for small children

Beaches where children can swim easily and safely should therefore be beaches without strong currents. In addition, there should be no waves on the shore that can knock the child over.

Here is a brief explanation of the waves and terms. The waves that break directly onto the beach are called shorebreak in technical jargon. For us surfers, this shore break is an everyday phenomenon that is not worth mentioning. For small children, a knee-high shorebreak can be uncomfortable.
The second problem, behind the waves breaking on the beach (shorebreak), the water often gets deep quite quickly. This can be dangerous for children who are not yet able to swim. They are almost torn into the deep water by the waves.

As surfers we know that the shorebreak is also a result of the tides, on most beaches it is only at high tide.
 

On beaches with waves, children should only bathe at low tide

So here is the first rule as an answer to the question asked in the introduction:
If you want to surf on the same beach and want that little children can swim and splash less safely, you should always go to this beach at low tide. Also at the risk of the waves not running so well. At low tide there is no shore break that can outline the children. The beach falls long and flat and the water does not suddenly become deep.
 

There are many beaches with clean, small waves on the east coast of Fuerteventura

But even at low tide, the waves in Fuerteventura can be very strong. The waves on the west coast are almost always stronger than on the east coast. The waves of the east coast may not be suitable for radical shortboard maneuvers, but the small points and beaches that produce clean small waves, especially with Windswell, are the ideal playground for longboards, fishboards and retro shapes.

Our surf course beach Esquinzo is ideal for swimming with children.
 

My conclusion

There are beaches in Fuerteventura where you can surf and swim with young children. Because the waves are generally smaller there, the beaches of the east coast are particularly suitable. Nevertheless, you should make sure to go to the beach at low tide so that the beach drops gently and the water does not suddenly become deep.