Surfing
As surfing expands its horizons beyond its traditional beachside base and into pools, basins, rivers and even canals, these are the planet's best landlocked waves.
As a new era of surf parks dawns, man-made waves continue to break down barriers around the world, allowing landlocked frothers the chance to surf in their own backyards. While taking the ocean out of the equation clearly changes the surfing experience, the payoff comes with the ease of accessing consistent waves and the communities that form around them.
From South Korea to Switzerland, Brazil to Germany and urban metropolises like New York and Melbourne, salt dogs are packing lineups and sharing sessions in unlikely corners as the global surfing tapestry grows ever richer.
I could just retire and surf a wave pool for the rest of my life
With dollars on the line, rival park operators find themselves locked in a space race where surfers are the winners as bigger and better waves come onto the market with every upgrade in technology. From long pointbreaks to heaving tubes and sections designed for big turns and even aerials, the options are endless for those who want to explore them or, better still, for those who are stuck inland and now no longer need to travel to get their fix.
Here are the best waves on the planet to satiate your surfing addiction when you can't be at the beach, with a couple of honourable mentions and a few future prospects thrown in for good measure.
01
Surf Abu Dhabi – Hudayriyat Island, United Arab Emirates
The surfing world's eyes will turn to the United Arab Emirates this February as the Abu Dhabi Pro makes its debut on the 2025 WSL Championship Tour. Built using the same Kelly Slater Wave Co technology as California's Surf Ranch, the Surf Abu Dhabi tank is a slightly longer version of the basin in Leemore, California, with the potential to serve up significantly larger waves.
Like most things in the United Arab Emirates, bigger pairs with better, so not only is the pool the longest in the world, the facilities are second-to-none. Surf Abu Dhabi is a saltwater pool, meaning it's the closest re-creation of the ocean experience yet, while the bars and restaurants are world class and the locker rooms and recovery zones just can't be beat.
The true test of the wave will come when the Championship Tour surfers put it through its paces, but with the UAE a major global airline hub, there'll be no shortage of opportunities for surfers from all corners to add in a Surf Abu Dhabi layover and find out for themselves.
02
Surf Ranch – California, USA
Kelly Slater blew minds in December 2015, when the KS Wave Co hard launched the Surf Ranch on an unsuspecting surfing world. A fully functional, barrelling wave built in an old waterski park 200 miles from the coast and surrounded by dairy farms, the sheer perfection of the plough-powered tube immediately set the bar for wave pools.
The 11-time world champion's freshwater invention was enough to convince the World Surf League to add the Ranch to the 2018 Championship Tour, with the WSL calling it 'the first repeatable man-made wave that convincingly delivers the power and shape of ocean waves."
The waves at the Surf Ranch are known for their perfect, long barrels and high performance walls that let pro surfers unleash their repertoire or civilian surfers work on theirs. The Surf Ranch offers both left and rights, as the wave generating train steams from one end to the other, and while it costs a small fortune to hire for a day its relative proximity to Silicon Valley sees the pool booked out year-round.
03
URBNSURF – Melbourne and Sydney, Australia
Australia's first two wave parks are also two of the most commercially successful in the world, proving that a lucrative market for man-made waves can still exist in a nation that's proudly girt by sea. While Australia boasts some of the world's best beaches and no shortage of waves, the ability to book an hour of guaranteed waves in either of the country's two biggest cities has proved a winning concept.
Powered by Wave Garden's Cove technology, the basins feature lefts and rights breaking towards a central jetty, and a variety of settings from the beginner modes in the shallows right up to the fearsome Beastmode barrel. There's also a number of secret menu specials that can be dialled up for the various competitions of all levels that URBNSURF regularly hosts.
URBNSURF Melbourne has the added bonus of being mere minutes from Tullamarine airport, so it's not uncommon for surfers from around the country to fly in, surf and fly home in the same day. As discussed, the Aussies love surfing.
04
Boa Vista Village – São Paulo, Brazil
This incredible Brazilian basin was built as the centrepiece of the larger Boa Vista Village housing development and even the most traditional of surfers would struggle to say no to living on-site, such is the quality of waves on offer.
Built by American Wave Machines – who's stated goal is to imitate nature and recreate surf, not simply waves – and using their proprietary PerfectSwell technology, waves can run from end-to end along one wall, or as a peak breaking from the middle of the pool.
Beyond their brand's more secretive tech, PerfectSwell features a series of chambers under the surface that can be filled or drained of water and then programmed to fire in sequence in an infinite number of combinations. This creates an endless array of waves ranging from hollow tubes to longer rippable walls, and, most importantly to surfers at the pointy end of the sport, big ramps for launching aerials.
05
O2 SURFTOWN MUC – Munich, Germany
Since 1972, German surfing has meant hitting the Eisbach river wave in the Munich City Streams. Surfers in Bavaria's biggest city saw a massive upgrade in 2024 however, with the opening of the 02 SURFTOWN pool powered by Endless Surf.
02 SURFTOWN serves up a variety of waves to a strong local squadron of surfers, with the Pointbreak running nearly 200m from one end of the pool to the other for advanced surfers, while the A-Frame serves up peaks that are more accessible to surfers of all levels. Rumour has it that after three-time world champion Mick Fanning surfed O2 SURFTOWN in Munich he immediately contacted the developers building a wave pool in his hometown on Australia's Gold Coast and insisted that they power the operation with Endless Surf's technology.
In October 2024, in front of a huge crowd of surf fans, Leon Glatzer was crowned German national champion at O2 SURFTOWN. 58 years after German surfing was brought to life in the canals of Munich, it was fitting that the first ever national surfing title won in Germany soil went down in the same city.
06
Surf Waco – Texas, USA
Texas: home of barbecue, big hats, South by Southwest and, lately, surf. For the best waves in the state, head to Surf Waco. Though there's no sand and very little buoyancy around these parts, you’ll find some of the most authentic artificial waves in North America here.
A surf, cable ski and all-purpose water park, if you like to splash around in water then Surf Waco is your place. And, if you're a surfer who likes to launch, then it might just serve up the best ramps in the country. If Surf Waco is good enough for world champs like Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks to head there to tune-up their air work, then you'll find it's good enough for you.
07
Alaïa Bay – Sion, Switzerland
The Swiss beat the Germans to the wavepool punch when Alaïa Bay opened in Switzerland in 2021, three years before Munich got in the game.
Another Wave Garden Cove, Alaïa Bay is not only known for its spectacular lefts and rights, but also for its spectacular, Alps-lined backdrop. More recently it became the first place that Leo Fioravanti ever stuck a Backflip.
08
Wave Park – Siheung, South Korea
An hour from Seoul in Siheung, South Korea, the Wave Park might just be the most surprising surf spot in the world. Although South Korea does have a longboarding community around Busan in the south of the Korean peninsula, Siheung is a few hours away to the north and, as competitors found out a couple of years ago when the WSL ran its first ever Korean event, it can get mighty cold in winter.
Siehung is a burgeoning entertainment and adventure enclave, with hotels, a campground, dive centre and watersports complex catering to the needs of the active masses, but it's the Wave Park, the world's biggest wave pool when it opened in 2020, that's the star of the show.
Need another excuse to head to Korea? The local culture and world renowned cuisine just can't be beaten.
09
Palm Springs Surf Club – California, USA
Although both are oases in the American desert, the Surf Ranch and Palm Springs Surf Club couldn't be more different. Not just their polar opposite locations in one of California's sleepiest and one of California's trendiest cities, but the size of their pools, their waves and the contrasting experiences offered.
There are millions and millions of waves they could make here, and it's only going to get better. You're going to want to come here, it's a surfer's dream
As much a day club – complete with poolside cabanas and the requisite party vibe – as a beach scene, the PSSC places as much emphasis on the user experience as the waves themselves, which is saying something as the endless variety of heavy slabs and fun ramps is hard to beat.
10
The Wave – Bristol, UK
With its emphasis on sustainability and its welcoming community in the lineup, The Wave has quickly become a popular destination for those seeking the excitement of surfing in an urban setting, fostering a thriving surf culture and community in the heart of the UK.
The Wave is another pool that uses WaveGarden's Cove technology to ensure that English surfers can get their fix, as well as visiting pros, as a squad of Red Bull athletes happily discovered in 2019. As well as a variety of wave types to suit surfers of all levels, The Wave features a beautiful site with a lake and surrounding greenery, and of course a beautiful man-made beach.
Honourable mentions
A list like this will never please everyone, so with that in mind, we'd also like to mention the Lost Shore Surf Resort in Scotland, the Surf Stadium Shizunami in Japan, the Siam Park in Tenerife, Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia and many more.
We'd also like to wish a sad farewell to a few pools that have moved on in recent times, Surf Snowdonia in Wales, the legendary Ocean Dome in Japan and the NLand Surf Park in Texas to name a few.
We'd also like to give a special mention to the river surfing communities, whether in Munich in Germany, Montreal in Canada, or even Bend in Oregon. While we're at it, big congrats to the crew behind the new RiF010 in Rotterdam, Holland, for the canal contraption above that brings not only a new type of wave to the table, but opens the door to many more down the track.
Finally, well done to Sebastian Alvarez above for combining wingsuits and wave pools, becoming the hero we never knew we needed. This is awesome.
Big fan of surfing? Red Bull TV is the place for you. From live streams of the WSL Championship Tour to Taylor Steele's entire back catalogue, you'll find there's something for everyone so download the app now!
